Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1870-01-18


the happier days of his country. Ur-
ging forward his weary Steed, he at
length arrived at a broad, grassy area,
on the summit of the hill, surrounded
by the forest. Here the melodiouS
voices rose in full chorus, like the
swelling OF the breeze; but whence
they came he could not tell. Some
times they were before, sometimes be-
hind him; sometimes in the air, some
times as if from within the bosom of
the earth. At length they died away,
and holy stiffness settled on the
place.
The cavalier gazed around with be-
wildered eye. There was neither
chapel, nor convent. nor humble her,
itage to be seen. Nothing but moss
grown pngaGafee GafeeI rsIRff gIRaffR8Bdthted RBdt tf dh By
cross. The green sward around ap-
peared to have been sacred from the
tread Of man or beast, and the sur
rounding trees bent toward the cross,
as if in alteration.
The cavalier felt a sensation of ho-
ly awe. He alighted and tethered his
steed on the skirts of the forest,
where be might crop the tender herb
age; then approaching the cross, he
knelt and poured forth his evening
prayers before the relic of the Chris
tlan days of Spain. His orisons be-
ing concluded, he laid himself down
at the foot of the pinnacle. and recli-
ming his head against one of its stones,
fell into deep sleep.
About midnight he was awakened
by the tolling Of bell, and found
himself lying before the gate of an an
cient convent. A train Of nuns passed
by, each bearing a taper The caya-
lier rose and followed them into the
chapel, in the center Of which was
bier, on which lay the corpse of an
aged man. The organ performed
solemn requiem; the nuns joined in
chorus. When the funeral service
was Finished, meIodious voice chant
ed Requiescat in pacer g" May she
rest in peacer' The lights immedi-
ately vanished; the whole passed
away as a dream, and the cavalier
found himself at the foot of the cross,
and beheId, by the faint rays of the
rising moon, his steed quietl y grazing
near him.
When the day dawued the cavalier
descended the hill, and following the
course of a small brook. came to a
cave, at the entrance ef which was
seated an ancient man, clad in hermit's
garb, with rosary and cross, and a
beard that descended to his girdle.-
He was one of those holy anchorites
permitted by the MoorS to live unmo-
Tested ia dens and caves. and humble
hermitages, and even to practice the
rite of religion. The cavalier check
ed his horse, and, dismounting, knelt
and craved a benediction. He then
related all that had befallen hin in
the night, and besought the hermit to
explain the. mystery.
What thou hast heard and seeu,
my son. replied the other, " is but a
type and shadow of the woes of
Spain"
He then related the foregoing story
Of the miraculous deliverance of the
convent:
Forty years" added the old man,
have elapsed since this event, yet
the bells of that sacred edifce are
still! heard, from time to time, sound
ing from UNDERGROUND, together with
the pealing of the organ, and the
chanting of the choir. The Moors
avoid this neighborhood as haunted
ground, and the whole place, as thou
mayest perceive, has become covered
with thick and lovely forest"
The cavalier listened with wonder
to the story of this engulphed convent,
as related by the holy man. For three
days and nights did they keep vigils
beside the cross, but nothing more was
to be seen of nun or convent. 1t is
supposed that, forty years having
elapsed. the natural lives of all the
nuns were finished, and that the cava-
lier had beheld the obsequies of the
last of the sisterbood. Certain it is,
that from that time, bell and organ
and choral chant had never more been
heard.
The mouldering pinnacle. surmount-
ed by the cross, still remains an OBJ
ject of pious pilgrimage. Some say
that it anciently stood in front of the
convent, but others assert that it was
the spire of the sacred ediice, and
that when the main body of the build
ing sank, this remained above ground,
like the topmast OF some tall ship that
had been foundered. These pious be-
levers maintain that the convent is
miraculously preserved entire in the
centre of the mountain, where, if
proper excavations were N de, it
would be found, with all its treasures,
and monuments, and shrines, and rel
les, and the tombs of its virgin nuns.
A prisoner was examined in court,