The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1870-08-24
from Ballou.1
FROM OVER SEA.
BY MISS AMANDA NJ. HALE.

1t was a dream of mine, from my
childhood, that my life's blessing or i
may be bane, would come to me ovel
this immeasurable, lonely, purple sea
that sang and surged forever before
my eyes, forever restless, forever
tchangeful, as richly charged with splen
did, exuberent vitality as the young
eager heart which beat in my own bo
som, and had its seasons of burning
passion, and rosy exultation, and wild
despair,
And this was why in my early desc
lation and loneliness L stole away so
often from the great house and the un-
congenial fireside, and SOU ght out
strange eyries among the rocks, and
hiding there, let the summer days go
by, and fed my dreams by the splen-
dors of the sea and sky, and the mu-
sic of the waves. g.. vas H.f: "'
And so in this old fashion ! grew up
TO womnulrooti, and one day my aunt
said i'm her chilly dignified way:
"You are eighteen now, Viva, and
too old to spend your time idling on
the shore as you have done."
She made a pause and L was silent.
1 knew my frigid, correct, unloving
aunt disproved of me, but L was in
different. What had she even done to
make my life beautiful to me ?
After minutes pause she said, still
more sharply: isr. ..rs- -ra' 70.
"This mustn't last much longer
not long after Max comes home"
'AIaX ?'
She did not heed me.
"You will have to entertain him till
Lucia comes, / suppose, but then l
shall get you a situation somewhere.
You know you have no fortune?"
Know it? Had she not told me a
hundred times or more. thus taunting
me with nv obligation to her +? So /
was going TO work for myself. That
pleased me. Meanwhile escaped
from nv aunt's surveillance as soon as
1 could, and stole away to one of my
favorite haunts to dream about this
new life that was coming, and this un-
known cousin Max, about whose fig
ure / had woven a world of romances,
whom fancied paladin of the nine
teenth century, and wondered at and
worshipped, while in my innocent
girlish- heart / wished that Heaven
had made me such man as he. For
l know that Max was to marry Lucia
Trenholme-at least, my aunt meant
that he should, and'whoever ventured
to controyert her desires 2.;..- "H
l. satsand watched therwhite7 gulls
flying overhead aud the golden splen-
dor Of the sky fade out into misty
gray, and never felt the change that
was coming over the world till the
slow solemn note of the sea dwelt on
my ear-and not that alone, but also
weird mysterious undertone, wild
eerie sob that was always heard at the
cliffs before q storm. - 4. n
Round Island crying for Storm"
the old sea fairy people.
This ery-like human creature
in desperate plight-always chilled
me with a foreboding sense of coming
woe, and / got up hastily, and turning
saw a tall knightly figure between me
and the light. IL 20
"Ahl 1t isyou then, and not a
shadow or a wrath, to dissolve in a
twinkling. / half expected to see
you vanish before my eyes. Do you
know was sent in search OF you? A
long chase you led me-" And the
fair brow wrinkled mp sternly, and
did its best to belle the smiling mouth |
and the luminous eyes.
81 am very sorry" l said demure-
!y- "But perhaps you were not sent
in search of me-" So .,-.
He glanced over me hurriedly, and
then smiled as if reassured. r
"Are you mortal maiden ?"
'T believe sol" ..
"And do they call you Viva Grey?"
eyes"
'.Then 1 am your cousin Max l"-
and he reached out his firm white
hand to me. ....
1 clasped it and looked up to see
what this cousin might be like, half
afraid and wholly pleased.
. 'WeH, what do you think of me r
he said gayly. n- -a,i --
81 like. you very much" '-r-
'.Thank you. And 1 like you more
han very much. Come ~ llt.
I took a step forward and looked up
at the sky as did SO. 1t was a ghast-
" spectacle-greati clouds of a dull
ashen gray sweeping up TO the zenith
apd below closo IN the borriSnn q