The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-09-01

IS black, ~ leng sand srRarel9l9 asseefong g
its raging hunger to seize upon ana dsvour e. |
prey. . -
of what had occurred to him when boy, the
pilgrim monk remained with his face TO tho
earth and his arms ontstretched, as if he had |
been absorbed in devotion ). but now, when the
lowed by complete silence Of all around him,
he rose slowly from his PROSTATE position, and |
resting upon his knees, as if he were In pray
then drawing the folds of the hood which
covered his head close to his breast, so as to |
peep out from the holes, he turned slowly,
10 e.
no part of the horizon was there an eye gazing
upon him and when convinced that such was
the case, he sprang with the vlgor OF youth TO
his feet, and cast back his hood.
The face, or at least SO much OF 1t as was
dscernible, was an awful one to look upon, TOT
its expression rendered. the naturally nldeEns,
rage by the burning flames of hell. No portion
of the forehead was discerhible; the dark,
close fitting, Greekish monk-cap covered tore
head and eyebrows, but from the rim of the
I cap seemed to spring thick, prominent nose,
red as fire, and at each side of the head, wide
| set apart from one another, were two staring
eyes, which seemed to look, not straig ht for
ward, but to each side. at the same time thai
they cast out vivid flashes as of fire, whilst all
| tho rest of the face was covered with ashy
| white hair, which, staring from the head,
| started ont in thick masses, so as to cover
rather than descend upon the breast as a
beard.
given by this hideous man to the rage WHICH
| be had hitherto been concealisg beneath tho
mockery of seeming devotion, 1t was as if
he had Invited demon to take possession Of
him that the evil spirit had come at his bid
ding, and no longer left him master of himself
His words were occasionally shrieks, and he
moved up and down with the uneasy lurking
paces broken by occasional bounds Of fury,
such as exhibited by Wild animal of the
! forest when first confRed within the narrow
| precincts of q cage.
Vengeance! vengeance! vengeance! he
exclaimed. "Yes, that was the word, spoken
| in the woodlands cave in the forest OF Chate-
nay: NenGeance!-that was the word spoken
in the of the cruel William, Count of Aries
and Dnke of Burgundy, when he brought dis
honor on the humble but honest home Of Wal
ter of Aries and forced him to become Peter
tho woodman, Peter, the magician, Peter the
nra,i-cater in the forest of Chatenay. Ven
geance s-ay, that too was the word spoken
when the same William pinned prisoner in the
power of Robert of France, and died bercft of
dukedom and countship. beggar dependant
upon the bounty of others. Vengeance!-yes,
that the very word spok en- by the poor boy,
when, blinded with his own blood, he felt he
was no longer able to defend his fathers life.
Vengeance yes, it was the very last word
spoken by Peter the woodman when he felt the
fire reaching his vitals-the last word lie spoke
before they burned him like q log of wood and
dispersed his ashes in the air. Vengeance
ay, aud it has come upon them, and will come
!, IL.
CART, who now makes child's story of such
r events, has he, too, forgotten that they dy not
: end with the discovery of the bodies of the
murdered travellers in Peter the woodman IS
, hut; with the recovery of those who were
unhnrt and sleeping, and whose shores he
f heard, because a narcotic drausht had been
| given to them, and whose worthless lives he
savedf Vengeance!-has it not, though he
bears charmed life, pursued him and his from
i that day to this? How died his father Slain
c not like soldier but coward, with an arrow
in hio h1cL from n n han
How died his motherf BY slow poison-so
8 slow, they deemed it Sickness but SO sure, that
| she knew from the moment she imbibed il, al.
though she never breathed a suspicion of the
G fact but to the priest that it was death, death
: death-inevitable death. And how comes it
. that he is a childless old man! Ven.
L geance vengeance! vengeance! in various
= forms in the river, in the forest, in the field
u in the house; but still death as certain as II
/, they Lad, like Ralph the boy, who died an idiot
> eaten of tho opiate honeycomb, or had lain
@ quiescent for q minute with barred neck be-
:. meath the short knife of Peter the woodman
}, Vengeance! vengeance! vengeance!-oh! it il
: q true word, and it lives aud thrives, and evel
bears fruit in tho breast of an in ured man
n Vengeance!-it lies in wait for Guy of Mascon
n Vengeance! lit lies in wait for Florine of Bur
r gnndy, the buxom granddaughter of him who
n first did wrong to Peter the woodmau. Ven
), geance awaits tho footsteps of the betrothei
: bride who comes as crusader in Jerusalem
+ and who hopes, with the rescue of the Holy
T. City from the hands of in6dels, that HEAVIER
will qless her union with Swein of Denmark
IS Vengeance!-ay, vengeance upon all who hav'
!. aided, and all who may approve of the shed
n ding Of the blood, of the burning to death o
Peter the woodman. Vengeance upon the per
It secutors of magcians. Vengeance upon thu
n whole of those who bear the name Of Chris
tian, for Christianity has destroyed the powe
of him who first told man that earth was mad
i for man, aud showed him the arts by which ht
). could extort from nature her richest secrets
u Vengeance! vengeance! vengeancew
And as the wretcbed, wicked old man spok
), these words, there came to his ears the loud
Joyous burst of thousands Of men, all shout
o ing with one voice, "God wills it God will
9 He turned 6ercely round towards the distan
y Christian encampmept, and there was an exc
Grafton in his fierce glance as he gazed upon il
p and then sneer curleGf his lip rs lie exclaimed
r 8 AS magician, and the son of magician,
l. he said, ~ am superstitious, and attach ere
J dence to omens. L have cried Vengeance
u and you exclaim God wills it" Be it so-an
l. now to realize fact against yourselves
your desire to do evil to others, shall spec
. the news have learned to Baghi Sian, so tina
r. he may know all that the spy, who was arrest
u ed this day, would have desired to tell him.
g Chapter T.-The Three TiliGiRs.
d Beyond the encaRrpment of the Christians