The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-05-22

flying and frenzied feet the steps; her
heart lifted up to God for Richards de-
liverance from peril. The bats few out
and shook the dust of centuries from
the black carvings. As she went up
she caught glimpses of the interior of
the great building, with its grolned
roof, its chevrons and clustered col
umns its pictured saint and carved
image of the Virgin, which the pillagers
of ages had spared to be dealt with by
time, the most relentless Vandal of all.
Up-stilI up-beyond the rainbow
tints thrown by the stained glass across
her death-white brow; up-still up
past open arcade and arch, with griffin
and gargoyls staring at her from under
bracket and cornice, with all the hide
BUSINESS of medieval carving; the stairs,
flight by fight, growing Trailer beneath
her young feet now but slender net
work between her and the outer world;
but still up.
Her breath was coming short and
grasping. She saw, through an open
space, old Jasper cross the road at the
foot of the tower. Oh, how far The
seconds were treasures which Cromwell,
with all his blood Thought common
wealth, could not purchase from her.
Up-ah-there, just above her, with its
great brazen mouth and wicked tongue,
the bell hung
A worm-eaten block for a step, and
one small white hand had clasped itself
above the clapper-the other prepared,
at the tremble, to rise and clasp its
mate, and the feet to swing off; and
thus she waited. Jasper was old and
slow-but he was sure, and it came at
last. A -f6nt culver, and the young
feet swung from their rest, and the ten
der hands clasped for more than their
precious life, the wreathing thing.
There was groaning and creaking of the
rude pulleys above, and then the strokes
came heavy and strong. Jasper's hand
had not forgot its cunning, nor his arm
its strength. The tender, soft form
was swuc g and dashed to and fro. But
she chung to and caressed the cold, cruel
thing. Let one stroke come and a
thousand might follow-for its fatal
work would be done. She wreathed
her white arms about it, so that at every
pull of the great ropes it crushed into
the flesh. It tore her, and wounded
and bruised-but there in the solemn
twilight the brave woman swung, and
fought with the curfew and God gave
her victory
The old bell. ringer said to himself /:
"Aye, Huldah, my work is done. The
pulleys are getting too heavy for my
old arms. My ears, too, have failed me
at last. I dinna hear one stroke of the
curfew. Dear old bell, it is my ears
that have gone false, and not thou.
Farewell, old friend"
And just beyond the worn pavement
a shadowy form again went fitting past
him. There were drops of blood upon
the white garments and the face was
like the face of one who walked in her
sleep, and the hands hung wounded and
powerless at her side.
Cromwell paused with his horsemen
under the dismantled may-pole before
the village green. He saw the man who
was to die at sunset standing up IN the
dusky air, tall as king and beautiful
as AbsalOm. He gaZed with knitted
| brow and angry eye; but his Ii ps did
not give utterance to the quick COM
mand that trembled on them, for a girl
| came flying toward him. Pikeman and
archer stepped aside to let her pass.
She threw herself upon the turf at his
horses feet: she lifted her bleeding
and tortured hands to his gaze, and
once more poured out her prayer for
the life of her lover; with trembling
lips she told him why Richard still lived
why the curfew had never sounded.
Lady Maud, looking out of her lat
ticed window at the castle, saw the great
Protector dismount, lift the fainting
form in his arms, and bear her to her
lover. She saw the guards release the
prisoner, and she heard the shouts of
Joy at his deliveranca then she well
coined the night that shut the scene out
from her envious eye and sepultured
her in its gloom.
At the next matin bell old Jasper
died, and at curfew toll he was laid be-
side the wife who had died in his youth,
but the memory of whom had been with
him ALWAYS.