Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1875-01-16
f secret sin, what mortal might not do the

length Elizabeth sat silent For few mo-
ms-nts she appeared lost in thought, consd-
erlng, probably. what new methods might be
tried to withdraw her lover from so dark a
phautaSy. which, if il had no other meaning
Wa perhaps symptom of mental disease.
Though of a firmer character than his own
the tears rolled down her cheeks. But. i'm an
instant as it were, new feeling took the
place Of sorrow. Her eyes were fixed inSen-
siDiy on the black veil, when. like a sudden
twilight in the air. its terrors fell around
him.
And 10 you feel it, then. al last?" said he.
mOUrnfuliy.
SIZE male no reply, but covered her ewes
with her hand, and turned To leave the room
He rushed forward and caught her arm.
Have patience with me. Elizabeth" cried
ne paSSionaicly. do not desert me, though
TINS veil must be between Us here on earth
b mine, and hereafter there shall be no veil
over my face-nO darkness between our
souls! 1t Is but mortal veil-it is noS for
eternity! On! you know not how lonely
am, ana how frightened, to he alone behind
my black veil. DO not leave me in this mis-
cradle ObScurity for ever"
LIT the veil but once, and look me in the
face.' said she.
Never, ii cannot he. :" replied MI Hooper.
Then. farewell" said Elizabeth.
she Withdrew her arm from his grasp, and
slowly departed. pGusing at the door to give
one long. ShuidcTing gaze, that seemed al
most to penetrate the mystery of the black
vel. But, even amid his grief. Mr.. Hooper
SnIled to think that only material emblem
the horrors which it Swallowed forth must be
drawn darkly between the fondest OF lovers.
FROM That time 10 attempts were made to
remove Mr.. HOOpCT'S black veil, or. by a di-
rect appeal, to discover the secret which it
was supposed To hide. BY persons who
Claimed superiority to popular prejudice. it
was rCCkO ICt merely an eccentric whm,
such as often mingles with the sober actions
OF men otherwise rational, and tngeS them
al with It's own ScmblaUcn Of insanity. But
with the multitude good Mr. Hooper was ir-
10 -Fal
street with any peace OF mind. 50 conscious
was ne that the gentle and timiI would turn
aside 10 avoid him, and that others would
MAKE ii q point OF harjihOOi TO throw them
selves in his way. The impartinenCe of the
latter class compelled him TO give up tie
customary walk at sunset to the burial
ground; for when lie lcancl peaSivcly over
The gate, there would always be faces behind
the stones peeping at his black veil.
n fable went the rounds, that The stare Of the
dead people drove him hence. ItgTiaVel him
TO the very depth of his kind heart TO observe
how the children fed from his approach
breaking up their merricSt sports while his
melancholy figure was get afar of. Their
instructive dread caused him to feel more
strongly than aught else that q prcternltural
horror was interviewer with the threads of
the black Grape. In truth, his own antipathy
10 the veil was known to be SO great that he
never willingly passed before mirror, nor
stopped to drink at Il still fountain, lest in its
peaceful bosom he should be affright2d by
himself. This was W has gave plauSibility 10
the whispers that Mr.. HOopcr'S conscience
tortured him for some great crime too horri-
Die 10 be entirely concealed. or otherwise
tIan SO obScurely intimateI Thus, from be
meath the black veil, there rolled Il cloud into
the sunshine, an ambiguity of sin or sorrow.
which envelOpe1 the poor minister. SO that
love or sympathy could never reach him. 1t
was said hat ghost and fiend cOnSOrtel with
him there. With Seli-SGuddcringS and out
ward tcrrOrs, he walked continually in its
shadow, cropping darkly within his own soul,
or gazing through medium that Saddened
the whole world. Even the lawleSS wind, il
was believed. respected this dreadful secret.
and never blew aside the veil. But still good
Mr.. Hooper sadly smiled at the pale visages
OF the worldly thrOng as they passed by.
Among all its bad influences, the black
veil had the one deSiTa Die effect of ma king its
Wcarer a very efficient clergyman. BY the
ana of his mysterious emblcm-fOr there was
no other apparent cauSC-he became a man
OF awful power over souls that were i'm agony
Tor SIN. His converts always regarded him
win dread peculiar TO themselves, affirm
Ing, though but figuratiVely. that, before he
brought them To celestial light they hal been
with him behind the black veil. lis gloom,
indeed. enabled him to Sympathize with all
dark affections. Dying sinners cried aloud
for Mr.. Hooper, and would not yield their
breath till lac appeare,i-though ever, as he
stopped to whisper consolation, they Shu l.
dered at the yelled face so near their own.
Such were the teTrOrS OF the black veil, even
when death had barred his ViSagc! Strangers
came long distances TO attend service at his
church. with the mere idle purpose OF gazing
at his figure, because it was forbidden them
To behold his face. Bat many were made to
quake ere they departed O3cc, during Gov.
Bolchcr's adminiStra iion. Mr Hooper was
appointed to preach the election sermon.
Covered with his black veil, lac stood before
the chief magistrate, the council. and the re-
personalities, ami wrought so deep an inn
preston that the legislative measures Of that
year were characterized by all the gloom and
p.ety of our ancestral sway.
In this manner Mr.. Hooper spent Il long
life. irreprOachable in outward act, yet
shrouded in dismal suspicious; kind and low
ing. though unlOycd, and dimly feared; Il
man apart from men, snunnel in their health
and joy, but ever summoned to their aid in
mortal agonicS As years wore on, shedding
their SHOWS above his sable veil, he acquired
a name throughout New England churches,
and they called him Father Hooper. Nearly
all his pariShiOneTS who were OF mature age
when he was settled had been borne away by
many funeral. he had one congregation in
the church, and a more crowded one in the
and having wrought SO late into
the evening, and done his work SD well, it was
now good Father Hooper turn ~ rest
Several persons were visible by the shaded
candle-light in the death chamber Of tie old
clergyman. Natural connections he had
hone. But there was the decOrOuSly grave.
though unmoved, physician, seeking only TO
mitigate the last pangS OF the patient whom
he could not save. There We're the deacons
and other eminently piouS members Of his
church. There, also, was the Rev. Mr.. Clark
OF NeStbuTy- q young and jealous divine,
who had ridden in haste TO pray by the bed
side Of the expiring minister. There was the
one whose affection had endured thaS long in
secrecy, in solitude, amid the chill of age,
and would not perish, even at the dying
hour. Who, but Elizabeth, And there lay
the hOary head of good Father Hooper upon
the death-pillow, with the black veil still
swathed about his brow and reaching down
over hLs face, so that each more difficIlt gasp
OF his faint breath caused it to stir All
through life that piece OF Grape had hung be-
tween him and the world; il had separated
him from cheerful brotherhood and woman's
love, and kept him in that saddest of all pri-
sons, his own heart; and still il lay upon his
face, as If To deepen the gloom of his dark
some chamber, and shade him from the sun
shine Of eternity.
For some time previous, his mind had been
confused. wavering dOubtfully between the
past and the present, and lowering forward,
as II were, at intervals, into the indistinct-
ness of the world TO come. Thare had been
feveriSh turns, which tossed him from side to
side, and wore away what little strength he
had. But in his most convulsive struggles,
and in the widest vagaries of his intellect,
when no other thought retained its sober in
huence, he still showed an awful sOlicitude
last the black veil should slip aside. Even if
his bewildered soul could have forgotten
there was a faithful woman at his pillow,
who with ayerted eyes, would have covered
that aged face, which she had last beheld in
the cOmeliness of manhood. At length the
old man lay quietly in the