Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1876-04-08
THE LIGnT-n0UsE AT AvONDALE.

y WI tslrA " Alltl tstlttF uluN AilE dtlOSc
the moor, that stretched eastward from
Aerideth House. 4 wet wind, that blew
nobody good, hut Was full of niasIna,
and heavy with the eaor 81 deeaFipg lia-
-tHtn.a A-ats ~ tlit systssItast md 5celstl
out upon the dreary autumn landscape,
almost hidden now by the shadows of the
-dreary autumn cleaning.
Mamma moved the lamp upon the Ia
bic, So that its rays fell upon the window
near which L was sitting, and out upon
the gravel walk beyond, lighting L small
space with the radiance of day. | gazed
out listlessly. A figure came out from
the dark shadows, into the lighted space.
Tho erect figure of man, and lie stood,
mOtiOnless, looking up at the window,
the blaze of light falling full upon his
handsome, daring face. l bit my lips to
keep back scream, and my heart thump-
eel 50 loudly, | feared nanny would hear
il. The man outside smiled, aud made
gesture which signified Come OUT
Why did he haunt me 50, when he knew
l had determined to forget him
when he knew how absolutely necessary
il was that i should put all thoughts of
him out of my mind, now, and forever.
Mammals voice broke the oppressive 81
lence. ~ hope this is not the fOrerun-
ner of the equinOctial Storm" she said,
''but almost fear it is. 1t viii be an nm
the storm comes On with its usual force.
ROlliu will be here Thursday night, he
wrote, and this Is aturday. | hope the
storm will blow ON in 4 day or two. l
should not like to iave your wedding
postponed on any account. 1t is an evil
omen."
My weddingi" yes, / was to bs mar
ried the following Friday, to Rollin
Weatherbee, heir of the Weatherbee es-
tate and the Weatherbee pride, and
blonde beauty. I had been engaged to
him two years, and all that time il had
been understood that | should wed him
on my eighteenth birthday, and the day
drew very near. l had loved him very
dearly, / thought, and was very proud of
him. But three months ago. few weeks
after our arrival as Meredith House,
where ne had come To remain until after
the wedding, l met with little adven-
ture, which had altered the whole mat
ter, so far as | was concerned, and nut
my foolish young heart in tumult
was out for a SallOp, on my pony Sinbad,
vixen a gale of wind came up, and my
hat was blown from head. | felt it going
and threw up both hand, just as Sinbad,-
witha snort, gave 4 leap, which unseated
me; and toppled over his side, and
down upon the ground, and lay stunned
fOE moment, while Sihbad Sallopped a.
WHY. | was not seriously hurt, only
stunned, aud soon rose to my feet, and
brushed my tanSlr of brown hair out of
my eyes, tu see Siubad struggling to free
his hit from the iron grip of a mans
hand. y young man, with 1.-the erect
nSurr, '!rt'SSe'l in a hunting suit, that
dis"layetl the tigcr-like grace of his per-
SON. lie held the frightened animal I'm
al i'c ceased to plunge and rear, aud then
led him toward me, touching his cap
lightly, as nc ncarcd me, and looking me
through with his dark eyes. II beg par
dou." hc said. - saw the accident that
brtoll yoW, and WAS just in time ts catch
your beast by the bit as lie plunged by
hope YOU are not seriously Injured
Net at all, | answered. "Only a lit
tie bruised. Thank You, for saving me 4
two mile tramp home, To find mamma
frightened To death at the return Of sin.
bad without me-
lie assisted me into the saddle, and
walked by my side, on toward Meridcth
House.
II am going TO see YOU safe home. un-
less you forbid it, he said. Nou may
have received injuries that You do not
know of, and l do not think it safe for
you TO ride home alone. You are very
pale, l assure you, and your hand i un-
steady at the REIN
| did feel nervous and weak, and was
not at all unwilling the young stranger
shOulu Walk at my side; lie looked so
handsome, with his gun slung carelessly
over his shoulder, and his rather reckless
face turned up 20 me. He walked by my
side to the house, and assisted me from
the saddle, and az my urgentrequestc came
in, and received mammals thalks for
what he had done. He bowed with
princeiy grace, saying "BreeCe Rogers,
madam, is highly hOnored, i'm having the
opportunity 10 do you or your daughtera
service" And then he left us, with one
last glance OF his dark. passionate eyes.
The very next day he came back, bring
ing my scarf, which was lost when | fell
from the horse. And after that he came
OF and on, whenever he could find pre-
text or excuse, until mamma became an
nOyed aU the frequency of his calls; and
fearing that he was not = suitable person
for an associate, made inquiries of the
man who had taken charge of 8Ierideth
House, all the years we were absent
What he told her did not help the matter
any. ''Breecc Rogers, man, Yes, l
know him. His father was old Squire
Rogers, and fine old gentleman he was,
with a good property that he had amass-
ed by hard work. But Breeze was . wild
lad from the first; and rs SOON as he came
CT age, he grew worse, instead of better,
and i'm three years time had spent all his