Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1876-04-05

anu just awakening from ueatn-llke
swoOn-an exquisitely sweet-featured
girl, whose relaxing grasp had unloosed
dead baby from her breast.
Three days after the unheralded event
of woman found half drowned upon
the beach, and dead child buried in
the sands by hands unfamiliar with
such rites, the following letter by a
young man spending his vacation at
x was dropped in the Northern
post:
'MY DEAR AUGUsTA,-I promised to
give you detailed account of my i'm
pressions of x. As we are off
at p. m. to-day on a boating excursion
to the Isle of-, have all my pisca-
torial preparations yet to make, and
must necessarily be brief.
"Postponing, then, a full narration
of minor incidents until we meet, will
describe to you merely the experience
which, l am sure considering the cap
tivating personnel of our host-irre-
sistible, l am told. to you girls), will
interest you and your sister most-my
evening at Tom Hayward's cave.
1.-TWO or three fellows of Hayward's
set have indulged i'm the luxury of caves
down here; and the fitting up of the
sea facing caves has been a rage this
season. But nothing so far compares
to his. We were invited down to spend
last eyening-an informal invitation to
c. and N and myself. The ap-
proach, directly seaward from the road,
and wild in the extreme, has been some
what assisted by art. A tiled excava-
tion leads by a fantastically lighted
passage into a cavern some thirty feet,
should think, above high water mark, +,
opening in wide mouth directly upon
the sea, and owing to gully beneath 1T
which forces the waves into curious
columns more vociferous than 'howling
Wilderness dashed wildly by spray.
and for several feet within the rugged
entrance made slippery with sea-weeds.
sour visit was on tranquil night;
but measured booming sound, made
resonant by some acoustic properties of
the caverned arch, announced the near
ness of the mighty Deep We soon
became accustomed to the ceaseless
roar, and settled ourselves comfortably
to game of whist.
"But l forget 1 must picture the
cavern itself, and the simple black and
white of paper and ink can hardly do
this. The interior is an Apocalypse of
color; the draperies of copper-colored
satin Orientally embroidered in bril-
liant silks; the pictures; the musical
instruments set with gems-colored
crystals, l presume; the lights arranged
in tinted groups, like flower arrange
ments in Partisan taste; the flowers,
exotic blossoms upheld against the cav
ern walls i'm carved easels or racks; the
Indian rugs; the couches quilted with
Cashmere shawls; the sombre book
cases inlaid with colored hieroglyphics
significant 10 the initiated, no doubt;
the bronzes and marbles cleaning from
mysterious inches in the rock; an alcOye
for refreshments-but that Will leave
to describe at leisure. Last evening it
ministered to masculine taste; but at
times when ladies are invited, every
thing is made to suffer sea-change'-
ices shaped and tinted like smells, dishes
and goblets genealogical from helix TO
nautilus
"Opposite the refectory is a reiled
niche, and the white lace dropped to
the ground is so heavily embossed with
embroidery of gold, that, although it
looks transparent, it is an absolute
screen. l emphasize This fact on ac-
count of an episode of the evening,
which may as well tell you at once.
"We had played two or three games
of whist, regaled ourselves with Hay
wards choice cordials and cigars, and
the evening was drawing to its close,
when, from behind the embroidered
curtain arose the music, with harp ac-
compartment, of the sweetest, most
plaintive voice that l have ever heard.
The effect was magical; invOluntarily
every man of us might have been seem
with dropped cards, leaning our heads
pensively upon our hands. Each
thought of the woman who loved him
best
"Never have / heard, my dear Au-
gusta, such penetrative, haunting
voice. Well, all our imploring and in
sisting demands upon Hayward failed
to force him to uplift the veil and re-
veal the fair sOngstress. And for this
reason, we all surmised; her form and
face belied her voice, and Hayward
would not for the worlds have destroyed
the suggestive effect. Indeed, upon re-
Election, and assisted somewhat by
Ms technical musical perception,
was convinced that the voice had the
one rift in its divine lutte of incipient
age. "A faded prima DONNA N
said. A woman, j thought, whose in
tense power outiived her life. You
know it is said that no actress can ade-
quately play the part of Shakespeare
heroines until the bloom of youth is
past, and consequently the thrilling
accord of material and immaterial is
lost.
ssAt any rate, the song-like the 'one
look of passion that Lamartine says
sweeps the keys of that charming i'm
strument,' the face of youth-swept the
keys of our somewhat Injured but not
yet age-worn hearts.
"But Augusta, my dear friend-since
you will only allow Inc to call you by
that name-I must conclude. Could
you see the rampant melee of yandals
who have just fiocked into my not spa
cious room, you would know why. L
will continue my cave story in my next
for there is finis. But if the fishing
is good, we may remain at the island
till Saturday; SO do not be anxious If
you receive no word till Mondays mail.
Meanwhile accept, with my reminis-
cence of the sweetest music ever heard,
the dearest idealization of friendship
that so far has blessed the fond but
frowned-on heart of your faithful
CHARLES"
Not one of Tom Hayward's comrades
conjectured the reason of his refusal
made at the last moment-to accompany
the fishing excursion planned by HIM
self.
Twilight of that memorable day found
him at the now carefully kept locked
gateway of his cave, exploring the
labels of manifold packages deposited
upon the broad paving-stone curbing of
the postern gate. All sorts of the most
effeminate delicacies these packages
held. The jovial cave had become a
tender hospice. Tom Hayward was
entertaining guest. As he summed
up mentally the contents of these pack
ages, his face-a kind, frank, not par
ticularly intellectual, but essentially
manly face, wore an infinitely satisfied
look.
He found his guest in the dimly