The Centre reporter. [volume] (Centre Hall, Pa.) 1871-1940, 1877-02-01
VOLUME Y.

iV4 wal swept hN llhC gust Ot CNlll-
ing Wind. ana the folds OF the curtains
siirrcd and trtmhlcd with 10. hut she
never stlrrcl-uut even hair uf her
head was shaken rs She sin'd there
He MAS brave. ami young. and hand
some, and he came riding In from Boss
ton, and node down the street If Salem
that spring day. the grv,lhcst iay | ever
SAW, In old England, or m the new,
bleak country. there were none o. COM
pare with ham, m my eyes; and 50
loved HIM, And he STAYED m Salem, and
| Saw h,m day after day, and none knew
Il at first, for We stmycd far away IN
those grecn wol,ls that were Just putting
On their leaves, and looked Tor May
flowers, and, later on. for the blue vlo-
let's that crrpt up through the rustllug
dead foliage uf last wear. And at last he
came a. NY fathers house. but Abel
ChllhngworJh Was old and stern, and L
feared hiIn, and | had mo- mother; and So
We kept uar secret Roger and /.
feared nothing asked nothing, IN my
love; l drained the cup uf each day dry.
ana was content with It's fun dmught Of
Joy. and never dreamed. with summer
and the roses Mound me-. of winter and
decay, and dust and ashes, unul one day
came when Nc met m the Salem woods
to part.
- Ne tears, my little Maytlowcr.
Roger Eane said, softly. as he held me
within his strong, kindly arms. | have
never seen the drops IN those sweet eyes
Of thine before, and would not have my
last sight ut them 50 married. liz Is only
Tor a little space, sweetheart. | shall
come back "a steal away my little Puri-
tan maiden before the first leaf has turn
ei r,,l 10y her fathers door
"' Why-why viii You go Rogrr% |
cried, aS | chung round HIM; and asked
il only a. hear over again what | knew
before quite weu; how Gov. Winthrop.
whose blood relation he was, had sent
him hem, auG now recalled him. ON bust
ness II the commonwealth, and now he
mas, obey; leaving me only for little
Wb'lc-' very little while, | made HIM
whisper over and over. with my arms
about his Eeck And then he pulled
from his finger that ring. with It's dark
yellow stone and the little bright pearls,
and slipped II over mine.
- S.. he said you shall wear this
as my pledge of hove and LOYALTY: there
Is "a lock Of my own hair under the stone,
and yuu shall givr me one Of those pre-
cluUs dark locks % keep and kiss when
we are parted; and IN two little months
vow . exchange our love gifts back
aga5u, here IL tins very wood, my sweet
est
He took the lock q hair that curle,l
by my forehead. ami took his ring, and
his own kiss sealed Il on my finger. So
We turned away from each other, and
started on the long paths that led our
lives apart. and never drew them To-
gether aSain-uever any more Roger
Nane rode back into Boston town. and |
stole sadly 10 my fathers house. 10
mourn and wait for him. with his ring
hung round my neck, low down, 10y my
heart
The summer crept ON, and the hot
days shortened their fierce fires. and the
August haze was in the sky the golden
rod shook out its plumes all along the
dry, dusty nal, aud the ragged white
ihistlelown blew here and there. |
watched for the first change along the
dark borders Of the wuDds-!or the red
leaves. and for Roger hut, one morn
ing. / woke mp and saw the white frost
glitjering on some b.acksned, dropping
vines around my window. and a braal
splash Of scarlet, Ike blood. dashed
across the maple trees, and nu lover
came riding down the rCai, or stmying
through the Salem wood 10 find me
&" Never, never, more | hal the last
kiss ON my lips forever, for none touched
them after Roger Yaue. The leaves
turned crimson, and golden, aud russet
brown, aud withered and dropped from
the bare trees the dark November dnys
ElOwed over the land, and my lover never
came. No wori hal | from him-uo
sign | knew not if he were among the
living or dead. until G. dr1n Giles. COM
ing home in the early Sinter from a
weeks journey 10 Boston. told me. rs he
sat IN the elbow char 10y our hearth.
that he hal seen CAV Young Roger Vane.
Ion remember hun, Mistress
Esther? 4 well favored youth. bat
sometimes Light minded and vet saw
him among gooily company, coming ont
oi the South church after meeting. and
with far young Ia " ON his arm. He
had no eyes for any of tha wurshipers
but her, and got no speech with him,
else | might have br1uch; hack a kindly
message for his friends in Salem. and
for you, Mistress Esther
" He looked n me with a keen. cruel
glance, and | remember how once he had
crossed our path as we loitercl in the
woods, Roger and l. II h. searched for
any teil;ale sign in my face, 1t was in
vain.
80 knew that Roger Yane was
living and had forgotten me. | could
have borne his death. ! could not bear
his scorn. The bitterness Of hades crept
into my soul, aud taught me hatred Of
al mankind. ] shrapk away from the
sight Of human faces, and in gloom aud
sohtude ate my own heart away. with
brooung upon It's despair Oh. my vain
beauty oh, cruel dowry tha. brought
my fall Two soft months Of early sum
mer, AGAINST the long. drearv winters
cold-the warmth Cf kisses in green.
giancng woods, AMI the ice walls of
Salem "A the crowd on Witch's hill.
the strangling rope. the darkness Of the
death struggle. and the trarklcss ADVISES
OF eternity-these things my far face
brought Ine-me, old Chiilingwdrth's
proud daughter =
What cry she gave In tho dead
silence Of the night il clovcs sharp and
and seemed to freeze INV
senses within me-turn me cold and
dumb with fear. The ghost girl wrunp
her white hands, and flung them high
above her head, and her shadowy figure
swayed and waved in the arch between
the curtains, as the woe almost two cen
turles old shook her with the strength
Of yesterday.
:" had no fear Of God or man"
murmured on the voice again; land NV
mouth was full Of bitter words. and / de
he'd both in my heart and on NV lips. In
The glass | saw my beauty wi.hering
away. ns II ten years had sped since
Roger and picked the earlier flowers TO-
yether; and yet the May flowers bloomcd
jnly once since then. / wandered ont
10 ind them, one April day, in the old
place where he and had walked: and.
rs l swept away the heaped brown
caves, L cried aloud 10 the merciless
powers above me-to God or Satan. 10
whom would have sold nv soul that
lour, only to have Roger back again be-
'lde me. And there was one in the
wood that day who heard me.
The land WAS all astir with cries of
and Parson Mather was at his
bloody work, in the name Of God. On
.he long low hill beyond Salem village
stood the gibbets, where old Mistress
Nurse had suffered, and Goodwife Corey,
md the old and frail, aud the strong.