Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-08-13
TIE MYSTERIOUS MARRIAGE.
A Strange Story of the Eighteenth
Century.

century the old and respected pastor of the
village OF Norwlg, in New Zealand, sat in his
ton. The hour was near midnight. His
house was situated at the furthest extremity
OF the village, and the simple inhabitants knew
so little of miStrust or dishonesty that bolts
and locks were alike strangers to them, and
every door remained either opened or with
out fastening.
Stiffness of the hour was only interrupted by
the murmurlDg of the waves, and the pale
moonbeams were reflected on the surface of
the ocean, when he suddenly heard his house.
door open, and heavy steps ascend his stairs,
and he naturally expected call to the sick
bed of some OF his parishioners to afford the
iast spiritual ,consolatlGns, when two strange
ceaed In large white cloakS. One of them ad-
vaneed and said to him very courteously:
reverend sir, be good enough to follow US
Immediately. We want you TO perform a
marriage ceremony, and the bridal pair al
ready await you in the church. This sum-
continued cont he taking purse from his breast,
turbing you at this unreasonable hour"
Silent and frightened the old man regarded
his visitors, who seemed to him to have some
thing strange and even unearthly in their ap-
pearance. The stranger repeated his invita-
ton in commanding and threatening tone.
Wien the Old man had recovered himself
little, he began in mild manner to remOn-
Strate, and told him that his S.cred Office did
not allow him to perform the solemn cere-
mony of marriage without knowledge of the
individuals themselves, and complying with
such other formalities as the law directed.
Reverend SIR said the other man,
you have the choice to follow us and take
the sum of money offered to you, or remain
here with a pistol bullet in your BRAIN" With
that he held pistol to the old mans head,
The old pastor grew pale, rose up silent and
trembling, and, hastily clothing himself in
The strangers had spoken in Danish, but
with such foreign accent as could not be
mistaken. The mysterious men went ST.
lently through the village, buried as it was in
was dark night in autumn, and the moon
had already gone down. When they APP
preached the church the bewildered old man,
with fear and astonishment. saw it brilliantly
lighted up, and his companions fastened
across the low sand fats which interviewed
between it and the village, still concealed in
sled with age and fright, he with difficulty
stroye to Keep up with them. When they
The Ito the, pastor) well known side door
SEnges and he found himself Then thrust for
| ward into the church which appeared filled
| heard muttering and sound of many voices
in tongue unknown to him, but which he
supposed to De Russian; And as he stood
and VIM Wha eye
| happen, he felt his hand seized, and was pulled
with considerable violence through the crowd.
At last as well as he could judge, the throng
| from his eyes and he recognized by his side
| one Of his former companions, and found
himself standing before the altar, which was
| lit up by row OF wax lights, burning i'm
| splendid silver cande-stlcks, and the church
Itself was so completely Illuminated by nu-
merous lights that the most distant object
was thrust blind folded amid the crowd the
noise had terrified him, so now his soul was
struck with establishment and horror at the
dead silence that prevailed.
Although the side aisles and benches of the
| church were densely crowded, yet the center
| aisle was quite empty, and the pastor per-
eeIyed SRehed in grave The
| ing against one of the pewS. The pastor saw
none about him but men, but he thought he
could distinguish one female form in one Of
| some minutes without any one attempting to
| break it, just as in the human soul a still,
| gloomy broOding Of the thoughts generally
precedes some deed Of crime.
at AT last as man rose up whose noble appear
asSemblage, and betrayed his high rank He
stepped quickly through the empty aisle.
iemtgg gazed at him
| nah was OF middle height and stoUtly built,
of most proud and naughty carriage, his
| complexion was very dark raven black hair
and high acquiline nose gavea very command
ing expression to his cOuntenance, while long
and bushy eyelashes overshadOwed his small
black eyes, which appeared to CLEAN with
| wild passions He was dressed in magnifi-
! and on his breast glittered star The bride
who knelt near him, was most carefully and
even sunptu0usiy attired: A dress of sky
| her slender form, and hung in large folds of
drapery over her graceful limbs. A diadem.
plazlng with magnificent diamonds, adorned
beauty could be traced in her face, disfigured
as it was by terror. Her blOodless features
seemed imIm I fixed; her pale lips appear
ing death, llke-her eyes half clOsed--and her
| sinking body. So She knelt picture of
death, an indescribable fear and paralyzlng
horror appearing to freeze both life and con-
| seriousness into the Semblance of deep sleep.
| Inc pastor then, for the first time, per-
| celVed hatefdlloOking old woman, dressed
| ma 1antaStlcal costume, and her head covered
| with red turban, who grimly and even ScOrn-
iuliy regarded the kneeling pair. Behind the
bridegroom, man of gigantic stature and
DARK, forbidding eountenance had placed
statue, glanced round him in fixed and earn
est manner.
The pastor paralyzed with fright, remained
for some time as il struck dumb, until a saw
age glance from the bridegroom woke him
from mis- trance. What now puzzled him was
the uncertainty whether the bridal pair could
understand his language. This appeared to
him improbable: however, compo, sing himse II,
ne yentured to ask the names Of the bride and
"Neander, Fedora" answered the latter
In rough voice.
The pastor now begins to read the form of
the marriage ceremony, and as his voice fall
tered and he made many blunderS in the
reading, which the bridal pair did not seem to
remark, his suspicion was confirmed that
they did not understand his language. But
when he asked: "Neander. wilt thou take
Fedora, now kneeling beside thee, for thy
welded wife?" and he doubted whether the
bridegroom ignorant of his language, could
answer him, to his great astonisiment the
latter spoke out, Eyes" in an almost scream
ing tone, which reSOunded through the
church. Deep sObs bursting out simulta-
neOusIy from the crowd accompanied this ex-
clanlatiOn, and visible emotion, transient as
the distant lightning fash, appeared to pass
over the almost emOtiOnleSS features Of the
bride. The old man then turned himself.
speaking louder, to the bride, as IL he wished
to wake her from her deathlike lethargy.
while he said: 'Wilt thou, Fedora. take that
man kneeling beside thee for thy husband
and honor him as such? II So answer me in
the afiirmative9'' Then the lifeless bride an
pea, ed to waken up. deep and awful shud-
der appeared to move her pale features. her
bloodless lips moved, and 3 quick transient
fire sparkled in her eyes, her bosom heaved.
the momentary sparkle Of her eyes, and the
word Yes" was heard like the last word of a
dying soul, and appeared to find an echo i'm
the unrepres Sed cry of sorrow which stimuli
aneOusly burst from al presents The bride