The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-12-01
asraiBs Star and Catholic Messenger.
WV uarEAEs. eUNDAY, DECEMBER lG1s.
CASTLE DAILY:
THB
Story of an Irish Home Thirty Years Ago
(Concluded.)

The short busy days that were carrying Les
bia on to her crowning day passed in q whir
Of oocu patton with IN ost of the household. Mrs
Ealy WAS little soaudaliz ID that John coult
seldom be found to give an opinion on any o
the arrangements for his sisters wedding
During that last week he was generally eithe
shut up in his study writing newspaper srti
oles or reading Ms. to Ellen, and asking hel
advice how to make q sentence more telling
the State prisoners more convincing. Sht
thouRht 1t . little strange and unsy YIN pathetic
Of those two TO be more occupied with ques
tions of politics than with the approaching
event in their own families bnt Brides dill.
genoe was suffi cient for the despatch OF all
necessary business, and the sight of Pelham'e
triumphant happiness, and Lessias attention
to herself, so ertrely satisfied her to leave
no room for plaintiveness. The wedding was
to be celebrated at Castle Daily.
Bride, who had lately been making constant
excursions there, left the Hollow tiualiy with
John and Lesbia q few days before the day
fixed for the ceremony, and Mrs. DAILY followed
her so as to arrive on the previous afternoon.
Pelham gave his last evening to Ellen, who
was not Yet ttTong enough to bear the drive to
Castle DAILY, aud was to be left at the Hollow
one solitary day. He was very kind and ten
der to her during the hours they were alone
together, while Ellen reclined on Aune's sofa,
wheeled in front OF the turf fire, and Pelham
sat on the low stool in tie nook by the hearth
that used always to be Connor's corner on win
Ter evenings in the old times.
They avoided oil allusiOn to the past, and
talked cheerfully of the bright future that as
opening oot for one { f the two aud Pelh am
oonsulted Ellen about his plans. asking her
tenants and dependents with Difference to
her superior knowledge of the people which,
while it gratified her, gave her q strange seu-
sation Of having died to her giriish self, az
wakered p in the middle of Anne O'Flahelty's
life with All her former cares resting on her
shoulders, and the task given to her of advis-
ing the owner of Castle DAILY, which Anne had
exercised for so many Sears.
Ellen early the next dSy ard saw Pal-
ham ride eff in the dewy October morning to
his wedding. She fastened the last of the
into the button hole of his cost with keen re-
collection of how she had intended to bestow
some OF its earlier blossoms, and then stood in
Size open doorway and watched bis figure les
ssliEg aloUg the winding road till it was lost
among the low bushes on the hill side.
The valley bad never looked fairer, or show
Sd more like an enchanted region, jewel paved
With emerald apd diamond and azure, than it
appeared when Ellen found herself left alone
to gaze on the misty outline of it's protecting
hills, the blue thread of it's winding river, its
opal colored lake, aud it's green slopes ell grow
ing momently more distinct in the Frightening
auushne. There was the old glamour of beau
~, but there as something wanting the old
sights were there, bLt not the old sounds. A
strange silence reigned all about the place that
fell like an ache on Eflen's heat, and ere long
sent her back with fast filling eyes to ut
herself ipt> the empty house. In vain she 'old
herself that as far ss the house was concerned
Her mother would return happier han size
had ever been before, aud there would sroa he
visits from bride and bridegroom, and new iu
aerests and pleasures and occupations would
spring up, making Happy. go lucky Lodge a
centre of happy life again. AS she was quite
alone Ellen thought she might spare at least
halfhsr thoughts from the joyous event of the
day that occupied every body else entirely, and
give herself up for a little space of time to
ommuLing with the past, to waudeIipg about
Tho tutTet rooms, aud in and ont II Aune's
hsuptB and IN imag ginAtlon peopliug them wi th
the figures and faces SO familiar to them once,
Sut which they would now know no more.
This at least was her uppeTmost train of
shongtt ns she crept larguldly up aud down
stairs and stood for half an hour to gether look
ing csntly round the sitting rCome.
Visions of Anue, and Peter Lynch and Con
nor, aud MuTdock Mslacby seemed t. fill her
mind to tho exclusion of everything else; and
yet if she bad spoken out aloud the thought
that wei bed heaviest on her lie art, and SEEM
ed to uuteIlne aud form q dark background
to all her sad recollect ons, she would have re-
peated 8 sentence that had fallen from Pei
hams LIS on the previous evening, when he
had asked her advice ou tie plea that his old
adviser, John Thornley,, would slon be alto
gether out of reach, since be and Bride had
decided starting on their foreign tour i'm.
nediAteiy after the wedding. The house would
net miss them; they could not be reckoned
among lite old freq uenters; their faces and fig
nres had no right to come among the throng
which E!len's fancy called mp, and whose
At sance she nourned over and yet she could
not deny to herself that II Was the thooRot OF
their desertion that msde the future she pict-
ured herself as leading In these rooms, so empty
Of Interest, full of cares too heavy for her to
hear alone.
Towards afternoon she lay down on . sofa
by the turret window and, quite worn out with
the agitation of the morning, fell asleep, and
Blept for some time, till about an hour before
sunset she was awakened by the sound of
horses hoOfs on the bridge. She had told her
self great many times during the day that
she most not hope for news from Castle DAILY
till the next morning, No one could be ex-
pected TO come out to the Hollow such q
busy day merely for the sake of saving her a
few hours solitude and to give her the morn
iug's news little earlier than her mother
eonld bring il. s had told herself this many
times, Yet " en- the turret room door opened,
and John Thornley, ent gred with a bridal
bouquet in his hand, and good news written
on his face, she did not feel exactly surprised
she all at once understood that she would have
been bitterly disappointed and very unhappy
indeed If he had failed to come.
Lesbia bad sent Ellen her brides bouquet,
John explained, and Ellen, taking il from his
hand hnriad her face the hl0a-