The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1878-09-12
Shooting the Rapids.

Shooting the Rapids.
"Curious, isn't IL, how the old Gus
toms still bold their own? Here is
the fashion of pennance by pilgrimage
still in vogue, with the additional ag-
grsvatiOn of calling il travelling for
pleasure. ,"
"Wsll, Edward - said q sweet voice,
''that's 3 very pretty com mpliment to
us-YOUr companions. / think !
ought to make you do pennance for
that"
"That's right, Miss Wentworth,
keep him in order" chimed in a third
speaker. "HoweveT, going abroad
| has this one advantage for us Eng
| lish, that there We sometimes venture
to seem amused without thereby
com mitJiDg tue seven deadly siEs in
one"
such was the chat which passed
among the group Of iour-two ladies
and Two RenJlemEn-seated at lunch
on the balcony of the Hotel du Rhin,
at SchsffhAu,en, one sunny afternoon
IN the latter part OF May. The first
speaker WIS fine-lOOkirg young
! man of ftnIee.zBd-twenty,w whOse come
iy features, dark, curly hsir, and tall,
well-shRped figure, amply bore out the
name OF "HEDdsOme Ned" given
him by mis- IntlmsLes. Young, rich,
good blocking, popular with high and
low, in the plentItude of health and
vigOr, lately betrothed to the charm
ing girl whose soft lustrOus eyes were
watching tenderly, half Srchly, from
the other side of the board-Viscount
Montague might Iairly account him
self an extremely lucky fellow. But
upOE that bright young face, firm and
manly as It was, broOded the doomed
look which heunts one in the pOr-
traits OF MOntrOse, Of Claverhouse, of
Charles L--ominOusly bearing out the
gloomy tradition among the elders of
his native county, that 'the last of
the MOntagues" was so in q dOuhle
sense, and that with him the grand
old line which had left its mark upon
every age of English history since the
days of tina TudOrs was doomed to
pass away forever.
Beside him sat his insepRrable as
sOciate, Sidney Burdett, whose square
muscular figure and frank, sunburnt
face looked the very embodiment of
Young England at its best. Side ty
side, the two young men had shot buf-
| falces on American praIries, stalked
moose through Canadian forests,
"bowIed over" royal tigers in Bengal,
and hOb-nObbed with negro kings on
the coast of Africa, and they were
fGute de nlielLr, escOrting their "FlOW-
er Of Kent" and her mother on the
inevitable tour through Switzerland,
1Ot without secret hope that some un-
scaled mountain might afford them a
chance of breaking their necKs in the
good old British way.
"Did you see how old Johann eyed
me as he brought in the lunch ?n said
Montague. "He's evidently a devOut
believer in the continental creed, that
an EnRlishman's natural pastime is
to knock somebody down, or set q
house on Ere, or make q heavy bet
that he'll jump heedfUrmost out OF
the window, and then do it forth
with"
AYE" laughed Burdett, 'Just what
DR.. Buchman said to me yesterday !:
iMien Herr, those cOUntrymen of
yours When was prscticing in Sax
Ony, had no peace for them first
thing in the morning, king king
at my door. "WhaI is it 2" IAN Eng
lander who bas broken his leg In try
ing to scale the Teufels-horn, which
no one has ascended yet" I set the
the Herr Englsnder's leg, and am
| making him comfortable, when klinRl
king! again. "What now ?" "An
Englander. nearly drowned in swim
ming the EIbe for wager I wrap
| the Herr E0glander in hot blapkets,
and bring him TO. Before a bali ali
hour is over, king killing once
more. "Mein Herr ! what's the lat
| ter ?" IAN Englsnder, who has brOk-
en- Q bIOod-vessel in trying to run
twelve miles an hour, because some
body said he eoaldn't." Meiu Herr,
am sorry to have to say it, tUt your
cOuntrymen are equally devoid Of
fear and Of reason
"But you won't do any more OF
those horritle things now, Edward"
said Marion Wentworth, ,entreatingly;
''yOu promised to be most careful, you
know, while you were with us
"DOn't be frightened, my child"
answered the VisGOunt, with his gay
laugh "belieVe me, have no inten-
ton of being L He'd any sooner than
it is necessary. Would you believe il,
Sed ? this unressoD able young woman
is making herself miserable, and daily
expecting 8 notification to attend my
funeral, en- no better grounds than
an old monks prophecy"
"An old monks prophecy >" echoed
Burdett, inquiringly.
"Wh8t, havn't you heard of it ."
cried Montague. "Well this is treat,
to find one to whom that story's new.
You must know then(ss those fellows
lin Sanford and Merton keep saying,
that the estate which Harry the
Eighth bestowed on my respected an
cestor, Sir Anthony Browne, included
Battle Abbey, and the lands belong
ing to it; and mighty short work he
made Of the poor old monks, IL sll the
tales be tue. But after they were
compelled, it began to be whispered
that one old monk remained in the
old walls, and that he was not to be
driven out by either King or lord"
my word :" cried Burdett, "that's
just tie Black Friar of Normrn Stone
over again. Do you remember with
what dramatic energy our old tutol
used TO repeat that verse
beware, beware of the Black Friar
He still retains his sway,
For he is stin the Church's heir.
Who ere may be t he lay.
AmundeVille is lord by day,
Bat the monk is lord by night;
Nor wine nor waSSail can raise a vassaI
To question that frisr's right"
"Well," pursued Montague, "wheI
my worthy fOrefsther came into hi
property, the first thing be did wa
10 give big dinner in the great hal
OF Battle Abbey (if he found it hal
as tirssome as the dinner I had Il
give when came of age, the impIety
must have been his own svenger)
and they lighted up the old plsc
with q perfect blaze of torches, anC
held high revel till midnight. Ant
: then, all of q sudden, chill blast O
wind came moaning through tn,
hall, making sll the old banners an
o i nsii-cOats GlOng the wall clsnk an
. rustic; and the hpge door swun
slowly open, and IN the midst of tn
guests, no one could see whence O
lhoW, appeared the shrouded figure @