The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1879-10-10
SHOOTING THE RAPIDS.
IFrom cassell,s Magazine.l

SHOOTING THE RAPIDS.
from Casselps Magazine.l
"Curious, isn't it, how the old customs still
hold their own? Here is the fashion of penance
by pilgrimage still in vogue, with the additional
aggravation of calling it travelling for pleasure"
"Well, Edward" said a sweet voice, "that's
very pretty compliment to us-your companions.
/ think / ought to make you do penance for
that"
"That's right, Miss Wentworth, keep him in
order" chimed in a third speaker. However,
going abroad has this one advantage for us Eng
lish, that there sometimes venture to
seem amused without thereby committing the
seven deadly sins in one"
Such was the chin which passed among the
group of four-two ladies and two gentlemen
seated at lunch on the balcony OF the Hotel du
Rhin, at Schaffhausen, one sunny afternoon in
the month of May. The first speaker was a
fine looking young man of three-and twenty,
whose comely features, dark, curling hair and
tall well-shaped figure amply bore out the name
of Handsome Ned" given hum by his intimates.
Young, rich and good looking, popular with the
high and low, in the plentitude of health and
vigor, lately betrothed to the charming girl
whose soft, lustrous eyes were watching him half
tenderly, half archly from the other side of the
board-Viscount Montague might fairly account
himself an extremely lucky fellow. But upon
that bright, young face, and manly as it was,
brooded the doomed look that haunts one in the
portraits of Montrose, of Claverhouse, of Charles
l., ominously bearing out the gloomy tradition
current among the elders of his native country,
that "the last of the Montagues" was SO in
double sense, and that with him the grand old
line which had left its mark upon every age of
English history since the days of the Tudors was
doomed to pass away forever.
Beside him sat his inseparable associate, Sed-
ley Burdett, whose square, muscular figure and
frank, sunburnt face, looked the embodiment of
Young England at its best Side by side the two
young men had shot buffaloes on America prai-
ries, stalked through Canada forests,
'bowled over royal tigers in Bengal, and hob
nobbed with negro kings on the coast of Africa,
and they were now, taute de nsieur, escorting the
"Flower of Kent" and her mother On the inevi-
table tour through Switzerland, not without a
secret hope that some unscaled mountain might
afford them chance of breaking their necks in
the good old British way.
..Did YOU see how old Johann eyed me as he
broughtin the lunch ?" said Montague "He's
evidently devout believer in the Continental
creed, that Englishmans natural pastime is
to knock somebody down, or set house on fire,
or make a heavy bet that he'll jump headfore-
most out of the window, and then do it forth
with"
"Or," laughed Burdett, sjust what Dr.
Buchanan said to me yesterday: fMein Herr,
those countrymen of yoursP When | was prac-
ticing in Saxony, had no peace for them! First
thing in the morning, king! king! at my door,"
..What is it?" "An Englander, who has broken
his leg in trying to ecae the Teufels-horn, which
No one ever assembled yet" 1 set the Herr
Englanders leg and am making him comfortable,
when klingl king! again, "W hat now?" "An
Englander nearly drowned in swimming across
the Elbe on a wager" | wrap the Herr Eng
lander in hot blankets and bring him to. Before
half an hour is over, king! king once more.
"Mein Herr! what's the matter?" Gan Eng
lander, who has broken blood vessel in trying
to run twelve miles an hour, because somebody
said he couldn't" @Mein Herr, am sorry to
have to say it, but your countrymen are equally
devoid of fear and reason"
"But you won't do any more of these horrible
things now, Edward" said Marion Wentworth,
entreatingly; "you promised to be more careful,
you know, while you were with US"
"Don't be frightened. my child,' answered the
viscount, with his gay laugh; 'Ibelieve me,
have no intention of being killed any sooner
than is necessary. Would you believe it, Sed?
this unreasonable young woman is making her
self miserable, and daily expecting notification
to attend my funeral, on no better grounds than
an old monks prophecy"
"An old monks prophecy ?" echoed Buniett.
inquiringly.
"What, haven't you heard of IT 2" cried Mon
tague. "Well, this is a treat, TO find one man TO
whom that story's new. You must know las
those fellows in Sanford and Merton keep say
ing) that the estate which Harry the Eighth
bestowed upon my respective ances.or, Sir An
thony Browne, included Battle Abbey and the
lands belonging to it; and mighty short work he
made of the poor old monks, if all tales be true.
whispered that one monk still remained in the
old walls, and that be was not to be driven out
by either king or lord.'
"My word" cried Burdett, "that's just the
Black Friar of Norman Stone over again. Do
YOU remember with what dramatic energy our
old tutor used to repeat that verse:
"tBeware beware, of the Black Friari
He still retains his sway,
For he is still the Church's heir,
Whoe'er may be the lay,
Amundeville is lord by day,
- But the monk is lord by night;
Nor wine nor wassal can raise a vassal
To question that friars right"
"Well," pursued Montague, "when my worthy
forefather into his property, the first thing
he did was to give big dinner in the great hall
of Battle Abbey Gf he found it half as tire
some as the dinner had to give when came of
age, the impiety must have been its own avenger),
and they lighted up the old place with perfect
blaze of torches, and held high revel till midnight
And then all of sudden, chill of blast wind
came moaning through the hall, making all the
old banners and mail-coats along the wall clank
and rustic; and the hugh door swung slowly
open, and in the midst of the guests, no one
could see whence or how, appeared the shrouded
figure of tall monk. 1t glided like a shadow
up to the dias where my ancestor was seated, and
said, in Deep hollow voice that seemed to make
the very torches grow pale as it spoke:
Anthony of Cowdray thou hast enriched
thy self with the spoils of Gods Church, and for
this deed His judgments are upon thee and
thine. As snow melts in the sunshine, SO shall
thy race decay, until the end comes; and it shall
come suddenly, in one day, by fire and by waterP"
1t was strange enough to note how Montagues
light tone deepened into tragic soiemnity as the
dismal tale proceeded, and how the shadowy i'm
press of doom on his handsome face came out
palmer and palmer with every word. The anx-
ious look in Marion Wentworths eyes grew into
absolute terror as he ended: and she seemed
about to speak when The walters entrance with a
dish of fruit interrupted her.
AS he entered, Mrs. Wentworth, evidently |
wishing to change the subject, spoke to him.
"Water, wheD did you say the night illumi- |
nation of the falls was to be?'
Thursday week, gracious lady; but it will |
hardly be as good as the one we had lastyear, |
when they sent big boat over the falls, hung all
round with lanterns"
1Was there anybody in her2' asked Montague.
"What do you say, MILFORD? ?" gasped the old
man, with stare of amazement.
"Was there anybody in the boat p !