The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-09-10
THE DOVES TOWER.

the old tower manor houses, ana dated from
the sixteenth century but the owners of Ia
ter generations, finding it decidedly uncom-
Portable had altered and added, painted
papered, boarded and bricked until it was an
architectural nightmare, calculated to strike
terror to She heart of any devOut antiquarian.
However, there was romance, antiquity,
and picturesqueneSS still left in the land
Not far away was an old oratory made, as
they told me, for / was not clever enough to
find it out for myself, without mortar or ce-
ment of any sort, and with its stones all so
daintily fitted together that it had withstood
the suns and rains of all the centuries be-
tween the twelfth and the fifteenth. On the
nearest hill arose a great gray, mouldering
castle, invaluable to amateur artists who
sketch from nature There was an An
glo-Norman chapel quite within sight, and
farther away, in what looked like the dry bed
of lake, stood a queer, rough stone tower,
from the top of which one could get a fine
view of the country, particularly Of the road
which led to Tralee. Indeed the first few
weeks l spent in Ireland were devoted to the
seeing of antiquities, and l even went out to
some of the little islands along the shore to
see the rough oval structures that are called
beehive houses. liked the country it was
romantic; its gentry were refined and hospi-
table, and its peasantry picturesque. There
was certainly great deal of bog land, and
there were a great many beggars, but we
were happily able to avoid the first and bring
blessings on our heads by giving small coin
and cold victuals to the last, who instantly
became happier than kings,
Our hearts were light, and we were young
and very much in love, and we were willing
to swear that Ireland was paradise.
1t is the experience of every pair OF lovers
{ that without any evident reason, with moth
ing in the surroundings to cause the effect,
some special day, some particular. hour, seems
happier than any other. The two draw
nearer to each other-are more utterly con-
tent they can remember the fact all their
lives, and neither can tell why it was that
they loved better and were more deliciously
happy just then than at at any other time.
y day such as this, whole, perfect day,
came to my husband and me. 1t was that on
which we went to visit the old tower. We
went alone and on foot; we climbed the
manycrooked and broken steps hand in hand.
At last we stood on the summit and looked
out upon the lovely picture spread before us,
The pictures nature paints are always fine.
( This seemed to be her masterpiece. Below
us lay spread the emerald fields, the deep
green woods beyond Were the purple noun
tains silver water caught the sunbeams, and
a hoary castle crowned the summit of the hill
beyond while over US lay sky as blue as
that of Italy. But it was not only the beauty
of the place that thrilled us Turning from
. ;t
seemed as though for the fl rst time we knew
how dear we were to each other
"Does Love dwell here 2" thought and
suddenly my husband drew me to his breast
ana held me closely. There we uttered not
a word, but each knew the thoughts of the
other.
All was silent; the tapping of the beck be-
low. and the faint lowing of the browsing
kline, were unheard where we stood but in
a little while the stiffness was broken by a
strange sound-a musical sort of sobbng or
guTgling-that seemed very near to us. On
me it had the effect of something supcrnatu-
raj. / started, trembled, and clung to Ed
ward S arm but lie, not susceptible to such
impressions, sought at once for a natural
reason for the sound, and in moment more
had found it.
On the parapet of the tower dove had
perched itsef-a beautiful mottled thing
1t was this that had uttered the sound. Ny
husband took it in his hand it seemed quite
tame, and to desire caresses. In a little
while it allowed me to take it and even nest
! led in my bosom.
Il will take it home," | said 'and since
( this old place has no name that know of, l
will shristen it Doves Tower -
Soon after we had eaten the lunch we had
brought with US we descended the crooked
stairs again. They tottered beneath our feet.
They were without doubt rather dangerous,
but we were light Of heart and light of foot,
and enjoyed the fun nightly. The dove
futteTed in the handkerchief in which had
imprisoned her. and crooned and cooed dis
tractedly.
mo, no." l cried laughingly. "You can
not get away. 1 believe you are Love him
+ self in disguise, and l mean to take you
home and cage you"
/ did. 1 named it Cupid, and so the little
creature became family pet. l am not sure
( that an ornithologist would have called her a
! dove, but take my permission from the po-
/ cts Assuredly ] have read of "carrier
dove" This proved to be an actual fact-a
carrier pigeon. One of those pigeons whose
/ love of home is so great that it may be trnst-
/ ed to return to it from any possible distance
| loved my dove better when knew its ma
ture, for their was romance about its very
name. Lovers have used the carrier pigeon
as their pOstman, when all sorts of obstacles
! lay between them, and other messengers
1 were false, and it has flown with messages oi
/ import into many a beseiged town, or sur
! rounded camp We amused ourselves by
! sending our carrier pigeon to each other with
messages. Now from the arbor, now from
/ the river bank, now from the hill From
: either place she returned with the little billet
( fastened to her foot, by its silkcn thread, a>
surely as the white dove Of old returned t.
! the ark ana waiting Noah. Finally, Edward
took her with him to Traee, and sent hel
home with letter. / found her ON the libra
ry window, heI small head on one side, hel
round eyes fixed upon the panes, and wheT
had cut the thread that Held my darling
note, she flew into her great wicker cage "a
into haven of peace. After that we per
mitted her to have complete liberty, and twi
light always found her on the sill of the Ii
brary window.
For three months after our arrival at tn,
manor-house Edward and were never apar
as many hours at a time. One day, however
there came to him a letter from a friend