Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1881-02-25
ST. AGNES EVE.

1
And turn s0ul-thoughted to one lady there,
Whose heart had brooded all that wintry day,
On love, and wingd st. Agnes sanity care.
"And this is St. Agnes Eve" said
Mabel Hastings, laying down the vol
ume Of Keats poems she had been
reading aloud to her cousin Millicent.
ooh, Milly, let us try some charm to-
night"
II would gladly, Mabel, had but the
courage"
.'Courdge, Child, what have we to
fear? And grandma won't know.
She'll be fast asleep before the witch
ing hour Of midnight-the time for
tie performance Of spells and charms.
But what further says Keats on the
subject?
As supperless to bed they must retire
| Nor look behind or sideways, but require
| Of heaven, with upward eye, for all that they
desire
My dear Nab, if l saw anything, l
should scream loud enough to awaken
the Seven Sleepers. "
"Milly, what little goose you are!
| Now / shall take Norah into my conf
dence and bid her to say | have Il
headache, if Mr. Durnford and his
nephew make one Of their neighborly
visits"
And if they should, Mrs. Hastings
will play piquet with the old gentle
man, and Arthur will be so disconsolate
in your absence, ii will he out of my
power t, entertain him. But, Nab,
wherefore raise up these fearful, shad-
Il M gt.npl,, II Ia ~ III ,nal
| ity is prepared to throw himself at
your feet2 HimscT,' did ! say Them
seires, rather There's Arthur Durn-
ford handsome, gentlemanly, wealthy
the owner Of Fins House. There's
Raymond Carr"
Yes, one for each finger; for | see
you are SO preparing to count them;
and all come here and make llattering
speeches. But the only one 1 care for
rarely enters these doors, and makes
no sign, either by word or look, that
am aught to him. Yet | think he loves
mo, and it is to know that sweet truth
that | would fain try some spell upon
this st. Agnes Eve"
wait, in patience, Mabel Perhaps
he has found no opportunity to reveal
MS SentlmentS!
He never will. lie is poor, and
am rich"
What is to lie done how surmount
the difficulty
1T is insurmountable; unless, like a
story we once read, it came to light
that some other was the Chdteidine of
grand old Ravenscliif, and | only poor
founding. Now, AIilly, you know all
my little romance
THE commencement only, dear.
May the Fates send a happy ending"
The entrance of Norah interrupted
their conversation. She was pretty,
bright Irish girl, and had lived some
time ut Ravenscliff having been en-
lployed to assist Mrs. Brand, the house
keeper, during the absence of the fam
ily--now very small one, consisting
of Mrs. Hastings and her orphan grand
daughter, Millicent Grey being merely
Il visitor.
Mabels mother had died in Italy,
whittier she had been ordered, too late
the fell disease -consumption-to
which she was 50 predisposed. Her
father She had lost in her childhood.
| TO Norah-who, upon Mrs Hastings
return TO Ravenschif, had been installed
as her granddaughter maid-the two
girls now related the former portion Of
their dialogue.
" An shure,' was her reply, . if
there's Il Twin sowl knows all about the
spells an the fairies, It's meself But,
me ladies, yeu should run down to the
ould haunted well near Clifton Lane,
where, upon midsummers night, an
Hallow Fen, an, this blissid st. Agnes
Eve, you'll see the face Of your future
husband. Indade, an its thrue"-
they looked incredulous-" for me Sis
thur, who then lived ut home, went
there a year since this very night"
And did she see any one, Norah?"
Troth an she did, Miss Milly-
i young man who was ,l-laning over
the well, making behave to draw her
draught Of the water; but whin about
10 take it, there wur nothin' but q
branch of the green ivy in her hand.
| An only mouth after, me sisthur
met the very same young man in his
proper from, and now they're married,
an happy as the days are long"
The sound of the dinner-bell put an
end to Norah's recital. and in tie pre-
sence of Mrs. Hastings the conversation
flowed into widely different channels.
Then, later in the evening, for they
had no company upon that occasion,
the old lady and the two younger ones
adjourned to the library, where Mabel
wiled her grandmother into relating
tales and legends of the olden DAYS.
Ravenschff was situated upon an
eminence III one of the northern coun-
ties Of England, surrounded by great
woods; OIL one side, in the far distance,
rose a range Of hills, while on the other
NTH be discerned the blue line Of the
scean.
But in the fair spring days many
grassy nook, spangled with wild flowers,
could be found within those dark woods.
where the little brooklet sang as it warl-
dered along, and the birds echoed its
sweet Song-'twas little wonder that
some of the latent superstitions of the
north countrie" fingered amidst such
surroundings.