Morris tribune., 1882-09-21
ERNA.

Deep blue eyes, large and tender uu5 III, and
- shining of golden hair, lips as exquisite as
ever were sung by poet, and lending by their
great beauty the browning charm to an almost
perfect face. This vision that frightened for
me my life in the grim old manor-house might
have been Psyche, lighted upon English ground
In her search for Cupid, but Psyche to whom
Love. as vet, was nothing but name.
would have given life itself to have heard
her in the last hour of it confess mo dear to
her, to have had one kiss from those perfect
lips, as lay dying, pressed on mine But
when had half limited at my ma lness, half
! lookedit she had shruuk from me, and snatch
4 ing hand from the clasp in which prisoned it.
a had said to me very decidedly: No, Gerald.
d 1fyou would not have me remember how very
distant our cousinship is, never dare speak Of
this to me again" And l never had, being in
4 my love for her very much of coward; but
the eager hunger was always there. And she
cav it, think, and seemed sometimes half to
MOCK at sometimes to resent my Iowa
1t was happiness happiness, though, that
came strangely near to paln-to be thrown so
much IN her society as in the summer that fol-
& lowed her curt rejection of nv suit l had
& been dung in a wrestled for honOrs atCambridge
s and had reaped fever instead, which had near
y ly landed me where failure cannot disturb When.
l had tottered few feeble steps back from
came to me great happiness Erua and had
met until now only during the rare visits that
q E~ father paid to the pretty villa, west from
) London, whore my mother had lived quietly
8 during the ten. years of her widow hood. They
q wee distant cousins, and had been lovers long
ago; or rather on his side there had been love,
family responded to on hers; and at last she
b ID broken of the engagement with plea
of relationship. He left her, and for many
years they did not meet again; bat think
i ha wa ah a al n Nr m ~
get .t-
How is it when into orr life there comes a
bitterness like this-wben we marry, ana wax
Sing in the dead of night not the face that
lilies on the marriage pillow beside Us, but other
eyes that look on Us tsnderlv and sweetly out
of the darkness OF the long ago: put ques-
tons of this kind to myself many times, l well
remember, in the summer when the happiness
speak of came to me-that time when her
fathers invitation to visit the old Devon manor
house being given and accepted Erna andilved
week after week under the same gray roof and
= gathered strength in drinking in light that
laughed on me from her ewes, and strolled with
her in the Devon woods or tioated with oar and
sail amid the dream like loYeliness of the
Dart
& She had kindness, tenderest, gayest temper
eli the time that niue still but the ghost of
3 life; but as changed gradually 10 something
more nearly resembling my old self, Erna be-
gan to change, too, anu was presently Almost
she same strange, provoking gIrl l had known
: IN DAYS when LAID my heart at Ler feet only
20 be trSmpled on. would not repeat the fol-
aly; to be scorned once by any lips, however
lovely, was enough.
We were alone in the garden ono morning.
and was thinking this and at the same time
how rare was the beauty OF her faca, whey she
looked up and our eyes met Sac did not
blush or turn from the glance that was bend
ing on her. but OILY smiled mockiag!y-a smile
that passed next moment INTO laugh, ~ wick
sdly provoking as herself l was turning AWAY
hurt, scarcely knew why, when she stopped
me with an iulperiOus bidding,
Gerald" she said, ''if you care to come
with me to the Wiustanley room, I am just in
the umor for telling you its legend I can
tell il nowhere but IL the room it,e.f.N
Il he haunted chamOer?" cue+uOued, in
dolently. Il am nos in the humor Erua, ii
you are; the mornings too bright 10 be spent
anywhere but cut of doors, and the story 5 Ger
talnlv old enough to keep. I'm for STAYING here
in this glorious old garden, and taucyinS it
Eden, and you its Eve"
Stay, then" she said, with pout, and NOV
cd away.
Watched her passing farther and farther
from me, towards ;ne house Great roses
were all about me. the air was faint with the
doors of tie honcysuck!e, and overhead thick
branches drooped caresslngr, aud only left
lere and there an opening !Or the burning
% shine through. In a moment, it seemed -
ne, all would be sad and dropping; for in
moment more all that made the Sagcsen fair to
ne would have passed from il with her She
urned however as she reached the green
Jroken steps that led up to the terrace before
ne house, and seeing me rise and move to-
ards her. hesitated mumeat, and than came
lowly back
- $50 you are coming after all, sho said, IN
rs.iously.
Yes, I'm comirg," echoed. ':And I'll lis
n patiently to anything you like to infict on
e, Erna, beEinnins with FAe ghost that
alks at night in"
'.Wiustanley's ghost, you mean" she inter
tpted. He does walk-he has been seen al
asst once in every generation of Heathcotts
nee the time of his master, Godfrey Heath
ut You laugh at me, she continued, flash
- defiance IN her great eyes, but tel you
believe in hinl--n his haunting the house
here his death was the cause of his mas
RS"
ssWhy should he haunt it9 It can't DO .
ieasure 10 him, should imagine. to haunt O
lace whore, i!yuu AID your legends are to be
'usted his dying incorv enieuty was the
Godfrey Heathcott dyinS aso Does
hope that ii tue course of q few centuries
Mis- masters .emains-thev are hidden away
,mewhere, are they not--nay become unsub-
antial enough FOR even aghost to giye them
lrialg"
you dull. silly fellow! know what old
Instantly would want to show me, bat Ish nd
n at the very thought of passing night IN
at horrible room they name after him.
''And what would he want to show you?" 1
ked.
The secret of the secret chamber to be sure
-, would lead the way TO that part of the house
lere it lies; and then if / had courage enough
follow him, he would indicate to me in his
/ ostly pantomime how to enter it-show me
lere the spring is and how it works. Then,
had the still greater courage to look in, l
ould see-oh /! l should see" pressing her
/ nds with gesture of mimic terror before
/ reyes-"bones lying there-the bones of that
liant and noble gentleman that We Heath
it's are 30 proud to think was our ancestor"
: looked at her, uncertain as to how much Of
speech was jest, how much earnest puz-
"a to know whether she put faith in the fami-
ghost or not 'You would not dare to sleep
the room they call Winstsnleys." l ques-
,ned, "Are you so superstitious, Erna, az to
" that seriously?'
Erna darted at me her most indignant glance
way of acknowledgement of my. question
Are you so great hero yourself Gerald
! lat you would care to sleep in it," she asked
! l''You forget, said lightly, 'sthat have not
len this chamber of horrors vet"
s'See it now, theu," she flashed out "Come
tn me, and tell me if you would care to have
for your own while you stay here"
E3he ran of before could answer; and fol-
| lived slowly to the house, and found her after
line minutes search, returning from the
use-keeper's private sanctum." Now" she
Id, holding up key that left deep stains of
ri st on her dainty fngers-"now for the
united room!"
was not thinking of it, or the legend con-
tied with it, as I followed here there.
W could think of room and legend
i,turies old with that fair young face
ide me? Sweet face-grown some
Ing more matroniy now than in the
Al g. H. x,erk k-k