Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1882-11-15

II
candle ia tho other=noboiy else NIL 10
it-ald your tue love viii eome ana
look Oyet your shoulder, aud let you sec
hls face in the glass
fiha shook her head, and would have
held hack,
"Oh, no dignity hersP T. cried ono
0Are you 80 much shove curiosity ~ 70
who your true'lOye isi ,,
"And II IL gOuT turn" siid q thifl,
ave have all tried all the Others
while you have been m0plng WIN huHt
Cherry and II isn't fair Laura, iof you
to sit by and eriilelse-" on,
III never eriieise," said laura, "dlye
me my candle, Where is tho glasS
IiersS How many Of the cellars musl !
90 d0WnS The whole threer For
there we're three OF them, QUO below
another, the esp aal and vel stocked
pride Of tho old ChauneeioEth o. OIL 10
his days Of hpspitsble glory, 'YoH are
not afrailY they called after her, .
"Afmid |" she called back, seorbially
Az II there were anything could hur' h'f
now
Aud while they waited, watching their
apples spuller III the ho( ashes, and tell
ing nnhallowed Halloween stories, she
had gone on heg pilgrimage, .,
What q strange place this old hall
was, she thought ~ she descended
How long was Il since any ono had been
down among these swinglng eobhtb.
and under these great stone 'au'ta
She went along merely for the sake oI
doing as she was bldden, and haldly
thlnklng OF looking IN the mir or, when,
half way down the second flight, black
Sigh seemed TO gather In the distant TO-
ceases. and to breathe upon her rom
nowhere, The flame Of the candle iliekef'
ed In her hand Her glance fell upon
tho glass, and the,o o face lad flashed
upon her sight, and flashed away again
"A luminous, ialI lace, though 40 pale
"A face that should be worn now o. ly
10y some strong spirit In the world be'
yond tho grave. "0hl" she cried, bc'
lore she thought-"oh, II you are here
IL you are hcre-let mo know, aud
take me with YOU"
And the next minute, "'As the queen
said, 10 was II done" cried u half
amothorcd voice.
Her candle fell upon the floor and
there were two arms Rbont her, aud
kisses covering her face and hands
warm, loving. throbbing hissca; no
touch OF death, or damp, or grayo'mo!d
ahvu. them. -,
"lIush hushw he murmured. ~
am in hiding l have escaped from
Libby, aud / came resolved to SEQ You
or 40 back. Your cousin Ben Chauncc'
forth Is waiting to get M over tho
border whenever l shall have seon You
and say tho word. And say the word
For | have found you out; and as !
have loved you sweet, know in spite
oil you that you love me, And-l will
make IL easy for you'll saved your lie,
and you must needs savo mine, for !
swear that unless y;u give mo hero and
now your promise to marry me, | will
20 up these stairs and deliver myself
into tho hands Of Who aro they
Tufts? Tucker? Armstrong; Ran.
dolph p the whole countryside OF
them - And he scratched match, and
bent down to light her candle.
How the world had changed What
rosy warmth and light did this candle
shed about it under the huge founda'
tions of that dark old manor She
looked mp at that white face, no great
archangel's, but her lovers, alive, and
thrilling her with love OF him. "Will
YOU wait till | come back?' she said,
and had left him. What mattered the
wars and battles and soldiers OF the
world to her? She loved him. He was
her world.
"What is the matter" they cried,
over their games, as she rejoined them.
"What has happened to you9 What
makes you so white" {"
81 have seen II ghost" she answered
them. And then she colored rosy.red,
and she sat down and took an apple
from the dish, and peeled it, and threw
tho skin over her head. "1t makes q
IT," she said.
~ knew it would" sail Tufts.
"Where is papa?" she asked present
ly. ~ wonder il he has gone to sleep
in the little parlor with nothing over
him p
A moment or two afterward she stood
before the old Judge, who looked up
from his little brown newspaper and
over his spectacles in surprise. "Papa,"
she whispered, kneeling, at his side,
"you said once I had better have mar
ried some one than be as am"
II say so now," he answered her.
"You are a justice Of the peace, are
you not?' she asked. "Then come and
marry me-"
She hung on his neck moment in a
passion oil Joy and sorrow, for she meant
to bid him farewell for year and day,
and if tho new love was the sweeter,
the old love had been sweet too. But
the JOY was uppermost, and Martha
would care for her father till she should
come again. And there surely never
was q happier bridal, although there
nay have been gayer one, than when,
before husband and wife rode away to
gether into absolute security, Laura
Durndon held the candle where the
shadows of the arches of the vast cellar