The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-11-15


 dsty. His passieo fns his ne~- found love sooa grew to be as constant e the 6res cf nights eternal stars. and long ere his locks were touched by the frosty hand oi Time, he was old-a wreck upon the crimson waves of crime, quickly but surely drifting on to that dark and fatal shore from which no beacon or ray of light can ever shine. Voices be knew in otber days called to him through the darkness, from sunny selds afar, "Comc
 back! Come back and live once more,
 a purer and happier life, whose close on earth H but the dawn of brighter one in heaven r But Folly, pausing n her wayvard flight, pointed upward in scorn toward the heavens ard assured him that no jewel of immortality sparkled there
 He sank lower and lover The gilded halls of gaiefy in which al first he reveled, ssw hIm no more, but through the lower hAunts of v-ae there wandered a ragged, bioased creature, a d,ss us,ing blight upon Gods fair earth. piteousiy beseechIng of each ~ay farei that which would purchase one more holiow, cursed dream of pleasure-a dream through whose mares only he could nov hold communion with that creature fair, who, upon that sunny morning, bade him drink. and leave behind world of care.
 The dying dreamer moaned as ,hi. picture was absorbed by the shadow of stll darker one. He was walking hand in hand with that fair ench sntress through the streets of a ruined city. Everything about them bore traces of neglect. Houses had fallen into ruin and decay hissing serpents crawled laz.ly through the dAIk weeds and grasses that grew about them and upon the streets and pathways; trees once green were withered and deal., and up- ward and around their trunks and branches the poison ivy and woodbine &"A$o. On eAC a$2o anu Siieut Wa1efS of the harbor ships lay rosting at their rusty anchors. Saiis that long ago had hlled with the breeze of distant seas, now hung isdess and still, like winding sheets among the spectral spars and shrouds- No souAd came through the twilight from the other shore, nor human voice heard he. He looked about him for some evidence of life, bus save the croaking vultures that hoyered above them in the oppressive twiligh, air, they were alone. They wandered along untii they came 10 once magnificent cathe- dral, now crune,ing into ruins. They en- tered the door of the chapel and passed into the interior of the church where a strange sight met hts view. it vas illu- minated by a strange, weird hght that made the surroundings look dismal ar.d unearthly. He looked about him, and beheld sight that made his blood run cold. The mouldy pews and aisles were filled =:sh 2 strange and gho<tly con- gregatiop attiied in the habiliments of the grave. Youth and old age jossled each other in their efforts to obs.i. a glimpse of him as he passed on toward the altar, at which stood priest clothed in the mouldy vestments of a long gone time. Faces that in life had glo~ed with health and beauty, now wore a sunken, ashen aspect Eyes that once flashed with the fires of animation, nov looked | upon him with dull, lusserless stare. | In that spectral throog he saw youth and l maiden promenade and engage in coz versation grave and gay. whose voices l sounded like echoes from the depths of | chasm. The fair enchantess led him on through the shadowy throng until | they stood before the altar. An eppres- sive and deathlike silence reigned while he, still young, though bowed and de crepis, was welded ts tha, phantom beauty, who has ever through countless ages preserved all those bewitching charms that lure men on to ruin, dis grace ard death.
 He turned to salute his bride, but in stead of behoiding the fascinating beauty of moment before, he nov gaze6 upon a shastl., grinning spectre. In her bony hand she held aloft the same golden cup from which he drank On that morning % long ago. From its depths arose vapor that as it aoased upward, formed the word Accursed r in characters of living flame He tried to flee, but could not move. One by one the ghostly forms passed him. Az they did %, men. young and old pointed to his dessroyes, and in hollow voices She once,