Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-12-20
A CHRISTMAS PEAL.
q, uARUlEr NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.

n. Al. a.
cTe upon inc low GIN on "u'cn 'ilc VIC
hOusG stood overlooking roaring sea
/, sea chat seemed 10 icup and lit I'm colo
,,.,su,e I,.tor +, apso,ar tbc r,rjllon a
heIis tnat swung lheir via qua inu7''
0EcF is la unison with the swift and pow
egtai iopes rolling from the orgau Of th,
-, .,i,,r,1. tb,t rog, Lobi,J IN,
NDo'0''' o''',0' '''"
a"LEs' lhe llsl pUliulhg III nan uepoP
ulatcd quarter Of the town that had not
Y2N sbarye5 81. clorlcirr. within tbr cen.
-, ,h.1.ors, ha1 ,.t.h.,ood ,,o .s,,,r,,.
'N'Ji tN'
mat peat about 'he GIN d couple o.
hundred years aud more, and, with all
i,s ,,ots and bays and glbles. looked In
-, ..,,,...,.. .,.,, ,...,, t.., $500.
"" "V'l' E''''O' ''' u ~ WIZ "'' p'''
ueh ol tut sioilh-Noiu Ioeh. Vhct' me
decd, BUS TRADITIONS sand great
hde had climbed tne rock
Ahd washed about inc base OF the dwell
ms, hut had fetrcalol ns II the leeps
themselves hhd called IT back Inc Gle.
monis respecting the rights OF inc on
HeltrahS more than they dld those OF The
CHA on which they built and which the
l'Nc had undermined ana honeycomDed IN
caves countess as the galleries OF long
worked Wnne, ana whose lawns II had
Honl away 10 the shcll Oh TURF That almost
oierhung the bicaker
What tumultuous sen it was That
aight, tumblng In with It's black and
gaite fury as the tide met the blowing
Wind aud threw off both mooubeams and
foam IN showers of dark glory! A cold
and glitterinn stretch of loneliness swal.
loWOd far off In the depths ot dusky
horizons "A scene the loug companion
ship OF which, perhaps, mad made the
Bcltrans the cold. hard, glltlcrug race
they wore, with all their shadows aud re.
serves They had been race I'm whose
way Of living there had been some splrn-
dor and a lavish use OF wcullh that came
from unknown sources; certain dark
beauty aud lordly manner, TOO. they had
tXrricd, but the creatures Of pleasure,
feeding the nane of strong passions In
thuir youth, that fell TO duh ashes I'm tAcu
age, they had made no other impress ON
ihc generations than that of a name to be
feared. The last of them stoud now I'm
the orlcl window looking out To the sen
and its sprav fountalns-n voupp pirI aud
gn old man He ,yng not nm Old man
however. only old before his limo. win
Tint same dun ashes ON his brow ana ON
his face and I'm his burned.out cvp that nil
his people had put ON before him. But
the girl, A Bcltrnn hy all her brauty her
cloud of fine black hDIr 1oatirr about hpr
face her eyes like stars In the milnipht
violet OF heaven chat is mother black nor
blue. her features chlsclpd ont of ivo,,.
nor skin-no leaf of n blu.b roc ia b,If
80 fair. so bloomv sweet. ana hnr SMILE
Anil no Beltrln ever wnr, tbnt sniIn. tb,t
was her mothers qmle the iatr via thot
came into that housr To- liz, thc last t,yo
wears Of her yonnu mo and dic of yrini
ana terror there And now tho china ,,ho
had boon sent oyav. rhnngoJ from, 1mar
dian to guardian. and from school to
school, TO grow up without love. Ind re-
turned after twenty wears IN ana a bnmo
that was at once a palace and n prison n
crumbiIpr faded palnrc hut
4 fast and sure prison A mart of il ns
enc would saw. was still church. for the
syst old Beltran OF all had been bl,hon
thoy said, and built his own shrine hnf
since his day wau had bpen raised
10 separate house and church ,
wall that shook 10 the plnyInp of thngreat |
organ and sent its vibrations trrn,biinc
through the house. sole rclic. IN splrll ar |
IN matter, OF that early dnv ION In the
Bcltrans now, save when t6e nesl of beiIs !
ia the beliry rang out a chino that chilled |
,bc echnns ,,,G ,nisni ,i' I'LL, ,''. oa'Gu |
.6rnuol, every oI5 ,ynr,'n,tc, ti ,ll," "1' so
roof ana walls Rut ,u The chprct,l,
.anctlty 81 couserratrJ nri,bh"rEvnnl3
BeitrRms \ house 1t was huunted by |