The Hazel Green herald. [volume] (Hazel Green, Wolfe County, Ky.) 1885-19??, 1885-11-18
A GIRL WIFE.
The Old Bachelor Citrate of Ann
berly.

berly.
II was beautiful young American
girl. Lettuce Lee by name. who sojourn-
ing among her English friends for
awhile, crossed their fair garden,
br ght with the tender greens of Spring
and all abloom with hawthorn, and,
tempted by the shadows of the lane be-
yond. strolled slowly down it, until.
coming to an old church set about with
trees and fianked by an ancient grave
yard. she entered there and wandered
among the NOISY stones, reading their
quaint inscriptions and thinking such
thoughts as youth and beauty do of
graves aud death-thinking pityingly
and with certain sad tenderness, but
rot as of anyth ne with which she had
to do. or even would.
The willows were very old. The
shade was very deep The gray church
flung its own dark shadows on the
spot. The ivy of centuries draped lis
walls.
1t was so different from anything the
rl-who had come from the land
where all the fine build ngs have a
brand new look and even the ivy that
is trained against church-walls speaks
OF a geometrically-m gardener
had seen. that it fascinated her. She
was romantic and poetical; and it IS
very hard TO be romantic in America.
She leaned against a great tree, and
looked down upon the gray grave
stones. Most of them were so old that
no one lived to deck them any more.
And yet the ages written on them
were often less than her own was that
day. One at her very feet bore this
| inscription:
Here lieth Lucy-aged sixteen"
A tear came into the girls eyes As
she read it Perhaps more would have
| followed, but at that moment voice
close beside her broke the silence
You are looking at the graves, my
| dear. These are only humble stones,
Inside the church there are some very
| fine tombs If YOU would Ike to SET
them 1 can tell you all that is known
of them. have been curate of Amber
ly for thirty years"
| The girl turned toward the speaker
Thirty wears, That was nearly twic,
her whole life. a very old man tn!
must be to speak of thirty years as ;
mere portion of his.
She looked up into his face and an
swered back the kind smile that shon'
upon IT, and felt a thrill of wonder a
The sweetness in the eyes and on tn
| lip, for in her short experience oil
men were generally either harsh o
testy. or at least cold or unsympathiz
Ing.
She had no father, or grandfather. o
| any aged relatives. A little woman
something of an heiress, and very beau
tiful she had always been petted b
her friends and had never been unhap
pv; but of strong home ties that en-
dear even the old and the ugly, sh
knew nothing. An old gentleman wa
some one who did not like noise an
was rather averse to music. whom
was not unpleasant to see 90 out @
the room. and who generally paid tn
bills for somebody.
She gave the curate another smile
and said: s.Yes, she would like niue
to see the church and the tombs He
name was Lettice Lee, and she wa
visit nc Mrs. Holden, at the mansio
Wonder, and she was Just from Americ
for the first time. Perhaps he knew,
and the curate signified that he di
know. aud that Mrs. Holden was hi
dear old friend, and they went into th
church together.
There are old faces that are MOI
beaut full than any young ones can b,
Not many, it is true; for the evil pa
sions of our rsce-anger and greed
and malice and jealousy-are stron
within too many breasts, and mar
themselves outwardly upon the feature
through the long, slow years of Ion
life, too deeply. Griefs also line then
selves upon the brow, and hollow OF
the cheeks and dim the ewes, but no
and then some one, alike strong an
, sweet, putting by the sin and bearir
the sorrow patiently, comes to Il
autumns of existence with such
yountenance as. it seems to me, &c
! meant that an old man should hay
: The curate of Amberly had done thi
The old bachelor curate had no r
miniscences to make of,,youth sweet,
memoryof young head pillowed {
his breast, or fond hands that b;
claSped his.
: Somehow. he thought of this as
2 ushered the young girl into the o
church. She was so fair. and delica
= and sweet-her movements were
!, gentle! A daughter like this now
-. He checked the fancy, put
away with a smile, and walked
among the tombs-
On the tomb of Lady Margaret
sculptured form lay with clasped han
J and closed eyes. On that of Sir Ps
cival Percy knelt mailed warrior
prayer Not more cold and silent a
at rest were these than had been t
love that should have warmed th
]. good life; and still, with closed CIV,
love slumbered in the Amer can cir
breast They looked at Lady N:
. garet. at SIR Percival, al the gray Il
lets in the floor, and the VIII tie ones
the wall; al the pa.ntei windows q