The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1890-12-20

was found set IN place Beltran spoke aDoI
it to his daughter.
"You said some time ago, if | am ne
mistaken, that you would be glad TO
everything for me" he said, in his softl
measured tones. "Well, the time has com
when you can do one thing. But that on
thing means everything. You can MARI
this man who asked me for your hand.
"Her lovely face lighted as if he ha
held torch there. "Maurice Galbraith !
she exclaimed. "Oh, how wrong I was f
fear you would never listen to it.
Not Maurice Galbraith," he said, il
those gentle tones that uttered bitter things
"When this old house of the Beltrans rock
to its fall you may marry triAing foo
keeping tryst in the hollows of the rock
and sea caves. None but the man whC
left us half an hour ago
Father !" she cried, with great recoil
her face blanching.
''That man, and no other,'' he answered
her.
''It is not possible" she said gaspingly
'It is so possible that it shall be done
if have to hold you up before the priest
myself"
"Would he take an unwilling wife p
she murmured.
''He will take all he can get, p" said Bel
tran, with laughing sneer.
''Listen, father she said then, holding
her hand over her heart to still its beatings
so that her voice need not shake. "You
have no love for me- give you no pleas
ure. Let me 60 away to the man who
does love me and to whom my heart and
soul belong"
''Listen, you, in turn!'' he answered
her, still his low voice unraised. II am
in bonds to this man. If | wished to
listen to this childs play 1 could not
When he speaks to you, you will smile,
when he caresses you, you will suffer it,
when"
"Never m she said. l am not a Bel
tran for nothing" and she went out of
the room, not to be alone again, as he
said. while that old house of the Beltrans
stood.
As he sat there, then, in his solitude,
with the flicker of the low fire glancing
over the dim old portraits on the wall, till
its shimmering light and shade gave the
features there the play of life, a singular
thing befell this representative of the Bel
trans. In his solitude, did | say? The
place was full of people; the figures in the
portraits were all alive and stirring, were
surrounding him, upbrading him, reproach-
ing him, threatening him, There was
Fast Wildfre, his father, as he was often
est called, and Lance, who went before;
there were the dark riders and the cavalry
men, their eyes flashing now, their lips
parting. What had they to say to him
he whose later life at least was still
mountain tarn beside the jetting, spouting
torrents of their mad frolics, their loves
and hates and crimes! Perchance they
would tell him then to what came at last
all this base effort, these rewards. Per-
chance they gave only the word to one on
the brink of the precipice of the bottom
less pit, to one with eternal fires eating the
planks beneath him. Was this light on
their faces only the play of the freight ?
Good heavens, was it not a light shining
from behind, shining through their incor-
poreal substance, creatures and creations of
hell fire itself? And this was the Bishop,
this white essence of spirit and purity.
And then all the lovely women came
trooping from their frames, with their
pale, reproachful faces, women whose bare
souls had felt the lash of the Beltran pas
sions, who had faded and passed away, or
who had changed to the evil of the forces
working with them He rose and bestir-
red himself-probably he had dropped
asleep; no such nonsense as this would
hinder him from wiping out that old score
with this white hand. The fire had made
a great core of red heat. Was he shiver-
ing, or was it the vibration of the church
organ throbbing through him as the choir
practiced the Christmas chants? He
neither knew nor cared.
A week may have passed or day and
night only The bride in her chamber
had no knowledge. She only wondered
what her lover was doing that he did not
climb the face of the cliff and carry her off
before his enemies. And sometimes she
listened to the muffied tones Of the organ
in the ancient church and knew, although
she could not understand him, that her
lover was speaking to her in those tones
whose sweet sorority pierced TREMENDOUSLY
through stone and oak, to trill from space
to space till she herself trembled with the
trembling joist and lintels. One day, at
last, they brought her brides garments
and she put them on perforce The bride
groom waited. Her father came and led
her down; but she fled from him and
turned in the oriel window for one word,
one threat, one entreaty.
'Do you know what you are doing 2"
she said. aIt is murder! ! have cord
saved that will stop the breath in my
throat A pin from my hair will open a
vein that will let the life rush out of
me"
"And if it Does" he said, ~ shall have
fulfilled my part of the contract
"Listenp' she cried, turning quickly at
the clangor of the bells that burst over
head, "what peal !"
'It is your marriage peal,
at is the Christmas Eve. Oh, think
moment before you drive me to the
wall r she exclaimed, with a new hope
''Is there nothing to implore you by
When you were a child, she said, "wa'
there no Christmas in your life. Die
Christmas mean nothing to you then
The Beltrans were not born withou
L II Il. I,