Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-08-14

descendants TOT HIS uOuDlc sln. ~ Dsi-
rell should thencefor;h be fortunate in his
love; barrels love should always bring
dire anguish and death. both to its object
and the Darrell. Zarah's curse was en-
bodied in these lines which are in modern
lied language but will show them to you
cut into the Mill wall:
"'Foulest stain on ghhood's face,
Deadly blight on noblcstracc,
Shame on him who brou ght to shame
Her who bore charmed name,
Shame on base ingratitudc,
Shame on churl with knightly bloodi
This the curse l call fro.n IIeay'n,
BY the power to Zarah giv'n:
Ever Darrells love shall prove.
Woe and death 10 both
Then, turning to the river-which, you
must know, lima, rises every year, either
in the autumn or winter-Larah added
"'List, yc river, rapid flowing,
To tins curse my hate bestowing;
Let the voice of Gipsy's Weir
Scream that curse in Darrell's car,
Till the waters, rising, rising.
Bring the bounden sacrificing
Life for life for traitors deed;
when the food s are out, take heedi'
These last two lines were addressed to Sir
Ingelhard-that is, of course, TO the House
OF Darrell; and, having uttered them,
Zarah, before any one could prevent her,
plunged headong into the weir, and dis
appeared"
"But," exclaimed lima, interrupting
narrative which she had followed with
keen interest, if with some inward amuse-
mcnt, "what can the four lines about Clip
sy's Weir mean:"
"That no one has ever been able to make
out. They are generally thought TO indi-
cate that the barrels will become extinct.
1t is said that the waters OF the Coalmere
have risen higher every year since that
date. | know as fact that they have
risen higher each year within the last for
". Mamma, YOU know, would not follow
mere tradition"
"But how could that be unless the rain
fall or the snowfall was heavier than in the
year precedingW
"That is one OF the strangest parts of
the whole affair."" returned Rose; 'but
three years ago, for example, we had
very light autumn rainfall, and yet the
river rose nearly two feet above the rise of
the year before, when 1T rained heavily
nearly every day throughout September.
n nttcOIOIOBlsL WIN WAS slaNlHH mere AZ
the time wrote TO the Times about it. The
year before last the river was SO high that
the Hestons were afraid that the Mill
mi ht be flooded; and last year, when, GER
tainly, the snow came down from the hills
terribly-for we had rapid thaw in No
yember-thc basement OF the Mill was
flooded, and the Hestons had TO take refuge
in the upper rooms for two or three days"
"There's lot in the Cumberland STAR"
put in jamie, sabout the extraordinary
phenomenon of the rising of the Coal
mere. 1t is in number Of afew years ago.
| will show it TO you, lima"
"But granted the phenomenon" said
lima, "why should the yearly increase in
the rising of the water concern the work
ing out of the curse!"
Oh. You skeptic! How should know!
But Of the curse working in one way there
can be 10 doubt" said Rose emphatically.
"Stay "A moment, lima; you can hear the
weir now"
They were passing through little wood,
and, us all stood still, they heard dis
tinctly the roar OF falling water. lima
listened for a moment or two, with parted
lips, and eyes into which tar away look
had come.
81 was thinking Of Niagara" she said
softly at last. then added quickly, "Please
finish your story here, Rose IL we 60 on,
we shall meet Roland, and shall not have
the finish for an age"
The three girls sat down on fallen tree
trunk, and Rose continued
"There is no doubt about this, lima,
that from Sir highlands time all the OAR
rells have been unfortunate in love. Sir
highlands wife died quietly; but then he
did not love her, he hated her. 1t would
take too long to tell you, but, when you 60
through the picture-gallery at the Court,
the old house-keeper will give you his
tory of all the love-affairs OF the Darrells
since Sir Ingelhard; and there was always
'woe and death to both those who love-
wouldn't marry 4 Darrell, grand rs they
are-not even the present one, who is the
handsomest of handsome race"
"And a dare-all, like the rest OF them,"
added jamie.
.I'm coming to him." said Rose nodding
TO lima. "The present DarrelPs father,
Sir Bertram, married a Howard, and they
were both drowned In yachting, when
their son Sir Philip was a baby. Sir Ber-
trans father was shot in due! over
loyc-affair."
s.Thcy were bold TO fall in love, IL they
believed in the curse" said lima.
al suppose they couldn't help it. /
am not great physiognomist; l dare say
you are. Look at their portraits and you
will see that they all had strong passions.
This one has, and no mistake, as you say
across the water. | wouldn't have him
hate me for something; would almost
rather he loved mev
"Hate YOU! That is supposing you were
a man." observed lima; az gentleman
would not visit vengeance OF woman"
81 suppose not--a Darrell would not;