The Penn's Grove record., 1893-03-10
THE BLACK VIRGIN.
THE F14lNcb OF CHARLES EfHETRK

Upon one OF the rugged coasts OF Fin
land, facing the little fishing village Of
Liedsmarken, there rises a barren
peak, a solitary rock in the middle of
the sea. When the weather is fine,
,ou can distinguish, from the coast,
the Jagged outlines aud steep slopes Of
this peak, its forbiddlng aspect unre-
lieved by any trace Of vegetation; it is
an u~nfavorable place for sailors and
fishermen, for the sea is deep just
there, and landing becomes a very diff
ficult matter rs Don as the wind be-
gins to blow a little. The only iDhab-
itants of the rock are the sea birds,
which gather there in great numbers
at evening time.
As you draw nea to it you can see a
recess in the cliff, about halfway up
q recess which, with a slight stretch OF
the imagination, may be compared to a
| chapel-in which a human figure,
| probably the figure of a woman, has
been roughly cut in the rock. The
worship of this singular divinity dates
/ back, without Doubt, to the time Of
pagsnism; in later years it has been
looked upon as the statue OF a virgin.
1t is called ''The Black Virgin" and is
supposed to watch over the destiny OF
| the village of Liedsmarken.
, The Black Virgin, however, is not
looked upon as a benevolent divinity.
| For a long time it exercised q fatal
power; and if at the present time this
power is not used, it is because it was
conjured many years ago by devotion
and love.
Here is the story as it was told to me
by a fisherman of the village
The village of Leidsmarken has al
WAYS been inhabited by fishermen and
peasants; honest, poor, and hard-work-
ng, and all thoroughly convinced of
the WI Of the Virgin Oh the rock.
Every year The Virgin demanded a
victim, and, as a matter of fact, each
year one of the inhabitants of Leids-
marker had been struck by death-one
year 1t would be an old man, another
year a child in the cradle, a third year
a brave sailor, whose frail barque
would be lost in a storm.
In the year 1856, the Black Virgin
was once more awaiting a victim; the
year was drawing to a close-lt was al
ready in the latter half of December
but not one of the good people Of
Liedsmarken was missing as yet. One
OF the inhabitants. however, was ill.
and it was upon him, no doubt, that
the Black Virgins choice had fallen.
He had only a few nor days to
live, for it was tue tSenty-third day of
December, and it was certain that lit
tie Axel would not see the first of JAN
nary.
Axel was an orphan under the care
of his sister Frida, a handsome stout
hearted young omar Night and day
she sat at his bedside, holding his hand
and telling all SORTS of wonderful
stories; despair in her heart and tears
in her eyes, yet she tried to smile and
to sing, in the hope of bringing a
| CLEAN of pleasure into the boys eyes.
Frida's being insufficient
to meet expenses, her affianced hus.
band, Robert, assisted her; and Frida,
looking upon this help as quite nat
ural, had accepted it; for she loved
Robert, and her love was returned.
Their marriage had been a settled mat
ter for months. Every evening, after
a hard days fishing, Robert came to
see Frida; but when he pressed her to
head and, without replying. looked at
Axel.
That evening-the 23d of December
when Robert entered the cottage,
Frida and Axel were not alone; their
neighbor, an old fisherman named
Christian, was talking to frida in q
low voice while Axel slept. Robert
sat down silently by the side Of Frida,
and listened to the old man.
"'Yes," said Christian, "l am quite
sure that 1t is possible to cure Axel;
people in fworss state than this poor