The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1894-08-02
Tn icsuair ne cast

rid nr alone upon the sands next dav.
found :he body floating in a little cove.
and leaning fl orr her >addle, pluckct
OF her ,ilkcn Upper and smOte the
dead fac. upon either check, with
mocking words And he came Il
| wonder. or the dead han raised
| itself and caught her ~ the wrist,
d aged her from her trembling 1t ed
ana held her in a grip that never
relaxed uutil the sea came up and
| sucked her wicked life out with its
sharp, alt kisses. But the steed gal
ored nome. and they tracked its h"of
MARKS to the shore next day at the ebb
of the tide. And there they f uni er.
Bat the dead hand kept it, hOld-unti!
the holy prior Of the monastery spl in
killed. it. with holy water and cOnjurei 1t
in the Holy Name. Then did the rigid
| fingers open. Aud SO they bu led the
monk on the wild ea,hore, SO that the
seabirds mi hit scream above him for
ever, and the r ar of the ocean be in
his ears till the judgment day. But
/ the b )dy of the Witcn Princess they
burned with pitch faggots. and the
dust of her was scattered to the four
| winds of the heaven she had outraged.
! Well, it was aut INN five years ago.
! TIE corn "a' all cut, the apples had
/ been gathered indoors, and the people
were free to take a rest from their
work. We liv. within five miles Of
New Eng land, you know, and husking
bees are still held here. We had one
in tt G ba" or there. 1t was a jolll-
iicatiOn MOa was the life and soul of
| it. She recited again. like an actress,
the sto.y Of the Witch Princess and
! her mcnkish lover: and as she ended,
and the voices of those who had
/ in |
my eyes from her, and saw that a
ranger had joined our party. Re
was tall. showily dressed, after tn
fashion of cities. and of mi IDLE age.
He joined In the applause and loudly.
as if he wished to attract Meas nctice,
but she never looked at him. We att
our roasted apples, and drank the hot
cider to G ich others health, and danced
on the floor o. the old barn in the light
of candles.
Next day the strlnger came to this
house. He was a rich man, 30 they
So d. and well known in New York. lie
ok up lis board in our house. for the
sake Of the hunting AMI fishing here
aDouts, AMI we made him welcome. He
| slept in the spare room you are now
using, and ate and drank of the test
that We could give. He told Il, his
nam :, or the name by which it was his
wGim to be known among us, Henry
| Mercer. a curse upon his name. \
curse upon the day when he brought
| hi, face into our house.
November came. the skies were gray,
and the last peoples OF the year hung
| wither ID nong the barley stubble. 1t
was on Thanksgiving eve when l first
| spoke love to >lOa. We were in the
| III f.,tr hal hnr hn l,l.nyy
ion, hung IN ropes from the smoke
stained beams of the ceiling, and the
old maria .e plates of my fathers
! family hang on the wall The fire
| burned low on the wide hearth. a great
tree root lay beside it., that | had
rolled up from the beach for fuel. 1t
wa, cracked by the sun and | strOve,
instead of using the Ratchet, to widen
a long split with my fingers anu wrench
a piece away She Knocked me and
said I could not do it Her eye.
cleaned at me in the freight prOvOk.
ingly, and the power Of her woman
hood struck me Ike a blow. seized
the great root by two Jagged horns 0
it. and rived it in half, but still she
| mCcncd at ME. | stepped across to her.
took her roughly rould the waist. and
XII sed her TIL she kissed me back
again, AID vowed before God to be my
faithful wife. Then sorgh: my moth,
err and to d her the news.
You ar, my son. and the house and
farm are yours" she said. AMI Noa
has grown up in the hous it is not to
be denied. The good God give you a
true wife in her" She shook her head
! and twirled her distatf till she broke
| the thread. | went out veXcd but Mn
! forgot nv grievance in the lirht OF
NOa smi es.
Henry MERGE" heard the news next
day It had gone round the village
He SIN led and said that was a likely
| fellow to have gone so quietly about
securing the hands, NEST girl in
Hoosac. He said, too. that be grievcd
that he should not b, able to witness
our marriage and salute the bride as
the time had nov come when he must
return to New York. The evening
came -tho last he was to spend among
us-and he ate and drank with us and
tod us stories. He cal c for wine and
dl .nk 4 health TO our betrotha!. tn
ism much of an inn, and it hasnt
wine cellar. but he brought bottle
of Madeira from the vii age The
gla,se' we're few. and he offered Moa
his. The wine acquired a richer favor
IL
pored in her ca. | heard him. and
passed i: over as an idle compliment
though saw the red col II burn across
her checks and throat. An instant
only. and it was gone. But she took
the glass and drank to him. and he to
her. We tola tales, and sang, and he
Joined us. And, last of a l. nothing
would do but Moa must tell the stccy
Of the Witch Princess. He had ii.
ways praised he" elocution whene Ger
she had ecited anything, and told he,
that she had the making of fine
ties.
Next morning he left us. He had
bought the ddiscarded spinning wheel
in the garrett, and my mother rejoiced
in u lapiul of S LIVER coin. He had given
me his neerschaum pipe with TIE sill.
Yer setting. Everybody had gift bu,
Moa. was secretly vexed that she
should be neglected so. Christmas was
not far OF. 1 had to 60 to Peters burgh