The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-07-27
A MOUNTAIN ROSE.

Of one Of the Italian mountains which ti
vide that glorious land Of sunshine and
flowers from tho more rugged but equally
beautiful Switzerland, we remarked the
form Of woman rapidly ascending the
steep mountain path, her figure tall, erect
and graceful, standing boldly out from the
background Of dark rocks which surround
ed her. On her left arm hung basket,
while her right hand firmly grasped a
staff, which she used as an alpenstock to
assist her in the more difficult parts Of the
ascent. The dangerous path could be
traced for some distance and then became
lost in the woods which crowned the lof-
ty peaks Of the mountain. "That Is the
mad woman carrying food to her lover, "
remarked the driver, crossing himself In
Difference to the current superstition that
misfortune follows him whose eye lights
on a lunatic ascending one of these heights.
He added that, owing to the prevalence Of
this belief, poor Rosa enjoys perfect free.
dom to go and come as she pleases, un-
questioned and unmatched. Peasants,
charcoal burners, shepherds, smugglers
and even the custom house officers fee
from her as from a pestilence. She there
fore goes wherever she thinks at, being
perfectly certain that none will dare TRACK
her footsteps nor interfere with her nc
tions, whatever curiosity they may feel OF
the subject of her mysterious wanderings
But for all this, everybody knew, Of
thought they knew, that twice every weel
Rosa carried u supply of food to the hid
ing place OF her outlawed lover, the muir
derer Constantine Valsassina At tn,
time Of his trial. and for considerable,
period afterward, the authorities mad
every effort to capture the notorious
smugglcr, but without success, and tn
fact Of his having so long eluded his pur
suers was regarded as another deInonstra
ton of tho truth of the mountain proverb
Large shoes and fine brains" Nalsassi
ma was condemned indeed to 10 years i'm
prisonment, but the sentence, owing Il
his cleverness In eluding the officers O
justice, was never carried into execution
Two years after the condemnation, how
ever, the custom house officers either in
vented tho story or perhaps actually be
lieved that death had delivered the OUTLAY
forever from the hands of justice. The re
port ran that he had fallen over preci
pice during well remembered winte
tempest, and, the mantle of the unfoFtu
nate man having been found during tn
ensuing spring at the bottom of this preci
pice near an enormous mass of rock whicl
had fallen during the storm, they came T.
the conclusion that his body must be lynn
crushed to atoms beneath this immens
mass of fallen rock. After that time, there
fore, all search for Nalsassina was aban
doncd as useless, but the form Of Ros
Manila was still seen with pathetic con
stancy ascending the rugged mountain
path with her basket OF provisions,
From timo to tiInc she mysteriously dis
appeared for season, and on returning {
her usual haunts, although smile of un
usual happiness illuminated her beautiful
features and a light OF ecstasy beamed II
her eyes, sho was ever silent us the sepul
cher with regard to the cause of her mys
terious absence.
In vain the women Intercepted an
the priest insisted. She would open he
heart to neither, and either did not %
would not understand the questions ad
dressed TO her. replying only by monosyl
|. tables or nonsense.
The following history of Rosa Mnnil
wo CLEANED from the driver and from 9th
J ers who had known the village beaut
: from her infancy:
Five years before she had been the mos
lovely girl Of Dosuliro and the surround
ing countryside, and the young men q
Grayedona spoke with enthusiasm Of he
matches beauty. They named her ''Th
Mountain Rose, " and even the drcade,
custom house officers fell ono and all
prey TO the charms Of tho peerless daugh
ter Of Manila, the smuggler. But the lat
ter guarded her with the most savage f.
rocity, giving her this brief counsel
"Amuse yourself as much as you pleas
with these young fools, but beware of sc
riously encouraging any one Of them, NOR
especially one Of my own calling, 70
should you ever become the fianoee of
smugglcr the lives of both of you shall pa
the forfeit"
All knew from the determined and des
pcrato character of the man that he woult
keep his word.
AS yet Rosa Ind felt no temptation &
disobcy the imperious mandate of he
father, for the young men of the neighbor
hood had each and all failed to awakel
the passions Of the dark eyed beauty.
. | care for none Of them, She said, wit
q proud indifference, not unminglcd wit
contempt but If ever | meet with on
whom l can truly love the case will b
different. / shall take my destiny in M
own hands.
About this time Constantine Valsassi
ma, " daring sinuggcr and famous hunte
Of the mountains, whose name was wei
known as u desperate in all the countr
round, appeared on the scene He wa
: strong, courageous and handsome Tn
4 hitherto cold and impassive heart OF tn
village beauty WAS stirred 10 Its depths
, and ohe determined that, come what nigh,
, sho would wed no other than this on
I hero, this Napoleon Of the forests. VIVA
, did the bold and young smuggler care 70
!, the threats and nenAces of Manilla' II
resolved that he would win the splcndi
Rose of the Mountains, and he kept hi
= word
She was just 90 years of age and pei
: haps had tired Of the lonely life she ha
hitherto been compelled to lead, or 1t ma
be that her affections, like some marvel
Gus mountain plants, were late IN flower
ing for never before had Rosa Manila
heart been stirred by that mysterious pa.
sion which men call love The first tim
she met tho hunter she only blushed deer
ny and then turned pale. llo noted til
= sigh and then ventured one evening q
/. sunset, on returning from the forest, t
! place u bouquet Of mountain flowers o
| her balcony Instead Of receiving theI
with indifference or merriment, as was he
wont, She raised the sweet smelling bio.
SONS to her lips and kissed them, with
sigh.
From that moment Nalsassina felt h
. had conquered, and the lovers lost no OF
81 portunity Of being together. soon I'll
& neghbar- brgln 10 gossip. and those VIII
II Had g,it{t4Fl 10 !