Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1895-05-23

enulateS its hoary majesty, as 1t
rises above the smoke canopy of the
little town on the river; the tiny bays
are visible on the wood-clad horizon;
the flocks spread on stubble and down;
the cornell is purple in the ivied hedge
row: the solemn, half-conscious silence
Of the chill gray afternoon seems
laden with an unspoken mystery it
would fain reveal.
1.-THE silence grows
To that degree, you half believe
| 1t must get rid Of what it knows,
It's bosom does SO beave."
| The fairy music swells as Of old upon
| the listening air; the merry bell-peals
| blend and clash in a sweet diSSonance,
| changing into harmony, like the
| transient Wrangling of happy lovers;
the heavy rumble and creak of the
broad wheels and stamp of the iron
hoofs make Il rough bass burden to
| the silver treble of the bells; and the
nJdding crcSts Of the gayly capar-
isoned wagOn-horSeS rise into view on
the crest of the hin by the gate over
which Alma Lee Gazed in her unaWak-
ened youth, and thought of harmless
commonplace things in which nothing
tragic had any part.
Inc sturdy sleeps stop, as on that
lal-OIf day, with Il gradual dropping
Of the Elithc bcll-muSic; the great
wagon is brought to with Il rumble
ANA claucr and cries of "Whup' and
"Whoa;' the drag is last under the
massive hnd-Whrcl; and VIII Grove
rests, as of Old, against the strong
shaft, and gaZes over the gate at the
still dreamy landscape, and recalls the
day when Alma's beautiful young face
and graceful form were outlined
against such Il chill gray sky as this.
VIII is stouter than on that day,
and his limbs more more Stitlly and
heavily, and there are gray hairs in his
thick beard. He wears no flower now
in his felt hat, which has lost it's rak-
iSh cock. He apOstrOphZeS a sweet,
hoWer-like face. which peeps loguiShlyI
over the wagon ledge at him, with al
rough but kindly, "Bide still, We bad
with cries Of "Granfer," and snatcheSI
at his hat; but he seems not to heed
her, as he thinks Of Alma and herr
tragic story, which will be related forI
years to come in the snug bar of the
Sun. and by many a cottage Preside
round.
"She were a bad 'un, she Wcrer' he
muses.; and some vague notions of
Witchcraft and half-formed shadoWyI
ideas of lovc-philters steal down
through many generations to his I'M
cultured brain, to account for Cyril
Maitlands strange infatuation.
And Alma hides her broken heart il
her lonely far-olf grave, just when
she should be living in an honorcd
prime; and Cyril's crushed spirit has
rest in his grave, within sound of the
same cathedral chimes. And how
many gracious gifts and joyous posi-.
bilitieS and noble opportunities are
buried with these two tardily pcnitent
sinners. Some vague feeling of the i
pity of it all stirs Will Groves heavily
moving emotions, as he cracks his !
whip and strides onward, waking the
fairy music of the bells in its blithe
and changing cadences.
There are the Swaynostonc woods;
but the house presents a blank face,
with its shattered windows and closed |
doors, and no smoke rises from the !
chimneyS. and no sound is heard about
its courts. The Swaynestones arc gone
abroad for year or two. to live down |
the memory of the dean'sa disgrace |.
And here is Melbourne: but the old
faces are seen no more in the rectory. !
stranger breaches from the village
pulpit, and strangers walk In the pleas
ant garden, and know nothing of the !
sweet and tender. if sad, associations
which halloW every tree and flower. |
VIII Grove and his team 20 On their i
musical way, till the cllShing cadcnces /
fade and die in the distance, and the
last CLEAN of brass mounted trappings
is swallowed in the evening shadows !
Let us fit on the airy wing Of Fancy !
Southwark over the dim downs aud
the gray murmu"ing sea; over the
orchards and farms of Normandy:l
across the broad popular-iincd plains
of France, breathing warmer clearer
air with every breath; over tile airy
SUBMITS of tine NoSgeS; ever sunny
Cote d'Or, where the vineyards have
Just yielded mp their latest spoil. and
lie brown and bare in their wintcry
sleep: over the green and pine-cad
slopes of the .lura. warm now in the
suns Western glow: over blue lake ana
icy Alp, till we rest on the northern
shore of sweet Lake Leman. ana see
the solid stone towers of Chillon re-
Elected in the clear. .icwel-like waters.
TO BE Concluded
IN CYCLE CIRCLES.
Big Nee. Bcing Arranged ut superior