Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1896-06-03

" 0c6rb OF my QearU, COME ulbueT W Iucb
Come to me straight over land and sea,
My soul-my own!
Not now-the clocks slow tick hear,
And nothing more.
The year is dying, the leaves are sere' ;
No ghost Of the beautiful young crowned yeal
Knocks at my door.
But one of these night-a wild, late night
], waiting within,
Shall hear your hand ON the latch, and spite
OF prudence and folly and wrong and right
shall let you in.
e. Nesbitt in New York Tribune
THE MOUNTAIN KING.
Far away in Lapland, at place
called Aimio, near the river Jana,
there lived in little hut a Laplandel
and his wife, with their small son
Sampo.
Sampo Lappelill was between z and
s years of age He had black hair,
brown eyes, gnub nose and wide
mouth, which last is considered mark
Of beauty in curious Lapland Sampo
was strong child for his age. He de.
lighted to dance down the hills on his
little snowshoes and drive his own rein
deer in his own little sledge. The snow
whirled about him as he passed through
the deep drifts until nothing conld be
seen except the tuft of his black fore
lock.
81 shall never feel comfortable while
he is from home," said the mother.
"He may meet Hisu' reindeer with the
golden antlers.
Sampo overheard these words, and
wondered what reindeer it could be that
had golden antlers.
sit must be a splendid aiiimalH
said he. Chow much I should like to
drive to Rastekais with itl''
Rastekais is a high, dreary noun
tain, and can be seen from Ainio. from
which it is five or six miles distant.
"You audacious boy!'' exclaimed the
mother. Chow dare you talk SO? Raste-
kais is the home of the trolls, and Hisu
dwells there also.
"Who is Hisu?" inquired Sampo.
"What ears that boy has!'' thought
the Lapp wife. "But I ought not to
have spoken of such things in his pres
ence. The best thing I can do now is to
brighten him WE'LL" Then she said
aloud: "Take care, Lappelill, that you
never go near Rastekais, for there lives
Hisu, the mountain king, who can cal
a whole reindeer at one mouthful and
swallows little boys like flies"
Upon hearing these words, Sampc
could not help thinking what good fun
it would be to have a peep at such a
wonderful being-from safe distance,
Of counsel
Three or four weeks had elapsed since
Christmas and darkness brooded still
over Lapland. There was no morning,
noon or evening; it was always night.
Sampo was feeling dull. It was SO long
since he had seen the sun that he had
nearly forgotten what it was like. Yet
he did not desire the return Of summer,
for the only thing he remembered about
that season was that it was time when
the gnats stung very severely. His one
wish was that it might soon be light
enough for him to use his snowshoes
One day at noon, although it was
dark, Sampo's father said:
"Come here; I have something tc
show YOU
Sampo came out Of the hut. His ia
Their pointed toward the south.
''Do you know what that is?'' asked
he.
ga southern light" replied the boy.
"No," said his father, sit is the her
aid Of the sun. Tomorrow maybe, or thu
day after that, we shall see the SUI
himself. Look, Sampo, how weirdly thu
red light CLOVIS on the top Of Rastekais!'
Sampo perceived that the snow upo1
the gloomy summit, which had been 81
long shrouded in darkness, was colorei
red. Again the idea flashed into hi
mind what a grand sight the terrible
mountain king would be-from dis
lance. The boy brooded on this for the
remainder Of the day and throughout
half the night, when he should have
been asleep.
He thought and thought until al
length he crept silently out Of the rein
deer skins which formed his bed anl
then through the door hole. The colo
was intense. Far above him the star
were shining, the snow scrunched be
meath his feet. Sampo Lappelill was {
brave boy, who did not fear the cold.
He was, moreover, well wrapped up il
fur. He stood gazing at the stars, con
sidering what to do next.
Then he heard a suggestive sound
His little reindeer paved the ground
with his feet.
''Why should I not take driver
thought Sampo, and proceeded to pu1
his thought into action He harnesse6
the reindeer to the sledge and drove
forth into the wilderness of snow.
II will drive only a little way to-
ward Rastekais, y said Sampo to him.
self. and off he went, crossing the fro.
zen river Jana to the opposite shore,
although the child was unaware
of this fact-belonged to Norway.
AS Sampo drove he sang bright lit.
1 tie song. The wolves were running
round his sledge like gray dogs, but he
did not mind them. He knew well that
no wolf could keep pace with his dear,
swift little reindeer. Up hill and down
dale he drove on, with the wind whis.
thing in his ears. The moon seemed te
be racing with him, and the rocks to be
running backward. It was thoroughly
delightful
Alas, at Il sudden turning upon the
downward slope Of a hill the sledge
overturned and Sampo was pitched into
a snowdrift. The reindeer did not OBJ.
serve this, and in the belief that its
master was still sitting behind it, it ran
off. Sampo could not cry "Stopp' be-
cause his mouth was stuffed with snow.
He lay there in the darkness, in the
midst of the vast, snowy wilderness, in
which was 10 human habitation fo1
miles around
At first he naturally felt somewhat
bewildered. He scrambled unhurt out
OF the big snowdrift. Then, by the wan
moonlight, he saw that he was sur
rounded on all sides by snowdrifts and
hugo mountains. One mountain tow
cred above the others, and this, he
knew, must be Rastekais, the home of
the fierce mountain king, who swal-
lowed little boys like flies!
SampO Lappelill was frightened now