Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-01-19


mind began to run upon the themes of
his favorite studies; the array of ia
miliar spirits rose upon his mental
vision;; the many recorded instances of
what was devoutly believed the inter-
ference of the dead in the concerns Of
the living, came fresh, at this moment,
to his memory, and made him shudder
at his lonesomeness. Struggling with
this conception, 1t struck him with an
awe that he was unable to master:
"Some invisible counsellor" he mutter-
ed, some mysterious intelligence, now
holds my daughter in thrall, and filings
his spell upon her existence. The
powers that mingle unseen in the af-
fairs Of mortals, that guide to good or
lead astray, have waited this helpless
bark into the current that sweeps on
ward, unstayed by man. cannot con-
tend with destiny. She is thy child
Gertrude" he exclaimed apostrophizing
the spirit of his departed wife. "She
is thine, and thou wilt hover near her
trive against her peace; thou wilt
avert the i'll and shield thy daughter!"
Excited almost to frenzy, terrified
and exhausted in physical energy,
Lindsay threw his head upon his hand
and rested 1t against the window sill.
A moment elapsed Of almost inspired
madness, and when he raised his head
and looked outward upon the lawn, he
beheld the pale image Of the being he
had invoked gliding through the
shrubbery at the farthest verge Of the
level ground. The CHASTITY visage was
bent upon him, the hand steadily
pointed towards him, and as the figure
slowly passed away the last reverted
gaze was directed to him. Great
God!" he calculated, that form-that
form!" and fell senseless into his
chair.
During the night Mildred was awak-
ened by a low moan, which led her to
visit her fathers chamber. He was
not there. In great alarm she betook
herself to his study, where she found
him extended upon a sofa, so enfee-
bled and bewildered by this recent in
cident that he was scarcely conscious
Of her presence.
A few weeks restored Lindsay to his
usual health, but it was long before
he regained the equanimity Of his
mind He had seen enough to con-
firm his faith in the specluations Of
which 1 have before given the outline;
and he was, henceforth, oftentimes
melancholy, moody, and reserved II
spite Of all the resolves of duty. and In
defiance of a temper naturally placid
and kind.
Let us pass from this unpleasant in
cident to theme Of more cheerful i'm
port; the loves of Mildred and Arthur.
I have said these two had secret meet
ings. They were not entirely without
a witness. There was a confidant In
all their intercourse; no other than
Henry Lindsay. who united to the
reckless jollity of youth an almost
worshipping love Of his sister. His
thoughts and actions were ever akin to
her Henry was therefore a safe de-
pository- of the precious secret; and as
he, could not but think Arthur Butler
a good and gallant comrade, he deter
mined that his father was altogether
on the wrong side in respect to the love
affair and, by a natural sequence,
wrong also in his politics.
Henry had several additional reasons
for this last opinion. The whole coun-
tryside was kindled into a martial
flame, and there was nothing to be
heard but drums and trumpets. There
were rife-cor and they were all
dressed in hunting-shirts, and bugles
were blowing, and horses were neigh
Ing: how could gallant Of sixteen re-
sist 1t? Besides, Stephen Foster, the
woodman, right under the brow Of the
Dove Cote, was a lieutenant Of mount
ed rif1emen, and had, for some time
past been training Henry in the mys-
terry of his weapon, and had given him
divers lessons on the horn to sound the
signals, and had enticed him furtively
to ride in a platoon on parade, whereof
he had dubbed Henry corporal or dep
uty corporal. All this worked well for
Arthur and Mildred.
Mr.. Lindsay was not ignorant of
Henrys popularity in the neighbor-
hood, nor how much he was petted by
the volunteer soldiery. He did not OBJ
ject to this, as 1t served to quiet sus-
picion of his own dislike to the cause
and diverted the observation Of the
adherents Of what he called the Rebel
government. from his own motio1s;
whilst at the same time, he deemed 1t
no other than a gewgaw that played
upon the boyish fancy Of Henry with
out reaching his principles.
Mildred, on the contrary, did not so
regard it. She had inspired Henry
with her own sentiments, and now
carefully trained him up to feel warmly
the interests of the war, and to pre-
pare himself by discipline for the hard
life of a soldier. She early awakened
in him a wish to render service in the
field, and a resolution to accomplish
1t as soon as the occasion might ar
rive. Amongst other things, too, she
taught him to love Arthur Butler and
keep his counsel.