The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-01


 | ing, helpless nature offered all too good a l soil for this bitter persecution. Lady Ash 1 ton saw her wandering eye her hectc | cheek and her frightened stare, and felt
 no greater sympathy than that which
 hostile engineer feels as he sees the tow CTS of besieged city reel under his artll- | lery.
 1 At last Lucy announced that she was | conscious. that heaven and hell had set | themselves against her union with Ray | enswood. but that she was bound by her
 promise till she was set free by him.. Let
 me be assured that he will free me" said
 she, "and you may dispose of me as you | please. I care not how"
 | The unnatural light in her eyes showed her parents that she was bent on her pur- pose. Lady Ashton dictated a letter which was dispatched to the continent; and the | girl agreed that if no answer arrived by | St Jude's Dad she would sign the mar rase contract with Bucklaw
 St Jude's Day came, and there was neither letter nor news from Rovenswood. BuclSlew arrived at the castle, the min
 ister came with the papers and Lucy was led in, splendid in satin and Brussels lace, but with a face as pale as the dead. She signed with a hand that seemed to move over the poper blindly. Just as she traced the last letter a heavy tramp sounded outside, a commanding voice rang out and
  open.
 His rich dress was travel-soiled. He had a sword by his side and pistols in his belt. His. dark features were wasted by sorrow and bore the ghastly marks of dire illness. Bucklaw and Colonel Ashton started toward him furiously, but he merely waved his hand and said: Pa tience! We shall find time and place for our dispute. Is that your handwriting, dar Ga bn held rd Lucy the letter which Lady Ashton had dictated.
 A faltering "yes" seemed rather to breathe from her lips than to be ut tered.
 And Is that also your writting?" asked he, pointing to the contract. Lucy looked at him in terror and silence. The Master of Ravenswood drew his sword and pulled pistol from his bet. Murder me by numbers you possibly may" said he. But I will not die without ample vengeance. If this young lady desires the restoration of her con tract of her own free will, a withered leaf is not more valueless In my eyes. But I must hear it from her own lips alone. Now choose-choose if you will have this hall flooded with blood or If you will grant me the interview" | Again the men interposed furiousiy,
  minister called on them to give the
 Master his right an dat last prevailed l on them to let him speak to Lucy in | the presence. of himself and her mothe .. It was a bitter interview that fol- lowed; an interview in which Lucy | could hardly utter a word At last. | when the minister said that he would vouch on his sacred character that the | marriage contract had been signed by | 1at I l before her the broken half of the gold piece and took from her hand the other which she loosed from her throat with l trembling fingers. He threw it Into l the fire and trod on it with his heel. T have nothing further to say to you I madam" exclaimed he, turning to the all but insenabe girl, except to pray | to God that you may not become worlds wonder for this act of wilful l perjury" He turned on his heel and l strode away. The next moment the hoof beats of his horse sounded dowa | the road
 | After the terrible scene Lucy was car
 red to her chamber, where she lay In a 1 stupor for several days. She was reused 1 to be dressed for her wedding with Buck l law, which Lady Ashton was bent on ] hurrying through. The bridal guests as- | sembled in gallant troops from near an'l
  I and there was light in her eyes which l added to her pale beauty. A thousand l joyous exclamat tions greeted the shining train on the way to church and back. Tn the castle magnificent banquet awaited 1 them and after 1t the gay party thronged | into the great ballroom. According to etl- quette, the bride should have opened the ball; but Lady Ashtovl made apology on
 account of her daugh&rs health and of- fered her hand to Bucklaw.
 But just as she stepAed forth to begin the dance she was sol Hmuch amazed by 1 something that she Hlw that she eX- claimed loudly: "Who IL dared to change the pictures?' All look up and saw, in the place of Sir Williams fathers pie ture, the portrait of old Sir Malise Raw enswood frownng wrath and vengeance on those below.
 Lady Ashton recovered herself and or dered the picture removed. Then sha opened the ball with such grace that she charmed all who beheld her After about
 an hour she whispered to the bridegroom,
 who extricated himself from the dancers and vanished from the scene.
 The instruments were playing thelr loudest strains. The dancers were in the 1 height of their merriment-wh through 1 the castle rang cry so fearful that 1t ar l rested at once both music and dance. All stood motionless, but when the | dreadful cry rang out again Colonel Ash | ton snatched torch from the wall and, l followed by few other near relatives, | rushed to the bridal chamber.
 | When he tried to open the door he found 1 opposition from something that lay
 against it. He forced it open and found l the body of the bridegroom lying there, | flooded with blood In the chimney
 place crouchedLucy-her headgear dis
 heveled, her clothes torn and dabbed with
 blood and her eyes glazed. She gibbered, | made mouths and pointed with bloody fin-
 gers in manias exultation As they bore | her from the chamber she looked down 1 to the spot whence Bucklaw had been re-
 moved and said, grinning horribly: "So
 you have ten up your bonny bride | groom?"
 ] The terrified guests fled from the castle, ! leaving only a small party of Bucklaw's | friends who stayed to watch over him. | The surgeons found that he had been l stabbed dangerously but not fatally, and, | in fact, he recovered in time But neither l then nor ever in the future would he so ! much as hint at the dark happening of his | wedding night. He soon shut of all in- | qury by announcing that he had neither
 story to tell nor a& injury to avenge l and that he should consider any question | on the subject as equivalent to an invi- | taton to duel.
 | However, his story was not needed to | tbrow light on the tragedy. It was only