Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1909-09-09

and he resumed bis journey. H,
was In momentary expectation o
overtaking the party In advance
and made sure Of doing 30 when h,
should reach the fisherman . hu
upon the river beach, towards which
10 was his purpose % direct his
way. Occasionally. q farm houss
opened upon his view across q dis
tant field; but he was unwilling q
lose the time which a digressior
from his road 10 visit IL would havs
required. only for the sake Of assur
ing himself OF his road, with which
he believed himself 10 be sufficient
ly acquainted. At length, night be
gan TO fall around him, and his path
20 become sadly perplexed. AT
times, 10 could scarce make out Id
sraees In tha. .Qpscurity Of the wood;
- times. IL broke upOn bis view
with fresh distinctness, Is it traver.
sed region Of white sand, and thus
served only 10 lure him forward
with more alacrity, In the hope oil
soon reaching the margin of the
river, from whence, even In the
dark, he knew he could find his
way back-at least, as far as the
house OF st. Inigo's. where he could
get shelter for the night. Now and
then, his hopes were dashed by
finding himself involved In those
thickets OF alder and bay which de-
note the presence of o marsh, and
he was obliged to thread his diff
cult track around the head of some
inlet from the river. It grew al
last TO be dark night, and, to add
TO his discomfort. the rain began 10
fall. The Secretary dismounted
from his horse and stood, with sup.
pressed breath, endeavoring %
catch the sound Of distant waves,
hoping to find himself near enough
10 the river 70 obtain this guide %
his footsteps; but all was silent, OK.
cept the pattering Of rain upon the
dry leaves Of the forest, and the i'm
patient paving OF his horse upon the
sod. He shouted aloud for his lost
companions, but his voice echoed,
without q response, through the
lonesome wood. ''I jested with
thee" he muttered to himself, In q
jocular tone, referring to the maid
en- who was ever uppermost in his
thoughts, ~ jested with thee, but
q few hours ago. upon my keeping
q vigil OF Holland Mass in the woods.
Dear Blanche. thought nothing
farther away than that jest should
be true; but here my evil destiny
hath brought me, for a punishment,
to make it real. Well. can endure.
Heart Of grace.-I will confront II
manfullyi ! would I could but raise
o fire. / can fast upon my vigil and
think nothing OF it,-if it were not
that my limbs are chilled and my
joints growing stiff with cold"
He now groped around TO gather
some dry wood, hoping by the aid
OF his pistol, TO kindle q blaze by
which he might warm himself and
prepare TO spend the night In more
comfort than on his horse. He Ia
bored In vain, for everything be
could lay bis hand on was saturated
with moisture. Atlength. he mount
ed again into his saddle, determined
to ride onward until he should
chance TO find some place Of shelter,
He had now not only lost his path,
but also all perception Of his course:
the darkness confused him, and he
therefore plodded on at q slow pace,
unconscious 10 what quarter of the
compass his footsteps tended, and
disc ouraRed with the thought that
every moment, perhaps, carried him
still further from the home be was
anxious to seek.
For q while his spirits sustained
him without dropping. A man In
such situation sometimes finds mo-
tives OF cheerfulness in the very
Of his circumstances.
Under some such impulse our wan
derer, as he piled his uneasy jour
ney through the dark, broke forth
in song, and in succession poured
out nearly the full treasures OF his
musical memory but wearying oi
this at last, his note changed 10
whispered sighs OF self-reproof for
the folly OF venturing alone into such
o wilderness at such an hour. His
mind then ran upon the images
which the creed Of that day sup
piled TO the imagination OF our pro-
genitors-"t the swart fairy" blue,
meagre hag." the spirit OF the wood ,
the wizard aud the spectre: then
M Fna pna rae ~ hanl;a4; "a .i.
prowling savages. aud thoughts of
some accidental coming alone upon
the den OF the murderers, whose re-
cent doings had occasioned his pres
ent ride. With these fancies sway
ing bis mind. he grew apprehensive,
and distrustful at every step. There
are moments when the stoutest heart
will quail before the coujurations OF
the imagination and 10 is no dis
Of the bravery OF the
Secretary &c say. that, on this night.
he sometimes felt o shudder creep
ing over him at the fictious of his
own excited fancy. The rustic of
leaves, or the short snap OF a rotten
bough, as the fox prowled along his
stealthy path, more than once caus
ed him TO put his hand upon his
sword and 10 ride cautiously for
ward, as II in certain expectation oil
0 foe; and not until he had thrice
challenged the imaginary conner, did
he relax his grasp OF bis weapon.
In this state Of mind, for full four
hours after dark, did he wander, un-
certain OF bis way through wood
and over plain, mid brush and brier,
over fen and field. At length his
ear could plainly distinguish the
beat OF waves upon a strand, and il
was With joyful change of feeling
that he believed himself, after so