Northern Weekly Gazette. — 1896-11-28 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

SYNOPSIS OF OPENING CHAPTERS. AU the interest of the story of "Pile Missing Bride" centres round Luckenough Hall, situated In the forest: of St. Mary's, on the Wiccanioo river, Maryland. The founder of Luckenough was .Alexander Kalouga, a Polish soldier of fortune, who, previous to his final emigration to the New World, had passed through a life of the most wonderful vicissitudes. He was a pupil of Guy Fawkes and an out-and-out buccaneer in later life. Nicicolus Waugh, the present owner, adopted his orphan grand-niece, the beautiful Edith Lance, whom he took from the Catholic Orphan Asylum, where she had found refuge since the death of her parents, as his heiress. She was delicate, dreamy, and retiring, and tinged with a certain pensiveths effect of too much early sorrow and segluwon. The two first chapters tell ha of her leaving Luckenough for a more secure abode, but when *be lamas the real object of her visit to distant Mends is her greater security she turns her horse's bead back to the posseseions she will inherit.  It wag some time before he was lost in glum be And then she was suddenly aroused by the voice of .Tenny. esdling— "Miss Edith! Miss Edith! Oh! for de Lord's sake, wake up!" "What's the matter-" exolaimed the young girl, starting up. "J es listen! Jet; you listen! Listen at dat der noise on t'other side o de house!" Edith listened. "It is only the wind, Jenny, shaking the old shutters," said Edith, as she turned over, and tried to calm her somewhat excited nerves to rest. It was more difficult this time. But at length she fell into a disturbed sleep, from which she was again quickly startled by the sound of Jenny's voice, crying— " Oh. Miss Edv! Miss Edy for your life!—for your precious life, jump up!" Again the little girl sprang up, bather in a cold perspiration and quaking with terror. "What is it, Jenny? Oh! Jenny, what is it?" "The marowdies! the marowdies, Miss; Edy! Oh! don't you hear them tramping all around the house?" Edith sprang out of bed, and went to a window, and listened breathlessly. The snort and tramping of a horse somewhat reassured her. She came back, saying— "It's only some of our cattle, Jenny—our own familiar cows and horses—that have strayed into the yard." "I would o' swore it was the British army!" said the old woman. "Jenny, you must really govern your fears and quiet yourself You have KO harassed and tn.nerved me that if anything should' really happen, I am unprepared for the exigency—unable to protect either you or myself!' Old Jenny laid down and sobbed compunotiously—" I can't help of it! I hopes neber to see sich anoder night while cher I lib." Edith returned to bed, and addressed herself once more to sleep. It was in vain—her nerves were fearfully excited. In vain She tried to combat her terrors—they completely overmastered her. In vain she recalled her own resolutions of fortitude and courage--in vain she summoned to her mind the examples of all the heroic women of history :her heart seemed fainting in her bosom with dread. This was partly to be attributed bp Edith's delicate constitution. A heroic spirit requires a strong physical organisation—or, in default of that, a powerful mental excitement to corroborate it. Edith had neither. And now that vivid imagination which had been in safety her greatest delight, now in peril became her most terrible scourge. It conjured up to htr the scenes of violence of which her chamber might become the bloody stage. At length she was driven again to the foot of God's throne for mercy. She clasped her hands and prayed. Ah! more than the recolleation of all the examples of all the heroines of history, did this prayer calm and restore the perturbed mind of Edith. Repeating it, she sank into a deep, refreshing sleep of several hours. She was violently shocked out of it. Old Jenny stood over her, lifting her up, shaking her, and shouting in her ears— Miss Edith! Miss Edith! it is no false 'larm now! They are here! they are here! We shall be murdered in our beds!" Edith was wide awake in an instant—and very calm. The effect of her prayer had not left her. It was no false alarm this time.