he (tyotuinbimt, AN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL, 19 ruDMstiKn eviiiiy B.vrimnAy, tu ' llloontitmrg, Cotumfila Count)', i'n, TKHMS. Two Dollars ft year, In advance. If not jinia In ndvnncc, Two Dollar nuit Fifty Cculs. Address nil letters to Gtiottan ir. Moonn, Hdltor of tho CouutniAN. Htoomsburg, Columbia County, Pa, SFfrnia of dftrltaiiur. One Pqnnro, one or three. Insertions..,...,.,. 1 to J?fli snbserinciit Insertion less tlinn thlriVen. One Square our month n 2 CO Tw f " ' ,. 3 W Tlueo " " - fl W l'our " " 6 W llnlf colntnn " ...i low One coHiliin " ....... 15 W Kxeru tor's nnil Admlnlstiator's Notices.- 3 00 Auditor1 Notices 1 M IMIlorlnl Notice twenty cent per lne. Other advertisements Inserted according to spc clal contract. 4 BLOOMSBURG, SATURDAY, JULY U, J8G6. VOL. I.-NO. 11. PRICE FIVE CENTS, .V iy1 MY HOME BESIDE TIIE SEA. 11V S, ft Wr.NIWOIlTlI, Tei.t. mo no moro of prairies Rrccn, With Blurry blossoms bright, Of landscapes, shadowless, sercno In Luna's silvery lli;ht; Of forest Isles, of storied mound, Whato'ur their benutlcs bo tllvo mo tho rough old stamping ground At homo beside tho sen Tell me no jiiotc of melting skies, Of breer.es soft nnd low, Of Hammer clad In gorgeous dyes, Unchlllc'd of Winter's snow. For southern shores tho northern bird Mny tnko his wings and floe I'll inaku my nest fur northernwnrd, At homo besldo tho sen. Tho Roulhron from his sunny lnnd Mny kindly welcome send, And friends I love n beek'nlng hnnd O'er western wnves extend. Their prairie homes may open wldo With Joyful slioulH for me, While two fund hearts ny thoughts dlldo At homo beside tho sea. Bweot home, where silvery heads rcposo In Life's Autumnal front, Though rude winds blow, and drl lug snows Heat down by tempests tost Fond hearts no luoro my absence shlde, Keep kindly cheer lor me, I'm coming with the Autumn thU', Old home beside the sea. DREAM-HAUNTED. I had taken n lease of Gledhills of my friend Mr. Lomond. Tho latter, beforo ho would consider the business settled, insisted upon my sleeping one night nt aicdliills. "Dobson and his wife, who havo charge of the house, will find you a tolerable dinner, and make you tip a comfortable bed. I will walk over In the morning at ten and see you; nnd then, if you aro still in tho same mind that you arc in now, I will have tho agreement drawn up at once, and you can enter upon your occupancy tho following day." Tho Autumn day was drawing to n close when I found mytclf walking up tho avenuo toward the old mansion at Gledhills. An old man answered my summons at tho door. He bowed re- upectfully at sight of me, and informed jnc that Mr. Lomond had sent word that I was about to dlno and sleep at Gledhills, and that everything was pre pared for my reception. As I crossed tho threshold tho great door closed be hind mo wth a dull, heavy crash, that vibrated through every corner of tho house, nnd awoko a foreboding echo in my heart. Preceded by my ancient guide, whom ago and rheumatism had bent almost double, I crossed tho deso late-looking entrance-hall, passed up the grand staircase, and so through a pair of folding-doors Into the drawing-room, beyond which was a suit of smaller rooms, of which two had now been set apart for my service. How chill and cheerless everything looked in tho cold light of tho dying day 1 Now that the ', glamour of sunshine rested no longer on the place, my fancy refused to invest nny of those bare, desolate rooms with - tho pleasant attributes of homo; undid- ready, in my secret mind, I half repent ' ed my facllo eagerness In being so wlll f iug to accept, without further experi- . ence, vthis worm-eaten old mansion, tenanted, doubtless, by the ghosts of a ; hundred dcad-and-gono folks, as a shel ter for my household gods, a homo for 'h nil that I held dear on earth. Tho two rooms set nsido for mo I : Annul to bo comfortably furnished, in a neat but inexpensive style ; but when I X understood from tho old man that ever hIuco tho death of tho last tenant, three years before, they had been furnished ,M nnd set aside, ready for tho reception of nny clinnco visitors, like myself, who, v5't cither by their own wish or that of Mr, ;. -j( Lomond, might decide to pass a night lWttl Gledhills, nnd threo or four would ijpbc occupants before me had so slept t thero a night each, and had gono on '''"to their several ways next morning, never "f to be seen under thntroof again, I began JMo think that there might perhaps bo something more in Mr. Lomond's slipu Jilation than was visible on tho surface. fi Having dined, and doneamplo justice ito Mr. Lomond's claret, and being pes- Usesscd in some measure by tho demon of unrest, I took my cigar and strolled 'jj along tho corridor, and so cainepresent- uly into tho great empty drawing-room, in which tho moonbeams were now wl'laying a ghostly game of hide-and ;ncek. It was unearpeted and destitute f .Of furniture, and Its oaken iloorcreaked amid groaned beneath my tread, as jjthough It wero burdened with some .-"dreadful secret which it would lain re- veal, but could not. Outside each of tho three long, narrow windows with , i which tho room was lighted was a small .balcony, below which stretched a vol vety expanse of lawn, set horonnd thero ,with a gay basket of flowers, tho whole being shut In by n clump of sombre fir I havo said that tho room was destitute of furniture, but I found alter a time that It still contained ono relic of its moro prosperous days, In tho shape of u family portrait, which still mm. over tho mantle pleeo as It had hung for half n century or more. hen 1 be )?camo awaro of this fact 1 fetched ono of h tho candles out my sitting-room, in or i, tier that I might examlno tho picture , moro closely. It was a full-length por V, trait of n man In tho military costume ..rtthnt was in vogue toward tho end of Jl last century. Tho face was very hand- jjtriomo, with n proud, resoluto beauty of (Bits own, that would havo been very at tract! vo but for n vague, repellent some- thiug a hint of something t Iger-liko and cruel lurking under tho surface of that artificial smile, which the artist had caught with rare fidelity, nnd had fixed on tho canvas forever. It must iiavo .ubt-1!! soMUlillH' !n thr lit i r liatl the countenance 't)ut tiult 'i to-vi. u likcnivi to Mr. Lomond; nun I unul only conclude that tho portrait beforo mo was that of pome notnblo ancestor of tho present master of UlcdhllR 1 ho fatigues of tho day nnd the solitude to which I was condemned drove mo to bed at an early hour; but thero was something nbout the novelty of my po sition that precluded sleep for a long tinio after I had put out my light, and 1 remember hearing some clock fctrlko twelvo whllo 1 was still desperately wldo uwako; but that is tho last thing 1 do remember, and I suppose that 1 must havo slid oil" to sleep a few minutes later, while btlll In the act of assevera ting to myself that to sleep there was for inc an impossibility. Whether I hud slept for hours or for minutes only, when 1 woke up in tho weird land of dreams, is a point on which I can oiler no opinion, I awoko to that conscious ness which is possessed by dreamers, and which, in many cases, Is quite as vivid s tho consciousness of real life; but throughout thestrange, wild drama that followed I was without any Individu ality of my own ; 1 had all the con sciousness of a spectator without tho res ponsibility of one. I was nothing; 1 had no existence in my dream; 1 was merely the witness of certain imaginary occurrences, which took place without any reference to me, and which 1 was powerless to prevent or Inlluence in the slightest degree. llofore mo was tho drawing-room at Gledhills I recognized it atoncoby the portrait of the soldier over the fireplace. Tho walls, painted of a delicate sea- green, wero hung with numerous pie tures and engravings In rich frames. A thick Aubusson carpet covered tho Uoor, and in tho huge llreplaec a wood fire, that had nearly burned it.-.elf down to n-hes, was slowly expiring. Tho furnl turo was chintz-covered, and curtains of chint. draped tho three high narrow windows. Standing in one corner, be tween tho quaintly-carved legs of a ma hogany chlUbnier, was a tall Mandarin jar, with an open-work lid, from which was exhaled a faint iiule.-cribablo per fume, as of tho bruised sweetness of a hundred flowers ; in the opposite cor ner stood a harp ; books richly bound wero scattered about tho room, which was lighted by a number of wax-can dies fixed in lustres over tho mantle- piece. Seated at a little fancy table was a girl, eighteen or twenty years old, making- believe to be busy with her embroidery, but with a mind evidently preoccupied by some more important subject. She had on a short-waUtod white dress, after the fashion of tlio.-o days, from which her long narrow skirts fell away In se date folds, utterly guiltless of all mod ern modes of extension of circumfer ence. Her faco was beautiful, and she had the air of a person quite con.-ciou-. of that fact; but underlying this charm of regular features there was something resolute and proud, that carried tho mind back, as by an instinct, to tho por trait over tho llreplaec. She had loos ened tho thick mas-es of her chestnut hair, and they now fell low down over her shoulders, confined only by a nar row baud of bluo velvet. Hound her neck was a thin chain of gold, from which hung a locket, which sho drew every now and then from the bosom of her dress, and pressed with feverish eagerness to her lips. The same impa tience was visible in tho way in which ho would put a few quick stitches into her embroidery, and then pause, with tho needle in her fingers, to listen in tently, and so lapse into a dreamy, ab sent niootl, out of which sho would wako up in a minute or two with a start, and begin to ply her needle again as restlessly as before. That something for which sho was so impatiently wailing came at last alow, clear, peculiar whistle, heard by me so distinctly through tho midst of my dream, and remembered so well when 1 awoke, that J could afterward reproduce it exactly. Tho young lady started to her feet tho moment tho signal fell on her ear. I Ier eyes flashed with a newer radiance; her soft lips pouted into a sinilo; whllo from her bosom upward a lovely flush spread swiftly, as though Kros had touched her that Instant with his torch, and already tho celestial flamo wero coursing through her veins. A brief minute sho stood thus, like a lovely statue of Kxpectnncy ; then she hurried to one of tho windows, and drawing aside tho long chintz, curtain, she placed a lighted candle clo-o to tho window as an answering signal. Then, having withdrawn tho candle and re placed tho curtain, so that tho window from the outside would seem quite dark again, sho left the room, to return pres ently Willi a ladder of thin rope, to which werealllxoU two huoKs oi steel. Her next proceeding was to lock the three doors which opened Into tho draw ing-room, anil having thus secured her self from intrusion, sho passed out of sight behind ono of tho curtains; and then I heard tho faint bound of a win dow being cautiously lifted, and J knew as well as though tho whole scene was visible to mo that sho was fixing the rope-ladder to tho balcony by means of Its hooks, and that presently her lover would bo with her. And so It fell out. A llltlo whllo, and tho curtain was lifted: tho lady came back into tho room ; and following clo.-o upon her steps camo a tall stranger, dark and handsome, like a true hero of ro mance "My darling Lenoro 1" "My dearest Vunel!" He took her in hU arms, and stooped, , ml Jw c it J c , i i ., , . .id i n ! h' uww i.ei i 1 1"0 i. ,i. 'i. I Ic w u lulu iitr eye , ill Wi.l hiiulu.i-o luciuse for him was then visible, and then ho stooped again and kissed her not less tenderly than before. His roquelattro nnd hat had fallen to tho ground, and he now stood revealed n man of fashion of tho period. As before stated, ho was eminently good looking, with languish ing black eyes, and n pensive smile such as ono usually endows itomco with in imagination. He wore his hair without parting of any kind, In a profusion of short, black, glossy curls, In which thero was no trace of tho elaboration of art, and he. was clean-shaven, except for a short whisker that terminated half-way down his cheek. He wore a bluo coat with gilt buttons, swallow-tailed, short in tho waist, and high-collared. His waistcoat was bright yellow as to color, crossed with a small black stripe; a lingo seal depended from tho fob of his black small clothes; and tho Hessian boots In which his lowcroxlreinlties were encased were poll-died to a marvellous degree of brilliancy. His cravat, white and unstarched, and tied with a large bow, was made of line, soft niu-lin ; and the frilled bosom of his shirt hud been carefully crimped by conscientious femi nine fingers. In this frill ho wore a small cluster of brilliants ; while a largo signet-ring, a genuine antique, decorat ed tho Ural linger of his right hand. Such was the appearance of Sir l)er- went Varrel ; and ab-unl as a costume like ids would now seem on tho classic Hags of Uond Street or St. James's, it yet became the baronet admirably, while he in return lent it a grace and distinc tion which made it seem the only attire proper for a gentleman. " Why did you not comolast night V" said I.enore. " Hour after hour 1 wait ed for you in vain." '"Twns not my fault, dearest, that I did not ; of that rest well a-ured," an swered Varrel. " HiHiness that brooked not delay kept mo from your side. 1 was hugely chagrined." "That weary, weary business!" sigh ed Lenoro. "'Tis ever men's excu-e. But now that you aro here, I will not bi melancholy. " Ah, that I could be for ever by your side!" She nestled her head shyly on his bo som. Hestiokcd her chestnut hairsoftly with his white hand, and looked down on her with a crafty nndsinistersmile such a Millions might light up the faco of a fowler when ho sees tho fluttering innocent which ho has been doing his best to entice begin to turn longingly toward tho snare. " Little simpleton 1" ho replied, pull intr her ear. " You speak as if what vou long for were impossible of attain ment; whereas ono word from you would make it a blissful certainty, and render two loving hearts happy for- or." " I cannot, Varrel I cannot say that word. Ah, why does my father dislike you so much?" "Mv faith! how shouldl know'.' Hut dislike is not tho word, little one. You should ask, why does ho bate me so in tensely? Thero aro those who gladly calumniate me, and for such ho has ever n ready ear; for I am unfortunate enough to havo many enemies, and doubtless twice as many faults." "Xo.no, I will not hear such Ian- rruau'e." exclaimed Lenoro. " In time my father will relent, and then" "Never, girl!" said Varrel llorcely. " Colonel Lomond is not niado of incit ing stuff. His hatred of mo ho will car- rv with him to tho grave. Never look for change in him. Sweet one," bo ad ded, changing his tone in a moment to one low-breathing, imploring tender ness "sweet one, as 1 have told thee before, both thy fate and mine aro depen dent on a binglo word from tiioso rosy lips. Uo mine, in spite of every ono! 1 am rich, and can supply thy every want. Wo will go abroad ; and m some lovely Italian valley, or fair Islo of tho east'Tii seas, wo will forget our by-gone troubles, and watch tho happy days glide softly past, while rounding our lives to that perfect love which alono can brln back Eden to this weary earth. Oil, Lenoro, dearest and best-loved, llee with mo at once and forever!" Sho was standing by tho littles table smiling, trembling, and yet with tears half starting from her lids, whllo he. kneeling on one knee, was covering her hand with passionate kisses. "Oh, Varrel, you try mo almost be vond my strength!" sho murmured. "Hut I can not, 1 youdarenot do as wish. You know not my father as well as I do. Ho would seek mo out and kill me and you too, and you too, l)er went! wherever wo might be. Ills vengeance would bo terrible and piti les-." "Timid little puss!" ho said, half scornfully, as lie rose and encircled her walt with his arm. "Am I not com potent to protect thee against tho world? Fear nothing. For this liouso of bond ago; for this stagnation of heart and soul, I will give theo life and light and love. Thou shalt exchange this" " Hush !" exclaimed Lenore, sudden ly, with n smotheied shriek. " I hear my father's footfall on tho stairs. To tho window, Varrel, or you aro lost Ono hasty kls-s and then Varrel dash cd aside tho chintz, curtain, and spran; to the window, only to fall back next moment into tho room like a man stricken in the dark. "A thousand devils! I havo been betrayed!" ho ex claimed. " Tho rope-ladder Is gone, and I see tlio figures of men moving about the lawn. Lenoro, you must hide mo !" " Too Into too lato !" sho sobbed. They both stood for a moment as 11,- .i.' i ! . . It- , w hi'- l mi- r - cui" i.ii nvm.. d ,11), ,ji i ,lt lullloiil tin i ! ' i.(n4u0 cjindcl", mid n.illvcl gui lo tliv'ul ..ich iniquity tu Ills. A fiitmoKr so door. The eyes of Lenoro and Varrel turned Instinctively to tho door-handle, and they saw It move as It was tried from tho other Bide, but tho door was still locked. " Open, Lenoro it Is 1 !" said a stern voice from without; and tho summons was emphasized by n heavy blow on the pannel of tho door. "Oh, Varrel, I daro not dUobey!" said Lenoro, In nn agonized whisper. " llltlo yourself behind tho curtains; perhaps ho may not know of your pros enco here; and when lie shall have gone to his own room we must plan your escape. Huslit not a word. Hide I hide! "Why this foolery of locked doors?" said ho who now camo In. "Am Ito bo barred out of my own rooms by a child like you V" "Tho night was so dark, and and I felt so lonely, and and " "And and you did not expect your father back so soon?" ho said, mimick ing her tone with a sneer. " Is it not so, you white-faced Jnde?" " Indeed, papa, I" pleaded the trembling Lenoro. "Don't prevaricate, girl!" ho said, with a savage stamp of tho foot. "Come, now, you will tell mo next mat. you have had no visitors eh?" " Indeed, no, papa," said Lenore, with painful eagerness. "1'een quite alono over Mnco I left home this afternoon?" "Quito alone, papa." A faint da-Oi of colorwascomingback into her cheeks by this time ; she began, perh?p.s, to hope that after all this ques tioning his suspicions would be allayed, and ho would go to his own room. If such were tho case his next words must have undeceived her terribly. "You lie, girl you Ho!" ho said, in a voice wlioe sternness was not without i tremble in it; and as he spoko he touched Varrel's hat contemptuously with hi.s foot, which up to that moment had lain unheeded on tho lloor. " Oh, that child of mine should ever live to deceive me thus!" His clasped hands and upturned face seemed to appeal to Heaven against the falsehood that hail Just been told him ; but tho next instant the look of anguish died from oil' ids face, and his features settled back into more than their former harshness as ho trode across tho floor and flung back the curtain, behind who.-o folds Varrel was concealed. "Heboid tho proof!" ho cried. " Heboid tho dimming proof ! Oh, Lenoro!" For a moment the two men stood eye ing each other in silence. Lenore, with a pitiful cry, fell at her father's feet, but bo heeded her no moro than If she had been a stone. In the father of Lenoro I beheld the original of tho picture over the drawing room inantlepieco; only ho seemed older ami more grizzled, and his fea tures more deeply marked with thecarv ing of Time's chisel than in his portrait. Ho had on a sort oi military undress uit, with a pair of heavy riding-boots and spurs, and a short heavy whip in his hand. "This, Sir Dcrwent Varrel, is an .un expected honor," said Colonel Lomond, in a tone of unconcealed irony, as he made the baronet a sweeping and cere monious bow. " l'ray pray let nie beg of you to emerge from an obscurity so uncongenial to one of your enterprising dlspo-ition. That is better, Lenore, child; let us have a little moro light on the scene it is a pleasure to look on the faco of an honest man and wo may, perchance, need it all before wo have done. More light, girl, do you hoar! And now, perhaps, Sir Dcrwent Varrel will favor us with some explanation any, tho most simple, will, of course, do for me of how ho camo (o be hidden, like a common thief, behind tho curtains of my drawing-room." Varrel's palo olive cheek Hushed deep ly at this littlo speech, and a dangerous light began to glitter in his eyes as lie stepped out of his hiding-place, and ad vanced into the room. "Colonel Lomond shall havo an ex planation as simple as lie desires," ho said. Then lie stopped to refresh his nerves with a pinch of snuff. "You aro aware, fir," lie resumed, "that I love your daughter; that several months ago I would fain have made her my wife; and that your consent alone was wanting to such a union. " Precisely so," said Colonel Lomond in tho icle.-t of tones, as be balanced the handle of his riding-whip between Ids thumb and finger. "You might prevent our marriage, sir, but you could not keep us from lov ing ono another," said Sir Dcrwent proudly. "In other words, my daughter had still sulllclent respect for mo to refuse to wed you without my consent; but you had not sulllclent respect for her to refrain from using your influence over her weak girl's will to induce her to decelvo her father, ami consent to noc turnal assignations with a libortino llko yourself. Lovo! The word Is bullied by coming from such lips as yours. You and I, Sir Dcrwent Varrel, had high words together six months ago, and 1 told you then that I would rather see my daughter lying in her cofllit than wedded to such a ono as you ; and those words I repeat again to-night. Come hither, girl," ho added, seizing Lenoro roughly by tho wrKt, "como hither, and chooio nt onco and forever between mound this man, who hastaught theo to liotothy father. WhatdolsayV Nay, thero can bono choice between such as this man and mo. 1 toll thee, ulrl, that deeply tainted that In no society of gen tlemen Ishonllowedtoplay; a libertine so vllo that to couple a woman's naino with his Is a passport to dishonor; a sharper and blackleg, who has been twice hooted oil' tho JSuwmarkct course: a bankrupt so desperately involved that only by a wealthy marriage with such a one, for example, as tho heiress of Gledhills can ho bono even partially to retrieve his fortunes. Dab! what can thy country-bred ignorance know of these things?" "Hard words, Colonel Lomond, very hard words," said Sir Dcrwent, disdain fully; "but I am happy to think, utter ly incapable of proof." "Hard words I ay, hard enough to have moved an Innocent man to right eous anger, but not, as It seems', to flut ter thy slow beating pulses ever so faint ly ; and that because thou knowest them to bo true. Proof! Hero's ono out of n dozen. Who lured sweet Mary Doris from her homo in yonder valley, and hid her away in London past the finding of her friends? Who hold tho simple village beauty lightly for n month or two, and then discarded her to starve or dio as sho might think best ? Who but you, Kir Dcrwent Varrel, unless this let ter also lies a letter signed with your napie, and found in tho poor child's pocket when sho lay with white staring faco and dripping hair in tho dead-house by tho river. And now it is my daugh ter thou seekest to entrap!" As Colonel Lomond drew from his pocket the letter of which he had been speaking, Lenore, with a low cry of anguish, sank fainting to tho lloor; nnd the horror-stricken Varrel reeled back ward like one suddenly stabbed. " Reptile! it is time the score between us were settled," said Colonel Lomond, with a venomous ferocity of tone. "Only ono of us two must leave this room alive." " I cannot I dare not fight with you," murmured Varrel. " Oh ho ! do not think to escape mo thus. You refuse to light. Then take tiie punishment of cowards." And with that tho heavy thong of Colonel Lo mond's riding-whip whistled through the air, and camo down on Varrel's neck and shoulders twice, twisting round his faco on tlic second occasion, and leavinga thin livid wheal across his cheek where it had cut into the flesh. Varrel's first impulse was to shrink backward with a mingled cry of rago and pain ; but the next instant he closed with the Colonel, and wresting tho whip from his hands, flung it to tho other end ol the room. " Give me a sword a pistol a weap on of any kind!" ho cried hoarsely. "This vile treatment absolves me from nil consequences. Colonel Lomond, your blood bo upon your own head!" The Colonel smiled sweetly on him. "Well spoken," bo said, "only that you express yourself soinowhat after the I'urlo-o fashion. Your cry lo arms is worthy of all praise, and I hasten to comply with it. In this cabinet, sir, are i couple of as pretty playthings as ever gladdened the eyes of a gentleman. 'oila! they are both alike m every par ticular. The choice is yours. Varrel's lingers closed tho hilt of one of the rapiers thus presented to him ; and while he tried its edge and temper, by running his thumb and linger appre ciatively along its length, and by bend ing its points back nearly to the hilt, Colonel Lomond disembarrassed hini-elf of the cumbrous overcoat in which ho was enveloped ; and next minute the two men fronted each other. " Gardez-vous, Monsieur" cried Col onel Lomond, as he made the first pass. It was thoroughly understood by both of them that they wero fighting for dear life that neither of them must look for mercv from tho other. Both of them wero excellent swordsmen, but Sir Dor- went had tho advantage of youth and agility on his side, and be pressed the Colonel hardly, who, while keeping up ids defenco warily, yet felt himself com pelled to retreat step by step beforo the desperato lungs of hi.s antagonist." Tho clash of the r. words seemed to l.rou-c Lenoro from the stupor Into which she hud fallen. With her hands pressed to her temples, and with glaring eye balls, that followed every movement of the combatants, sho staggered to her feet. Her lips moved, but no sound came from them. Perhaps sho was a.-klng herself whether it wero not nil a hideous nightmare, which tho llrst breath of reality would dissipate forever. With tho same mingled look of horror and unbelief on her facosho watched the two men coming slowly down the room again, for Colonel Lomond wasstlll slight ly overborne by his moro youthful an tagonist. Tho raiders da.-bed together; bright sparks How from their polished blue-black surface, as they struck each other, and bent and quivered llko things of llfo in the grasp of tho sinewy hands that held them, Tho combatants wero Just opposite the spot where tho half-demented Lenore was btandiug llko ono Incapable of motion, when Maidenly, at a movement In tierce, tho point of Colonel Lomond's rapier snapped oil'; an advantage which Varrel instantly followed up with a dextrous stroke, which .-out tho Colonel's broken weapon ilyingacro-s tho room. Lenore, with the quick Instinct of love, divined her fathoi' danger; and tho same mo ment that the rapier was twisted out of his hand sho sprang forward witltawild Inarticulate cry to shield him with her body from what sho knew must follow' and the sword of Varrel, aimed at her father's heart with all tho strength I which bate and the de.-lro of voiigeunio , i-..'d I t -nil l j "-Hi . i ir-i. .t U li o' a tin- '-, 'i tUu bi-ov Of tU lluj'U girl. Her father's arms caught her as sho was falling. " Papa kiss forgive," sho murmured In Ills car; then a stream of blood burst from her Hps, sho shud dered slightly, and was dead. Colonel Lomond pressed his quivering Hps tenderly on her forehead; then lift ing her In his arms, he carried her to a couch. " Llo thero a littlo while, sweet. foolish darling," he said. "Perhaps 1 may Join theo on thy journey beforo long." Varrel, who was llko a man half-craz ed, would havo rung for help, but Col onel Lomond, by a gesture, forbade him to do so. " You and I, sir," said tho Colonel, "havo still our littlo business to arrange." "Great Heaven I what would you more?" exclaimed Sir Dcrwent. " Kevengo my daughter's death !" said Leniond. " Her death was a pure accident." "Granted. She died to save my life, nnd that life I now devote to avenging her memory. What I said beforo 1 say again only one of us two shall quit lids room alive. Here are two pistols; ono of them is loaded and tho other is un loaded. Chooo ono of them. In three minutes that clock on tho chiinney-pleco will strike tho hour. At tho llrst stroke wo will lire acro-s this table; and may Heaven havo mercy on tho soul of ono of us!" " It would bo murder I" said Varrel, in n low voice, while a cold sweat broke out on ids ashen face. " Call It by what name you will," said Lomond ; " but as I havesaid, soltsliall be. Dare to refuse, and by tho great Fiend of Darkness, whose true son you are, I will tlu-ic-h you with yonder whip within an inch of your life, and send you forth into tho world branded forever as a coward and a rogue." Sir Dcrwent wiped the perspiration off his forehead with his lace-bordered hand kerchief, and his dry Hps moved In faint protest. His courage was beginning to waver. Tlje slow, patient ferocity of bis enemy was not without its effect upon him. "Choose!" said Colonel Lomond, ns lie laid a brace of pistols on tho table Varrel hesitated for a moment which lo pick, and Lomond smiled grimly. No fresh arrangement of position was ne ecs-wry, they being already on opposite sides of the table, on which pour Lo noro's embroidery was still lying, as she had cast it aside on tho first flutter of hearing her lover's signal. " Colonel Lomond, I must make a last protest against this bloody business," said Varrel. Again the Colonel smiled. "In ten seconds," be'sald, " the clock will strike Do ready." There was a great contrast between the two men as they stood thus, fronting what for one of them niut bo inevitable death. Colonel Lomond's bronzed cheek looked even darker than usual, and his eve seemed to burn with intense hato as ho stood gazing at his antagonist from under his lowering brows; but his ox- tended arm was ns linn as a bar of steel. Varrel was evidently nervous. 1 lis lips had faded to a dull bluish white; lie pressed ono hand to hi.s chest occasional ly, as if to still the throbbing heart be neath ; while tho other, which held the pi.-tol, trembled slightly in spite of him. Fo u r soco 1 1 d t h ree seco nd s t wo sec onds. The deathly brooding stillness that prevailed the room was something awful. One second. The silvery bell of tho little French clock had not complet ed its llrst stroke before tho two triggers were pulled. ' A fla-h, a report, and a gu-h of smoke from one of tho weapons, and Sir Dcrwent Varrel, shot through the heart, fell back dead. "So perishes a thorough scoundrel," said Colonel Lomond, as ho gazed Into tho faco of his dead enemy. Suddenly a door opened and showed a very old lady, with white hair, and clad in a white dressing-robe, standing in the entrance. From the movement of her hands you understood that she was blind, or nearly so. "Henry! Henry! where are you?" sho cried. " Some one tired a pistol just now. Oh, tell me that you aro not hurt !" and she advanced a step or two into the room. A npam of anguish passed over the face of Colonel Lomond, "lamiiereanii well, mother," hesald. " Pray, return to your room. I am sorry to have disturb ed you." "And Lenore," said tho old lady, plaintively, " why has not Lenore been to kiss me, and say good-night? Has the child gone to bed?" "Lenore is n-lcop, mother," said tho Colonel, in a whisper. " Wo must not disturb her. She shall como to you in tho morning." "Strange strange," murmured the old lady ; " she never forgot me before ;" and wiili that she turned ami went slow ly away, groping with her hands before her; and tho Colonel, falling on his knees, burled his face In the white dre-s of his dead daughter. At which point tho whole machinery of my dream dis solved away, and I awoke. Thero was no moro sleep for nio that night. So lifelike and vivid was my extraordinary dream, so much did It seem llko a part of my own personal ex perience, that tho effect left by It on my mind was not lightly to bo shaken oil'. Lenore's wild cry as sho flung herself Into her father'sarms, the voices of Var rel and Doinondln angry dNptile, seem ed silll to echo in my hrnln ; and I felt that every minute Incident of that ter rible tragedy must henceforth be, ns it were, a part of my own life. Impelled by -iiino vai'iio f'e'liig which I could not a i , I qulti-'d ny hi'd '.( ,j,.um . dered, half dressed, Into tho great deso late drawing-room, tho scene of nil tho strange incidents in my dream. Tho ghostly splendor of the moonlight filled it no longer; It was ns cold, dark, and silent ns some vnst tomb. As I stood In the doorway, longing, and yet afraid to enter, n gust of night-wind sweeping; up tho valley rattled tho windows of tho old mansion ; and what seemed like a low, responslvo sigh camo to mo out of tho gloom, a sigh so unutterably tad that, with a shudder, I stepped backward and shut the door. I was very glad when fen o'clock came, and brought Mr. Lomond, punc tual to the minute. " Jt Is only what I expected," bo said, when I had given him an outline of my singular dream; and I may now tell you, sir, that prc eNcly the same dream which Impressed you so strongly last night Is dreamed by every one, no matter who they may be, the first time they sleep nt Gledhills, and never nftcrwrfrd; and Ibis curse for I may truly call it by that name has hung over the house from the night on which tho tragedy, which you wit nessed last night only in imagination, was worked out in all its dismal reality within these walls. You will now un derstand why I requested you to sleep one night at Gledhills beforo finally de ciding that you would take tho house; and It remains for you to consider wheth er your wife, whose health you say is delicate, could undergo such an ordeal as she would assuredly havo to pass through tho first night of her sojourn under this roof." I decided that sho could not enduro- tho trial, and gave up Gledhilh). NEW PORTRAIT OF VICTORIA. Tin: miniature which her Majesty in tends for presentation to Mr. Peabody has been entrusted for Its execution to Messrs. Dickerson, and tho drawing- from which tho enamel is to bo taken is now on view at their rooms, Now Uond Street, London. As a portrait this elegant work may bo considered small, but tho necessities of the art of enamelling may compel Its being limi ted to a size something between the min iature and tho ordinary chalk drawings of heads. Tho Queen is portrayed in her robes, nod it is understood that nibro than usual care was to bo taken that tho likeness might bo truthful. The faco bears traces of long-continued grief; tho lines aro strongly marked round tho mouth and under tho eyes, but there is with this characteristic a soft and thoughtful expression, which the artist lias been particularly happy in giving. The look and tho roundness of maturity, with tho firmly-set Hps, aro 6omowhat in contrast with tho portrait of tho Queen with which wo aro familiar. As a work of art this miniature is of llio highest class, and well suited for trans fer to enamel, in which difficult and ef fective style Mr. Tilt is about to execnto it. Knamcl has been selected on account of its imperishable qualities, in accord- enco witli tho wishes of Mr. Peabody, whoso Intention it is to place the por trait in an institution founded by him in his nativo town, Boston, United States. London Observer, TIIE LAUGH OP WOMAN. A woman lias no natural gift moro bewitching than a sweet laugh. It is liko the sound of flutes on tho water. It leaps from her in a clear, sparkling rill ; and the heart that hears it feels oh if bathed in liocool,exlilllratlng spring. Have you over pursued nn unseen fugi tive through trees, led on by a fairy laugh now here, now there, now lost, now found ? Wo have ; and wo aro pur suing that wandering voice to tills day. Sometimes it comes to us in tho midst of care, or sorrow, or irksomo business, and then wo turn away and listen, and hear it ringing in the room liko a silver bell, with power to scare away tho evil spirit of mind. How much wo owo to that sweet laugh! It turns proso to poetry; It flings flowers of sunshino over the darkness of tho wood in which wo are travelling; It touches with light even our sleep, which is no moro than the imago of death, but is consumed with dreams that aro tho shadows of immortality. TIIE PURP HEART. Tin: springs of everlasting Hfo aro within. Thero aro clear streams gush ing up from tho depths of tho soul, and flowing out to enliven tho spheres of outward existence. Hut like tho waters of Slloam, they "go swiftly." You must listen to catch tho silvery tones of tho little rill as It glides from its moun tain home; you may not witness its si lent march through tho green val'btit its course will bosceii in tho fresh ver dure and tho opening flowers; its prcs enco will bo known by tho forms of Hfo and beauty that gather round it. It Is ever thus with tho pure. You may not hear tho "still, small voice," or heed thosilonttispiration, but thero Is n moral influence- nnd n holy power which you will feel. Tho wilderness is made to smile, flowers of new life and beauty snring up and flourMi, while an invisi ble prscnco breathes immortal frag rance through the atmosphere. N.vti'iu: Is a bounteous storehousn laden with sweets nnd iilea-urcs kinds. The dewdrops of tho morn aro her Joyous tears ; tli JiJi fnviil (.t'-iuv1 nlnliitj In., 'ir: house. Thus In idea-wnj.-""" , lUl us onward and upw' KmtltudoanA love to tho DlvJ'ver and Omit DIs-,,0-cr vm has prepaied for us a pano 1lirj1 iM-ich.toihei'-''' ' ' ' 111 pin J 9 S y
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