111
STALVI,.E3 =c)
TOWANDA:
taturban Sltorninpc Jannacn 2A, 1852.
THE WAY TO BE BRAVE.
Speak kindly to that pour old man,
Pick op his fallen cane,
And place it gently in his hand,
That he may walk again.
His bundle, too replace with cam
Beneath his trembling arm;
Brave all, the taunts that you may heat,
To give his life a charm.
A braver deed than scorners boast
Will be your triumph then,
A braver deed than annals tell,
Of some distinguished , tita n. Ye-, leave that thoughtless, sneering crowd;
Dare to he good 'and kind ;
Then let them lacgh, as laugh they may,
- Pass on„but never mind.
Pass on; hut think once more of him
' The wreck th.it you hive seen,
How once a happy boy lake you
He sported on the green ; •
A cloudless iky above hiehead;
The future brilht and fair,
And friends all notching o'er his conch
To breatkallection's prayer.
But ah, the change ! He shziders now,
Fosaken, lone and sad— •
Thrice blessed is the task of those 6
Who Arive to make him glad.
Speak kindly to that poor old marr,
P.ck up his fallen cane,
To that will ease has burdened heart;
And make him smile again.
TOE STORM4IGHTS OF &NZASfk.
• RY VEIGH RITCHIE
The main road from the Lago Maggiore to the
western partsof Sw itzetland at one time ran fitroUgh
the valley of Anzasea ; • and it was once my fortune
to be detained all night at a cottage in one of its
oddest defiles, by a storm which rendered my
horse ungovernable While leaning upon a bench
and looking with a drdwsy cniiosity .towards the
window-1 saw a small; taint light among the rocks
distance. lat first conteived that, it might
proceed from a cottage window ; but remember.
in; that part ofihe mountain was vrhcflly Uninhabited,
and indeed uninhabitable, I-roused myself, and cal
m; one of the tritily, inquired what it all meant.
While I spoke, the light suddenly vanished; but
to about a minute reappeared in another place,
IS if the bearer had gone round some intervening
lock. The storm at that lime raged with a fury
which threatened to blow our hut with its men and
the night was so, intensely- dark Abet the edges of
the horizon were wholly undistinguishable from the
sky.
" There it is again !" said I. 11 What is that,, in
the name of God ?"
It is !Ai s's lamp ?" cried the young man eager
lr, who was a sort of otir host. " Awake father !
Ito, Batista !—Vittorio ! t.elia is on the mountain"
At these cries the whole family sprung up from the
lair at mice and crowding around the window, dud
tneir eyes on the light ( vrhich continued to appear,
although at long intervals for A considerable partof
the night. When interrogated as to the nature of
this mystic lamp the cottagers, made no scruple of
telling me all they knew, on the sole cclnditiolt.that
I should he silent fwhen It apptiaiedi and' leaire
them to mark uninieriuptedly the spot where it rest
ed.
To render my story' intelligible, it
. is necessary
to ray that the minerali and farmers form two ills
:met classes in the vally of Anzasca.o, The occu
potion of the former ; when pursned as a profession
in reckoned dis'atpmabla by the other inhabitants,
who obtain their Alvin; by regular industry; and
indeed the manners of the minerali oiler some excuse
for what might otherwise be reckoned an illiberal
prejudice —They are addicted to drinking, quarrel
tome, overbearing—at one moment rich, at another
starving„ ; and; in short, they are embject to ail the
calamities, both moral and physical, which beset
men who can have no dependance on the product
of their labor ranking ikthis respect to gamesters,
awhile, and other vagabonds.
They are notwithstundirg, a fine race of men—
brave, tardy, and often handsome., They spend
lively what they Win lightly, and if one day they
!jeep oil their hunger, lying-like wild animals bask
Ina in the son the next, it fortune has been prop,
"LIA• ihn)stvaager about gallant and gay; the eras
of 'he eit(h;y. Like the eons cid God, the ,mifterali
smnennies rnake. love to the danglitei 8 Of men ; arid
al:"11.1h 1111. ,teliten pn=sosa the lewd, they occa-
R 1 ,1141. 1) ',net! the , Iteart,yl Ala gentle maidens of
A 1 174.C1
IME
k tinsuct..:,slll: there are coinrades
1 . .1 w•lde t ckit, ~11 ~ se arms are always
operi in receive the desperate and the brave. The
clouttle of the scene, anti betake thetrisettres to the
ht;hways , altell nighis.are dark and travelers are
wt wary; or they list under the banner o( tense reg.,.
Oar baudsoi. who rob in tnnusands, and whotitf
Wry is a province or a kbiTlom. •
Frcice:eo Marielb was the handsomest :t old
'eeter the volley:.-,He was wild, it is true, but
Plat v.a. the
.tribei and made up for
th "bY go many good twiddles, - that the ranters
i ;:eriatires—at least such of them as bad not mar '
r?gtahle daughters—delighted in his company.
FUT •
iceseo could sing ballad. so sweetly and mourn
!Zr that the old dames leant back in the chimney
corner to weep while he sung. He hadihat deep
and in ,, Aneltolly voice, which when once heard,
Ilitgeis in the-ear, and When heard, again, howev
er unetp..ciedly, seems like 41 longing once. realiz.
ea
There was only one young Ins. in the valley
vhn 6sd mt heard the songs 01 Flan 4 cesuo.---i4l -the
seen or nuseen t on some pretext or oil•er r
had tuati6etl then curiosity. • The exception was
• The valley of Anzasca bas been fur many ten.
tunes known for its gold-mines. The minefrali are
14 %e whose occupation- it is to look for ore. In
':army nights small lights are to be seen upon the
"its, which sre supposedts indicate the ptesence:of
•
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IME
'Lelia, the (tangier stone or the &beet tatmers in
Anzasea.
Lelia wilt very young, being scarcely sisteen - ; but
in her quality of sr, only daughter, with a dowry in
expectancy equafto morethan onethousand Austri
a* liras, she attracted consideiable observation.
HS face, on swim*, inspection, was beautiful to
abpolute perfection, but her figure, although sym.
metrical, was so polite, and her manner so shy and
girlish, that she was thought of more as n child
than a young woman. , The " heiress of old , Nit:co
lit7 was the designation made use of, when parents
Would endeaTor to awaken the ambitions of their
sons, aalhey looked forward to what might be some
years hence; but Lelia, in her own person was a
nonentity.
Her mother had died in giving her birth ; and
for ninny a•year the life of the child had been pre
served, or rather her death prevented; by what
seemed a miracle. Even after the disease, what
ever it might have been, had yielded, to the sleep.
less care of her father, she remained in that state
which part of the country might have passed for
delicacy of feeling.
Besides being in some degree shut out from the
society of her equals by this peculiarity of situation
she was prevented from enjoying it by another.
While her body' languished, the cultivation of her
mind bad advanced. Music, to which she was
passionately attached, paved the way for poetry ;
to spite of the doctrines is described in the exprer
eion " not unwell" rather in perfect health ; al
ibi:lash the most troublesomt. memento that remain
ed of her illness was nothing more than a nervous
timidity, which in a more civilized of a certain
school you have in England, unfitted her lot..asso
ciation with the ignorant and unrefined. That Le
lia, therefore, had never sought to hear the ballads
of Erancesco, was occasioned,, it may readily be
believed, by nothing more than an instinctive ter.
ror mingled with the dislike with which the name
of the ruffian minerali inspired her : and in truth,
she listened to the tales that from time, to time
reached her eat; of the young gold-seeker, with
somewhat of the vague and distant interest with
which we attend to descriptions or a beautiful but
wjltl and cruel animal of another heinisphere.
There came one at last, however, to whom poor
Lilia listened. She was sitting alone, according to
her usual custom, at the bottom of her lathe! gar
den, singing, while she plied her knitting needle,
in the soft low tone peiultar to her voice, and be
yond which it had do compass. The only fence of
the garden at this place was a belt of shrubs; which
enriched the border of the'cleep ravine it overlook
ed. At the bottom of this ravine flowed the river,
rapid and yet sullen; and beyond, scarcely distant
two hundred yards. a range of precipitous cliffs
shut in the horizon. The wilt and desolate aspe c 'el
otthe scene was overshadowed and controlled, as
it were, by the stern grandeur of these ramjarts of
nature; and the whole contributed to fortesuelr a
picture as artists travel a ihonsand miles to cocteth.
plate. Lelia, however, had looked upon horn
her childhood. It had never been forced upon her
imagination by contrast, for she l i ked never traveled
five miles from her father's houee, and she contin
ued to knit, and sing, and dream, without even
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY AT TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA, BY E, O'MEARA GOODRICH.-
raising her eyes
Her voice was loud enough to be caught by the
echoes of the opposite rocks ; although sometimes,
it did happen that, milled away by enthusiasm, she
produced a tone which 'was repeated by the fairy
minstrels of the glen. On the present occasion she
listened with surprise to a similar effect, for her
voice had died almost in a whisper; She rang a
mania in I louder keg The challenge was accep
ted, and a rich, sweet voice took up the the strain
of her lavorite ballad where she had dropped it
telia's first impUlseit was to fly ; her second to sit
still and watch for a renewal of the music ; and the
third, which obeyed, le -steal on-tiptoe to the edge
of the ravine, and look down into-the abyss, from
whence the voice seemed to proceed The echo
she discovered, was a young man engaged in tam;
igating a raft down the river—such as is used by the
peasantry of the Alps 'o float themselves and their
wareitto market, and which at this moment atrand•
ed on the shore, at die foot of the garden. He
leant upon an oar, as if in the act of pushing of! his
clumsy boat : but his face was upturned, like one,
watchine. for the appear-uice of a star ; and Lelia
(cli a stitht-.11 eim v. whorl she knew not why, that he
had seen tier through he trees while she eat sing.
ins and had t'btopted this method of tomb 1- , loir
attention without alarmiret her. If such had been
his purpose, he scene I in have no °het' r mew ;
after gazing for an im-tant, he , withdrew Ili , ryes in
confusi , . , ~, d pimhing ofl the raft, dropped rapidly
down 1:1,t aver, and was soon out of s‘ght.
Lelia's He was as c..'m as the sleeping lake,
which a cloud will blat I.c:i, and the wing of an
insect disturb. Even this little incident was a mat
ter for the thought, and entered into the soft rever
ies of sixteen. She. felt-her cheeks tingle as she
wondered how long the young man had gazed at
her throilg 2 h trees, and why he had floated away
without speaking When he succeeded in attracting
her attention. . There was a delicacy 'in his little
contrivance, to save hersurprise, perhaps the terror
,of seeing a stranger' in a such a situatioo ;';there
was modesty in the contusion with which he turned
away his head ; and, what perhaps was as valuable
as either even to the gentle Lelia;: there was admi
ration, deep and devout; in those b;illiant eyes that
had wailed beneath' hers.
The youth was as beautiful as a dream—and his
voice !--it was so clear and yet siii soft—so power.
fat, yet so melodious ! It haunted her ear like a
prediction.
It was a weekbefore she agau ,T saw . this Apollo
of her girlish imagination. It ttecirned as if the in.
terval they had lime to get acquainted ! 'They ex
changed salutations--and the text time they con=
versed. There WO nothing to steriOus in their
communications. 'He was probably a fatmees son
of the upper valley, wbriihad been attracted, like
.others, by the fame of theJ heiress of old-. Nice-oil.
He, indeed, kne* nothing of books, and he loved
" nEssatitess ,DEXIINCIATION Stall Mt QUSAMEXL."
Poetry more for the sake of ,musier_than its own
bat what of,thatkthe writingwof God were around
and within them ; and these, if they did not under
stand they at least lel4 He was bold and vigor..
ous of mind ; and this is beauty to the lair and tim.
al. lie skimmed along the edge of the precipice,
and sprung from rock .to rock in the torrent, as fear
less tut the chainois. He was beautiful, and brave,
and proud ; and this glorious creature,- with radiant
eyes, and glowingcheeks, laid himself down artier
feet to gaze-taxifther face, as the poets worship the
moon - '
The world, so monotonous, so bfnnk, so drear,
was now a Heaven to poor Lelia. One thing only
perplexed her; they were sufficiently long—accor
ding to tlin calculations of sixteen—and sufficiently
well acquainted ; their sentiments had been avow
ea without disguise ; their faith plighted beyond re
call ; and as yet her lover bad never mentioned his
name! Lelia reflecting on this circumstance, con
demned, far the moment, her prec)pitition; but
there was now uo help for it, and, she could only
resolve to extort the secret—Hsecrel it was—at the
next meeting.
" My name?" said the lover, in reply to her fink
and sulden questions; " you will knew it soon
enough."
" But I will not•be said nay. You must tell me
now—or at events to morrow night."
" Why to-morrow night F'
" Because a young, rich suitor, on whom my
father's heart is set, is then to propose, in ° proper
form, for this poor hand; and, let the confession
cost what it may, I will n)1 overthrow the dearest
plans of my only parent without giving a reason
which will satisfy even him. Oh, you do not know
him ! Wealth weighs as nothing in the scale against
his daughter's happiness. You may be poor for
aught I know ; but you are good, and honorable,
and therefore, in his eyes, no unfitting match for
Lelia."
It, was almost dark; but Lelia thought she pe
e -'4ed a smile on her lover's lace while she spoke,
:nil a gay suspicion flashed through her mind,
which made her heart beat and her cheeks tingle.
He did not answer for many minutes; a struggle of
some iind seemed to agitate him; but at length, in
a suppressed voice, he said—
" To•mottow night, then."
" Here !"
u No, in your father's house; in the presence of
—my rival."
The-morrow night arrived; and, with a cere
monious formality practised oh such occasions in
the valley, the lover of what Lelia had spoken
was presented to his mistress, to ask permission to
pt' his address; or, in other words=for there is
but short shrift for an Anzasca cfethand
her hand in marriage. This was indeed a Match
on which old Niccoli had set his heart ; for the of:
fer was by far the best that could have been found
from the Vald*Ossola to Moict Rosa. That youth
was rich, well looking, and prudent even to cold
ness ;, what more could a father desire P
Lelia had put oil the minute of appearing in the
porch, where the elders of both families had assem
bled, as long as possible. While mechanically ar
ranging het dress, she continued to gaze out of the
lattice, which commanded a view of the toad and
of the parties below, in expectation that increased
to agony. Bitter were her reflections -during that
interval - ! She was almost tempted to believe that
what had passed was nothing more than a dream
—a fragment of herimaginalion,.disordered by pee
try and solitude, and perhaps in some measure
warped by - disease. Had she been made the sport
of an idlemoment f—and was the smile she had
observed on her lover's face only the herald of the
laugh_ which perhaps at this moment testified his
enjoyment of her perplexity and disappointment !
His conduct presented itself in the double, light of
lolly and ingratitude ; and at length, in obedience
to the repeated summons of her father, she descen
ded to the porch with a trembling step and a fever
ed cheek.
The eight of the company that awaited her awed
and depres-ed her. She shrunk from them with
more titan Morbid timidity ; while their stony eyes,
fixed upon her in all the rigidity of form and trans
mined custom, seemed to freeze her very heart.—
There was one there, however, whose ideas of
" propriety," strict as they were, could never pre
vent his eyes from glii-tening at the approach of Le
lia. Her father, after fielding her for a moment at
arm's length, as with a doming look his eyes wan
dered over the bravery of her new white dress,
drew her close to his bosom, and blessed her.
" My child,"' said he, smiling gayly through a
gathering tear, " it is hard for an old man to
of parting with all he loves in the world ; but toe '
laws of nature must be rerected. Yourg men wilt
love, and young lasses will like, to the end'uf time ;
and new families will spring up out of their union.
It is the way, girl—it is the fate of maids, and there's
an end: For sixteen years have I watched over
you, even like a miser watching his gold ; and now,
treasnre of my life, I give, you away I All I ask, on
your part is obedience—ay, and cheerful obedience
—after the manner of our ancestors, tied according
to the laws of God. Alter this is over let the old
man stand aside or pass away, when it pleases
Heaven ; he has left hischild happy, and his child's
children will Wass his memory. He has drank of
the cup oh lile—sweet and bitter—bitter and sweet
—even to the bottom; but with honey, Lelia—
thanks to his blessed darling !—with honey in the
dregs!"
Lelia fell on her father's neck, and sobbed aloud.
So long and bitter was her sobbing that the formali
ty of the party was broken, and the circle narrow
ed anxiously around her. When at last she raised
her head, it was seen that her cheeks were dry,
and her face as .white as the marble olCordalia.
A inurmur of compassion -ran through the by- .
standers ; and the words" poor thing so deli
cater!—old hysterics!" wr,riwhisperingiy o repeated
from one to the - other. Tbe father : was alarmed,
and hastened to cut short a ceremony which seem
ed so apptiliiig the•nervous tlibiditrof his daughl
ter, •
"ft is enough," said he . ;,"all will be over in a
moment. Lelia, do you accept of this young man
for your suitor L—come, one little word, and it is
done."
Lelia tried in vain to speak, att.l she bowed her
acquiescence.
"Sirs,'' continued Mead,- "my daughler - ac:
eepts of die suitor you offer. It is enough"; salute
your mistress, my son, and let us go in, and pass
round the cup of alliance."
"The maiden bath trot answered," observed a
cold, cautious Voice unions. - the relations of the sal
tor.
"Speak, thert," l said Niccoli, casting an angry
and disdaMfid look at the formalist - 0 it is but a
word y a'sound, speak !"
Lelia's dry, white lips had unclosed to obey,
when the gate of the little court was wrenched open
by one who was apparently too much in haste to
find the latch, and a man rushed into the mit!st of
the circle.
"Speak not I" he shouted, " I forbid !"
Lelia sprang towards him with a stifled cry, and
would have thrown herself into his arms, had she
not been suddenly caught midway by her father.
" What is this?" demanded he sternly, but in ris
ing alarm ; " ruffian—drunkard—madman !—what
would you here?"
"Yon cannot provoke me, Niccoli," said the in
truder, " were you to spit upon me ! I come to de
mand your daughter in marriage."
" You I" shouted the enraged father.
"You!" repeated the relations in tones of won
der, rage, or ridicule, according to 'the tem
perament of the individual.
"There needeth no more of this," said the same
cold, cautious voice that bad spoken before; "
wedding begun in a brawl will never end well.—
To demand a girl in legitimate marriage is neither
sin nor'shame ; let the young man be answered by
the maiden herself, and then depart in peace."
" He bath spoken well," raid the more caufoos
among the old men; "speak, daughter; answer,
and let the man be gone!"
• Lelia grew pale j and then red. She made a step
fat ward—hesitated—looked at her father timidly—
and then stood as still as a statute, pressing her
clasped hands upon her bosom, as if to silence the
throbbings that disturbed her reason.
"Girl," said old Niccoli, in a voice of suppressed
passion, tei he seized her by the arm, "do you
knots , that man ?—did you ever see him before ?
Answer, can you tell me his name?"
"No !"
"No l—the insolent ruffian! Go, girl, present
your cheek to your future husband, that the customs
of our ancestors may be fulfilled, and leave me to
clear my doorway of vagabonds."
She stepped forward mechanically; but when
the legitimate suitor. emending his arms, ran for.
ward to meet her, she eluded him with a sudden
shriek, and staggered towards the intruder.
"Hold—bold I" cried the relations, "you are
mad—you know oat what you do—it is Francesco,
the minerali !"
She had reached the sitanger, who did not move
from where he stood ; and, as the lilomened name
met her ear, she fainted in his arms.
The confuSion that ensued was ifidescribable.—
Lelia was carried senseless into the house ; and it
required the efforts•of half the party to hold back
her father who would have grappled with the min
erali upon the spot. Francesco stood,for some time
with folded arms, in mournful and moody silence;
but when at length the voice demising, which Nic-
coli continued to pour forth against him bad sunk
in exhaustion, he advanced and confronted him.
I can bear-those names," said he.." from you
Some of them, you know well, are undeserved ;
and if otheis fit, it is more my misfortune than my
fault. If to chastise insults, and render back scorn
for scorn is to be s ruffiian, I am one; but no one
can be called a vagabond who resides in the habi•
cation and follows the trade of his ancestors. These
things, however, are trifles-Wm they are only
words. Your real objection to• me is that I am
Pope. •It is a strong one. If 1 choose to take. your
daughter without a dowry, I would take her in
spite of you all ; but T will leave her-.-even to that
thing without a soul—rather than subject so gentle
a being to the privations and vieisitudes of a life
like mine. 1 demand, therefore, not simply your
daughter, but a dowry, if only a small one; and
you shall hare the right lo require that on my put
shall not be empty handed. She is young, and
there can be, and ought to be no hnrry with her
ma,liage; but give me only a year—a single year;
name a reasno.l;le sum; and if by the appointed
time I canna: tell the money into yonr hand, I here
by t.agoge to relinquish every claim, which her
generous preference has given me, upon 3'.11f
daughter's hand."
"It is well put," replied the cold and cautious
voice in the assembly.
«A year at any rate, wonld hay', elapsed be
tweet' the present betrothing and the damsel's mar
riage. If the young man before the bells of twelve,
on this night twelve months, layeth down upon the
table, either in coined money, or in gold, or golden
ore, the Eame sum which we were here ready to
guarantee on the part of my grandson, why I for
one, shall not object to the maiden's whitn—pro-
tided it continues so long—being consulted, in the
disposal of bet' hand, in preterence to her father's
judgment and desires. „The sum is only three thou
sand livres
A laugh of scorn end derision rose among the rti
latione.
41 Yes, yes," said they, it is but just. Let the
minerali proeuee three thonsand livers, and he shall
have his bride.• Neighbor Niccoli, it is a fair pro.
Fisal; allow us•to intercede for Francesco, and beg
your assent
"Sire," said Francesco, in perplexity mingled
with anger, !gibe. sum of three , thousand livreft.',C—,
He !vas inteitupted by another forced !sigh el dee
rision.'
4 rhis a fair prOposaly" repealed the relatioite
" Agreed!" replied Fianeesao ) Oka burs( o
haughty indignatioh and with a.swelling heart ha
withdrew.
A very remarkable changer appeared to take place
from-that moment m ,the character and habits of
the minerali. He not only deserted the company
of his riotous associates,. but even that of the few
respectable persona to whose houses he had obtain
ed admission, either by talents for singing, or the
comparative propriety of his condom. Day after
day he labored in his precarious avocation. The
changes of the seasons were not • 1104 admitted as
excuses. The storm did not drive him tothiwine
shed, and the rain did not confine him to his, hut
Day after day, and often night alter night he was
to be found in the field—on the mountains-.by the
sides of the rain courses—on the shores of the tor
rent:
HP rarely indulged himself even in the recreation
of meeting his mistress, for whom . all this labor
was submitted to. Gold, not as a means but as an
end, seemed to be his thoughts by day, and his
dream by night, the object and end of existence.—
When they did meet in darkness and loneliness,
and mastery, it was but to exchange a few harried
sentences of hope and comfort, and affected reli
ance upon fortune. On these occasion tears, and
tremblings, and hysterical sobbinp, sometimes told,
on her part, at (ince the hollowness of her words
and the weakness of her constitution; but on his,
all was, or seemed to be, enthusiasm and steadfast
expectation.
Days and weeks, however, passed by—moons
rolled away—the year was thawing to its wane, -
and a great part of the enormous sum was still in
the womb of d a mountains. Day by day, week by
week, Month by month, the hopes of the minerali
became fainter. He could no longer bestow- the
comfort which did not cheer even his dreams.—
Glcomy and sad, he could only strain his mistress
in his arms, without uttering a word when she ven•
lured an inquiry respecting his progress, and then
hurry away to resume, mechanically, his hopeless
task.
It is a strtnge, sometimes an awful thing, to look
nto the mystery of the female mind.
Lefial health had received a shock from the cis.
cumatancea we have recorded, which left her cheek
pale, and her limbs weak for many month; and to
this physical infirmity was now added the effect of
those dumb, but too eloquent, interviews with her
lover. The lower be sunk in despondency, howev.
er, and the more desperate grew their affairs, the
higher her spirit arose, as if to quell and control
their famine Her hopes seemed to grow in pro
panion with his fears, and the strength-IP:Web de
serted him went over as an ally and apponer to
her . weakness. Even her bodily health received its
direction from her mind. Her nerves seemed to
recover their tone, her cheek its hue, and her eye
its brilliancy. The cold and sluggish imagination
of a man is unacquainted with half the resources of
a woman in such circomaances. Disappointed in
her dependence on fortune and 'casualty Lelia be.
took herself to the altars and gods of her people !
Saints and martyrs were by turns invoked; vows
were. offered tip, and pilgrims and religions watch.
ings performed. Then came dreams and prmligieti
into play, and omens, and auguries. Sorter were
wrested from the pages of Dante, and warnings and
commands translated from - the mystic writings, of
the sky—
"The sutra erhieh ere the poetry or Heave: V.
The year touched upon its- close; and the gain
which the gold seeker had amassed, although great
almost to a miracle, was still far—very far, from
sufficient. The last day of the year arrived, usher
ed in by storm, and thundering*, and lightnings ;
and the evening fell cold and dark upon the des
pairing labors of Francesco. He was on the side
of the iutiuntairt opposite Niccoli's house; and as
daylight died in the valley, he saw, with inexpres
sible bitterness of soul, by the number of lights in
the windows, that the fete was not forgotten. Some
trifling success, however, induced him, like a
drowning man grasping at a straw, to continue his
search. He was on the spot indicated by a dream
of his enthusiastic mistress; and she had conjured
him not to abandon the attempt till the bell of the
distant church should silence their hopes for ever.
His success contitmed. lie was working with
the pick-axe, and had discovered a very small per
pendicular vein ; and its was just possible that this,
altho' altogether inadequate in itself might be cros
sed at a greater depth, by a horizontal one, and
thus form one of the gruff:, or nests, in which the
ore is plentiful and easily 'ettracted. To work,
however, was difficult, and to. perk lung impossi•
ble. His strength was almostiEthausted ; the storm
beat fiercely in his•face ; and the darkness increas
ed every moment. His heart wholly failed him ;
his limbs trembled, a cold perspiration bedewed
his brow; and, as the last rays ot daylight departed
from the mountain-side I e fell senseless upon the
ground.
How long he remained in this slate he did not
know ; but he was recalled to Me by a sound re
sembling, as he imagis a human cry. The
storm howled more wildly Than ever along the side
of the mountain, and it Was now pitch ',Jerk; but
on turning round his head he saw, at a little distance
above where he lay, a small steady light Fran.
cesco's heart began to quake The light advanced
towards him,'and he perceived that it was borne
by a flptre arrayed in white from head !o foot.
" Lelia !" cried he in amazement, mingled with
rnperstitious terror, as he recognized theleatureeof
his young, fair mistress.
" Waste not time in words," said she " much
may yet be. done, and I have the most perfect as
surance that now at least lam not deceived Up,
and be of good heart. Wok for here is light. I
will sit down in this shelter, bleak though it be, of
the Plifl, and aid you with mylPrayera, since I can.
dolt with my hands." - . •
Francesco seized the axe, and stirred, hall with
shame,•half with edmiration,lirthe courage of the
generous girl, resumed his labOiwith new vigor.
• "Be of good heart," continued Iwiia, "anii all
•,.. '4;
•
will yet- be wend Bravely—bravely dowet bi
sore - the saints have beard
Only once she uttered anythingi semmthdin
eompkiiut—" It is so cold !" she raid, ig mmitibasie,
dearest, for !cannot find my way home, ifl weak%
without the light."
By and bye she repeated Inure fisquently therir.
junction to " make haste."
Francesco's heart bled while he thought of i
sufferings of the sick and delicate gill ea such a
night, in sub a place; and bis blowe fell deeper.
ately on the stubborn reek. He was now eta little
distance from the spot where shear, and' was tuat
about to beg her to bring the light nearer, when abi
spoke againi
" Make hasta—make haste !" she said, " dos
time is almost come--I shall be wanted—l eon wan.
tee—t - oan stay no longer—forewell•lt"
Francesco looked up, bat the light wu alietadit
gone.
.It was so strange, this sudden desertion 1 If de,
termined to g e, why did She go alone? aware, a*
she must have been, that Ws remaining in the dart
could be of 'no use. Could it be that her he a rt had
changed; the moment hpr hopes hell vanished! U
was a bitter and ungenerous thought i.neventheless i
it served to bridle the speed with which Francesco
at first sprung forward to overtake his mistrals. He
bad not gone far, however, when it sudden
arrested his progress. His heart melted to bear,twi
grew faint, and would have fallen to the grtiatid„'
bat far the support of a rock, againsti wettish he stag
gered. When he recovered, he retraced - bit demi
as accurately as it was possible to do in utter dark
ness. He knew not whether he found the exact
spot on which Leliathad sat, bnt bewas =roof the
surrounding localities; and, if she was still there her
white dress rood no docbt gleans even throttles
the thick night which snrrounded her.
With a lightened hewn-1o:, compared with That
phantom of the mind which, had presented itself,
all things seemed endurablcs—he begun again to
descend the mountain. In 'a place so aingalarly
wild, where the rocks were piled around in corn.
binations at once fantastic and sublime, it ,was net
wounderful that the light carried by hie" mistress
should be wholly invisible to him, even bad it
been much nerer than was by this time probable.
Far less was it surprising that the shouts which eir.
er and anon he offered should not teach her ear;
for he was on the lee side of the storm, which I.
ed among the cliffs with a fury that might have
drowned the thunder.
Even to the practised feet of Francesco, the reel,
without the smallest light to guide his imps, waa
danger:nail in the extreme; and to the occupation
thus afforded to his thoughts it was perhaps owing
dist he reached Kiecoll's house in a state of mind
to enable him to acquiet himself irr a manner net
derogatory to the dignity of manhood.
"Niccoli," said he, on entering the tom, " I have
come to return you thanks for the trial you have el.
lowed me. I have failed, and, in terms of the en.'
gagement between us I relinquish my claims to
your danghter's hand "
He would then have retired assudenly as he err.
tered ; but old Niccoli caught hold o his arm
s' Bid us farewell," said he, in a tremulous voice,
"go not in anger. Forgive me for the ;rash words
I used when we last met. I have watch you, Fran.
cesco, from that day—end—." He wiped away a
tear, as he looked upon the soiled antLueolected
eppirerorttcl tee fisggird and' glassily face of the
young man—" No matter—my word is plighted...
lareireit Now call my daughter,"' ath:ed he, rr lad
I pray God that the business of this night end in no
ill!"
Fran'nese° lingered at the doer. Re troold fain
have seen but the skirt of Lelia'a mantle before.da !
patting!
" She is not in her robin I" eriei a voice of
alarm Francesco's heart quaked. Presently the
whole house was astir. The sound of feet fanning
here and there was heard, and agitated yokes call
ed out her name. The next moment the old man
rushed out of the room ; and, laying both hands on
Fracesco's shoulders looked wild in his lace.
"know you aught of my daughter !" said he.--
"Speak, I conjure you, in the name of the Blessed
Saviour! Tell that you have married her, and I
wi!l forgive and bless you !—Speak, will you no
speak ! A single word ! Where is my daughter
Where is my Lelia! my life—my light—my hope
—my child '!" The minerali started as from I%
dream,- and looked around apparently without
comprehending what had parsed. A strong shod.
der then shook his flame for an instant. n Lights!"
he said, torches—every one of you ! Follow me!"
and he rushed ont into the night. He was speedily
overtaken by the whole of the company amounting
to more than twelve men, with lighted larches,
that flared like Meteors in the storm. 4.9 for this
leader himself, he seemed scarce able to drag one
limb alter the other, and-be staggered to and Ire,
like one that is drunk with wine.
They at length reached the piaci he sought; and
by the light of the :etches, something white was
seen at thi base of the cid]. It was Lelia. She
leaned back agair 6i the rock; one hand was press
ell upon her heart, like a person who shrinks from
cold; and in the other she hell the lamp, the flame
of which had expired in the socket: Francesca
threw himself on his knees at one side and the al
man et the other, while a light, as strong as dal - ,
was shed by the torches upon the spot. She was
dead—dead—stone dead !
Aber a time, the childless old man went to seek
oat the object of his daughter's love ; but Frances.
co waft never teen from that fatal night. A wail.
ing sortnd is sometimes heard to this day'aptin the'
hills, and the peasants eay'it is the voice of the
minerali seeking his mistrws among. the rocks;
and every dark and and !dourly night the lamp of
Lelia is still teen upon the mountain, as she figlde
her phantom lover in his search for gold.
Such is the story of the storm lights of Anzaarii,
and the only part of it which, iarine is the,trartrlPT
lion into die langwe oi ciTiii.rilimen pi tho
meets of a tuticand Ignotant
• 1.-
Z =MO tee
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