LADY ANNE'S BRIDAL.

A TALE OF THE TWO CHURCHES.

cated to her patroness St. Agnes. The married sister, however, became a widow shortly after her marriage, which she attributed to the wrath of Heaven at the crime she had committed, in obtaining the advantage over her sister through the use of false dice: and she confessed the fraud to her spiritual director, who enjoined her to atone for it by imitating the example of her pious sister, and building a church also. The penitent widow complied; and the second church was erected, and dedicated to St. Mary.

In one of the western counties of England is situated the sequestered and beautiful valley of Deepdale. It is, in sooth, a spot of peculiar loveliness, yet so lonely withal, that when the curious traveller beholds, in the depths of its almost untrodden solitudes, two noble Gothic churches, rising, in rival grandeur, upon his view, he is, at first, tempted to believe that objects are multiplied to him by some deception of vision. Having satisfied himself of the reality of what he sees, he, in the next place, infers the poverty of the inhabitants, by observing that there are no altar or coffin-shaped After this legendary preface, Master Ralph Digtombs, or raised slabs, and very few graves that well, or Peter Pitchpipe, whoever it chances to be, can even boast of the humble distinguishment of introduces the visiter into the holy pile, which he upright head and foot-stones; and calculates the emphatically styles his church, and points out the scantiness of the population, from the small num-tomb of the foundress, with her effiges and Latin ber of briar-bound turfy mounds, which denote the last abode of the lowly peasant in the buryingground of either church, and muses why, and by what means, two such edifices can have been erected, in a place which could scarcely have required a church of half the dimensions of either of these solemn temples, both of which are so rich in the elaborate ornaments of the florid Gothic architecture, that they must have cost, in workmen's wages alone, a sum sufficient to startle the wealthiest and most liberal-minded select vestry in London. The marvel, however, is lessened by the explanation afforded by the personage who performs the important offices of parish-clerk and sexton, in one or the other of these twin churches, who, haply observing a stranger employed in exploring the localities of the spot, issues from his domicile with a ponderous key in his hand, and, inspired with silver hopes, volunteers to admit "his honor" into that church of which he considers himself the peculiar guardian.

epitaph, repeating, at the same time, in solemn recitative, four quaint rhymes, not more ancient than the days of James the First, which he avers to be the very lines the lady ordered to be engraved on her tomb, though nothing can differ more from the half-obliterated monastic sentences thereon inscribed. Then he proceeds to do the honors of the monuments of the ancestors of the noble family, whose pew, with its crimson curtains and cushions, takes up a good sixth of the church, and is exalted two feet higher than any other.

Pass into the other church, and you will find every thing equal to this-by which you gather, that a nobleman's family is resident in each parish; and that there exists no slight rivalry between them, you learn from the zeal with which the clerk of either parish extols and magnifies the superiority of his lord and his lord's ancestors, over the patron peer of the other church and his progenitors.

One amen-crier has certainly the advantage over his antagonist, in this-that he can boast of the

His services accepted, he points to a low ivy-greater number of monuments belonging to his grown wall which separates the two buryinggrounds, and informs the visiter that it is the line of demarcation between two parishes which meet on that spot, neither of which could boast of a church till the days of the third Edward, in whose time, ·saith that venerable gossip Tradition, two wealthy co-heiresses, of one parish, unluckily placed their affections on the lord of the manor of the next, who, being of a remarkably grateful temper, regretted that he could not marry them both; but, as the claims of both to his regard were so equal that he found some difficulty in deciding upon which of the fair spinsters to fix his choice, he left them to settle that point between themselves. Now, as that was a matter on which it was utterly impossible that they should ever agree, they had recourse to the expedient of casting lots for the object of their equal affection, when the youngest sister, throwing the highest number, became his wife, and the elder, renouncing the world, buried her disappointed hopes in a convent, and devoted her wealth to the erection of the first-built church, which she dedi

lord's ancestors, neither can their superior grandeur be disputed; but then, his opponent stoutly avers, that the coffins in his patron's vault infinitely surpass in magnificence any which the other is able to display, and boldly challenges him to the proof, "that the gentleman may judge for himself." But from this test Master Ralph Digwell always shrinks, well knowing that the coffins of the noble FitzAymers would make a very sorry appearance, bereft of the rich velvet, gold lace, silver-gilt nails, and all the rest of their pompous funereal decorations, which he has long since converted to his own use. Nay, there is a plumber in a market-town, a few miles distant, who must suppose that Ralph Digwell is the proprietor of a lead-mine, from the vast quantity of that metal which he has sold to him, during the time he has held the office of sexton and parish clerk in the church of St. Mary, Deepdale. From this hint you may infer, gentle reader, that it is well for Ralph Digwell that the present Earl Fitz-Aymer entertains such a horror of every thing that can remind him of death, as to preclude

all chance of his ever entering the family vault, till he is himself coffined, and carried thither, to take up his final residence among his ancestors; when he will be, most probably, as insensible of the depredations that have been committed upon their funeral finery, as to those that will, undoubtedly, be perpetrated upon his own, provided the same sly knave keeps the key of his domus ultima.

It happened one evening that the rival sextons met at a little wicket-gate which affords a means of communication between their respective churchyards, and mutually drew up for a gossip; for, though they never talked without quarrelling, yet they always made a point of conversing whenever they did meet. "Out of the fulness of the heart the mouth speaketh,” saith the proverb, and Master Digwell accosted Peter Pitchpipe as follows:

"I reckon our church will boast a grander bridal to-morrow than poor St. Agnes ever witnessed, since the disappointed old maid, who built it, laid the foundation-stone. Somebody, who shall be nameless, would like to pocket my fee on the occasion."

Neighbor Digwell," returned Pitchpipe, "I don't teach the young ones their catechism every Sunday, without bearing in mind the tenth commandment; and, to tell you a bit of my mind, I would not give thee half-a-crown for thy fees to-morrow."

"Not half-a-crown for my fees, at the wedding of my Lord's daughter, Lady Anne, with a grand Marquis! That is nothing but your spite, you envious old screech-owl! because the young Viscount don't get my Lady Anne."

Why, so he would, you barbarous flint-heart! if the young lady, poor dear! might be free to choose."

mine; for, look ye, I never got a fee from a bride in my life, if she were ever such a happy one: so I always keeps my eye upon the bridegroom."

At Fitz-Aymer Castle, the subject of my Lady Anne's bridal formed matter of still more angry discussion than it had done between the rival sextons; and report said, that the young lady had wept, entreated, and finally knelt at the feet of the obdurate Earl, her father, in a vain attempt to prevail upon himn to excuse her from these abhorrent nuptials. Much more was said upon the occasion than was true; for never was a young lady less lachrymose than Lady Anne. She was, in sooth, a lass of spirit, and had never fainted, nor been afflicted with a single hysteric fit, in all her life: yet awful were the swoonings and hysterics that were reported of her; not to speak of wringing of hands and rending of hair, besides tears too manifold to record. But these were things of course, and the natural consequences of her dislike to the mature spouse her careful papa had provided for her. All sorts and conditions of people, in the two parishes, were clamorous and passionate, in their sympathy for her, and indignation against her father and the bridegroom elect. The village mind was in a state of the highest excitation, respecting the nuptials of the much-pitied Lady Anne, when the day that was appointed for their solemnization arrived; and, as the morning was uncommonly fine, the church-yard of St. Mary, Deepdale, was thronged with all the indignant and sight-loving inhabitants of the two parishes. The women forsook the houses, the men the fields: the hay was left to turn itself, by the one, and the pots to boil, or cool, at their own discretion, by the other. No one could attend to his own concerns for thinking of those of my Lady Anne, and every one was in the very height of discussing them, when the bridal procession drove up; and they half forgot their commiseration for her in the extravagant delight and wonder with which they surveyed the long train of showy equipages, with so many grandly dressed folks within, and still finer dressed servants without, with white favors in their gold and silver-laced hats. There were abundance of

Pity she should, Master Pitchpipe, pity she should, if so, that she were imprudent enough to wish to marry such a wild-fire spark as he; and his father and my lord born foes too, as a man may say, when their grandfathers kilt each other in a duel under the fairies' oak, on the heath yonder." "All I can say to that, Master Digwell, is, that the young people have been better Christians than the old ones; ay, and read their Bibles to better" lauk-a-daisies, look there!" from the women, and purpose: for there we are commanded to love, and not to hate, our enemies. Not but what my Lord Deepdale would have given them his blessing, if Lord Fitz-Aymer had not been such a hard-hearted man, that he preferred his own revenge to the happiness of his only child, and so forbade her to think of Lord Beauchamp."

"And in the right of it, too, when he can marry her to a Marquis, which, it seems, is a grander thing than an Earl, and next to a Duke."

"stars o' mine," from the men, and "my eyes!" from the boys and girls, as each carriage set down its noble freight, and drove off to make way for another, and another, and another after that, till the good people firmly believed that all the lords and ladies in England, save and except old my Lord · Deepdale, and young my Lord Beauchamp, his son, were come to my Lady Anne's wedding. Never had been seen in that church-yard such a waving of ostrich and marabout plumage, and fluttering of white lace veils, as was exhibited that morning by the six young and noble bridemaids. As for the bride herself, she was dressed much like other brides of her rank and expectations, in an orthodox quantity of white satin and Brussels lace. She wore no bonnet; and her rich profusion of sunny tresses were wreathed with orange blossoms, and partially shaded with a long veil, of the most superb lace. She was in form petite, but perfectly sylph-like, and sweetly pretty. She looked a little pale or so, but, to the surprise of every one, shed no "That may be his concern, but it is none of tears. In fact, she appeared to have made up her

Well, for my part," said Peter Pitchpipe, “I should be ashamed to have any hand in marrying such an unsuitable couple as the old withered Marquis and lovely Lady Anne."

"So as the Marquis' money chinks well in my bag, I shall think him handsome enough for any lady, let her be who she may," returned Digwell, with a sardonic grin.

Fie upon you, you greedy old churl! you know very well that Lady Anne hates him worse than death."

mind to go through the business with firmness, in | wife?" and the minister, turning to the bride, said, compliance with the exordiums of her lady mother, though rather in a faltering tone (for he was well who, before she left the carriage, had pathetically entreated her "not to expose herself, by any public manifestation of her sentiments towards her future husband."

"Had the Marquis of Greystock possessed the common feelings, or the honorable delicacy, of a gentleman, mamma, he would have spared me the trouble of coming hither, and himself the mortification of a public refusal," returned Lady Anne.

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Come, come, madam! I am not to be thus trifled with," said the Earl, sternly; "and I insist upon your fulfilling your engagement with the Marquis."

"I never entered into an engagement with him,” said Lady Anne, pouting.

"But I have for you, Lady Anne."

"Oh! true, papa; but that is quite another thing."

aware of the nature of her sentiments towards the bridegroom), "Wilt thou have this man for thy wedded husband?" expecting hesitation, or a flood of tears, in reply, if not an obstinate silence. Lady Anne was an only child, and, of course, a Lady Anne, however, was not of the crying sort: spoiled child: she had early known and felt her she seldom hesitated upon any point, and she own importance, and had been accustomed, from always spoke her mind; so she boldly and deher very cradle, to have her own way in every cidedly answered, "I will not," in so loud a tone thing. It was only in this most important action of that the resolute negative resounded through the her life that she had received a serious contradic-church; then, turning quickly to the crest-fallen tion. But in this, the Earl, her father, resolutely, bridegroom, she said, "I told you so before, my and somewhat harshly, enforced his paternal lord; and how I hope you will believe that I am in authority; and, in contests of this kind, the weaker earnest." party is generally obliged to yield to the will of the "Lady Anne, I blush for the impropriety of your stronger. It was, however, plain to all, that it was conduct!" said the Countess; “and I wonder you no meek, lamb-like sacrifice that they were leading are not ashamed of the manner in which you have so gaily decked out to the altar: there was a self-exposed yourself, by putting this public insult upon willed petulance in her air, and a scornful spirit in the Marquis of Greystock." her eye, that made the Marquis shrink, and loɔk like the fool he was, whenever he encountered its disdainful glance; and there was even eloquence in the manner in which she trampled the beautiful flowers that were strewn before her. It was one of the ways in which the little vixen vented her angry displeasure at the pomps and vanities prepared in honor of the scene in which she was to be the reluctant prima donna. The Earl, her father, was evidently mortified and exasperated with her; and there was something approaching to brutality in the rough manner in which he seized her tiny white-gloved hand, and drew it through his arm, to lead her into the church. There was answering disdain in the indignant flash of her bright blue eye, and the sudden suffusion of the pale cheek with glowing crimson; also, there was a certain slight, but decidedly rebellious, motion of the shoulders, and a retrograde step, with the pretty little foot of the bride, as though she would have resisted crossing the threshold of the church. But the resolute Earl drew her forcibly forward-I am persuaded that it would have given him positive pleasure to beat the provoking young slut; but there is no managing family matters in public, and she permitted him to lead her up to the altar without any further show of resistance. The Marquis took his proper place by her side,—the minister opened his book. The bridemaids looked as interesting as they could, and put all the blushes they could command upon immediate service. The bridemen looked quizzical, the Earl authoritative, the Countess apprehensive, the bridegroom foolish, and the bride sullen. No one appeared perfectly at ease but Ralph Digwell, the parish clerk, whose horn was mightily exalted upon the occasion; and he was (in his own opinion, at least) the most important person present, and certainly the most to be envied, as he stood in all the glories of a bran new black coat, purchased upon the speculation of the noble bridegroom's anticipated donation, holding a huge open prayer-book, and literally panting to pronounce the final amen, which he always considered the most consequential word in the service But what did the bride the meantime? Truly, the of matrimony. There was a dead hush in the bride did the wisest thing that she could do, under church; for the bridegroom had already signified such circumstances: for she fairly walked out of his assent, in answer to that important question, the church, through the door opposite to that by "Wilt thou have this woman for thy wedded which she entered it; and, exerting all the speed

"And I tell you, madam, that you shall marry the Marquis," said the Earl, bending his brows most awfully upon the fair rebel.

"Impossible, papa; for you see the church very properly considers the lady's consent an indispensable part of the marriage ceremony; and, as I am a woman of conscience, I find it impossible to answer in the affirmative, when I am asked by the minister if I will have a man I hate for my wedded husband."

"Confound your conscience!" retorted the Earl furiously.

Here, the mortified Marquis drew the Earl aside, to propose some plan for his private consideration; the Countess joined herself to the council. Every one in the church had been thrown into utter consternation, by the unexpected freak of my Lady Anne. The parson looked down upon his book, in dismay; Ralph Digwell groaned in spirit at the perversity of the bride, and, like squire Richard, in Vanburgh's comedy, "thought she was not too big to be whipped." The bridemaidens tittered: the bridemen elevated their eye-brows, and stared. The elders of the bride's family were ashamed to look the bridegroom's friends in the face, after the insult they had received in the person of the Marquis, from their wayward young relation, for which they began to offer apologies in the most doleful tone imaginable.

with which youth and love could inspire her, she equal, offered to make all proper settlements upon hurried through the church-yard, and, passing her, he at length determined to shake hands with through the wicket-gate of communication, entered his noble neighbor, and bestowed a sort of sulky. that adjoining, where she was met, and rapturously benediction on the newly-wedded pair, which he greeted, by an elegant young man, who, it is qualified with an intimation that he should expect scarcely necessary to explain, was no other than them to proceed to the continent, and reside there her favored lover, the Viscount Beauchamp. By for a twelvemonth at least, as his friend the Marquis him she was immediately conducted into the church of Grey stock would consider himself very disof St. Agnes, where also a white-robed priest stood honorably treated if he were to be publicly rein readiness at the altar, book in hand, seconded by conciled to them before that period. The happy Ralph Digwell's rival, Peter Pitchpipe. There, pair readily agreed to this arrangement; but the too, were assembled the fair sisters of the Viscount, term of their banishment was very considerably prepared to officiate as bridemaids, and his younger shortened by the marriage of the Marquis of Greybrother, who obligingly undertook to give away the stock, who, in a fit of bachelor desperation, took bride. No explanation was necessary; for it was to wife his chaplain's pretty sister, who made him all a preconcerted plan, arranged through the one of the happiest elderly gentlemen in the agency of Lucy Pitchpipe, the parish clerk's peerage, and perfectly consoled him for the affront daughter, who filled the post of waiting-maid to he had received from Lady Anne Fitz-Aymer. Lady Anne.

No time was consumed in idle compliments; and, without so much as pausing for the bride to recover her breath, the minister commenced the marriage-service, in which he used such laudable dispatch, that the enraged father and rejected bridegroom only entered the church in time to hear Lady Anne pronounce as decided an "I will," as she had before an "I will not."

"I forbid the marriage! Proceed at your peril," vociferated the Earl, "I will disinherit you," he exclaimed in a voice of thunder.

"I was of age yesterday," said the bride.

"With all my worldly goods I thee endow," pursued the lover-bridegroom, with a look of unutterable tenderness: and the Earl had the mortification of witnessing the conclusion of the spousal rites. The Marquis, seeing no reason for his doing the same, flung himself into the elegant travelling-carriage which he had provided for a very different occasion, and shouted to the post-lads to take the white and silver cockades out of their hats, and drive off. Ralph Digwell stood looking after him, with a rueful countenance; while the melancholy conviction, "no hopes of golden fees to-day," smote upon his heart, and he began to cast about in his mind how his new black coat was to be paid for, there being no present prospect of a death in his patron's family; and he reflected, with a bitter pang of envy, upon the superior good fortune of his rival, Peter Pitchpipe.

With respect to the proceedings of the higher powers on this extraordinary business, be it known, that the Earl Fitz-Aymer talked loudly and angrily; and the bride, who knew her cue, listened patiently till all his sayings were exhausted. She was then all duty and submission. The bridegroom was as conciliatory as the husband of a heiress ought to be. The lady mother temporised, as lady mothers generally do on such occasions, and at length mollified the wrath of her offended lord, by reminding him of the admirable geographical situation of the estates of Lord Deepdale and himself, for a marriage between their heirs. He acknowledged the propriety of the remark; and the thought struck him, at the same moment, that, considering the resolute temper of Lady Anne, it was very well that she had not contracted an alliance which offered no such local advantages; and, as the Earl of Deepdale, who was in every respect his

ORIGINAL.

The Water Kelpie's Song.
It was a superstition of the ancient Scotch, that
the Water Kelpie, or Evil-Spirit of the Waters,
enticed sailors to destruction by her songs.

Away o'er the blue wave-
Away o'er the sea-
In the ocean's deep cave

There's a home for me!
They're built upon coral-its beautiful halls,
And blithe waves the sea-weed around its walls.
A skull is its dome,

And dry bones are its wall-
By the ocean's foam

Well bleached are they all!
And the pearl is there-and the glistening shell,
"Tis a beautiful home-and I love it well.
And a skeleton stands
At the open door,