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ST. ELMO
ST. ELMO AUGUSTA J. EVANS Author of "Beulah" "Macaria" "At the Mercy of Tiberius" "Infelice"
Etc. Etc.
"Ah! the true rule is--a true wife in her husband's house is his
servant; it is in his heart that she is queen. Whatever of the best
he can conceive it is her part to be; whatever of the highest he
can hope it is hers to promise; all that is dark in him she must
purge into purity all that is failing in him she must strengthen
into truth; from her through all the world's clamor he must win
his praise; in her through all the world's warfare he must find
his peace."--JOHN RUSKIN.
TO
J. C. DERBY
IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF MANY YEARS OF KIND AND FAITHFUL FRIENDSHIP
THESE PAGES ARE
AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.
"Ah! the true rule is--a true wife in her husband's house is his
servant; it is in his heart that she is queen. Whatever of the best
he can conceive it is her part to be; whatever of the highest he
can hope it is hers to promise; all that is dark in him she must
purge into purity; all that is failing in him she must strengthen
into truth; from her through all the world's clamor he must win
his praise; in her through all the world's warfare he must find
his peace."
--JOHN RUSKIN.
ST. ELMO.
CHAPTER I.
"He stood and measured the earth: and the everlasting mountains were
scattered the perpetual hills did bow."
These words of the prophet upon Shigionoth were sung by a sweet
happy childish voice and to a strange wild anomalous tune--
solemn as the Hebrew chant of Deborah and fully as triumphant.
A slender girl of twelve years' growth steadied a pail of water on
her head with both dimpled arms thrown up in ancient classic
Caryatides attitude; and pausing a moment beside the spring stood
fronting the great golden dawn--watching for the first level ray of
the coming sun and chanting the prayer of Habakkuk. Behind her in
silent grandeur towered the huge outline of Lookout Mountain
shrouded at summit in gray mist; while centre and base showed dense
masses of foliage dim and purplish in the distance--a stern cowled
monk of the Cumberland brotherhood. Low hills clustered on either
side but immediately in front stretched a wooded plain and across
this the child looked at the flushed sky rapidly brightening into
fiery and blinding radiance. Until her wild song waked echoes among
the far-off rocks the holy hush of early morning had rested like a
benediction upon the scene as though nature laid her broad finger
over her great lips and waited in reverent silence the advent of
the sun. Morning among the mountains possessed witchery and glories
which filled the heart of the girl with adoration and called from
her lips rude but exultant anthems of praise. The young face lifted
toward the cloudless east might have served as a model for a
pictured Syriac priestess--one of Baalbec's vestals ministering in
the olden time in that wondrous and grand temple at Heliopolis.
The large black eyes held a singular fascination in their mild
sparkling depths now full of tender loving light and childish
gladness; and the flexible red lips curled in lines of orthodox
Greek perfection showing remarkable versatility of expression;
while the broad full polished forehead with its prominent
swelling brows could not fail to recall to even casual observers
the calm powerful face of Lorenzo de' Medicis which if once
looked on fastens itself upon heart and brain to be forgotten no
more. Her hair black straight waveless as an Indian's hung
around her shoulders and glistened as the water from the dripping
bucket trickled through the wreath of purple morning-glories and
scarlet cypress which she had twined about her head ere lifting
the cedar pail to its resting-place. She wore a short-sleeved dress
of yellow striped homespun which fell nearly to her ankles and her
little bare feet gleamed pearly white on the green grass and rank
dewy creepers that clustered along the margin of the bubbling
spring. Her complexion was unusually transparent and early exercise
and mountain air had rouged her cheeks till they matched the
brilliant hue of her scarlet crown. A few steps in advance of her
stood a large fierce yellow dog with black scowling face and
ears cut close to his head; a savage repulsive creature who looked
as if he rejoiced in an opportunity of making good his name "Grip."
In the solemn beauty of that summer morning the girl seemed to have
forgotten the mission upon which she came; but as she loitered the
sun flashed up kindling diamond fringes on every dew-beaded
chestnut leaf and oak-bough and silvering the misty mantle which
enveloped Lookout. A moment longer that pure-hearted Tennessee child
stood watching the gorgeous spectacle drinking draughts of joy
which mingled no drop of sin or selfishness in its crystal waves;
for she had grown up alone with nature--utterly ignorant of the roar
and strife the burning hate and cunning intrigue of the great world
of men and women where "like an Egyptian pitcher of tamed vipers
each struggles to get its head above the other." To her earth
seemed very lovely; life stretched before her like the sun's path in
that clear sky and as free from care or foreboding as the fair
June day she walked on preceded by her dog--and the chant burst
once more from her lips:
"He stood and measured the earth: and the everlasting mountains were
scattered the perpetual hills--"
The sudden almost simultaneous report of two pistol-shots rang out
sharply on the cool calm air and startled the child so violently
that she sprang forward and dropped the bucket. The sound of voices
reached her from the thick wood bordering the path and without
reflection she followed the dog who bounded off toward the point
whence it issued. Upon the verge of the forest she paused and
looking down a dewy green glade where the rising sun darted the
earliest arrowy rays beheld a spectacle which burned itself
indelibly upon her memory. A group of five gentlemen stood beneath
the dripping chestnut and sweet-gum arches; one leaned against the
trunk of a tree two were conversing eagerly in undertones and two
faced each other fifteen paces apart with pistols in their hands.
Ere she could comprehend the scene the brief conference ended the
seconds resumed their places to witness another fire and like the
peal of a trumpet echoed the words:
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