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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 1903)
THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL PORTLAND.. SATURDAY EVENING AUGUST 15, 1903 GOOD STORIES FOR CHILDRElSBy $!ait ,7 m . - The Story of a Magic IVreath JVhich a Boy Found Hid den in His Lonely Castle. The Undoing of a Witch, ihe Rescue of a Princess . and the Finding ofRictiel MoD T MILTOX A L IE UN ON" HOY, Earl of Chit tenden, sat in the lonely and almost ruined castle that had belonged to his family for eight hundred years. Tho oactlo was, as might hnvo been expected, overrun" with rata, mice, cockroaches, spiders ond other aorta of bugs too numerous to mention, and needed re- , tQftjaar.Ja spend mvu.0R.uxmmS imi..i'Z. and doirs for several centuries, therefore every Earl Milton was only thirteen years old, but these years had been passed in the gloomy old oas tin, and ho seemed, by reoson of a sad and n' cast air, to be some years older, for, indeed, he had rarely had any fun since he was born. The lands jll about the place were his, but they were so cover ed with mortgages that you couldn't tell what the oil was composed of. He could, however, hunt the wild game that ran through the forest, and this was his sole oc cupation. . But he took no pleasure in what most toys would call sport; merely hunting to obtain food for his two feeble old servants. Perhaps most of his real delight waa in the companionship of hia dog Sandy, a little yellow and white beagle hound who waa never so happy as when running, nose down chose to the earth, after a frightened rabbit through the tall grass. Sandy spent all of his time smelling around. Every clump of verdure, every hole, each pile of brush or heap of rock was carefully inspected, and every nook and cranny in the ancient castle which, you may be sure, was full them was daily examin ed lest something had visited it in the meantime. .When he struck the trail of the rabbit, ah, then you ahould have heard the full ringing, musical bark that sounded I With his long ears sweeping the ground hj dashed away, and from time to time s tittered that joyful bay as he chased the bunny scur txing through the underbrush. It was great sport for Sandy, but perhaps the rabbit had a different notion about it 1 1 i 1 Because he had no money with which to buy powder Milton was obliged to hunt with a bow and arrow, implements of the chase which had for agee hung, on the walls of the great, musty halL and he became very skillful in the jse of these old-f ashion ed weapons, so that he could bring down a deer or a' rabbit from a great distance. Ho went steal ing through the misty forest aisles under the ancient oaks that had seen the archers of Robin Hood's time perhaps, creeping softly so that not a 'twig broke beneath his cautious footfall, and he rorely failed to return to the castle with a burden of game. Often he sat in the underbrush and shot the pheasants as they darted across a sunny open ing or secreted himself in a sedgy clump by the lonely lake and sent his arrows across the dark water at a duck winging its way along the shore. He became as ekilled in the way of the woods and its inhabitants as an Indian, and he could tread through the forest mazes in the dark like a weasel or a fox and quite as silently. He knew every tree, every rock, even, I think, every plant, for miles around the castle; each footprint in the soil was read by him as you would read a book, and he knew the call of each bird and the droning of every in sect. While the sun shone Milton never remained indoors, but when the snows fell and the lakes froze he was compelled to spend many hours in the weary old castle through which the winter winds swept, making both boy and dog to shiver before the great fire on the open hearth. It was on one of these winter days that he roamed through all tho rooms of his dwelling look ing into many a closet and chest, hoping to discover some fragments of fur or woolen clothing that had escaped the search of old Sarah and Peter, and this day he continued his investigations until at last Jie penetrate, to a room under the very roof, a vast apartment, where all sorts of antique rubbish had been dumped for centuries, broken, useless weapons, armor, books and pictures. There in a dark recess he found an iron-bound chest studded with nails and covered with dust, showing that it had remained undisturbed for a long time. Milton eagerly attacked it, and after much effort managed to raise its ponderous lid, when he saw, lying upon a folded garment of pale blue satin of ancient style, a wreath of flowers so fresh and fragrant that they looked as if they hod been placed in the chest but yesterday I 1111 The perfume of the white blossoms poured up Into the dust-laden air and filled bis nostrils as be gazed into the chest in amazement, for it was a most astonishing spectacle. It was certain that no i body had opened the chest for a very long time; that was proved by the thick layer of dust upon the lid; but it was also quite as certain that no ordinary flowers could remain thus for even one day in such B place. Milton was puzzled, but as he could think of too solution to the mystery he took up the flowers end laid tRem asido while he explored the chest. He took out several garments of a fashion so old that he could not remember seeing any pictures like them garments that told of the days when the Chittendens were rich ond could afford to buy dresses from France and Spain for their pretty daughters; for the first he took out were women's clothes; then he came to men's attire, rich velvet coats and surtouts of brocade, fur-lined and warm, 03 well as gay in color; thick woolen clothing, rich ly embroidered with the Chittenden coat-of-arms and silken panties of a remote epoch, each leg of a different color, and other queer vestments that made him stare in wonder. There was a piece of parchment there written over in faded letters, also, which he managed to read with some difficulty, which explained the mys tery of the ancient chest. It related that in a past bo distant that one can scarcely manage to remem ber the date, there was a wedding in tho captle when the sith Earl Chittenden, then a young man, placed this wreath upon the brow of his lovely b.ide. She died the same day, and all her belong ings, her bridal array as well as his, had been placed in this chest, there to lie undisturbed while carl after earl came and went in the castle below, until even the memory of the tragedy was forgotten. It-did not explain the wonder of the fragrant, redolent, fresh' wreath of flowers, however, and when Milton had carried all the nice warm clothes to ins own room, chuckling with 'the prospect ef vg tbwa ia tJjfll fci&ex JEgteJifl bung .1VJ mjwUeUoujijhjap wreath upon a nail in the wall and read the story all over again. Strangely enough, the name of tho earl whose bride had died was Milton, too, and this made him feel sad, but soon, when he had donned the heavy woolen clothes and tho fur-lined coat, ana was plowing inrougn wo oeep snow xo m woods followed by Sandy, ho forgot all about the ancestor so long turned to dust whose clothes ho . was wearing, and ho whistled merrily. All that winter he roamed the woods, clad in the clothes of (he sixth Earl Chittenden, wandering far outside of his own lands and seeking game in ice-clad forests which he had never explored before. Here, far from home, he camo upon a little hut, from the chimney of which issued a thin spiral of smoke that told of living occupants, but when Mil ton knocked on tho door it was not opened. Turn ing at last to leave, he suddenly spied a large gray wolf slinking along in tho pale bluish shadow cast on the .snow by the trees. Ho raised his bow and fitted an arrow to the string, but the wolf darted away into the dark evergreen growth and vanished. Sandy was on his trail in a moment, but Milton had no desire to see his little hound mangled by a ravenous wolf, so ho whistled him back at once, much against Sandy's will, you may be sure. 1 i 1 1 J 1,1 1 2" '' U He returned home, but early the next morning went again to the little hut, and, finding its door still closed and receiving no answer to his knock, he hid himself in the forest near-by to watch. Soon ho saw the same shaggy, gaunt wolf sneak across the fields and disappear behind the hut. It reappeared in a moment, and while it stood at the door ho sent an arrow singing across the snow and into its body, but although his aim was good, the wind carried the shaft slightly to one side, and it struck the ani mal in the flank. Springing into the air, it uttered a loud, pained howl and dashed away. He sat still, and in a few minutes saw an old and very ugly woman limping toward the hut. Blood stained the footprints in the snow behind her, and her dress was crimson with blood, also. Milton, seeing that she had been hurt, rose and ran to her. She started in surprise when she saw the handsome boy in the fur coat, but when she saw. his bow and arrows a sudden anger seemed to possess her. But he did not notice how she glared it him, for his eyes were upon her bloody skirt. "You are hurt wounded 1" he cried. "What has happened?" "Nothing, nothing at all," she snapped, cross ly. "I fell against a sharp broken branch of a tree, that's all. I'll be all right in a few minutes. Go away and mind your busifbs !" A sudden thought smote Milton. "Was it tho wolf?" he asked eagerly. "Did it attack you in the forest?" "There are no wolves here!" replied the old woman. "At least I have never seen any." "I shot one just now, but did not kill him P re plied Milton. "He ran away before I could try again." The old hag glared savagely at him as she open ed her door. When it was opened, Milton saw a beautiful girl standing within, a girl with golden hair and violet eyes, who was looking out at him with a pleading as well as a surprised expression. He had seen but few girls, mostly children of peasants on the farms in the neighborhood, and such a wondrously lovely vision as thia in such a tumbledown hovel was very startling, therefore he 6tyred with, all his eyes until the old woman slam med the door and shut it all out. A A A Jk Then he returned home to dream about her until little Sandy grew worried at his master's silent and thoughtful air. Every day, until spring came and released the streams and flowers and painted all the woods with a mingling of tender greens and faint pinks and blues, he haunted the forest's edge, hoping again to see the beautiful girL Once or twice he knocked on the door, ond when it was opened asked the old woman how she was getting on with her wound, but tho angry responso which he received soon taught him how unwelcome he was, and he never saw the gin, euner, so ne gave xnai up ana waitea lor chance to visit her during tho hag's absence. Hidden in a thick clumf of shrubbery he wait ed day after day until the summer came, but the old woman was as watchful cs he' and he never caught her going out or coming in, and, the door was alwavs closed. MILTON TOSSED THE WREATH TO THE WITCH'S HEAD the girl. The bag was a famous witch whose name was Peggotty Swonkers, and sho was perhaps the oldest person in all the world, for she had lived since tho days of William the Conqueror, days when a witch was an important woman indeed, but . 1 . 1 of course', since witches went out of fashion many years ago, she never advertised tho fact that she was in that business now, but pretended to be an herb doctor. She was in demand to cure pigs of the colic, cows of the shivors, horses of the staggers and chickens of the pip, but no ono ever called upon her to attend to a dog's ills, for, as it is well known, all self-respecting dogs know a witch as soon as they set eyes on one, and every dog immediately flew at Peggotty when she appeared in tho streets of the town. Of courso, some people were aware of her aw ful trade, but as they often had dealings with her they never revealed her secret; but even these peo ple never suspected that she kept a young girl a prisoner in her hut, for when she had callers the girl was put into the cellar. A great black cat kept constant watch at all times, warning her when any body approached the hut, and guarding the impris oned girl during her absence a cat apparently as old as and even more hideous and cross than she was herself, a fit companion indeed for the old crone, but a terrible one for a young maiden. The girl was the daughter of King Chronus, a monarch who ruled a land far in the south, and she had been stolen when a child from the court by Peg gotty because the King had issued an order for bidding witches to live in his realms. She fled with tho child, and, although tho King had offered an immense reward, she had never been found, and to make her capture more difficult the witch hod given her an herb which had deprived her of speech, so that she could answer no questions re garding herself if such happened to be asked by curious visitors. The dumb child had grown to be a beauty of such surpassing loveliness that Peggotty had been obliged to hide her in this remote spot for fear of lovers coming and carrying her awaypbut when the summer camo she often allowed her to roam in the dense forest, where only the deer and the rabbits were ever seen, and, in order to keep the forest as secluded as possible and to frighten off any stray wanderers, the witch often assumed tho 6hape of a big gray timber wolf, whose red eyes and awful teeth were well calculated to frighten the woodeboppers and artists who sometimes pene trated tho deep glades. 1 & 3. 1 But in Milton she recognized a boy who was afraid of nothing and did not hesitate to attack even a wolf. He was resolved to see the girl again. Peggotty was quite sure of that, and yet she was afraid of getting another arrow in her, for the wound she had received in her leg was still very Bore, and every time it smarted she groaned and thought of Jlilton with an awful wolfish growl. She had forgotten many of her witch spells, or else would have turned into, a lion or a bear and made an end of him at once; and certainly, had ho suspected her of being a witch, he would have been more cautious. Finally, seeing that the girl was growing pale from confinement, and fearing that she would die and deprive the witch of the pleasure of tormenting her, which was almost her 6ole pastime. Peggotty decided to rid herself of the watchful lad by play ing a trick upon him. Knowing that a boy is al ways hungry, she made a charmed cake that, if eaten, would promptly change him into a pig, and she laid this cake upon her window sill, hoping and expecting that he would see it ond think the girl had made it for him. But she had never thought of Sandy, whose ap peftte was far keener than his master's, and who scented the cake in a minute and soon swallowed it with great satisfaction. Instead, however, of turning the dog into a pig, as one might have expected, it merely gave him the power of speech, for it was a spell designed not for dogs, but men, and he ran back to Milton laughing just like a boy. When Milton heard him coming he thought another vlad was in the woods, but on seeing Sandy appear he almost fell over in amazement. "She's a witch," cried Sandy, "and I've eaten some kind of a witch cake that was left on her win dow silL probably fixed up for you!'1' I can talk I Ha, ha! What a jokoP - After a while Milton recovered from his sur prise,' and then they had a Jong talk. You cannot imagine how queer it seemed at first to hear a. dog tfii&ips XiS like .WPthfir lad, and what fan it was too. Sandy, of course, was delighted with his new accomplishment, and rattled away like a mill wheel just to hear his own voice, but, after all, he told Milton many things that he was very glad to hear. In the first place, he was informed that Peggotty was a genuine witch and fully as dangerous as any witch ever seen ; and, besides that, he was told just what she had done in the past. Srndy told him that all witches were very fond of eels, which, however, ' they rarely can catch, as they fear the water so much that they nevor ap proach it, not even in a bath tub. So the first thing to do was to procure somo eels. This is what he aid : First he dug a lot of big worms, regular "night walkers," which he tied to gether with thread in a bunch as large as his fist, and this he fastened to a long string, and when darkness fell he went to the moat which encircled the castle a deep, stagnant ditch full of eels and sat down on the bank. Then ho threw in his worms, and in a minute a big eel seized the bait, and before he could release his hold on the bunch of thread and worms, Milton jerked him high and dry on the grass. Soon he hud a couple of dozen tremendous eels in his basket, and then he went to bed quito satisfied. Jk A & It was a warm night, and Milton wished sincere ly that his dwelling had been built like modern houses, where one can throw the windows wide open and admit every breath of air ; but had this been the cae this story might have ended in a vastly differ ent manner, for when he awoke in the morning Sandy revealed a strange fact. The dog was wait ing outside of the door when Milton appeared ready to start to Peggotty's hut with the eels. "Hello," said Milton. "Have you been out all night?". "Yes, indeed," replied Sandy, with a grin which revealed his glittering white teeth. "I was out all night, and I made a discovery. I caught the old witch peeping in at your window about midnight. She is up to some mischief, I am certain." "In at my window!" exclaimed Milton in sur- rise. "My window is thirty feet from the ground 1 low could she peep in ?" "She was riding a broomstick," replied Sandy, "as I have often seen her doing, although I have never seen her around the castle before. I' cannot imagine what she wanted at that hour, but she flew away, with a diabolical grin of pleasure upon her face, which revealed the fact that she also had made a discovery which gratified her exceedingly." "We must discover what it was," said Milton. "I cannot imagine what she could have seen to in terest her in my rooms, I am sure, but whatever it . was we can only learn from the witch herself. We will go at once to her hut." He ran into the castle and got, his basket pf eels, and, with the smiling dog following, hurried away to Peggotty's hovel, where" the witch was found smiling, a fact that surprised Milton. She was in very good humor, and when he gave her tho eels she asked him to enter her house, where he found the dumb girl spinning at a wheel. '1 1 1 1 In this old-fashioned occupation she seemed more beautiful than ever, and his heart went out to her. Peggotty said she was her daughter, but that Milton found hard to believe; but as she was speechless the truth could not be learned from her." The witch, delighted at the prospect of a meal, bustled about her hut in hasty preparation for the feast, and after a while Milton asked her to allow him to take the dumb girl for a walk in the forest, The ' witch reflected for a moment, and then gave permission with a somewhat cloudy brow, but Mil ton asked no more. They wandered far in the shady woods, and he told her all about himself. Bnt, alas, she could tell him nothing in return.. Then he conceived the notion of teaching her the deaf and dumb alphabet, and promptly proceed ed to instruct her. They spent'the whole day in wan dering, and never thought of the time, although the watchful Sandy bad long ago felt the pangs of hun ger but was too polite to mention the fact. Un their return tne old witcn appeared much re Jieved. Milton asked permission to come again, which Peggotty cheerfully granted, and on the following day he was' there early in the morning. Again he walked with Amine, which was the girl's name, but t this time they returned early fdr he feared to offend the witch. Peggotty was as pleased 4s before, and asked him many questions about the ancient.castle: ,1Lb aud ita history, aud.'ell-these, ho answered ralily, - hopon to learn her objoci Finally shi asked him if ha i ever heard fttrange, old tale about a brid who had died on he? wedding day.. " C i "Yes," replied Milton. ."I read all, 'about it l??1?)'- ,?l'oun4 Ptrchment ia an old chest that told it alLf t- . ' . "What. --v" i 'jtt.M . ner eyes glowimr with ftacArnftM. tKo l.a -been something . ...'.i - -y Milton told UB "fBiU n aoujfng more was discovered - " jvunuuucreu idoui xna wrea at nnmni that V. haJ v; n . , . t uiui va mi wan. ana w always remained perfectly fresh. Her face cha ,v , f,1?0 OI "tense relief came over it ,0h "wUwj much to see such a won derl she acied. "Will you bring it to m and let me inspect ltf - "Certainly. I w$l bring it to-morrow," replied by- Tti t ifl farewell and returned home. 1 Ubet Mid Bandy. he trotted beside his master, "that the wreath is what she is after. All this politeness suTely means something t Watch her carefully and don't 1st her gain any advantage!" "She is surely up to some mischief," replied the boy. "I can see that in her green eyes every time I look at her; but I think you and I are a match for her, Sandy." Sandy opened bis jaws in a dog's pleased grin and hung out his long pink tongue in a wayhat snowoa now ne would liko to take just one nipit ot tno old hag", lie added: X "I have been sneaking around her hut for hours at night trying to disopver something, but she never talks even to her old cat. She was so' tickled to hear you say that you would bring her the wreath of flowers that she betrayed undue anxiety to see it. Yes, we will surely defeat her wicked purpose if we can only learn what it is." 1' 1 1 1 The puzzle was too much for either of them, and they went to bed without thinking of anything that Peggotty could do with the wreath; but all night Sandy slept with one eye open and fixed on the window. In the morning they hastened to her with the flowers. ' They found, her with Amine, outside of the hut, where a - big black pot, full of a strange-smelling mixture, was standing over a small fire in the grass. This was some mysterious potion prepared for no good purpose thought the sagacious Sandy, so he kept to windward of its fumes and he cautioned Milton to remember to keep his fingers constantly crossed, lest the witch put a spell upon him. Milton handed the fragrant wreath to Peggotty, and then he' noticed, that Amine had a somewhat similar wreath upon her golden head. This was so un usual that' he looked curiously at her, and the witch said hastily : - "She feared that you would not bring the flow ers, so I made a wreath -for her. Is it not pretty ?" This. uncalled-for explanation caused Milton to be even more cautious, for he was quite sure that Amino had expressed no such desire at all, and he was aware that the witch never did anything to please the girl. "Yours is a beautiful wreath!' said Peggotty, examining it with great, apparent, interest "I have) never seen anything like it, and what a wonder it ia that it remained so fresh and perfect all thoso ages ! No such flowers exist nowadays !" She was about to return it to Milton, but, aa if a sudden thought had occurred to her, she added: "Amine has a wreath upon her headl You must wear this!" She motioned the girl to come to her, and, placing the wreath in her hand, said : "Crown him with the flowers, my child. Ha loves youl" The girl was about to place the wreath upon Milton's head, and the witch was trembling with eagerness, bending over them as Milton kneeled to receive it, when the boy glanced up and caught the awful gleam in the 0I4 hag's eyes! A shiver ran through him, and then, seizing the wreath, he threw it upon Peggotty's own head with a motion so sud den that she could not evade it. When she felt the flowers about her brow she uttered a frightful yell and tried to tear the wreath away, but it clung like a coiled serpent to her head. Tn anntViAV mnmpnt wViiTn Iiat vplla rnnir iVi rnn trVt th forest and alarmed its wild denizens, she fell toJ the sward in convulsions of rage and distress. Thjf spectacle was so awful that neither Milton ijfi Amine could move hand or foot, but stood ff t spellbound staring at her. i 1 1 1 "I am dying!" she groaned finally. "It's all over! The fatal flowers at last have done for mo as they have for others !" "Then this is what you designed for me!" ex claimed Milton. She groaned again. "I sent it to your ancestress 800 years ago, and it killed her, and thus it has returned to me I Yes, I meant it for you! Thus I would have destroyed you and regained my poison wreath! I am pun ished rightly 1". bho soon became unable to move, and it waa plainthat the end was near. Before she diejhe Chronus. and asked Milton to take the Princev bock to ner nome. one aiso revealed mat there s . 1 r a. - : 11 .u.i. i 1 1 Was B lltsnp ox treasure) 111 iict ccuar, uiiiu Bile HUH gathered during her long life, and said that it was theirs if they could drive the black cat away from It. Then she shuddered and died, and in a few, minutes there was nothing remaining of her but her clothing, for she had simply turned to dust. Before they could think of what to do there was a dreadful outcry from the collar. It was caused by Sandy, who was engaged in dismissing the cat, and so pleasant was the task he became so ab sorbed in it that he finished the cat ' before he1 ceased. Then they went down and carried out the treasure and took it to the castle . In a few days Milton had purchased everything they needed, and they went to iiing Chronus. How he received his long-lost daughter you perhaps may hare read in the papers, but you may never have heard that he gave half his kingdom, as well as Amine, to Earl Chittenden; but such was the fact, and now there is no greater nobleman in all that country. - . Principally the people admire him because M - 1 J 1 .! H . i ' is the only man in all the world who possesses a talking" dog, and as there is a grear story to be told about Sandy, Til atop right here and leave Test, fpr another time. ; v JVALX HcDOUGAIi: . ' - -