elusion, and eti their minds were made easy for 
that night at least . But when the next day had 
eome and gone and A rum, did not appear, they 
were wild with excitement. 
Ernest declared his Intention of leaving on 
the first morning train to see if lie could ascer¬ 
tain aught of her whereabouts, lie did go. 
But her aunt had not even seen her! Hero, 
then, was a mystery. In the name of all that 
was horrible, where could Anna,, his promised 
bride, have gone? What terrible fate could 
have befallen her? These questions Ernest 
OiM-.rruoKNi: asked himself over and over 
again. Even when weeks had gone, there 
came no t race of his lost Ariel to make glad 
his heart. His face was now of ashy paleness 
and was furrowed with deep lines, marks of the 
inward pain that was consuming ids young life. 
At the end of six months he concluded to go 
to England, for, as he told Ills parents, “ho 
could no longer endure the sight of home 
scenes without Anita, to enjoy them with 
him.” 
Ernest went abroad, and for a time let ters 
came to his parents assuring them of his Bft- 
proved health, at. least so they roportod; then 
one day it was noised about town that, a letter 
hud reached them announcing tire sudden ill¬ 
ness of their son, and that they were making 
hasty preparat ions to leave for England by the 
next steamer. 11 was evidently true, for In less 
than tlireo days they had taken their departure, 
and the grand old house was left In the care of 
an old. mis-shapen creature, of hideous aspect, 
whom the townspeople shunned a* they would 
u thing of evil. Once a week this thing crept 
: rito the town and made purchases of articles 
necessary to sustain life, but seldom were any 
words other than those absolutely called for 
passed between the villagers and “ the thing," 
for by no other name was It known. 
The grounds grew gradually into decay. The 
shrubbery, ns year after year passed, became 
tangled In one mass and lost all shapeliness aud 
beauty. The brick walks had become muold, 
and it was only with care that one could walk 
on them at all. People gravf to slum the place 
as if It were some charnel house, about which 
some lost, soul lingered as if loth to part with 
all that had belonged to It in life. A, vague 
rumor had been afloat that at times the form 
of it young girl had been seen arrayed In white 
standing In one of the windows of some turret, 
pale, haggard and wun-loOking, and tiiat sho 
had once or twice been seen to beckon be¬ 
seechingly, us if invoking aid, and tbon to sud¬ 
denly disappear. This rumor grew into a fact, 
for ere long it was no uncommon thing to see 
this vision, and many came from a distance to 
gaze thereon, it was thought by many to be 
the ghost of Ariel Venner, whom not a few 
THE USE OF FLOWERS 
believed had found her death at the hands of 
the GrkvtIIOKNi s in order that she might not 
marry their only son aud heir. Whatever tt 
was, whether wraith or not it continued to be, 
and soon became so much a thing of certainty 
as to cause but. little wonderment, though there 
were but few who could In; induced to pass the 
house after nightfall. 
Five years and more had passed. The houso 
itself had begun to fall into decay ; the grounds 
looked still more desolate than ever ami during 
all this time there had come no news of Anna, 
Vknxer nnr word from the Grkythornks. 
The young heir had been almost forgotten by 
many, and the sad story of Ariel's disappear¬ 
ance and the lover's grief was now but a casual 
topic of oonvernation. 
But one day Thornvale was thrown into a 
wonderful state of excitement. Young Guicv- 
tmorne had returned from England to claim 
the estate, both Ids father and mother having 
been killed by a recent railroad accident. In¬ 
stead of going at once to his old home, he wont, 
to that of the parents of his betrothed. Nor did 
he tarry but a short time there. Old Mr. and 
Mrs. V enner were seen accompanying him to¬ 
wards the Gukytiiorne mansion in less than 
twenty minutes after ho had entered tholr 
house. 
The next day It was known that ARIEL Ven- 
ner was alive and found. During all these 
years she had boon held a. close prisoner In tho 
old mansion, with no other companion except 
llio •'thing” who had boon so shunned. It 
chanced that, old Mrs. GREVOIoRNfi had not 
been killed outright, as had been her husband 
—indeed, had lived long enough to have her 
son reach her ore her eyes closed upon eartld* 
scenes, and opened—where? Let us hope in 
heaven, seeing that in her dying hours she re¬ 
pented. 
When her son reached her side he found her 
In an exhausted and evidently dying condition. 
Notwithstanding her extreme weakness and 
suffering, .‘die desired to bo alone with him, and 
would not hear to either her physician or at¬ 
tendant remaining in the room. When tho 
doors wore cloned and locked, as she demanded 
they should be, slio called her son to her side 
and asked from him the promise that, “Tell 
him what sin- would, ho would forgive her.” 
With a feeling of dread lie gave her that 
promise; but when he knew Irom her Ups the 
extent of the deed for which she hail asked Ills 
forgiveness, had sho been other than ids mother 
ho would have cursed her! She confessed that 
she and her husband had determined from the 
first moment they had learned of an engage¬ 
ment existing between him and Ariel V enn eh, 
to frustrate them in their intended marriage, 
and in order to secure this end had, after their 
first refusal, concluded it would be best to giv 
a seeming consent. 
Ou tho day that Ariel went to tho city she 
had boon decoyed by an assumed messenger 
from her aunt, who led her through different 
streets until they wore opposite the one in 
Which she was to he held for a timo prisoner 
when slic was hastily thrust into a carriage 
that had previously boon engaged and was 
standing at the corner with open door and 
driven to the houso in which sho remained a 
prisoner until after Ernest's departure for 
England, when she was removed to their home, 
where she had remained, did oven yet remain a 
prisoner, watched over by a faithful and well- 
paid servant. 
Of her part in the who)® affair, Mrs. Grev- 
titoune had long been ashamed, had indeed 
importuned her husband t ime and again to re¬ 
lease A riel and restore her to his son, who 
would never recover from the sorrow her loss 
had caused. But through all he had remained 
obdurate, and would not consent to such u 
God might have bade the earth bring forth 
Enough for great and small, 
The oak-tree and the cedar-tree, 
Without a flower at all. 
We might have had enough, enough 
For every want of ours,— 
For luxury, medicine, aud toi , 
Ami yet have had no flowers. 
Then wherefore, wherefore were they made 
All dyed with rainbow-light, 
A'l fashioned with supremest grace 
Uwspriaglog day and night:— 
Springing In valleys green and low. 
And on the mountains high, 
And In the silent wilderness 
Where no man passes by? 
Our outward life requires them not.— 
Then wherefore had they birth7— 
To mini, ter delight to man. 
To beautify tho earth ; 
To comfort man to whisper hope, 
Where’er his faith is diin, 
For who so carcth for the flowers 
Will care much more for him! 
[Mary IIowill 
after tills confession; but short us that timo 
was it Boomed to her son us though lie could 
not wait, so anxious was he to return to Amer¬ 
ica and his lost Ariel. He U-ft, England tho 
sumo day on which hi H mother was burled, aud 
with no regrets at losing her, since ho had 
learned how huso a part sho had acted. 
A ui ml V enner did live ; but oh 1 how chang¬ 
ed from the bright, Joyous creature that lie had 
loved In the past. Changed, but with the smite 
Hinder love In her heart for him that had first 
found |in abiding place therein. Save for the 
close imprisonment she had not suffered great¬ 
ly. Tho woman, though harsh at times, had 
been for the most par! kind in lior treatment 
or her. Yet deep sorrow had become so flrinly 
seated in her he;irt that her face never again 
became quite free from its marks. 
Tito old wop.,an was condemned to serve a 
term in the State Prison for her share in A u i w, .'a 
THE HAUNTED HOUSE 
BY DE FORREST P. GUMMERSON 
“ O’er nil there Ininx a shadow and a fear; 
A sense of mystery the spirit daunted. 
Anil said, as plain as whisper in the ear, 
Tlie place Is haunted!”— /food. 
It stood Just on tiie outskirts of one of the 
loveliest towns that ever did exist. A fine, 
castellated building, with towers and gables 
enough to give It more than an ordinary degree 
of beauty, in its earlier days, within the mem¬ 
ory of my mother, it had only been inclosed by 
a slight, wire fence of tasteful pattern, which 
exposed the grounds, with all their varied 
beauty, to the gaze of each passer-by. 
It was owned and Occupied by tho Grf.y- 
THORNK8, an old English family, with pride as 
groat ns their wealth. They had one son, a line, 
manly fellow, who was the favorite of all the 
residents of the town. Ho formed many inti¬ 
macies, some of which grow Into warm friend¬ 
ships. This was not pleasant to the older 
Greytiiounbs, They did not like the Idea of 
one of their blood mixing quite so much with 
the common people, it wounded them in a 
tender spot. But as he was as free front pride 
as he was social in nature, nil their arguments 
failed to draw him away from hi* friends. 
But a short distance from the Grey 
tiiornes’ grand borne there stood n house 
of the simplest pretensions. Simple, but 
none tbe less beautiful in Its pure white¬ 
ness, as it nestled among the trees and 
shrubbery. It was the home of the 
Venneiis; and here, wandering along the i 
shady walks, or sealed beneath some tree, 
might he seen, on almost any summer af¬ 
ternoon, a creature of loveliness and beau¬ 
ty. Not always alone—indeed hut seldom. 
Here it was that the heir to the Grky- 
tiiorne estate was oftenest found aud 
spent the happiest, moments of his life. I 
Ariel Venner was not only largely en- * 
dowed with beauty, but had those choicest ( 
gifts which make woman so little less 
than the angels In goodnefljs and purity. 
Was it much to marvel at that this fair 
creature won the love of Kit nest Grey'- \ 
tiiorne, or that, seeing his love, she gave 
to him hors hi return ? There came a day j 
when this love was openly avowed,—and C; 
another on which old Mr. G hey’thorne \k 
threatened to disinherit forever Ida son for \ 
that avowal. This threat proved of no 
avail, for young Guey'tiiornk continued 
his visits to Ariel Ven.ver ; indeed, they 
grew to be more frequent than before. At \ 1 
last, tiie day of their marriage was openly •« 
announced and Invitations given to the n 
wedding. 
Old Mr. Greythornk, it was supposed, 
finding his son determined to marry Ariel 
V enner, had at last yielded, rather than r I 
come to an open warfare with hisonlyson. Vo 
Whether this supposition was correct or 
not, the further reading of this story will 3 
determine, and perhaps prove that It, Is no 
uuusual tiling for suppositions to be in¬ 
correct. it was decided that they should 
make a wedding trip to England, the one- t ? 
time home of the Gueytiiornes. To this V 
plan the parents of tho bride affianced gave k 
a reluctant consent. Some shadow seemed 
about them whenever they contemplated 
this separation from tholr darling child. ' 
It was within two weeks of the day ap¬ 
pointed for the wedding. Ariel had gone 
Into the city to make a few necessary pur- ' 
chases, and was expected back upon the 
evening train, upon the arrival of which 
her lover was to meet her at the depot. 
He was there at the time agreed upon, but 
Ariel did not come. Of course he was 
somewhat anxious about her. and won¬ 
dered greatly as to the reason of her not 
coming. But. knowing that a much-loved 
aunt made her home there, he concluded 
that, being unable to finish her business, 
sho had decided to remain over night 
rather than come home and have to re¬ 
turn. Her parents Joined him in this con- 
THEY SAY 
MISS C. B. LEHOW 
“They BAY -they do say,” and old Miss 
I ’utter took a long breath, “that Joel 
Barker is a goin to lot his darter marry 
that there wuthleas Hubert Shelton, an’ 
I Jest do declare it’* a burnin’ shame 1" 
The speaker had Just “ dropped in ” to 
her neighbor, the minister's wife, Mrs. 
i .'ole, aud had scarcely waited to acknowl¬ 
edge the pleasant welcome tendered her 
before “relievin’ her mind," as sho ex¬ 
pressed It. “Aburnin'*hamo,"aherepeat¬ 
ed " that’s Jest what it. is." 
“ It Is going to bo a warm day, Miss Pot¬ 
ter. 1 have not heard the locusts sing so 
this summer, and 1 believe that is one of 
your signs, isn’t it?” said the gentle-faced 
little woman. 
” Yes, an' seein' sheep on your left hand 
Is good luck. Squire Parsons has turned 
hlB flock Into tho old pasture agin. What 
ashif’less man he is!” 
“ He 1* out of health, you know, Miss 
Potter." 
"Humph! Well, that hulnt got nothin’ 
to do with Robert Shelton. I tell yew, 
Mis’ Cole, It's time somethin’ was done 
about it. Ellen Parker is Jest gottin’ 
herself awfully talked about with her oar- 
rylri’s on." 
“ I have heard nothiug about It.” 
“ Some folks don’t hav much faculty at 
pickin' up new*. I’m glad I've got time to 
look arter t 111 rigs when it’s necessary. ‘ In¬ 
stant In season an' out of season ; ’ wasn’t 
that what your husband preached about 
last week? But then you can’t be expected 
to do much outside of your great family,— 
let me see, five children, ami one on ’em 
sick all the time. Well you have our pray¬ 
ers and our sympathies. I Jest told Mis’ 
Prentiss It did beat me how you got 
along, and Mr. Cole no better than a stick 
round the house. Seems to me you’re 
puttin’ more raisins in that puddin’ than 
is necessary." 
“ The children like them,” was tho an¬ 
swer ; but the delicate face quivered as it 
bent down. 
“Well, before it gets warmer I’ll jest 
drop over to Slater Mkhlers,” and Miss 
Potter departed, disappointed in her visit. 
The sun had been down half an hour and 
Joel Parker's hired man, Robert Shel¬ 
ton, stood close beside Joel Parker’s 
