Anonymous

“ Then he retraced his steps to the deserted Glen, and knelt by the couch where Arabel had thrown herself. Her eyes were closed; one white hand lay above her head, half shaded by the rich fold, of her satin dress, that looked, with its glittering ornaments, better fitted for a bridal or a banquet, than for that lonely forest home.
“Mother,” she moaned, faintly, “I am not dying; I shall not die.”
“Arabel,” said Harris, softly. ”

“ But a change has passed over her still life,—a change that is felt, but only half realized.
“Dead, dead!” she moaned, faintly, in her uneasy slumbers; and in the hall below two forms are faintly discernible in the darkened gloom. They are the two older sisters, Christabel and Luella, who have returned from the vineyard to watch over their mother’s sickness, and attend to the last sad rites of her burial, for she was indeed dead, dead.
“It is very hard to have death steal so dear a mother, is it not Lu?” said Arabel, with childish trust, for grief had made her alike powerless to think or act. ”

“ The time for all things to be done is ordered; and when we have said all that can be known about such a place as Dungeon Rock, there still remains one question unanswered—one doubt unremoved. Time alone can verify what hundreds have told, either by impression, clairvoyance, or entrancement, that there still remains a cave there, and that the present laborer, Mr. Hiram Marble, otherwise known as the Excavator, shall be the one to discover it. ”

“ There was a strange calmness in Harris’ manner, as he pressed his hand upon her cold, damp brow, and swept back her long spiral curls. Then, with a quick, excited glance at her firmly closed eyes, he gave rapid orders for a burial case, such as they always carried with them, to be brought up, that her body might be placed in it and carried to Italy. As he raised the inanimate form in his arms, and laid her head upon a cushion of velvet and eider-down, a paper floated out from the heavy folds of her dress, and rested on the stones at his feet. ”

“ And now the tangled thread of our history leads us back, three long and changing years, to a small thatched cottage in Italy, where all day long the air is heavy with perfume, and the sun goes down at eventide in a sea of purple, and crimson, and gold.
16
“Mother, you do wrong to judge Morrillo so harshly,” said a low, sweet voice, one mid-summer night. “True, he wears the bandit frock and cap, but I know they hide a noble head, and shield a generous heart. Besides, he is so young now that his father’s will is the only law he knows; he never had a mother to tell him how to live.” ”

“ Carl’s dark blue eyes looked trustfully into his commander’s face, and he said, “Signor, the Madonna looks at you from the bright skies; think you she would not mourn to hear you call the men, that have served you so long and well, cowards?”
“True, Carl; I was angry and unreasonable. Your girlish manliness makes me ashamed of myself,” answered Harris; “but I do not like to give up the idea of frightening the colonists. ”

“ Then our house was barricaded, and even you, mother, will not dare to say that the noble band of Morrillo’s followers did not help us more than all the Venetian police. I saw them then on that fearful day, and I honored the bandit badge which bound them to each other. It is to them we owe all we have here to remind us of our former home; and even if they have in their possession the most valuable of our family treasures, it is better so than that our enemies should have them, is it not?” and the girl paused and looked calmly into her mother’s eyes.
“Yes, Arabel,” was the half-stifled reply. ”

“ Again the cottage home is hushed and still; the blinds are closed, and no sign or sound of life comes from the silent interior. The gray morning sky is tinted with gorgeous clouds, that gradually deepen toward the east, where they are bursting into one steady glow of crimson beauty. In the little room, that has so long been Arabel’s, the same slight form is resting, and the same low voice breathed out the last night’s prayer. ”

“ It is accessible by the Myrtle Street horse cars, or addressing Dungeon Rock, Lynn Mass., parties will be conveyed direct from any part of the city, and can spend an hour of pleasure and profit and judge for themselves of all that has been said and written of this quiet, lovely spot and wonder who next will have the faith, courage and opportunity to go on with this strange work, and add to the monument that two good men have created to faith in the immortality of the soul and a life beyond the grave. ”

“ I hate to be confined to work that I detest, just for the sake of getting food from day to day. I will not do it. The world shall know that William Wallace was not born for no purpose. I will help some one, if it is savages and wild beasts.”
Thus spoke the stripling in his lonely home. For six long years did he cherish that one bright thought. It was all the hope he had to stimulate him when labor was his only portion, and life was scarcely worth the danger of preserving it. ”

“ When the spring opened, company came thronging again to the rock, to see and hear all that was wonderful and strange; for the popularity of the place had been steadily increasing, and the world is ever on the lookout for something new. All that spring and summer company and visitors, picnic parties and relatives, were coming in rapid succession, and no material change was made, either in the work or their way of life. ”

“ Twenty-eight years have come and gone since this little book first went on its mission, and with them, many of those most interested in the progress and prosperity of the work and workers at the cave, have passed on to spirit life. One only, of the little family yet lives. Far away in the sunny South-west, in her own home, the first to say farewell to home and loved ones. Next the gentle, kind-hearted wife and mother, was called away by death’s relentless hand. The father and son still held steadfast to their faith, working winters and attending to visitors during the summer and autumn months. ”

“ And there, where affluence is unknown, and elegance unconsulted,—where no rich tapestry shields the artist’s easel from the light,—is a work of magic art and mystic mystery, which has been seen by hundreds, and will be by thousands. It is a rare bright picture—a childish, dimpled face, with deep, wondrous blue eyes, and thick clustering curls; one round arm is flung over the shaggy neck of a large black dog, as if to show how perfectly the spiritual part of nature can overcome the animal; and the whole picture represents some half-embodied ideal, which is in future years to become a reality. ”

“ More than “two hundred years ago,” when first the foot of civilization pressed the unturned sod of New England’s rock-bound soil, a man, past the prime of life, having lost his place in England, determined on seeking a new name in a new country. Accordingly, he embarked with his only earthly treasures, his wife and the family coat of arms, and, after a dangerous voyage, reached Plymouth Rock, only to encounter more dangers. ”

“ The scenery is wild and romantic in the extreme, and a society, calling themselves Foresters, have formed for the purpose of purchasing and holding these granite hills for public use to be kept as a perpetual forest, that all may have the pleasure of visiting the wild woods, and this inside the city limits of Lynn and84 within a dozen miles of Boston. Dungeon Rock, or the Visitor’s Resort is in the midst of this quiet splendor, this silent temple, with its many spires and altars. ”

“ The cave was still as far distant as ever; faith had grown weak, and hope, which formed so tempting a breakfast, seemed about to prepare a very poor supper.
It is about this time that we find how great is the power of perseverance. Mr. Marble, after the other men had left, continued the work for some time with his only son, a young man about twenty years of age. And thus, it was after working a year by the guidance of mesmerism, that we find him consulting the first clairvoyant medium, and this led him into the mystic labyrinths of spiritualism, or spiritual philosophy. ”

“ The old platform, where there has been much merry-making, has been replaced by a larger and better one. The old flag-staff has long since blown down.
The cave, or excavation, is now nearly two hundred feet through and seventy-five feet below the entrance, and well worthy a visit from all who can find opportunity for such a pleasure. It teaches a lesson of faith—not without works—then the view from the top of the rock is beyond all description ”

“ He was walking slowly along, with his eyes fixed upon the ground, when, suddenly looking up, he found himself back to the place whence he started.
“Can’t you go as far as you can see?” he muttered to himself, starting again for the wood: but again he became lost in thought, and again he found himself at the same place.
“Well if you can’t go as far as you can see you may go home,” he said, casting a regretful look at the woodland, and turning away. It was a habit he always had of talking to himself, and it saved him many hours of trouble. ”

“ He was dressed in the Spanish costume of that day; but there was an oriental richness about it which is now lost to the world. It looked more like the Turkish apparel of the present time; the flowing trousers and tunic giving a graceful air to his slender form, and quick, agile motions; and the whole occurrence gave rise to the interesting novelette entitled, “The Child of the Sea.”
“What success, Carl?” asked Don Jose, as he came up the long path from the boat-landing, and clasped the boy in his arms. ”

“ There was once a case of silks left there, but, as the cave is not perfectly air and water tight, the probability is that, although they look the same as ever, there is not much durability to them. The grave of Arabel, Veale levelled down, but the spot is still pointed out by mediums, and, although the tree under which Harris laid her has long since decayed, another has grown up very near where that was supposed to stand, which is now in the centre of a thriving garden. ”

“ Harris remembered a small public house he had seen upon the beach, and determined that, be the consequences what they might, he would reach that. The men readily volunteered to accompany them, and this brings us back to the point where we started, the night that first gave Wallace an acquaintance with the band of men that afterward frequented Pirates’ Glen and Dungeon Rock. It was, perhaps, a week that they spent there, and then returned again to Italy; not, however, until they had aroused the suspicions of the settlers, who were on the constant lookout for danger. ”

“ The cave will be found in two separate apartments, beside the entrance, which clairvoyant mediums see as another room. Veale himself, or rather his bones, will be found in the outer, or largest room, together with the remains of his shoemaking tools. The other contents of the rock we leave for time to discover, and the sagacity of the “Excavator” to make known. ”

“ The interest is still kept up and many visitors come every year and all go away well pleased that they have spent an hour in this quiet spot, around which there hangs a mystery.
Early in the winter of 1879 Mr. Marble contemplated visiting his relatives and friends in the West, but instead thereof, he started on that journey from whence no traveler returns,—in the body—and one bright day, in the middle of January 1880, the last good byes were spoken and his grave was made by the side of the rock, just above the house where he spent more than half of his earthly existence. ”

“ In our crew there are only men; but I warrant that up yonder, when the boat landed, you might have seen people of all kinds and colors flocking to the wharf. You well know what they are after. Now answer me this one question. Would it not be better for us to set the example by keeping whiskey for our own gang, and thus prevent their going to the boat, than it is to apparently countenance beastly drunkenness, by their drinking all they can obtain at irregular intervals?”
Long hesitated, and Marble went on. ”

“ Intelligent, energetic and capable, sharp and clear-sighted, with a vein of humor, and pleasing manner, he welcomed all to his humble abode, whether believer or skeptic, with the same good natured, honest expressions of interest and assurance in the work, that he fully believed was given him to do by disembodied spirits, receiving, as he sometimes said all things as compliments, whether donations of money, provisions, or a profusion of wordy advice or ridicule. ”

“ It was years before52 anything more was done there, until, about forty years ago, a man residing in the town adjoining the one where the rock stands became impressed, or, as he styled it, dreamed, that, by going to a certain place in Dungeon Pasture, he could discover treasures formerly buried by the pirates. He went, as directed, exhumed the treasure, and the probability is, had he been left to follow his own impressions, would have used it to open the rock. ”