Mary Baldwin College - Bluestocking Yearbook (Staunton, VA)

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The Au(pif f i Serni7iary Ainnml. 7 The (MH ' iiiiii; Id-cvzc lil() her li»iiu , tjiji- Imii- acros.- licr dolipatc fcatiiro, and except I ' m the lixed iiiteiitiie s it ' lier aze, wliicl) sets eiirioiisly on so yonn ;; !i I ' aee, one could mark no mental ex- citt ' nient. The seene, tlie time and tlie secluded nature of the place Would tend to ci-cate feelings of terror e cn in a hri ' ast not naturally timid. On the edii ' e of a clilT, in the lull and Kriiliant liijht of the set- tiiii!; sun, its a curious, da . .liui;- ci ' eatui-e -the meniiaid— famous in the old Scotch le :;ends. Comhin - out her lon , fair liair she sings a song, the weird tones of which reach the cars of the pair across the bay. The little Lady Gruoch, after the first intent gaze, turns to her coinpaiiiou, IS ' ow, Kenneth, (juick before she sees us — I will come with you. AVhat, man, you are not afraid ! She looks at him with that steady light in her blue eyes, and, inspired by her look, he advances quickly towards the mermaid, wdiose white shoulders gleam in the fading light. The Lady Gruoch follows. Kenneth reaches the mysterious creature unob- served, and ] auses irresolute. The child whispers — Coward. The mermaid has time only to scream before two brawny arms are around her, and she lies passive against the cliff. What want you, man ? says she, in an unnatural but sweet voice. Wishes two for the lady yonder. The prophesy runs that she shall have a rival in love. The Thane ' s daughter must come out the victor. The Scottish throne is near to my lady. A queen she must be. Quit and have, replies the mysterious being, and pressing her fish-like body against the cliff, she springs into the sea. Her white shoulders gleam for an instant, and then vanish beneath the green depths of the water. 11. Within the castle all is youth and happiness. From the win- dows brilliant lights are streaming — gay voices and merry jests ring happily out upon the sweet quiet. The laughter ceases and all becomes still. The strains of the harp, accompanying a wild Gaelic air reach the ears of a man and woman standing in a se- cluded and shadowed part of tlie grounds surrounding the castle.

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The Augusta Seminary Annual. Pictures in the Life of Lady Macbeth. I. THE shep])erd has ceased shouting on the mountain tops ; the fisherman witli wet nets is plodding homeward ; the moor is desolate and lifeless save for a strange-looking pair, walking silently hut hastily over the rougli ground. The peasant woman, from her cottage, must have noted the incongruity of the two, for, shading her eyes from the setting sun, she watched them out of sight and called to her husband, smoking within the door, The Thane ' s little lady and her faithful Kenneth ; where are they going ' ' . The two upon tiie moor are as silent as Nature around them until the man, a big fellow with a broad, good-natured face, says in an awed voice : Are you not afraid, my lady? No; why? Tlie child lifts her face so that the light sliines clearly on her steady blue eyes, and lips strangely firm in a childish face. Are you sure she is there? he asks again. Old Roderick saw her as he came past the big cliffs. He ran home, trembling and white. They come upon the crags and high, ragged cliffs, skirting the edges of one of Scotland ' s lochs, whose waters gleam through the crevices in the piles of rock roughened with moss and lichens. Before advancing towards the shore of the bay the man stops beneath the shadow of a hitrh rock and draws a long; breath. The child takes his hand, and something in the touch of her cool, stead} ' fingers seems to reassure him, for he steps quickly out with her to the edge of the bay. There she is, on yonder rock, says the child in a low, quiet voice. She does not notice the weirdness of the scene, or if she does, it fails to impress her. She stands hand in hand with the broad-shouldered Scotchman as quietly as if she were in her own little room at the big castle.

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8 The Augusta Seminary Annual. Her voice. You do not love her, but are in honor bound ? tlie lad ' is saying. So — repUes her companion, If she were not ? The woman leans slighth ' out of the shadow to get a clearer view of her companion. Is it the distorting effect of the pale light from a window that gives her blue eyes a curious glitter, her small mouth a hard curve You. He reads something in her face and shudders slightly as she lays her hand upon his. Come, as hostess I shall be missed. A few moments and the Lady Gruoch enters the room where the young girl has been playing ; goes up to her and leads her away to a seat. Later, Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, crosses the room and at his entrance the sweet face of the pretty songstress flushes. Her color deepens beneath the intent gaze of her hostess, the Lady Gruoch. The hours fly by. So fair and gracious is my Lady Gruoch, so sweet her smile, that one by one the guests have departed reluct- antly, all but two, the Thane of Glamis and his bride betrothed, the Lady Anne, whom the Lady Gruoch detains for a last word. Lady Anne speaks gently of the lateness of the hour, when her hostess, passing into the banquet-room, re-enters in a few moments with a glass of red, sparkling wine. Drink this, I pray you, my lady, ere your long ride. The smiling face of the brave ]VIacl)etli grows pale beneath his dark skin. He looks intently at the lady with the glass in her white fingers. Lady Gruoch, with a smile upon her lips, holds the sparkling drink towards the Lady Anne, who, taking it, lets the red wine slip down her white throat. The castle looks grim and ghostly in the cold moonlight. The gray walls stand threateningly out against the pale stars. Within the castle, as well as without, deep silence reigns. In the hall, with its roof and floor of stone, the light streams through the narrow unglazed windows. A door opens. A woman crosses the hall. Her eyes are open, but have no sight in them — her lips move.