The Troll's Daughter

fCONTIN'UED.J tender gin aun mis miirin oía mirar Come, let us do as we have been requested- you, too, count." The oíd man took up what his visitora laid aside and concealed eveiy article ander the slab on the floor. He then commenced his invocations, but all at once ho appeared disturbcd aud stood still. "Count, you still have some article of steel about you," said Toini. The count in gTeat confusión drew froin his bosom a small steel poniard, which he had kept concealed there. "Thia gentleman has not given up all the steel he has either." "What! I?" exclaimed Guillemot. "Yes," replied Toini dryly. In fact, Guillemot had retained his corkscrew. When the troll had tlms succeeded in getting these obstacles out of the way, he flung himself headlong into tho depths of his inspiration, and the young girl faithfully interpreted tho sublime worda which leaped from his soul. "My spirit bears me away," he cried; "my desire rises in my thought; I wish to begin the runas [Finnish ditties]; I wish to sing "O ye strangera who are listeners to me, what would ye of me? Has anguish gnawed your flesh or grief and mortification broken your spirits' Have ye lost immense riches or are ye pursued by implacable enemies? Speak, for my father has taught me the words of power, the creative words, the waya divine. At the sound of my voice the brazen gatea ope wide, the battlements of hiisi [the devil] I crumble, the uprooted pines whirl about like sand in the eddies of the tornado. "I know the origin of the world, the source of flre, the birtb of iron. I know the silent tracks of the ants as they wind over the bark of the birch trees. Before me the spirits of the dead take flight, and the bear forgets his fierceness. I master all the ills of earth, and bury them in the mountain of Wounds [The Finland mythology recognizes several goddesses who preside over pains and snfforings], under a stone of 9 fathoms' wiüth, where terror dwells- where anguisíi has fixed its abode. Speak, then, O strangers; wisdom is ready to gush f rom the depths of the marshes, and from the broken.flanks of the mountains, covered with snow, will be heard voices that will make the spirit of autumn leap along the banks of the great world sea." "Seer," then said the Duke of Orleans, "I have a mother, and that motheris France. She ia ill. Treacherous physicians aro her death. Teil me what is to be her destiny." The aged Tuisko, whose accents up to that moment had been full of calm and melancholy, suddenly became excited. His diction grew loud and impetuous, his gestieulation convulsive, his eyes sparkled with a wild fire, his whole being was transformed. It was plainly evident that the spirit of tietaja had taken possession of him. Thereupon the travelers, who until then had listened to him with a smile of incredulity, could no longer banish a species of religious terror. On her part, the lovely Toini, who was in more immediate rapport with the troll, also allowed herself to be overeóme by nis enthusiasm. She was panting and disheveled, and in that moment might readily have passed for one of those sil 'ls of which the sagas of the south recount the f renetic ardors and oracular paroxysms. "ïhy motker is UI!" replied tke viaard; "how great thy audacity, O j ness, in kaving attacked ker! Who art tkou? Whence comest tkou? Comest tkou from the sepulckers of kalma [región of the dead] or from tke depths óf manala [heil]? Comest tkou from tke dust of tke marshes or from the nioving Rands? Comest thou from the abysa of waters or from tke snow of foam? Hast thon been wafted by tke winds or driven by the tempest? "Whence dost tkou spring. O cruel scourge - O vilest plague? How hast thou been able to touch ker? Comest thou from the bosom of tke rocks or of tke trees or of tke antique regions? Hast tkou descended from tke mountains, or crept up from the stalks of the strawberry plant, or issued from the sanctuary of the wise, or from tke rivera of hairy men, or from the socerers' marshes, or from the kills of savages, or caverna of fierce dogs, or tkedensof untamed bears, or regions wkere tke foxes bark and where the conies gather? "Prodigy of horror, nee far from me; jcourge of the earth, abandon my dwellIng. "My father, my old father, has never been the slave of wizards; he has never corrupted the Laplanders by his present; ke drovo away calamities and dissipated every evil. "If I kave not tkat power, I will invoke tke son of Ukko, tke god of thunder, who reigns over the clouds, wko scatters the storms. I will implore his aid; I will cause the succor of his arm to come down from the heigkts of keaven to tke low places of the earth. Crushed by poverty, 1 wül lift up my voice through the entrails of the earth, the six respondent vaults and the nine heavens. "O Luto, tiiou vuo rostest on ie axis of the eartk, thou who inhabitest the cloud whence comes the thunder, bring bither thy glaive of fire that I may strike the cruel one wko torments me, tkat I may forever drive away my enemy ! "Goddesa of tke waves, arise from out tke abyss! Raise from tke bossom of tbe waters thy blue tresses, from the depths of the fountain thy light garments, from the muist spray thy bright -isage! Come to my succor, come to deliver me, to protect me, to console me in this terrible travail, in these overwhelming sufferings. "O forest, come with thy magnificent animáis, come with all thy people! Perkele, como -vvith all thy house! Lake, come with the sons of thy race! Oh, may a hundred warriors arisc with their glaives; may a thousand héroes rush to the rescue of the weak, of tke ■■íiut ir i nat be not enongh, what otheT power ghall I yet invoke? Isitinthe world of va: ;i. chilclren uf the hoary ages, 1 i len? Alise from the earth, O :■ ■ i' Ihe earthj irise at once, O everlasting lord; riso all ye who wear the warlike ! rand, all who inount proui] conrsers, come hlihei to break the sorrowthat crashes me, come hither to subdue mv anguehr' As Tnisko progresaed with his invocations liis voice became lcrader and wilder, his gestares more vehement. He beat with his íoot; he smote his hands together; hia hair stood erect upon his head, and his mouth foanied. At length he fell exhausted on the stone floor; his closed; his limbs grew stiff; any one might have thought liim dead only that froia time to timo his palo lips muttered some words which Toini alone could understaml, "Thank heaven!"' exclaioied mot, as if relieved froin a sufïering weight. "At length he is quiet. Beelzebub resto. I will wager now that ho ia going toswell himself upuntilliebursts. While he was in the midst of bis frenzy I was looking for liim every moment to toss around my most Christian person. Monseigneur, would there not be some way of throwing this ranter and roarer ont of the cabin? The snow would do him good, and might perhais put bim in the notion of departing to rejoin his lord and master." "Silence, Francois!" said the duk. "Have you never seen those insects that feign death, and when one approaches them suddenly spring up full of lifer Would you now venture to touch that motionle8s specter?"' "I will piek liim up, if you desire it, with my curling irons." " Hist! There he is moving." "I perceivè afar," said Tuisko in a deep but broken voiee. "I perceive a región resplendent with verdure and beauty. There are tufted woods, lofty mountains and platas rich with fruit and corn. What splendid cities rise on all sides! Bnt, alas, the rivers that bathe them are red with blood - the rivulets, the springa are red with blood. "A black smoke enwraps the castles and palaces. The men are armed with axes and cutlasses. "What is that sinister crowd advaucing? Arms clash on arms, and tne paie horse of deaiii gallops from rank to rank. Oh, horror, horror! But I perceive a young man whose brow shines like the lire of the stars. He rushes forward; he scatters under the feet of his charger the crowd envious of so much glory. And now behold him on his throne, beautiful, divine! Agaln the thunder peals. The jewels of his diadem are shattered, aod the serpent that lay hid among thera Is preparing to sting the liero t the heart. ■"JfJre is devouring the earth. Tbe Borth is in commotion. Hideous vultures pursne the conquering eagle even into his palace oí cloud, aml he falla frcsm it pierced with a thousand blows, lí&e a globe of llame quenched in the tempest. And now the earth grows green agaln, and the rivrrs put off their garments of red to reasswne their former attire; but their bosoins are bestrewed with the feathers of the fallen eagle - wonderfnl feathers. New meu get possession of them, and with them write a history, an immortal history. And yet the fatal sen has still other storms. A throne is toppled down- an old man flies for bis life. "A young prince, he whom I see there before ine, advances on the wings of destiny, like the genius of the peace of the world. It is he who will replace in héroes' hands the feathers of the mighty eagle, that they may continue the great history that had been interrupted. But how! the storm begins again, the clouiïs rain blood and the young child waves liis innocent arms f rom the sumniit oí the throne, and the air is obscured by the black wings of immense carrion crows? What means that sign? But mists gather over my mind - my sensea iasert me. Strangers, adieu, adieu!" And the old man was silent, and again feil back insensible on tho floor, from which he did not arise until after somo hours of convulsive slumber. Three weeks after the scène that we have jnst described we once more flnd the illustrious travelers of Karesuando. The Count de Montjoie was murmuring a host of noble oaths against so prolonged a detention, and Guillemot by no means let slip the opportunity of seasoning what his companion had to say with some impreca tions of the plebeian school. The prince smiled at the impatience of his followers. "Do you not find thia place charming?" he said to them. "We would do well to await the conclusión of the thaw." But at heart he would not have been sorry to know that the thaw would never be over. "I am not sxirprised," said Guillemot aside, "that monseigneur enjoys himself so much here. He is of a race whose exploits among the beau sexe are universally known. What evil star has tlirown this siren in our way ? I am perfectly bewitclied myself. The devil disports and laughs in her eyes, and my master feels all lier influence, I am sure. Since that night - that horrible night, when old Beelzebub gave us his piece of acting - he cannot get away from her. Morning and evening he must visit her in her hovel. She has taught him to drive the reindeer and to walk in suksi [a kind of long pattens used by the Fins and Laplanders in descending mountains]. I would like to know of what use all these fine accomplishments will be in France to monseigneur, the Duke of Orleans." Meanwhile the strangers had found in the neighborhood a lodging much more comfortable than the cabin of the troll. The duke, however, made frequent visita to the hovel, humble as it was. He yraa often seen rambling with Toini among the mountains. One lovely evening in April thoy were both wandering on thebanksof the Muonio, and the descendant of that royal house which reigned for nino centuries over the most gallant peoplo on earth was talking to a poor Finland malden and saying: "I love you." At this avowal Toini shook her head. "Monseigneur is jesting with his servant." "No. I sweax it. but does not my wild dove return a little of thar lover "Monseigneur wsll knows that I love him." "Why do you ahvays cali me 'monseigneur?' Ah, cannot a prince find true lüve even in a wililerness'í"' "Must I then teil you? I have seen you surrounded by all the eslendors of your rank, and during the 12 yew j thut have elapsed since then I have loved you!'' "You are dreaming, my child! Your lifo is full of mysteries. I mn traming with eagerness to henr its history narrated, but you always hesitate to teil me it." "My life, alas, is that of an urifortunate, and my mother counseled me never to satisfy the whim of any who should ask to know it. We were born in near neighborhood to each other, however." "You aro French, Toini, and, what is more, Parisian. I guessed that long ago from the language you spcak and your pronunciation, which is so pure and so distinguished in its expression. But, teil me, how is it that the name of Antoinette is so often on your lips?'' "It was my name. It was given me after that of the queen, for" "For- oh, continue, I beseech youl I am impatient to know who you are." "For the queen was my godmother" "Oh, heavenl Whoin, then, do I meet here in this coarse attire amid these savage wastes? Destiny, how cruel is thy Bport!" "Less cruel than men, monseigneur. My mother was a lady of honor to Queen Marie Antoinette. She was beautifiil. You must have remarked that exquisitely clear and fair complexión and that indefinable expression of nobility which is met with only among the old families of Normandy. A prince of the blood conceived a passion for my mother. She loved him in return and had the weakness to yield. "One day the prince, entering her apartments abruptly, said: 'Adelaide, the secret of our loveisdiscovered; your interest and your honor require you to marry. I have selected the Count d'Arras as your husband. The queen has been fully informed of this and gives her consent. Your betrothal is to take place this very evening, but our love shall not perish.' Ah, monseigneur, know you what the Count d' Arras was?- an old worn out dcbauchee of 60! My mother swooned away, but a few weeks later she was the Countess d' Arras." "Your mother must have been very wretched!" exclaimed the prince, moved at this recital. "Oh, yes, mor igneur, as inuch as any poor woman can be who ís united to a man without a heart. My birth cama U' console her. But her lot was eoon tóaln overcaat. The prince sought to ba loved by her as he had been before her inarriage. 'iiever,' she replied to him, 'never, whils I am bound to another.' Eiasperated at this, the prince wrote hw three Vords, 'Love or vengepce!' My mother fled, for the count wan dlready preparing a horrible plot against her. "I know f Ar ras I" "JHy inother did not go far. The abbess of the Ursulines at Moutinartre was a relative. She concealed ua in her convent during seven long years. There, ander the shade of the beech trees, I grew up in quiet and peace. I had never stepj)ed outside of the holy retreat when.TOie day, I persuaded a nnn who was going to visit some Kick people to take me with her. What delight I experienced in traversing those brilliant Btreets, those superb boulevards, which inake your capital the queen of the woz'ld! Ho wever, the whirl of men and vehicles made me sornewhat nervons. I recollect the scène as though I had witnessed it but yesterday. "Suddenly the crowd separated to let four gentlemen on horseback pass. Never had I seen anything as beautiful or as rfchly ornainented as the chargers they rode. You, my pi-ince, were one of thoso cavaliers. At that time only 10 yeara had rolled over your head. A gtist of j wind carried off your bat and bore it to my feet. I restored it to you with a ümbling hand; but, oh, with what a gracious smilo you thanked me. "Another cavalier among those who rode with you advanced toward the nun ■who accompanied me, and in a strange manner asked her who I was and where I lived. Alas! on the morrow my mother received a note containing these threatening words, 'Love or vengeance!' My mother turned pale as death, and without losing any time fled with me to HavTe, whence she wrote to the abbess of the Ursulines. But before she received a reply a second note reached her. lt was sealed with black and held only the same words, 'Love or vengeance!' " "What infamy! Did your mother keep those letters?" " 'You will nover see them, Antoinette,' said my mother to me. 'We must quit France. We never can be happy on this soil! Come, let us go to the harbor and embark on the first vessel that will receive us.' An honest skipper gave us passage without asking our names or the object of our journey, and a few weeks later we landed on a shore which we had never heard mentioned. We were in Finland at Uleaborg." "And the notes, the notes!" "Vengeance did not pursue us into this land of eternal snows. Our lives were here permitted to roll on in peace. The aged Tuisko by bis extraordinary pruphecies won our confidence." "And what extraordinary prediction has he then made?" "Ioughtnot ierhaps to teil you. He redicted to me a glorious visit - a visit inch as no man has ever received upon this carth." "And did heforetell truly - you blush! What else is there to t "Two words," ho added, "will destroy yonr happiness." "Tlie notes! Speak, for heaven's sake! - the notos!" "YVliy constantly exclaim the notes? My beloved mother bas for foor y past been sleeping hér eterna] Blumber in metery of Uleaborg. And I, poor cliild- the good Tuisko took me, consoled ' me and in the uiidst of these deserts of ' snw na suppUeC the place of a father. " "Oh, good Toini, come, weep upon my bosonil Return with me to Francs, the land of thy motherl I will surround thee with all the splendors due to thy birth; I will restore to thee the happiness of which a wretcli rras nbtwd thee. But give me, I beseech you, give me a pledge of love, that I may beheve your words." "Take this medallion, my prince. It is the ouly inheritance I have received froin my mother. It ismy greatest treasure; it contains a piece of tho truc cross. As long as you wear it above your heart you need fear neither water nor fire nor air nor ballsnor ihc assassin's poniard." "Thanks, my child; this dear iocket shall not qv.it me for one single moment of my remaining life. Bnt let me presa upon your lijj.s one kiss, pure as the embrace of angels. Oh, my God ! 1 letters!" "Why such endden pallor, my prince? Here are the letters j-ou 80 greally desire to see. I alwaya carry them about me. They inclose a lock of my mother's hïiir- my poor mother." The Duke of Orleans took the pocket of letter:-; umi opened it with convulsivo eagerness. "Oh, misery! unhappy chance! "We are brother and Bister!" he cried, with an accent of eurpriso and inexpressible angiiish. "Thia is my father's handwritmgP t # # The fato of Toini has remained unIcnown, nor was It ever discovered what became of Tu.sko. Both diaappeared withour lenving any trace to indicaW whither thcy had gone. One man only, living in tho village of Karesuando, could still f urnish some authentic particulars of their hisiory. Should he who translated what the reader has just been perusing ever return to those distant regions he will mako it a duty to finish the story of 'Th Troll'B Danghter." THE END.