SAMUEL WRIGHT, Editor and Proprietor
VOLUME XXIX, NUMBER 11.]
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llt(ttq.
At the Well
3he.r,tooil i , egitle the ancient well
Like some enchanted water sprite;
The rosy sunset round her
.Elti'ging her fosm with glowing light
Zkfei rustic wns she. though •he dipped
Her bucket in the fountain deep,
inughiug to see how silvery dripped
The,water front the betiding sweep
If ever angel troubled pool—
Av the old legend.; love to say—
An angel garret' the waters cool
Within that well at clove of day.
The s unset's gold wan not more bright
Than the rich rtes-es of her
Just where they rounded to the light,
While ne-cling on her shoulders fair.
Eyes lunghing, and yet full of pride,
And fuller still of love and hope;
And cheek., u- delicately dyed
As floweri vvbich tii the moonlight ope
The lip; hull purled. end )et mule,
The chmclilig slender form,
Light perch UllOll one Stellikr lout—
Ad huth :d ro,y radumee warm:
As it to greet ber OWII bright eves,
Site bent above the mo-cy curb;
I longed, yet feat, 11, by some surprtie,
The beauteous vision to disturb.
“Wilt give a tlitisty traveller &idled
She gave it. with a latish divine;
Which bliaitetl ate, that I did think
'Twas Hebc 811.111(111/7, all the brink
Of Helicon, add dipping wine
In goblets that like gold did shine.
Fifty and Fifteen.
Nidt gradual gleam the day nu, daveluag,
tome lingering Mors ac •IC seen.
When swung the garden gate behind us,—
He fifty, fifteen.
The high-topped chaise and old gray pony
Stood waiting m the lane;
Idly my father swayed the .whip-lash,
Lichtly he held the rein.
The store went softly back to heaven
The night fogs rolled away.
And rims of gold mid crowns of erint=on
Along the lull tops lay.
TIM morn, the fields. they surely never
So fair an aspect wore:
And never frost{ •he purple clover
Such perfumes rise before.
O'er hills and low romantic valleys
And flowery byroads through,
I sang my sumnle.t songs, fnnul Sr,
That he nutgld, sing them too,
Our souls lay open to all idcasurc i —
No shadow came la:Awaits;
Two cliiidien. liu y wall their lei•ure,—
He fifty, 1 fatecn.
As on my couch in languor, lonely,
I Weave beguiling rhyme, '
Cornea back with strangely sweet remembrance
That fur-removetl time.
The slowpaeed year.; have brought. sad changes,
Thai morn and this between;
And now. Oil earth. My }cur . ; are fifty,
And his, in heaven, littoen.
gitrttigits.
From I louschold Words.
By Night Express.
"I shall be late! I shall be late! Only
ten minutes to the hour! Run, some one,
and see what can Victor be doing with that'
valise. A child could carry it. 0,0, these
rascals! These (something) French rascals!"
Words spoken by an infuriated Briton at
the door of a grand hotel in a very grand
Parisian street. He is bound for Marseilles ,
by the night express; and is vainly seeking
to have his mails brought down. The grand
people of the grand hotel (it was of all na
tions and of copious flourish) are in the'
habit of doing things in their own way, and
!it their own time. Su that the chances of
:hat infuriated Briton's going down peace
/oily by night express, of that infuriated
Briton's paying his cab fare, taking through
a kot, having his mails weighed, and being
improperly assessed thereon, would have ap
peared ludicrously poor to unoccupied by
standers, Practically speaking, he might
bag; been taken to be out of the betting
Atoget her—perhaps scratched.
"Will no one seek that fellow and the
,yalisei 0 (here suppressed oath) execrable
canaille! Laziest crew! I must bring it
491 M WYsaifi"
A sympathising &lie de chambre, leaning
against the door, observes:—"How cruel!
Jacques has deplorable lungs, the boy!
'Twill kill him, laying these heavy burdens
eJ laim."
The infuriated Briton darts past her with
look of defiance, and meet, his valise—con.
strueted to be carried in the hand—borne
arduously by two men. Ile snatches it
from them, and bears it down himself.—
Then bids Cocher, if he would love double
fare, 4rive like five hundred devils. Cocher
}ashas trls steed furiously, swears profanely
that he will drive like five hundred thousand
pf those condemned spirits—adding, that his
pace shall be as the residence of those un
happy beings. The infuriated Briton leans
him back in the vehicle, and is gradually
tranquilized.
It may be as well confessed at once, that
I was that excited foreigner, wishing, per-
Imps, through all that turbulent scene to
veil my own proper personality under the
thin guise of a species of dlegory. As I
was borne away at the unholy pace pro
mised, now speeding round corners in arcs
of fearfully small radius, now taking cross
ings with a bound as though they were
leaps; I began to find myself rising, as it
were, in the betting, and to feel a yearning'
to hedge, if possible; a change of feeling, in
a great measure, owing to a certain yellow
fiacre that kept steadily before us, describ
ing the same fearful arcs, also taking the
crossings like fences, and ioiper•iling human
life precisely in the same manner. The
yellow fiacre might, in all probability, have
had its unholy company, five hundred thou
sand strong, chartered and in yoke.
To our charioteer it was a terrible rock
ahead, that yellow fiacre. Vainly did he
try to shoot past it by the right or by the
left; destined to be always stopped by the
adroit obstruction of yellow fiacre. Fearful
were his oaths when so checked; awful his
round of imprecation. I noted, too, that a
dark face, with black glossy moustaches,
was put from the window every now and
then, speaking words of encouragement, and
glancing anxiously behind. So the yellow
liacre went on until both came clattering up
to the railway door, the yellow fiacre lead
ing to the very last, with just one minute to
spare. So Cucher and his live hundred thou
sand auxiliaries had deserved well of his
fare, and there was joyfully counted out to
him the promised bounty with handsome
pour-boire to boot. Rushing past to secure
a railroad ticket, I just caught a glimpse of
the dark man—,all, well built, and in a
richly braided cloak—helping out a lady in
a cloak and hood.
Si 50
During that precious three-quarters of a
minute everything must needs be done by
express. Express taking of ticket—to takers
a certain disadvantage in the matter of
change; express weighing of baggage per
steel yard: it is to be feared, to owner's
damnification; there being a looseness in
ir fashion of appraising weight. It is
hard to bring ourself to trust in that hasty
click clack (sounds resulting from loading
the steel-yard,) or in the wild chaunt that
follows. “Dix-neuf! q'rante!" or in the de
livery of that blotted, sanded docket thrust
through at little pigeon hole. Express trund
ling, too, of the weighed mails along the
platform, with express ringing of bells, and
express jostling, and express seeking of va
cant places; much calling, much whistling,
much ,"shutting of doors; and I am thrust
hastily into a roomy carriage where there
are only two persons seated. The night ex
press moves off with a shriek.
tlt was just beginning to grow dusk; but
I could make out very plainly that one of
the persons opposite had on a richly braided
cloak, and that his companion was a lady,
closely wrapped in a velvet hood. She kept
far away in the corner, with the hood drawn
over so as to hide her face. A very hand
some, martial personage, the man, in the
braided cloak: some brave doubtlessly going
southward with his wife. When we had
grown a little accustomed to each other's
faces. I should, probably, learn more of
them. With that I took out the shining
sea-green volume of the chemin defer library
(bought by express and charged double ac
cordingly) and began to read. In that plea
sant romance are soon forgotten all thoughts
of the swarthy personage opposite, and of
his delicate companion in the velvet hood.
[At/antic Monthly
From dusk to semi-darkness—from sem;
to Cimmerian darkness—and then progress
in the little sea-green romance is stopped
Edouard, by ingenuous reasoning, has just
succeeded in convincing Marie that her law
ful husband, besides being turnkey, gaoler.
and filling other such ungrateful offices, Wa.
no other than a base imposter, being forces
upon her against her inclinations. That In
(Edourd) was, in the eye of justice, an..
baiting a few ridiculous formalities, tin
true and lawful sponse, the other a low in
trader. "Ces pauvres enfam.." continue,.
the little sea-green romance. But here the
darkness closed in elfectualy, and some OW
came tramping along overhead, dropping
a lamp as he passed.
The yellow light streamed down full awn.
one of the faces opposite. A perfect Italian
bandit's—dark,handsome. and with piercing
black eyes, that roved to and fro uneasily.
The velvet hood was whispering earnestl3
to him, laying her hand upon the braided
cloak, conjuring him, or remonstrating, as
it seemed. But he kept turning his face
away in the same uneasy fashion, looking
towards me and the window with much
trouble of soul. Finally, he pushed het
hand away roughly, and, covering up hi•
face, groaned aloud.
I was half inclined to continue Edouard's
and Marie's curious adventures; but here
was a real flesh and blood narrative that
promised to be infinitely more entertaining.
If possible, I would read it through to the
end.
"0 malediction!" said the bandit quite
aloud. "Malediction! You have brought
me into all this! I shall never survive it!
I shall die! We were doing well as we
were! Oh!"
"Courage, my friend," the Velvet Hood
said gently; "we aro quite safe. No one
dna harm you."
"NO ENTERTAINMENT IS SO CHEAP AS READING, NOR ANY PLEASURE SO LASTING."
COLUMBIA, PENNSYLVANIA, SATURDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER is, 1858.
"Harm mc! if those two tigers track me
out, Oh!"
"Hush, hush! my friend," the Velvet
Hood whispered, looking over uneasily at
With that they lowered their voices, and
and I could hear no more. I was driven in
perforce on Edouard and Marie; which poor
young people were now in fresh perplexities.
I had left them sitting fur whole days by
the bank of a river, plaiting reciprocal gar
lands, and trying their effect en each other's
heads. Now it had come to this, that the
turnkey, gaoler or imposter husband had
been indiscreet enough to effer gentle re
monstrance against this wholesale ignoring
of himself. A partial recognition, he thought,
was not unreasonable; he knew Monsieur
Edunard's superior claims, hut—Edouard
and Marie will speak to him will see the un
happy wretch together. They do speak to
him with gentleness; for, though lie has in
jured them deeply, they are above resent
ment. They show to him the impropriety
of his conduct; they show him how wrong
he has been. Ile is touched. he becomes
conscious of his fault. The strong man is
dissolved in tears.
Courage! says .Marie, holding out her
hand to him with a charming frankness.—
"Courage! you are forgiven—you will in t
offend again!''
"Never, never!" says the imposter hus
band, falling on his knees and kissing her
hand hysterically. Begs pardon, too, of
Edouard; who promises to think no more
about it. The wretched man is to be seen
at the Morgue during all the next week, at
any hour from ten to six. It preyed oral
his mind—that feeling of having marred the
happiness of two such angel beings.
What with the dull yellow overhead and
rumination on the sad catastrophe of the
sea green romance, the traveler begins to
grow sleepy. Sleepy, even in despite of the
hollow roaring outside, as though the ear
were being held eternally too gigantic shell;
in despite of wild crashing through tunnels
and of wilder swooping through stations,
whose lamps, red and green, whose illumi
nated waiting rooms would all dart past like
flashes of lightning; in despite of such alarm
I begin to doze, and must have dozed and
dreamed for a good round hour, when I wake
up wearily, and my eyes light on the swarthy
figure opposite, who is gesticulating wildly
and talking loudly at the top of his voice.—
This time he was in a terrible rage, that
swarthy bandit, eating his glossy moustache
with passion, and snarling, dog fashion.—
He was standing up, too.
"I tell you, it was no other than you led
me into this! You and your triply accursed
wheedling."
"You know, dearest Carlo, whatever! may
have said, I thought it would be for the best,''
the Velvet Hood said. She seemed to be
weeping
"Al! sorceress," he replied, between his
teeth, "that smooth witch's tongue of yours!
The two tigers will hunt us down,—that
will hunt me down. And do you suppose
they will spare me? i\o! they will kill me,
like a dog; twice over if they could! 0 mon
lieu! mon lieu! it makes me tremble and
-brink away to think of it." here he fell
back and rolled on the seat in an agony of
terror.
"Dear friend," said Velvet lined in that
gentle tone of hers, "do not give way thus.
They do not know at this moment that we
have fled. We have escaped them entirely."
"And tell me this," he eaid, starting up ,
"whose was that face I saw at the halfopen
ed jalousie. They were spying, the devils!"
"Imagination, dear friend."
"Woman's nonsense! I tell thce they are
chasing us at this instant. They know it
all, and woe to me if they find us."
"It is the last train, mon ami, Heaven be
praised, so they must tarry until morning."
"Ay, but the brother is great with the
pastes and the police direction. What may
not that do? Look to those long wires.—
Besides, 0 mon diet)! mon dicu! is there not
t train some two or three hours later? 0
'leavens! if there should be!"
"No, no," said the Velvet Hold. "why
listorb yourself with these delusions?"
"Monsieur is not asleep," he said, turning
sharply on me. "Monsieur will set us right
al the matter."
I was i.ure there \vas no such tra7n; but
;.rtunately I had a rmilwayguide book with
ne. Ile consulted it greedily.
"There is, there is!" he said with n sort
, f shriek. "Now weare lost, indeed; I shall
lie! 0, I shall die!"
"Allow me to look," I said, taking it from
him. lle was right. There was a train
that started some hour and half after the
express train, but went no further than one
half of the road. "The gentleman is right."
I said. "There is a train not very far in
hind us now."
"0, Sce!crate!" be said, turning on her
and clutching her arm. "I could kill you
this instant!"
She gave a short shriek.
"Have a care, sir," I said, indignantly.
"You must use the lady gently. I will suf
fer nu violence in this carriage."
He cowered down and cringed. "No, no,
monsieur, I did not so mean it. I have been
much fretted; I have a great trouble on my
mind." So they both relapsed into their
whispering again.
What a curious mystery was bore? A
much more interesting mystery than that of
Edouard and Marie, as set out in the sea
green romance. Something tragic, like
enough, to come of it; which issue I was not
to see in all probability.
An hour past midnight by the clock, the
figures being made out dimly by the yellow
light. here slackening of pace and stray
lights shooting by—signs as of nearing a
station. By the railway guide it was dis
covered that there is an important half-way
house approaching:—a centre where lines
meet and radiate away to right and left.—
Flashing of lights going by slowly, illumi
nated chambers seen through open doors,
luxuriously garnished with couches and mir
rors—going by; crystal pavilions with refec
tion laid out—going by; and then halt.—
Halt for some five-and-twenty minutes, more
or less.
The Night Express has disgorged itself of
a sudden: flooding the platform with popu
lation. What will my companions du? The
bandit, has been biting his nails in silence
for some minutes back.
am thirsty, 0, so thirsty," says he at
last.
"Descend then, my friend, and refresh
yourself," suggests Velvot-Ifood.
"What precious advice," he s.tid, in hi ,
snarling tvay. "Should I not keep chile
and retired? Yet she tells me: show your
self ;tbr,.ad."
"It would be wiser, certainly;" :Ale sail
"But 1 have a thirst as of Inferno in my
throat. 1 thuNt
.40. ICa II wrap this cloak
about my f.tee."
"Do no, in Irettren'4 name." - Anil he
stele pasture oat of the carriage; erawliatt
down the steps like a serpeut. 1 was left
with Velvet 110,al.
"Madame ha , had a weary journey," I
said, burning ‘rith curiosity to learn some
thing of the mystery.
"It is o tly the begbming monsieur," she
said. Then rising, she came over, and plac
ed her elf exactly fronting me. She stoop
ed forward to speak, and. I saw into the vel
vet hood. A. round, pale face, with saffron
hair; with a composed, gentle expression, in
keeping. with the voice.
"What do v m make of all this?" she said,
earnestly. "Spak quichly."
Wont could l tn;;‘,.o. I -,-nald confess to
Madame that :tat„ I ma a little.
It bore the by k of 'l7l
"An atitento,c IX i I 3-au sup
pose that I all flying from. :•.y Lust aud:
front a cruel. persocutbi,;; mr.nster?"
I was a Briton, and had Briton's old fash
ioned notions about such thing,,. "irm, in
d I was saying, drawing myself up
s idly enough.
"Al;!" continued. Velvet Hood, reading
me with a French woman's quickaess, "I
know what you think of it. But, if you
could learn what a wretch he is. Sir, he
beats me with his long riding whip, if I do
so much as look from a window. See!" and
with a strange confidence, she let down the
Velvet hood, and showed the back of her
neck and shoulders; where there was a long,
raw welt, quite red and angry.
"IPm!" I said, "highly improper treat
ment no doubt." I was still the dry Brit
on; but was growing more mystified every
instant.
"Sir," she continued, "that was this
morning's work. Sec again;" and she had
stripped her arm in an instant. "That is
his bite! Ali! the savage! And he is a
marq,as of the pure,t blood in France.—
Was I to stay—to stay to ho lashed and
bitten?"
"Inn! certainly not. That is—"
"That is—that is, of course. Fortunately,
there was the Neapolitan gentleman to
stand between me and this vile oppression
—this woman beating!"
"Pardon me Madame: but from what I
have seen"—
"lie is naturally a little timorous. But
has a gallant heart frc all that. lam un
der safe-guard of his honor, and he will
take me to his Neaplitan estates, where
his mother and sisters live."
"Wm!" I said: "quite correct."
"Yes," she went on. “There we will
stay until this wife -beating monster dies.—
Dieu merei: he is near to seventy."
"That is the arran4ement?" I said:
That is the arrangement. Carlo is fear
ful of pursuit; but there is no danger.—
There is my brother, too, another savage—
a bulb
"Most
"Most curious hi-tory," I said.
Here the Neap divan appeared at the
door, glouring at us beth. Velvet Hood
was back in Ler place in an instant.
Said he, in his snarling way, his black
eyes shooting out sparkle.:—"What is this
hole and corner work? These confidences
when I am gone—speak?"
"Sir," I said, "what do you mean?" I did
not over relish that tone .f his.
The old cringing way VMS on him again
in an instant.
"Sir, there is no offence to you whatever.
I had forgotten myself but for an instant.
Accept my humblest excuses." Then, un
der his teeth, "Ah, Scelerate! I could whip
you worse than ever did that husband of
yours. 7
I turned from him with contempt.—
Wonderful mystery! now she could toler
ate this other mean souled spaniel of a Nea
politan! But there 4:it. quite co:711)0 , o'
and mailing Cs en, e witli thu velvet hood
thrown hack.
"Don't fret your elf, Carle, donrest. It
is a we.try journey, .
soon be through it."
"Through it:" he said roughly, pushing
away the hand that was laid upon his arm—
he was an unredeemed savage—"how shall
you tell me that? What do you know of it?
Ab! 1 have no patience with your idle . talk:
My soul is sick with suspemc."
"Courage," said Velvet Mod. "Hark!
there is the bell! One more halting-place
and we are safe."
As she spoke we began to more slowly.
and the express shot forth again into the
darkness. The great sea shells were held
to our ears again, and we once more settled
ourselves back in our places, against a
long spell of journeying. I had taken in it
fresh store of that sea green aliment, just
as engine had been taking in store of coke
and water; but, there was a second Edouard
and Marie whose history Seemed deeply in
teresting, still, with eyes tolerably bleared
and drowsy brain, it was not passible to do
muhe in that way. Those who sat opposite
seemed tn be wearied out of their troubles.
The Velvet Hood sleeping tranquilly, but
the Neapolitan still kept watch—shooting
his eyes from right to left, ceaselessly. So.
the Marseilles express went forward
through the night, and gray morning, too.
Until, grown drowsy myself, the sea-green
roinance slippe 1 away down to the buttons
of the carriage.
No nsore consciousne‘ts until is. laud,
de-pairing engine shriek, prolonged 1111111 IC
roused WC up. The Neapolitan had his
hands clasped aml wat erying 1.1
''o Merey! Mercy! Signor,! 0, gentle
•ignorQ, li,ten to me: Spare, spare—ah.
'tis col I. Whore are we? Wake, wake:"
Ile jostled his companion as he spoke.—
She roio,ed up in a moment, and turned to
hint with that strange , swectnc.s or hers.
"Are you refreshed, Carlo?" she sail,
putting hack the velvet hood and smoothing
her hair.
toe what hour it is?" he said
She consulted a little
,jewelled watch
hanging at her waist. "Mill past four,"
she said, with a smile. "Ilew the hums
have run on!"
So they had. There was a cold blueish
atmosphere abroad, and the three night
travellers were shivering miserably with
the cold of that early morning, Some stray
men in blouses were going to their work.
but they had not been up all night.
The train was slackening its speed; it
was drawing near that other halting place.
More platform, more range of offices, glid
ing by in the cold blueish light. There are
some early morning travellers closely
muffled up, but very fresh and buoyant,
standing ready, and waitingfor the express.
Very difereut from the bleared, haggard
souls that were pouring out upon the plat
form.
But a short span for stoppage here; barely
five minutes. No stir from my two coin-
pantons
"Mordieul why do they not go forward?—
I tremble with the cold. Feel me. 0, lam
very mishable, heart and body!"
"Wrap this about you," Velvet llod
said, taking her shawl from her shoulders
and putting it round him. "There!"
He looked at her surlily.
"lion• quiet you tak' all this!" he said
"Have you any nerves, or feeling?"
She laughed pleasantly.
"Should you nsk that, after—"
"Don't—don't" be said, covering up his
face. "0, I could cry now—cry my eye ,
and heart out Why don't thby go forward?"
At this moment the door vca.i softly
opened, and one of the brisk, muffled trav
ellers stepped in. He had a little handy
valise, which he put on the scat beside him,
and a snug cooifurter about his neck.—
"Fine, fresh morning it NV:l9.' ) he said, as
ho loosed his comfort; "good for the coun
try."
"What is this delay?" the Neapolitan said
gruffly. "Why do we not go forward?"
"They were getting up the passport.,"
the brisk man believed. "No, it could not
be that either. All! hove they are."
The door opened again. Three gentle
men in black standing near the steps—one
ascends them with a paper in his hand.
"All here hare came down from Paris?
he says, interrogativeiy
"Yes." I answer, being next the door.
"except this gentleman."
"Pardon, Me.t , ieurs." the lady remarkq,
quite eompo.ed. "We only got in at the
la,t halting place, sonic twenty leagues or
so back."
"Never mind," says the gentleman with
the paper. "the lily and gentleman yonder
must descend. There is a mistake about
their baggage. They must please to hasten
themselves."
All this while the Neapolitan has Leen
turning while and red, his teeth chattering
galvanically-. "Don't trouble yourselves,"
he says faintly, "it is no matter about the
baggage, we can leave it—we do not care."
••By no means," Velvet Hood says
sweetly; "we could not afford that, Mes
sieurs. What is to become of my poor
toilette, which is sulf.ciently disarranged
already: Rrather let us descend."
"Nol DO:" the Neapolitan cried clinging
to the arms of the seat with both hand.
"Leal e u'.?"
"Sacre:" esclaims one of the gentleman
near the steps, "are they coming down?"
"Nr‘v, mun ami," Velvet Itood said,
rai-ing and pa , sing him, "be rea-onab!c.—
Let us go, if they require us so purtion'a - ly.
Adieu, Monsieur," she said sweetly, turn
ing to me. Then she drew the dye: hood
close over her face. The Neapolitan had to
be well nigh dragged from the carriage.
$1,50 PER YEAR IN ADVANCE; $2,00 IF NOT IN ADVANCE.
A dim susrieion took possession of me
"What can it all mean?" I said aloud
"An affitie of police simply," the fresh
man remarked. He had, curiously 00(111 7 1,,
taken up his handy valise and was prepar
ing to go too. "A veteran gentleman '11a•
murdered last tight in Paris by his wife.
to gri , ette he had married off the pave) and
Iris courier. Suspicion—telegraph—noth
ing more. It is very simple. This lwly
and gentleman who have just left us ate
-ing,ularly like the de , eription. Good morn
ing sir—good voyagp, ,Ir!"
With that he howol him , ell down to the
, tees; a shrill shriek front the engine,
im
natient to go f.,rwar.l. Well it miglit, now
that what., it waited fur tend aeeoint,lishel.
The Neapolitan and Velvet II c 1. valt
lag wearily in the ptivate room of the sta
tion, mm=t hat a hearl with hem.y hem t the
ltrill departing shriek dying off in the
di -
tattoo.
The Cori sLion
11111011„rit t:e paper. 01 a tic Ceo.l.`d
This is my last nightl—and standing as I
do on the brink lif eternity, 1 will till up the
few hours that intervene before my execu
tion talcs place, in writing down the his
tory of ray progress in crime, and how, step
by step, I reached thi dungeon. May it lie
accented as an act ,:f atonement on my part,
and at the mute time serve at. a warning to
others?
I was a form - aril child, of a sullen suspi
cious character, and I afterwards become a
rough soldier during. a couple of campaign,
at the elos , of trhirh, peace having suc
ceeded to war, I left the service to farm n
'mien e , tate which nr‘. wife had inherited.
Soon after my return from the army,
In•otlersickenad end died. lie wooan
npon
hearted, noble follow, Gtr i ct er kwhinz than
myNell, and universally beloved. All those
who ever sought my acquAntance, whether
at home or abroad, front being his friend- , ,
seldom tool: kindly to me, and genernlly oh
served, the first time they iaw inc. that
never were two 'brothers more unlilsc, both
in person and manners.
We had married two sisters: and this cir
cumstance, which ought to have been an ad
ditional bond between us, only contributed
to estrange us still mere. Ills wife saw
through ray character but too well, and I
always felt, whenever I gave way to any
had impulse of envy or hatred in her pres
ence, as if she read my thoughts like an
open book. It was a relief to me when the
coolness between us ended in an open rup
tutu, and a still greater relief when I re
ceived the news of her death, while I was
with my regiment abroad. It now seems
to me as though I had a presentiment of the
frightful tragedy that was to take place! I
dreaded her, and she seemed to pursue me
—aye! even now I see her reproachful eyes
glaring upon me, and freezing up my blood:
She died shortly after giving birth to a child.
When my brother in turn fell ill. and Ili,
life was despaired or, he summoned ray wife
to his bedside, and entrusted his little or
phan, a boy four years old, to her protecting
care. He bequeathed all his property to
him, stating in his will that should the
child die, his fortune wa' to devolve on my
wife, as the only return hecould make for
her rAfectionnte kindness. Then, after ex
changing a few fraternal words with me,
and regretting, our lung estrangement, he
fell back, exhim , ted, into a deep slumber,
from which he never awoke.
As we had no children, and the two sis
ter,: had always been very united, my wife
loved this boy as if he had been her own.—
lie was passionately fond of her; but, being!
the trne picture of his mother, both in mind
and person, could never, somehow, take
kindly to me. I cannot fu: any partieular
period at which I first beemne aware of this
kind of antipa:Ly ou his part, hut I soon
began to feel uneasy whiner or he was pres•
cot. As often as I awake out of a train of
gloomy thoughts, there was that child star
ing at me, not merely with the inquiring
gaze of childhood, but with the piercing
look, s o full of meaning, that U , ed t annoy
Ime in his mother. It uas not merely an
empty fancy of mine, attlibuta ble to his
strong likeness to his deceased parent, fur I
never could stare him diwn. let me as
tierce :is I might. Ile was esidently afraid
of ine, in 'pile of which he seemed to hate
imbibed a hereditary contempt fur me.
I may deceive myself—an:l yet I do not
think that I intended at that period to do
him any harm. It might, perhaps, occur to
I me how advantageous it would be for us to
inherit the boy's property, and I might se
cretly wish him to die, sill I do not think
I hail the least idea of taking away his life.
The id - ca came very slowly at first, and
merely in the diet and distant outline in
which we seta vision of an impending earth
ortheday of the Last Judgment—then
it approached nearer andnearer still, and 10-
~, r ati to lose a portion of its Ip,rr a.: and im
priibability, and after assuming.; t.t ,re defi
nite shape, it becnune the cent Int theme of
my spernbiti , n.. W' ion Ow- , 11111
ern:-rd lay brain. I e.,al , i Lot I.,•ar zlrlt
:he boy shouid peret•ive I W.:• .t.lri94
ye'. Ly a kiwi of fa , oinati.n, I 0 , a1 , 1
not help g :zing on hi' frag"...s farm• and
thinking how ea-y the wlf; of disztruetion
would Le! Sometimes I watched him in his
sleep, bat oftener still flout the garden, as
I co inched behind the bushes, glaring like
a tiger on his prey, into the parlor, where
he sat learning his lesson on a low stool,
beside Inv wife's knee.
[WHOLE NDTI3EII, 1,468.
Close to our country houie lay a deep
pool, but it was not A iirible from our Asindow.
I spent several days in carving a tow Alt
model of a boat with my penknife; and
when it was completed, I pitrpot , ely left it
in the child's way. I then 1::d near
time pol, in 0 rp,t that luturt pans by, in
case he came to t.at the little tJv :Afloat on
water. Dot he came ucither ti.ut Dur un
the foll,ming day. ts'zitl 1 fel, certain he
was in my fur I 'dad licard idea prate
;lb ,ut Liu toy, which he h.ta et,en talzea to
bed with him. 1 waited patiently, and on
tiro third day I could Lee hint, from my
hiding-place, conic running alum; joyously,
With hi., • ilkeu lochs streaming hi the wind,
and tinging—pee r merry tune.
though he would scarcely lilt tl.c words.
stele behind him, beneath some Lushes that
grew near tile bank, and the One
knees hew I, a stron:P, 1:1,111, trem
bled in every limb as I. fell.,wed the foot
steps of thk little cuiPol, nhiicl,c a pproached
the water's brink. I w.l- ei.,• .2 behind him,
erwiell;ng on my klice , ,ar.a t. my
hand to pu , ll him in, •+.\
ow in the w.tter, till tutar i r. and.
Ills mother's tpirit f..rth from
hi: eyes. Tho sun ur.t. ban-t forth trout
behi el a ebm I, turning tlet wator into a
s'aect of molten g...1d. I:,erytl.ing • r a ttled.
as if all Nature had ey•-. 1 don't know
th.tt the boy said—tlmugh to yout.,g he
del not faon upon me, lair try to toothe
all I 11:201k:et is as that he screamed out,
not that he hotel me, but that he "would
try to love me: - and then he iushel. back
to the huus. :Is fa • t as he cuuld.
The ne%t time I saw him, mr -word tray
in my hand. and he v.as lying stiff and
cold at my feet, I took hint up in my arms
and laid him . .gently in a thicket. My NS ifc
was nut at lime that (lay tax was On.; to
return till the morrow. ear bedroom
indow, the oar tot thi,sl.l.2c.f the houhe,
being but a few feet l'l,llll. li.e ATOIMI, I re
sol% cd to get out:tinuughl it, in the middle
of the night, and bury my a ietim in tho
garden. I had nut the slightest idea, at
that moment, that I had frustrated my ovra
st.heme, and that when the 11001 would be
dragged and no dead body fortheoininz, the
property must remain in abeyance, as I
meant to ennlirm the belief that the chill
was lost or had been stolen. For the pres
ent all my thoughts were centered on 03
neees,ity sf hiding e‘cry clue to my
crime.
What I endured when the servants came
and told me the child `:•as missing, and
when the messengers.. I del-ate:tea in all
directions, returned to inform me their
search had been in vain, no wutd. to
sibly describe. That seine night I
him. But now the wort remained to be
done; and that was to i. ^ my wife, and
give her I. t .- that the child would yet be
found. ,This I eonsinued to do with such a
show of sincerity, as I believe, that no sus
picion rested upon me. The neat thing I
did was to seat myself at the bedroom
window, from whence I could watch, all
day long, the spot where lay my dreadful
secret. It was a plot of ground that had
been recently dug up, ILady for laying
down fresh sods, and I had chosen it as Lb.?.
one where the m:u•'s; of my spade would
be least likely to attract notice. The 1%-mi:-
then who were laying dints the souls must
have thought MC Cr.ary. I was c,,ntinually
calling out to get on faster, and occu• icnally
running out to help them, and stamping on
the ground while I kept urging them to
greater ha. e. Their ta-.1: was LO-
C,ro and 1 now f,:t evinparathe:y
MEE
I fell asleep at la-t that night—but what
a troubled sleep it wit. 4, and w hat frightful
dreau.s were there! I fan , ie , l I saw now
a hand, now a lie4d, raisin_{ wit of that un
hall,,wed spot of ground. And. each time
that I awoke out or this le r: id nightmare,
I eielit to the window to c in% in• niy,elf it
was only an idle faney of Illy brain. Then
I slunk La l: to 1 el, but t • endure tho
torinctit , ol.•r ittvi (0.121 . 1:11. o.p.t•
I dto,unt t tat the tAIII,I 1: !Intl
(list / / 2.1.1 neter ii,ttlmtple.l it, lifoi ant the
wt.king ftt.iit titi; drc4.llWZ - 19 11.17iC ilreatiful
than nil the re-t.
Next tn.+rnin., I n.::ain to,.k. my place at
the window and never turned toy egos off
the fatal spot, which th , ng'; turned
into a grates plot, only 10 e , catcd In Inc the
appearance of an open prat o. It one cf
the farm servant , pa ,- •e1 It, 1 expected him
to sink in: if a bird Mirhted upcn the grass
I dreaded he,; Lc -hould 1 L come the inqru
went that was to bring niy . kiitne to light;
and every hree/e that 1 lcv a cro,, it seemed
to ' There was nothing
animate or inanimate. le• it be ever so in
si;TWicant. but wira , enied endowed with
the -upern.ttural prover of upbraiding me
for in, heinous crime.
My witio, who was as superstitious in her
Iray as I was in mine, and NT aS in despair
at the child's disappearance, was bent on
cow:lilting a "wi,e woman" residing in our
nri4 lll,,, rhot.a, shlPPoaed to have the pawer
of reading the deerers of f tte by spirit
rapping.. I rterompanied her most reluc
tantly, hut preferred being present, lest the
should infuse any suspicions of my
crime into 11‘.1. mind. Oa toy wile's ask
ing the question. "It - here is the boy?" the
on• wet returned to tile rapping wad Lanni
to spell out the word., "With its mother:"
wife was deeply o.fe:tei, and I was
ready to sink the ground, though t I
'blushed and ..aid the woman ,pike nonsense.
With it. mother! Ayr, it had a deuhle