ONE DOLLAR PER ANNUM INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE.
TOAYANDA:
Thursday morning, February 23. 1660
.Sclcttcb
[From the Kveuing I'-xst.J
A NIGHT-PIECE.
BY KKA li TIiOK.STO*.
Fwrct, bleeping child how doubly tlet I
feoft pillowed on thy mother's breast.
That swells with slumber's balmy rest.
A deep within a dreamy deep!
Her arm- eutv>tds thy cherub sleep.
And both, God's guarding angels keep I
So by some fair Floridiati stream
The orange-tree, as in a dream,
O'erbendiag moonlit banks, may seem.
Where golden fruit and budding blow,
Both ou the bough together grow.
All mirrored in the Heaven U-low i
SONNET.
BY SllvkK.-rr.IUK.
Pcvouring Time blunt tiiviu the lion's paw.
And make the Earth devour her own sweet blood ;
Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws,
And burn the long-lived Phoenix in her blood ;
Make glad and sorry seasons as there fleet"st.
And di whate'er thou wilt, swift-footed Time,
To the wide world and ail her lading sweets ;
But I forbid thee one mo-t heinous crime,
O carve H it with thy lioors my love's fair brow.
Nor draw na lines there w" :h thine auliquc ;>ea ;
Her in thy course tin tainted do allow.
For beauty's pattern to succeeding itx-n.
Yet do thy worst, old Time : despite thy wrong.
My love shall iu my verse ever live young.
Miscellaneous.
Drowning of a Flirt by Women.
a TILE STORY CF THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF
PENNSYLVANIA.
Some eighty years ago the row flourishing
tow n of Kaston, on the Delaware, was but h
>mall settlement in one of tho remote and com
paratively wild portions of Pennsylvania Not
far from the Delaware a double row of low
roofed. quaint-looking -!orch<n-cs formed the
inost populous part of the settlement, * * *
The go<xl fitius of that pcr.od were of the
c ass described by a distinguished chronicler,
who "stayed at home, read the Bible, and
wore frocks." They wore the same antiquated
quilted caps and paiti colored hornetqmn gowns
that were in fa c 'ou in the days ot the re
l Oißfii Wontt r N an Twillrr ; their pockets
were always filled w.*h work and the inipte
im nts of industry, and their own gowns and
t!:eir he-band's coats were exclusively of do
in< -tic mannf.icturc.
In cleanliness and thrifty housewifery, they
w v re xeelicd by none w i.o had gone before,
cr w 1.0 came alter them. The well-scoured
stooj s atai entries, frish and immaculate every
morning, attested the ceatness prevailing
throughout the dweli.ngs. The precise order
that re gned within tlie departments of kitch
en. paiior and chamber, could not lie disturbed
by any out-of-door commotion. Cleanliness
a.:d contentment were the cares of tfie house
hold. The tables were spread with abundance
of the good old time, and not small was the
pride of those ministering dames iu setting
forfh the viands prepared by their own indus
trious hands. It must not he snpjxvsed that
a'l their care a:.d frugality were inconsistent
with the dear exercise of hospitality, or other
social virtues usually practiced in every female
community. If the vi-its paid from house to
I v use were less frequent than in modern tunc:,
there was the same generous interest in the
concern- ot others, and the same desire in each
to save her neighbor trouble, by kindly taking
the management of nff.t rs upon herself, ev.ee
<d by so many individual- of the present day.
In short, the domestic police of Euston.at that
remote |K-rtod, was apparawtly as remarkable
for vie deuce and severity for hut ting out of
fenders as it has proved to be in modern civi
lixation.
The arrival of rew residents from the city
was nn t vent < f iuqiortat.ee enough in itself to
cause no small stir in that quiet community
Tie rumor that a small house, picturesquely
situated at the head of a wood some distance
from the village, was btiug fitted up for the
new coiner*, was soon Spread abroad.ai d gave
rise to many conjectures and surmises. The
furniture that paraded in wagons Ivefore the
a-tot :-hcd t'"''? 0 f the settlers was different
frotn any that Lad Uxu seen before ; and tho'
it would have been thought -iiujtle enough, or
tveil rude at the present day, exhibited too
inuvh of metropolitmntaste aid luxury to m-et
their approval. Then a gvrdener wa- employed
several days to set in ordir the surrounding
I lot of grouid. and art out rose bti-hes andor
nuaiciital plants ; the fence was [tainted gaily,
aid the iuclosure secured t>y a neat gate.
A ft* days after a hght travelling wagon
brought the tenants to the al-ode prepared for
them. Withiu tire memory of a generation
baldly any occurrence had takeu place which
excited so much curiositv. The doors and win-
O A* were crowded with gazers/and the young
er part ot the population were hardly restrained
iy parental authority from rushing after the
equipage. The female, who sat with a toy on
the back seat, wore a thick veil, but the }4eas
ant lace of a middle aged man, who looked
a out bun and bowed courteously to the differ
ent groups, attracted much attention. The mau
wo drove had a jol.y English face, be tokening
a very communicative disposition ; nor was the
promise broken to the hope; for that very eve
ning the same personage was Seated among a
few grave-looking Dutchmen who lingered at
the tavern, dea.iug out his information liberal
ly to such as chose to question him. The new
corner, it appeared, was a member of the Co
•cu.ai Assembly, and had brought his famiiy
to rusticate for a season en the batiks of the
De'jwjre This family consisted of bis Ecg
i i.unuiiiix - -
THE BRADFORD REPORTER.
lish wife and a son about seven years old.—
They had been accustomed, he said, to tho so
, ciety of the rich and gay, both in Philadelphia
, nnd in Europe, having s|H.ut some time in Paris
before their coming lo this country.
The information g vcn by the loquacious dri
ver. who seemed to think the village not a lit
tle honored in so distinguished an accession to
its inhabitants, produced no favorable impres
| sion. The honest mynheers, however, were
little inclined to be hasty in their judgment.
They preferred consulting their wives,who wail
ed with no little patience for the Sabbath mor
ning, expecting then to have a full opportuni
ty of criticising their new neighbors*
They were doomed to disappointment ; none
of the family were at the place of meeting, al
though the practice of church going was one
, so time-honored that a journey of ten nnies on
foot to a!tend religious worship was thought
nothing of, and few, even of the most worldly
minded, ventured on an amission. The non
appearance of the stranger was a dark omen
The next day, however, the dames of the
settlement had :i opportunity of Seeing Mrs
Winston—for so I shall call het", not choosing
to give Iter real name—as she came out to pur
chase a few articles of kitchen furniture. 11 er
i style of dress was altogether different from
; theirs. I istead of the hair pomatumed back
from the forehead, she wore it in natural ring
lets ; instead of the short stuff petticoats in
vogue among the Dutch dames, a long and
flowing skirt set off to advantage a figure of
remarkable grace. At the first glance one
could not but acknowledge her singular beauty.
Her form was faultless in symmetry, and Iter
features exquisitely regular ; the complexion
being a clear brown, set off by luxuriant black
hair'an I a pair of brilliant dark eyes. The
expression of th se was uot devoid of a certain
fascination, though it had something to excite
distrust in the simple minded fair ones who
measured the claims of the stranger to admir
ation. Tin y could not help thinking there was
a want of innate modesty in the bold, restless
wanderings of those eyes, bright as th°y w rv,
and in the perfect se!f-po?ses>ion the English
woman showed iu her somewhat haughty car
riage. Her voice, too, though melodious, was
not low in its tones, and her laugh was merry,
and frequently heard In short, -lie appeared
to the untutored judgment of the dames of the
1 village, decidedly wauti: g iu reserve and the
| softness natural to youth iu women.
While they shook their heads, and were shy
of conversation with her. it was not a little
wonderful to notice the d.ff. rent effict produe
ed on their spou-cs. The lion si Dutchmen
surveyed the haudsome stranger w.tii undis
guised admiration, evinced at first by a pro
! longed stare, and on after occasions by such
j rough courtesy as they found opportunity of
' -ii o w : g. with alacrity off* rt g to her a-y little
J service that neighbors might render The wo
men, on the other band, became more nr.d more
j and mrre ktqpictoas of her outtatldish gear and 1
j her bewitching smile, lavished with such pro
j fusion ujioii all who came near her. Her
I charuis, in their iye*, were so many si: s,which
they were iuclitied to see her expiate In-fore
they relented so far as to extend toward her
the civilities of the neighbor hood. The more
theT husbands prais-d her the more they stood
a'oof; and. for weeks after the family had
; become settled, scarcely any communication of
a friendly nature had taken place betweeu her
and ai.y of the female population.
Little, however, did the English woman ap
pear to care for neglect on the part of those
she evidently thought much inferior to herself
She had plenty of company, such as - suited
her taste, and no hick of agreeable employ- i
nient, notwithstanding her persistence in a
bab.it which shocked still more the prejudices
ot lur worthy neighbors, of leaving her bou>e
hold lalior '.o a servant.
Ssiie made acquaintances with all who rel
ished her lively co:,nrsation, and took much
pleasure iu exciting, by her eccentric manners,
the astonishment of her loi g qu- ud admirers.
She always affable, and not only invited
those -he l.krd to vi-.it her witho it ceremony,
but called ujkju them tor auy extra service
she required
It was one of the brightest day- in O-to- I
b, r that .Mrs Wniton was riding with her sou
•long a path l-oidir.g through a forest up the ;
Delaware. The road wound at the base of £
mountain, bordering the river clo-tly, and was
fl.mked in some places by precipitous rocks,
overgrown by shrubs aid shaded by over
hanging trees.- The wealth of foliage appear
ed to greater advantage, touched with the rich i
lints of auluinu
'• With m-tre rax
Thin when th* Li—•*.•<). the trwi ire dre-1'
How frnwa re thrir draperies ? crrrn and § old. i
Scarlet aad he- a : . kc Uic giiUcrinc vol
Of Israel'* priest i*xj, giur: ■'<*> U> IwHo.J I
• See yonder towering bill, with lore-1- clad.
H >" ar. n bl it- a taile at a Ih.-ioa-.C dy* '
EJcvd w.tii a -:ivcr U;id ibe -trx-am, iu*.t glhl,
t>-t ?:leal. winds around its
| t
it can hardly be known if the romantic
beauty of ibe scene, which presented iisell by
glinqvses, through the foliage, the brivht, calm
river, the wooded hills and sipe beyond, and ;
the village lying in the lap of the savage for
ests, called forth as much admiration from
those who gazed, a* it has since from spirit*
attuned to a v.rid sense of the loveliness of
nature. The sodden flight of a bird from the
bu*he started the horse, and, dashing quickly
to one side, he stood on the sheer edge of the
precipice overlooking the water. The neat
plunge might have been a fatal oae, but the
br.Jle was instantly seized by the strong ann
of a man who sjrang from the concealment of
the trees. Checking the frightened animal, he
assisted the dame and her sou to dismount, and
then led else horse for them to Ires dangerous
ground In the friendly conversation that fol
lowed, the English w man put forth all her
powers of pleasing ; fcr the nun was known
already to her for one of the most respectable
of the settlers, tLough be had never jet sought
her society. Ills Utile service was awarded
by a cordial iuviialtOJ, which was soou fol
lowed by a visit to her bowse.
To make a long story short, not many weeks
had passed oefore this neighbor was an almost
daily visitor arid, to the sorpriie aai eosctra
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY AT TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA., BY E. O'MEARA GOODRICH. -
" RES ARDLESS OF DENUNCIATIOI* FROM A IVY QUARTER.
| of the whole village, his example was in time
i followed by many others of those who might
have been called the gentry of Easton. It
became evident that the handsome stranger
was a coquette of the most unscrupulous sort;
that she was passionately fond of the admira
tion of the other sex, and wus determined to
exact the tribute due her charms, even from
the sons of the wilderness. She flirted des
perately with one after another, contriving to
impress each with the idea that he was the
happy individual especially favored by her
smiles. Her manners and conversation show
ed less and less regard for the opinion of oth
ers, or the rules of prooriety. The effect of
such a course of conduct in a community so
simple and old-fashioned iu their customs, so
utterly unused to any such broad defiance of
censure, may be more easily imagined than de
scribed. How the men were flattered and in
toxicated in their admiration for the beautiful
siren, and their lessons in an art so new to
them as gallantry ; how the women were
amazd ont of their propriety, can be couceiv
ed without the aid of philosophy.
Tfiings were bad enough as they were ; but
when the time came for Mr. Wiutou to depart
and take his place in the Assembly, the change
was for the worse. His handsome wife was
lefr, with her only son, in Ea-ton for the win
ter Her behavior was now more scandalous
than ever, and soon a total avoidance of her
by every other female in the place attested
their indignation. The coquette evidently
held them in great scorn, while >he continued
to receive, iu a still more marked and offeusive
manner, the attentions of the hu.-bands, whom,
she boasted, she had taught they had hearts
under their linsey woolsey coats. Long walks
and rides through tlie wood*, attended always
bv some onr who had owned the power of her
beautv, set public opinon wholly at defiance ;
anl the company at her fireside, evening after
ivening. was we!' known to be not such as be
come a wife and mother.
Should this history of jilain, unvarnished
fact chance to meet the eve of any fair trifler,
who has been tempted to invite or welcome
such homage, let her pause nnd remember that
the wrath of the injured wives of E iston wa*
but such as nature must rou>e iu the bosom of
the virtuous iu all ages and countries ; and
that tragedies as deep as that to which it led
have grown from the like cause, and they still
do at auy period of civilization.
The winter months passed, and spring came
to s-t ioo*e the streams and fill the woods with
tender bloom and verdure But the anger of
the justly irritated dames of E iston had gath
ered strength wbh time. Scarce one among
the most conspicuous of the neighborhood but
had particular reason to hate their common
enemy for the alienated affection and mcuop
ol'z <i time of her husband, so faithful lo his
duties before this laial enchantment. Com
plaints were made by one to another, and
strange stories tol l, which, of course, lo*t
nothing in t it-ir circulation from month to
mouth. Wlut wonder was it that the mysto
rkaas Mmm ntfthi d hy the woman
should he attri!.ftt-,i to witchcraft * What
wonder that she should he judged to hold in
tercourse with evil spirits, and to receive by
them the power by which she subdued men to
her sway?
Late in the afternoon of a beautiful day, in
the early part of Jane, two or three of lite
matrons of the village stationed theme!vps
near the wood by which stood the house of
Mrs. Wintou Not far from th; was a small
pond, where the boy> amused themselves in
fiyhit.g. or bathinz during the heats of MI tu
rner. The spot once occupied by this little
body of water is now the central portion of
the town, and covered with ueat buildings of
brick and stone.
The women bad come forth to watch ; nor
was their vigilance long unrew-arded. They
MTW Mr- Wmton, accompanied by one of her
gallants, dressed with care that -bowed his
anxiety to please, walking along the lorder>
of the wood. The suu had set, and the gray
-huiows of the tw :!ig!:t were creeping ov< r the
landscape : yet it was evidently not her inten
tion to return home. As it grew darker the
two entered the wood, the female taking the
aim of her companion, and presently both dis
appeared.
•' There he goes !'* exclaimed one of the wo
men, who watched with fierce arger in her
loks, for it was her husband she had seen.—
" I knew it ; I knew be spent every evtuiing
wiih her !''
" Sisal! we follow them,'' asked one of the
others.
" No ! let us go home quick !" was the an
swer.
Such a scene thai night witnes-ed was
never before enacted iu that quiet village. At
a iate hour there was a meeting of tnanv of
the matrons in the house ot one of their num
ber. Tiie curtains were closely drawn ; the
I.ght was so d m that the faces of those who
whispered together could scarcely be discern
ed There wrus something fearful iu the as.-
sotnblngv, ®t such an unwonted time, of those
orderly housewives, so unaccustomed ever to
leave their homes after dusk. The circum
stance of their meeting alone betokeced some
thing uncommon in agitation ; still more did
the silence, hashed and breathless at intervals
the eager but suppressed wlnsuring, the
rap.d gestures, the general air of determina
tion mingled with caution. It struck mid
night, they made signs, one to another, and
the light wasextinguished.
it was perhaps en hour or more after, when
the same band of women left the house and
took their way in profound silence, along the
road leading out of the village. Bv a roond
about course, skirting the small body of water
above mentioned, they came to the border of
the wood. Just then the waning moon rose
afore the forest tops, shedding a taint light
over hill and stream. It could tbeu be seen
that the females all wore a kiud of mask of
black ft off Their course waa directed to
ward '.he English woman s boose, which they
approached with stealthy and noiseless steps
A f*w moments of silence passed after they
had disappeared, aod then a wild shriek was
beard, aid others fainter sad fsiater, hie the
voice of one in agony struggling to cry out,
and stifled by powuful bands. The women
rushed from the wood, dragging w'th thera
their heljiless victim, whom they had gagged,
so that she could not even supplicate their
mercy. Another cry was presently heard—
the wail of a terrified child. The little boy,
roused from bleep by the screams ol his moth
er, ran toward her captors, and throwing him
self on his knees, begged for her iu piteous ac
cents and with streaming tears.
" Take him away J" cried several together ;
and one of their number, snatching up the
child, ran off with him at her utmost speed,
and did uot return.
The others proceeded quickly to their mis
sion of vengeance. Dragging the helpless
dame to the pond, they ru-hed into it, heedless
of risk to themselves, till they stood deep in
the water. Then each iu turn, seizing her
enemy by the shoulders, plunged her in, head
and all, crying as she did so, " This is for my
husband ?" " And this is for mine !" "This
for mine!" was echoed, with the plunges in
quick succession, till the work of retribution
was accomplished, and the party hurried to
shore.
Startled by a noise of some one approach
ing. the disguised avengers fled, leaving their
victim on the bank, and lost no time in hasten
ing homeward. The dawn of day disclosed a
dreadful catastrojihe. Dame Wiuton was
found dead lieside the water. There was evi
dence enough that she had perished, not by
accident, but violence. Who could have done
the deed ?'
The occurrence created great commotion in
Easton, as it is but natural it should ; but it
was never discovered with certainty who were
the perpetrators of the murder. Suspicion
fell ou several ; but they were prudent enough
to ketj) silent, and nothing could be proved
against them. Perhaps, the more prominent
among the men, who should have taken upon
themselves the investigation of the affair, had
their own reasons for passing it over rather
slightly. It was beyond doubt, too, that act
ual murder had uot been designed by the act
ors in the tragedy ; but simply the punishment
assigned to witchcraft by popular usage. So
the matter was not long agitated, though it
was for many years a subject of conversation
among those who had no interest in hushing
it up ; aud the story served as a warning to
give point to the lessons of careful mothers.
It was for a long time believed that the
ghoriof the unfortunate English woman haunt
ed the spot w here she had died Nor did the
belief cease to prevail long after the |>oud was
draiued, aud the wood felled, and the space
built over. A stable, belonging to a gentle
man whom I am acquainted, stands near the
place. I have heard him relate how one of his
servants, who had never heard the story, had
rushed iu one night, much alarmed, to say that
he had seen a fimale figure, iu old fashioned
cap and white gown, standing at the d>or of
the stable. Another friend, who resides near,
was told by his domestic that a strange wo
man stood at the back gate, who had siiddeu
lv di-appearcd when a-ked who she was
Tliu- there seems ground euoagh to excuse the
belief, even now prevalent among the common
jx-ople in Easton, that tV spirit still walk* at
night about that portion of the towu.
THE RESCUE.
I
* STORY or THE SfPEBXATI RAL.
From Oweu's ■' Foot' Ails.'*
*
Mr Robert Brace,originally descended from
some branch of the Scottish family of that
name, was born, in hambfe circumstances, ,
a'lont the close of the !a<t century, at Torbav,
'in the south of England, and tueie bred up
to a sea-taring lire.
Wnen about thirty years of age, to wit, iu '
the year 1823, he was iir-t mate of a barque
trading between Lirerpool and St. Johns, New
B run-wk-k.
On one of her voyages bound westward, be
ing some five or six weeks out, and iiwiug
twarcd the eastern portion of the iianks of t
Newfoundland, the captaiu and mate had been
>n de< k at noon, taking an oliservatron of the
>un : alter which they both descended to calco
' late the day's work.
The cabiu, a small one, was immediately at
•he steruof the vessel,and the short stairway
ihcendingto it ras athwart-ahip. Immedi
at el • opposite to this stairway, just beyond a
small square landing, was the mate's state
room ; and from that lauding there were two
doors close to each other, the one opening aft
, into the cabin, the other fronting the stair
way into the state-room. The de-k iu the
, state-room was in the Tor ward part of it, e!o*e
to the door ; so that one setting at it and
looking over his shoulder could look into the
< cabin.
The mate, absorbed in his calculations,
which did not result a-* he had expeeteJ, vary
ing considerable from the dead reckoning, had
not uoueed the captain's motions. When he
had completed his calculations, he called out
without looking around, " I make our latitude
and longitude so aud so. Can that be right ?
How is yours ?"
Receiving BO reply, be repeated his ques
tion, glancing over 8;s shoulder, and perceiv
ing, as he thought, the captaiu busy writing
ton his slate. Still no answer. Thereupon he
rose, and. as he fronted the cabin door, the
figure he had mistakes for the captain raised
| its bead, and disclosed to the astonished mate
the features of as entire stranger.
Bruce was no coward : but, as he met that
fixed gaze looking directly at him in grare si
lence, and became assured that it was no one
whom be had ever seen before, it was too much
, for him ; and instead of flopping to question
the seeming intruder, he rohd upon oeck in
such evident alarm, that it instantly attracted
the captain's attention.
" Why, Mr. Brace." said the latter, " what
in the world is the matter with yea f
"The matter, sir! Who is that at your
desk r
| "No one that I know of."
" But there is, sir; there's & airarger
1 tb 1
" A stranger ! Why man, you must be
dreaming. Yoa mast have seen the steward
there, and the second mate. Win else would
venture down without orders ?"
" But, sir, he was sitting iu yoar arm-cbair,
fronting the door, writing on your slate.—
Then he looked up full in my face ; aud if I
ever saw a man plainly aud distinctly iu this
world. I saw him."
" Him ! Whom*"
"God knows, sir, I don't. I saw a man,
aud a man I never saw in my life belore."
" You must be going crazy, Mr. Bruce. A
stranger, and we nearly six weeks out !"
"I don't know, sir, but then I sawr him."
" Go down aud see who he is."
Bruce hesitated. "I never was a believer
in ghosts," he said, " but if the truth must be
told, sir, I'd rather not face it alone "
" Come, come, man, go down at once, aud
don't make a fool of yourseif before the crew."
"I hope you have always found me wiiliug
to do what's reasonable," Bruce replied, chang
ing color ; " but if it's all the same to yon sir,
I'd ratber we should both go down together."
The captain descended the stair, and the
mate followed him. Nobody in the cabin !
They examined the state rooms. Not a soul
to be fouud !
"Well, Mr. Bruce," said the captain, "did
not I tell you you had been dreaming ?"'
"it's ail very well to say so, sir ; but if I
didn't see the man writing on your slate, may
I never see my home and family again."
"Ah! writing on the slate! Then it
should be there still." And the captain took
it up.
" My God !" he exclaimed, "here's some
thing, sure enough ! Is that your writing, Mr. .
Bruce ?*'
The mate took the slate and there in plain,
legible characters, stood the words, " Steer to ,
the nor'west,"
" Have you been trifling with me, sir?"' ad
ded the captain, in a stern manner.
" On my word as a man and a sailor, sir," i
replied Bruce, " I know no more of this mat- '
ter thou you do. I have told you the exact
truth."'
The captain sat down at his desk, the slate
before him, in deep thought. At last, turning
the slate over and pushing it towards Bruce, ,
he said, " Write down, ' Steer to the nor'
west.'"
The mate complied, and the captain, after
narrowly comparing the two handwritings,
said, " Mr Bruce, go and tell the second mate .
to come down here."'
He came, and, at the request of the captain
he also wrote the same word*. So did the
steward. So, in succession, did every man of
the crew who could write at all. But not out
of the various bands resembled, in any degree,
the mysterious writing
When the crew retired, the captain sat in
deep thought "Gould any one have been
stowed away ?*' At last he said, " The ship
must le -earched. and if I dou't 2nd the fel
low he mut be good at hide-and-seek. Or
der up all hand*"
Every nook and corner of the vessel, from
| stem to stem, was thoroughly searched, arwi
that with ail the eagerness of excited curios
ity —for the report had gone out that a strati
• ger had shown himself on board ; bat not a
i living soul beyond the crew and the oSeers
was found.
ll -turning to the cabiu, after their fruitless
search, " Mr. Bruce," said the captaiu, "what
! the devil do you make of all this ?"
"Can't tell, sir. I saw the man write ;
you see the writing. Taere must be something
. in it.*'
j " Well, it would seem so. We hare the
wind free, and I have a great inind to keep
her away and see what will come of it."
i " I surely would, sir, if I wereia yonr place
It s only a few hours lost at the worst."
•• Well, we'll see. Go on deck and give the
j course nor'west And, Mr. Brace," he ad
ded, as the mate rose to go, " have a 10-A-oni,
aloft, and iet it be a hand yoa can depend
on."
II:s orders were obeyed. About 3 o'clock
the look-out reported an icelterg nearly ahead,
and, shortly after, what he thought was a
vessel of some kind close to it.
i A they approached, the eaptaiu's class dis
* c'oseii the fact that it was a dismantled ship,
apparently frozen to the ice, and with a good
many human beings on board. Shortly after
they hove to, and sent oat the boats to the
' relief of the sufferers.
It proved to be a vessel from Quebec, bound
to Liverpool, with passengers on board. She
had got entangled in the ice, and finally frozen
fu-t, and hid passed several weeks in a most
critical condition. She was stove, her decks
I swept —in fact, a mere wreck ; all her provis
, ions, and almost ail her water pone Her
; crew and passengers had lost all hopes of being
saved, and their gratitude for the unexpec
ted rescue wa- proportionally great.
.Vs one of the men who had been brought
. away in the third boat that had reached the
wreck was ascending the ship's ide, the mate
. catching a glimpse at his face, started back in
consternation. It was the rery face be had
seen three or four hoars before, looking up a:
< him from the captain's desk.
| At first b<* tried to persuade himself it might
be fancy ; bat the more he examined the roan
the more sure be became that he was right.
Not only the face but the person and the dress
(exactly corresponded.
j As soon a? the exhausted crew and famished
' passengers were cared for, and the barque on
I her course again, the male caited the captain
I aside, " It seems that was not a ghost 1 saw
go by sir ; the man's alive."
\ " Who do yoa mean ? Who's alive T"
" Why. sir. one of the passengers we haTe
j just saved is the man I saw writing oo your
; slate at noon. I would swtar to it in a court
J of justice."
j " Upon my word, Mr. Brace," replied the
captain, '* this gets more and more singular.
Let as go and see this man."
They found him in conversation with the
captain of the rescued ship. They bo'h came
forward, and expressed, in the,warmest terms,
their gratitude for del veraoce from a horrible
VOL. XX. —NO. 38.
e fate—slow coming death by exposure and star'
] vation.
1 The captain replied that be bad but don®
what he was certain they wou'd have done for
( hfm under the same circumstances, and asked
- thein both to step down into the cabin. Then
[ turning to the passenger be said, "I hope, sir,
i I would be much obliged to you if you would
write a few words on this slate." And bo
j handed him the slate, with that side upon
which the mysterious writing was not. " I
will do anything vou ask," replied the passen
ger j " but what shall I write?"
'■ A few words are all I want. Suppose you
write, Steer to the uor'west."
The passenger, evidently puzzled to maka
out the motive for such a request, complied,
however, with a smile. The captain took up
the slate and examined it closely ; then step
! ping aside so as to conceal the slate from tbo
1 posseyger he turned it over and gave it to him
again with the other side up.
"Vou say that is your handwriting 1" said
he.
" I need not say so," rejoined the other,
looking at it, " for you saw me write it."
" And this ? ' said the captain, turning the
slate over.
j The man looked first at one writing, and
then at the other, quite confounded. At last,
" w hat is the meaning cf this ?" said lie. " I
only wrote one of these. Who wrote the
other V
"That's mere than I can tell you, sir. My
mute here says you wrote it, titling at this
desk at noon to-day."
The captain of the wreck and the passenger
looked at each other, exchanging glances of in
telligence and surprise ; and the former asked
the latter, " Did you dream that you wrote oa
: this slate ?"
" No, sir, not that I remember."
" Vou speak of dreaming," said the captain
of the bark ; " what was this geulieman about
] at noon to day ?"
"Captain," rejoined the other, " the who!®
' thing js most mysterious and extraordinary;
and I had intended to speak to you about it
as soon a? we got a little quiet. This gentle
man," (pointing to the passenger,) " being
much exhausted, fell into a heavy sleep, or
what seemed such, some time before noon;
after an hour or more he awoke and said to
me, 'Captain, we shall be relieved this very
: day.' When 1 asked him what reason he had
for saying so, he replied that he had dreamed
that he was on board a bark, and that she was
corning to our rescue. He described her ap
pearance and riir ; and to our utter astouish
meut, when your vessel hove in sight, she cor
responded exactly with his description of her.
We 1 ad not put much faith in what he said,
yet st: 11 we hoped there might be something in
i it, for drowning meu. you, kuow, will catch at
a straw . As it has turned out, I canuot doubt
, that it was ail arranged in some incomprehen
sible way, by an overruling Providence, so
that we raiirht be saved To Him be all thanks
for His goodness to us"
" There is not a doubt.'" rejoined the other
captain, "that the writiug on the slate, let it
j have come there as it may, saved all your
lives I was steering at the time considerably
south of west, and I altered my course to
northwest, and 1 had a lookout aioft, to see
1 what woald come of it. But you say," ha
i ad ied, turning to the pasaeuger, "that you
did not dream of writing on a slate ?' 7
, " No, sir. I have no recollection whatever
of dointr so. 1 got the impression that the
barque I saw in my dream was coming to res
cue u-: bat ho-v that impression came I
cannot tell. There is another very Strang®
thing a'mot i\" he added. "Everything her®
!on l>oar<i seerns to me quite familiar; yet I
' am very sure I never was in your vessel be
i fore. It is all a puzzle to me. What did your
i mate see V
Thereupon Mr. Bruce stated to them all tba
circumstances above detailed. The CODCIU
| slou they finally arrived at was, that it was a
special inierpo-itiou of Providence to sav®
i them from what seemed a hopeless fate.
The above narrative was communicated to
me by Captain J S. Clarke, of the schooner
Julia Ilallock, who bad it directly from Mr.
Bruce Limself. They sailed together for
seventeen months, in the years 1836 and '37 t
so that Captain Clarke Lad the story from the
mate about eight years after the occurrence.
He has since lost sight of him, and docs not
know whether he is yet ahve. All he Las
heard of him since they were shipmates is,
' that he continued to trade to New Brunswick,
that he became the master of the brig Comet
and that -he was lost,
j I asked Captain Clarke if he knew Bruce,
and what sort of a man he was.
" As truthful and straight-forward a man."
he replied, "as ever I met in my life. W®
were a- intimate as brother? : and two men
rau't be together, shut op for seventeen month®
in one -Lip, wit hoot getting to know whether
they can trust one another's word or not. H#
always spoke of the circumstances in terms of
reverence es of an incident that seemed to
br ng lim nearer to God, ai d another word.
I'd stake my life upon it that he told me no
lie."
Stx FOOLS.—I. Hie envioas man— who
sends away h mutton becaase the person next
to him is eating venison.
2.—The jealous man—who spraads bis
• bed with stinging nettles, and then sleeps :a
it.
3 —The proud nan—who gets wet through
sooner than ride in the carr.age with his io
. feriors.
4 —The litigious man—who goes to law in
• he hope of raining Lis opponent, at.d gets
ruined himself.
s.—The cxtraTagart man—who buy® a
' herring, and takes a cab to carry it borne.
! 6.—The angry mac —who learns to play
the taml* rine because he is annoyed by tba
{ playiug of his neighbor s piaoo.
THKES things that r.ever agree—two cats
OTW one mouse, two wives in one house, and
lovers after oce youog lady.