IEI
pottrq
THE VOICE OP AITTUIIIN
=
There conies fr`oni yonder height,.
A soft repining Found,
Where forest leaves are bright,
And fall like flakes of Hula
To the ground,
It is the'auttunn breeze,
That, lightly Wetting ell,
Just sinks the we •dy lens.
Just stirs the glowing trees.
And is gone
TTe moans by sod, brook,
And visits with a SE:h
The last pale flowers that look,
Prom out their sunny nook.
At the sky
O'er shouting children flies
That light September wind,
And, kissinq'ehe elm and eyes,
lie leaves their merry cries
And wanders , on to atutko
That softauneasy sound '
Br distant wood and Ink°,
Where distant Iluintains break
From the ground
No bower where nnideng dwell
Can win a moment's stay,
Nor fair nntrod•len
Ile sweeps the upland swell,
And away!
Mourn'st thou thy homeless state,
Oh. sort 'repininz wiorl?
That early seek'st and Into
The rest it is thy fate
Not on the mountain's breast.,
Not on the ocean's shore,
In all the east and west :
The wind that sups to rest
Is no mom
By valleys, words avd springs.
No wonder thou should'st griovo
Fur 311 the glorious thing:A
Thou tourlist with thy wines
And Inuit leave
c irirct
THE ORIENTAL MERCHANT
Xhen Haj named bOrrowed a hundred di
r of the merchant Kodadad, he swore by
• *faith of ,Qte_Prophet to return the sum
thin six months from that time, and fixed
• -hour and day. He was a young man,
:1 of hope and confidence, and Ko,dadail
:is old and wary. "My son," said ace lat
, " this is perhaps a rash promise. Say
e year'," 13ut flaj liamed would not ac
tpt a further delay. He was going from
trsns to Damasens on a commercial jour
,y, and had accurately calculated the time.
le month to go ; one month to Conic. haefl
ree months to sell his goods ; a whole month
spare. But the accidents of the, road—
clrness, robbers, unforeseen delays! lie re
d upon the mercy of God; and with many
;severations said that at the appointed time
would Present himself at. the kiosque of
'le merchant Rodadad, on the banks of the
fiver, and lay before him a hundred golden
jeers. The money was lent without inter
it, and payment was a sacred obligation.
The caravan set out, flags flying, and drums
eating, from the rendezvous on the oppo
-ite side of the river, and soon entered --tbe
•urges of the mountains.• After proceeding
. little
. way, a halt was agreed upon ; for
any of the merchants had staid behind,
i•iying their last adieus to their lhmilies, or
;inking additions to their merchandise. JTaj
Famed who possessed several eamelloads,
.nd had been among the first to be ready at
:le place of meeting, repined' greatly at this
!clay.
He had earned his title of tlaj, or Pilgrim,
when a boy, by going in company with his
itther to the shrine of the Prophet; butithis
was the first journey he had undertaken
iince: His impatience, therefore, may he ex-,
cused. He had started with the idea of Mak
ing a fortune ; and was impatient to be do ,
Ing. Besides, there was his promise to Ko
dadad:4"lf he forfeited that, his credit was
gone forevef. Accordingly, he spent the first
:mil of the day that followed the halt, sitting
the road Side, counting the stragglers that
'artie in, and jeering them for their tardi-
IBM
"This young man," said some, "believes
hat time was made, only for him. What
%natters a day, more or less? At the end of
ife-we-shall- have to regret—our-imPatience.
Mere are evils by every wayside. Why /
diould we be eager to come up with them'?' 4
These philosophical remarks found no fa
or with Haj Hamed, who, instead of imita
ing his companions, and reclining lazily un
er the shadow of trees on the' green grass,
iltening to -the songs of the birds and the
gurgling of the stream, began 14 length to
iam uneasily about. He saw that another
nu would set, and perhaps another, and bc
uld them still in the lap of the same valley.
..fe climbed the mountains, endeavoring to
~istract his 'thoughts, and whenever he ob
lained "a glimpse. of ' the • encampment below,
gazed atit, endeavoring to discern signs
a forward movement. Nit the tents re
wined unstruck; the people reclined in
roaps.; the camels and horses were dispers
,he,fa and there ; find the lazy 'tinkling of
eir hells showed I that they, 'at any rate,
tl . l , The young mer,
Far bohind;
Not to find?
chant at length turned away and plunged in
to the deep , recess of the forest. Nature had
no charm's. for him. • As be . went r he counted
in his memory the num,ber'cif pieces of cloth
his - bales contained l compared the cost-Rice
with the probable market-price, and reveled
in the anticipation of gigantic profits to be
cealized . in the paradise of his imagination—
some dusty baiaar in the far-off city of Da-
=UM
While he was meditating on these. sordid
matters, he was suddenly recalled to himself
by a surprising accident. A huge mantle
was thrown over his head ; and before he had
time to struggle, he was .clist on-the ground,
and rolled up, like a bale of his own goods,
in complete darkness. At first, ho thought
that instant death was to be his fate; and he•
murmured, " May Heaven pay my debt to'
the merchant Kodadad !" Soon, however, it
appeared that he was only a prisoner; and
he felt hi us. 1 raised and carried along,
while smothered - laughter came to his ears.
If this were a joke, it was a practical one.—
lie tried to speak ;'but no answer was return;
ed, except renewed laughter. Presently, those,
who carried him set him down ; the bonds
that confine(' him were loosened, the mantle
was whisked away, and, to his surprise, he
found himself in a - beautiful garden, stir
rounded by a bevy of maidenS;'who clapped",
their hands, and enjoyed his amazed appear-
OM!
Haj flamed was too. thoiStighly an (Hen%
tal not to understand his position, after a few
momenta' thought. He had evidentlj: been
watched during his progress through the for-
---
e;t by the inmates of some harem, unencum
bered by male attendants, who in a spirit of
fun had made him prisoner. The incident
is not an uncommon one, if we may- believe
narrators ; but it generally leads to disagree
able results. Our . merchant felt uncomfort
able. These merry girls were quite capable;
he thonght, after having made a butt of him,
of throwing him down a well of into a pond.
He looked around for the chief among them
rather anxiously, and soon recognized her in
a very yoking maiden, who, after, hating
laughed. with the rest, had thing herself care
lessly on a, pile of cushions under a tree, and
was gazitig: at- him with interest.
"Lady," said he, assuming a humble atti
tude, " this__is not wise nor well. lam a
merchant traveling with my goods that - re-
qtiire care and watcliftiln - ess, and beg to be
released." .
She seemed _annoyed that lier beauty,
which was great, did not tiinaze him ; and re
plied :
"Fear nothing. 'There is no danger.—
This is my father's kiosque. Ile has given
it to me ; and I live hero — wiih my maidens
unmolested. There is a guard' of slaves at
the gate 6 but they only appear at a sigital of
danger—when I sound this shell."
She raised a conch to her lips, land a shrill
sound filled the air. The slave-girls, scarce
ly understanding her motive, again cast the
mantle over named, and bade . him be silent
and motionless. Several men came hurried
ly but were dismissed with jeers and mock.
cries. in a few moments the merchant, more
dead than alive, was uncovered again, and
told to be of good cheer, for he had permis
sion to depart.
By this time, however, - beauty bad begun
to exert its influence, and Haj 'famed, in
stead of rising, remained gazing in admira- .
tion at the lady of the place. She met his
glance, at firSt, with a disdainful expression;
but according to the Oriental idea, two such
souls have secret sympathies, from the influ
ence of Which neither call escape. No"soon
er (lid their eyes meet in, a full gaze, than
bOth felt faint at heart:. • The fad)... turned
vary pale, and leaned her head upon the
cushion; the maidens, raising the trembling
Hamed, led him to her side. Tbey' talked
for hoUrS; not of themselves, but of love;
and expatiated eloquently on the happiness
of meeting, while the attendants played on
their lutes, or sang songs illustrative of their
situation. —he--shadows-of-night-were
Gom—
ittk*, when fl peculiar sound at the outer
gate aupounced that the father of the maid
en, whose . name was Legally had come to vis
it her. So Raj Hauled was thrust uncere
moniously forth ; and was •awakened from
his dream of happiness amidst the deepen
ing glued of the forest. He returned bow
ed down and heavy-hearted to the -encamp
ment.
Many thoughts kept him awake for many
hours ; it was .not, until the sky that stretched
between the mountain tops Overhead had be
gun to whiten, that at length, overcome by
fatigue,. he fell asleep. Pleasant• visions
spoke beneath his eyelids. When he awoke;
the tents were struck, the camels were laden,
and the people were filing off: . -
"Why.this'hurry?" he cried. "Wes not
this a. iileasant place"to - tarry in ? Time is
eturnul. There is no need to hdsten front
the present, which is joyful,, to the future,
4gtirli9ti Peralb.
which is full of danger."' geveral merchants
thought he was jeering theM for their philos
ophy, of- the previous day, and hastened to
coinplete tyr arrangements, and follow the
caravan. Ilamed's camels had been laden
by his servants,-and Were ready.to proceed:
He hesitated a moment; but remembering;
his debt to Kodadad, cried, "March r' and
went ,away with his heart full of new recol
lections.
The journey was prosperous, but tedious.
When the caravan. reached Damascus, the
market was found to; be encumbered with
merchandise, and sales were with difficulty
effected. Month after„ month passed away;
most of Hamed's , bales still remained on his
hands. The fifth month from the timeof his
departure had arrived, and he was beginning
to despair of being able to perform his en
gagements. At length, however, a merchant
about to proceed to Bagdad, made him an
advantageous offer for the whole of his stock ,
and he was enabled to depart, after having
realized o good profit. Several aceidentS
and delays occurred on the journey ; but the
caravans reached the valley, one march from
Tarsus, on the eve of the day when flamed.
.had p'romised payment to Kodadad. Most
of the merchants' immediately rode forward
to glad their faMilies and friends ; but our
young merchant, feeling his love for Leilah
revive ,with 'intensity, determined to. Spend
that day in endeavoring to obtain an inter
view with her. He wandered into the moun
tains, endeavoring to follow the same track
as before ; but although lie several times im
agined he recognized the trees and the rocks,
iis was, unsuccessful. Xlll was wild
and seemingly uninhabited. lie called aloud
" Leilah !" but the echoes only answered ,
In I la !"—no, no ; and )lien night came,
he knew not which way to turn. So he sat
down beneath a huge sycamore to wait pa
tiently until the morning. •
When light came, he . remembered his
promise to Kodadad. He was to pay the
hundred dinars at noon. He determined to
hasten to Tarsus on foot over the mountains,
for he knew - the general direction in which
it lay. Many hours of travel were before .
him ; but he was light of foot, and at length
beheld in the distance the minarets of the
city, and the-winding course of the river.—
Suddenly _ the landscape darkened. Clouds
seemed to Conte out of every valley, and to
inundate the plain. The rain fell ; the wind
blew. He hastened onward, clutching
leather purse in Which he carried his Weattli;
and invoking thelssistance of the Prophet.
When he reached the bunks of the river, he
heard, through the mist, a muezzin proclaim
ing-the hour of noon from the distant mosque.
Tittk waters were turbulent. No ferry . boat
was in sight. It was impossible to cross.—
Haj Hawed prayed ; and an idea caine to
his mind. He plucked a large reed, and hot
low4A it, and placed ther.2in a hundred piec
es of gold, and tied other reeds to it, and ,
thiated this raft udon the stream,•-and eolith]:
ed in the mercy of God.
Now it happened that Kodadad, remem
bering Haj Hamed's promise, had gone to
his kiosque that day to wait for his money.
The wind blew ; the rain fell. The debtor
(lid not appear. "We 'must allow him an,.
hour's grace, for the storm is violent," said
Kodadad. The muezzin chanted the hoer
of noon. The merchant called to his slave
to bring another, pipe. Presently, a bundle
of reeds came floating along the misty wa
ters ; a black boy stooping forward seized
them as 'they passed. - He was . about to east
them : away again, when the unusual weight
prevented him. "Master," said he, " this is
a reed of lead." The merchant, who wished
to pass the time, told him to break the reeds.
He did so, and lo I a hundred glittering piec
es of gold fell suddenly upon the pavement
of the kiosque
This story, which is told in many different
ways, illustrates the Oriental idea of Titer:
cantile probity. Turkish merchants, in their
dealings among themselves, are famous for
keeping their engagements with scrupulous
exactitude; and the example of Haj Hame'd
is often cited as a model. or course it is
understood that the debt—all in good golden
dinarif.--came to its destination in some mi
raculous way: the Prophet' being always
deeply interested-in the gdod 'deeds of his
servants. „The young merchant was not with
out his reward. His credit was, in future,
unlimited. But - not only so ; Kodadad in
sisted on giving him his daughter in marriage.
And it will surprise none but very matter-of
fact people—to whom we do not address this
legend—that this daughter turned out to„he
the same very imprudent - Leilah, whose fax-,
- cination'had'nearly — caused Haj Hamed to
dishonor his Verbal promissory note. We
learn moreover, that "she settled down into
a most prudent and exemplary wife—which
relieves our - Mind—for,. except under ex
tremely 'Oriental circumstances, we should
not recommend her conddct fur
AN ADVENTURE IN A TUNNEL.
A frightful accident which occurred' a few
weeks since to simile of the workmen employ
ed in the Halshaw Moor 'Funnel, on the Lan
cashire and Yorkshire Railway, England, re
minds us of an adventure, as related to the
editor of 'Eliza Cook's Journal, not long ago,
by a person in the employment of the tele
graph company. He 'had been engaged in
'the inspection .and repair of the telegraph
wires and their fixings, which are subject to
many accidents, and tettnire constant looking
after to insure their integrity and efficiency.
Even when carried through tunnels in gutta
percha casings, embedded in leaden tubes,
they are liable to accidents from passing
wagons, or, in winter, froth lumps of ice fall
ing down the sides of the shafts, and dam
aging the tubes. It appears that one day
the door of, a coal wagon had, got loose in
the long tunnel of the
dashing back against the side of it, had torn
the tube, and even cut across the wires in
many places. The telegraph was, therefore,
broken; it . could not be worked, and several
workmen were sent into the tunnel to exe
cute the necessary repairs. The person who
related the following adventure acted in the
capacity of inspector, and it wits necessary
for him to visit the „workmen, ascertain-the
nature of the damage that had been done,
and give dirjctions on the spot as to the re
pairs, the necessity of completing which was
of the greatest urgency.
" I knew very well," said he, !f that the
tunnel was of great length—rather more than
two mil es long—an d_that_ the_work en,_
had set out in the morning from the station
nearest, had entered. it by. its south end ; so
I determined to follow and overtake them,
which I would doubtless be able to do some
where in the tunnel, where they. would be at
work. I was accompanied by a little dog
which trotted behind at my feet. After walk
ing about alnile, j reached - the entrance,
over which frowned the effigy of a grim lion's
head, cut in stone.
"There was as usual two lines of rails—
the up line and the down hue ; and I deter
mined to walk along the former, that I might
see before the app. welting lights on any ad
vancing train, which I would take care to
avoidby stepping on to the opposite line of
rails, at the , same. time that I should thus
avoid being run over by any train coming up
behind from the opposite direction, and which
I .might not see in time to avoid. I had, how
..
ever, taken the precaution to ascertain -that'
no train was expected to pass along the up
line, over which I-was proceeding, for about
four hours; but I was aware that they could
not be depended upon, and therefore I re
solved to keep a good look-out ahead, Along
the down line, I knew that a passenger train
was slfortly to pass—indeedlit was even now
dive ; but by keeping the opposite line of
rails, I felt I was safe, so far as that was con- .
e.!rned.
" . I had never been in a tunnel of such
length as this before, and I confess 1' tel
unewhat dismayed when the light which
hid accompanied -me so Mr into the entrance
began to grow fainter and fainter.. After
walking fora short distance, I Proceeded on
in almost total darkness. Behind me there
was the distant light streaming in at the tun
nel mouth ; before me almost impenetrable
d trkness. But, by walking in a straight line
I knew that I couldn't miss. my way, and the
rails between which I wllkedy and which I'
occasionally touched with my feet, served to
keep me in the . road. In a short time' 17 was
able to disavrn a seeming spot of light, which
gradually swelled into a broader .gleam, tho'
still at a great distance before me; and 1
knew it to be the opening of the nearest
shaft. It was a mere glimmer amid the thick
and almost palpable darkness which envel
oped me. As I walk&l on, I heard thy little
dog panting at my heels, and the sound of
My tread re-echoed from the Vaulted.roof.
Save these sounds,. perfect silence reigned.—
When I stood still to listen, I heard. distinct
ly the loud beating of my_heart.
"A startling thought suddenly occurred to
me. What it' a goods train should suddenly
shoot through the tunnel, along the line on
which I was proteeding,'while the passenger
train, now due, came on in the opposite di
rection. I had not thought of this before,
land yet I was aware that the number of cas
'ual trains, on a well frequented railway is
very considerable- at p,artieular seasons.—
Should I turn back, reach the mouth of the
tunnel again, and wait until the, passenger
train had passed, wheu `l — could'tbon . follow
along the down lino of 'rails, knowing that no
other train was likely to follow it for at least
a full.quarter'of
. au
"Bnt . The shaft, down . Vhich the light now
faintly streamed, was-nearer to me than the
;mouth °Nilo tunnel, and I resolved; there
fore, to make for that point, where th'e - re was,
1 knew, maple room outside of both lines ° of
rail-to enable urn to stand in sitl'ety until
down train • had passed.' So I strode on.
But a low, holloW murmur, as if of remote
thunder, Dna then a distant scream, which
seemed to reverberate along the tunnel, fell
Upon my ears—doubtlesS the passenger train
which I had been expecting, entering the
tunnel mouth. But, looking ahead at the
same time, I discerned through the gleam of
daylight at the bottom of the 'Shaft toward
which I was approaching, what seemed a
spark of fire. It moved; could it be one of
the laborers of whom I was in search ? It
increased! For an instant I lost it. Again! .
This time it looked brighter. A moaning,
tinkling noise crept along .the floor of•the
vault. I stood still with fear, for the noise
of the train behind me was rapidly increas.
'big; and turning for an instant in that di
rection, I observed that it Was in full sight.
I could no longer disguise from myself that
I stood full in th 6 way of another train ad
vancing from the opposite direction. Tbe
light before me was the engine lamp. It
was now brilliant as a glowing star, and the
roar of the wheels of the train Was now fut.
ly heard amid the' gloom. lyeame on wits
a velocity whieh'Seemed to me terrific.
"A thousand thoughts coursed through my
brain on that instant.. I was- in the way of
the Monster, and the next moment Might be
crushed into bleeding fragments. The ero
gine was almost upoutue I I saw the gleam.
ing face of the driver, and the glow of the
furnace flashing its lurid light far along the
lower edge of the dense volumes of Steam
blown from the engine chimney. In an in
stant I prostrated myself on my- face,- and
la etc - with out th - e - power or breath
I felt the engine and "train thundering over
low hung ash-4xsweptacross my
r ; I felt the heat of the furnace as it
ed over me, and a glowing Cinder fell
nea my hand; but I dUi•st not move. I felt
as if the train was crushing over me. The
'earth vibrated and shook, and the roar of ( th9
wagon wheels smote into my cars with the
thunder which made me% ) fear theirdrums
would truck. I clutched the earth,, and,
would have cowered and shrunk-into it if I
could. There 'was not a fibre of my body
that did not re 1 the liorrerS of the moment,
and the dreadruiness'of the situation. But
it passed. With a swop and a roar of the
break-van, the lust in the train flew over me,
The noise of the train : was still in my ears,
and the awful terror of, my situation lay still
heavy on me. When I raised my head and
looked behind, the red light at the tail of" the
train was already' far in the distance. As
for the passenger train, it had also passedi
but I had not heeded it, though it had donbt
le:;s added to the terrific noise which for
sonic time stunned me.
Me.
Lack
has
"I ruse Up and walked*, calling upon
my dog. But no answer—not so much as a
whine. I remember its sudden howl. It
must have been crushed under the-wheels of
some part of the train. It was no use search.
ing for my little companion, so I 'proceetted, •
anxious to eseape., from the perils of my sit.
nation. Lsbortly reached the shaft which I
had before observed. There was ample room
at either side of the . rails, to enable me to
rest there in safety. But the-Fiface was-cold ,
and damp, and streams of water trickled
down the sides of it. I'resolved, therefore,
.it'o go on, upon i the doWn line; but the tun
nel being now almost filled with the smoke
and steam of the two engines, which had just
passed, I deemed it prudent to wait for a
short time, until the road had become more
clear, in case of any other train encounter.
ing me in my further progress. The smoke
slowly 'eddied
,up the shaft, and the steam
gradually condensed, until 'I considered the
road sugiciently clear to enable me to'pro.
coed in comparative safety. I once more,
therefore, plunged into the darkness.
" I walked on for nearly half an hour,
groping my way; . my head had become con•
fused, and my limbs trembled under me. I
passed two other .shafts, but the light which
they emitted was so; slight, that they scarce•
ly . seemed.to do more than make the 'dark,
ness vlstliTe I now suppose
haVe walked nearly the length of the tunnel i
and Yet it appeared afterward that I was only,
about half way through it. It seemed like
a long day since I had entered. • But by and
by a faint glimmer of light danced before
My eyes i and as I advanced I saw it was the
torches of the viiir men, tunl., I soon - heard
their voices. Never were sight and sound
inure welcome., In a few• minutes more, I
had joined the party. But I felt quite un
manned for the moment ; and I believe, sit
ting down on the work Men's tool-boxes, I
put my hands over my eyeS,-,lreally could
not hell) it—and.burst into tears.
" I never ventured into n tunnel again with- .
out, an involuntary' thriltof terror coming
over. me."
man. 111;.1 "01I'd for a lotlge in some
tip.
MEI
MU
laza
MU