LlC 11 , . li r-vwlv oJW SrJ-JiL&i ivalv --hi ..(L Ms livs v'.H'? " THE BLESSINGS OF GOVERNMENT, LIKE THE DEWS OF HEAVEN, SHOTJU) BE DISTEIEUTED ALIKE TTPON THE EIQH A1ID THE LOW, THE EICH AND THE POOR, r , k , . :! I. -- EBENSBUHG;:EEBRUAI1Y, 1,1855. jfBW: SERIES.. YOh. 2. HO. 18. THR DEMOCRAT Ar SENTrXEL; is 'rtitlist i nsd fevery .Thumlay-. mornings in.-JCbenisburg, : Cimbria Co. Pa;, at Jl 50 per annum, if paid jv advance, if not" J2. will. bccharsed. ADVfRTISElIEXTS lll W: conspicuously in sertod at the- following ratesj Viz': n -1 - - ' 1 1 a square tf.insertjons, ! ; Every Ascquent insertion, 1 snuare8 months. , , , . : , -' ; '23 ., , S 00 - ft H f VAA r year, 12 00 "' corn- ' 1 year,' ; " ' ' 1 '" 30 00 t-ij I ".-.i f .;, . - i.-f .x . i ; .... i.,' c vi5 00 -J v 'Bnsineas Cactla.'iUl one;wpy;pf.tb. j 1 - .' : Democrat, & .Sk.stixel, per ,j'e.ar,;r 5 00 ;t:!t(i..Ta(f. ;. EGOTISM.' ' TUG BOSOM SEBPEST, :. JROM. THE , - "UKPTJBLIS5ED ' ALL AG OKIES OF THE HEART. B NATUAXIEL HAWTUOBNK. .'fIIere he comes J". sbouwd tlio bojs alonj ibe street. Here comes tlio man with the nahe in his bosom " This outery, saluting Herkimer's ears, as lie was about to entertbe iron gate of the El- liston mansion, made mni jianse It was not without a shudder that lie foand himself on the point of meeting his .'former acquaintance, whom he. had Jtuown in th.e glory of ynuUi, and whom now, after an; iutoryal of five years, he was to find the victim itLer of a diseased fancy, or a horrible physical misfortune. ' A suate in his bosom f repeated tho young sculptor ! to' himself. '' "It must be he." Ko second man on earth has such "a bosom-friend ! And now, my poor Kosina,: Heaven" grant me wisdom to discharge nrrrrrand right! Wo man's faith is strong, indeed; since thine has not yet failed.' . . ., , - . -, ; ...Thus. .musing,, he took his stand at the en trance of the gatej and waited till tho person agej so singularlj' announced, 'should make his appearanee.'-'-After an'ifistant or two, he be-' held the figure of a lean man, of unwholesome lo3k, with glittering eyes and lung rblack hair, who seemed to imitate the motion of a snake: , . "7 : - ; -4 fir, instead of walking siraight forward, with open front, he nndulated along the pavement iti a carved line. "'It may lc too fanciful to .say,!, that something, - either in his moral or material aspect suggested the idea tliat a mir acle had been, wrought t by transforming a ser pent'into a man; but so impcrfoctly that the .snaky nature was yet hidden, and scarct-Iy hidden, under" the uicrepuf wan! guise of hu manity. Herkimer remarked, that his com jtlcxiod had a greenish tinge over its siokiy white, reminding him of ' a species of marble out or Whicn lie had once wroucrbt a bead of JEnvyV'w.ith her snaky locks. - The wretched being approached tho gate, but, instead of entering, stopt shorthand tixed the 'g'Hftef of his eye full upon the compassion ate, yet steady countenance of the sculptor.' : " ''It gnaws me! It enaws mel" heciclaim- : . ' " ': ".' ' , - ; ' AnJ then there was sn audible hiss, but whether it came from the apparent laDatic's own lips," or was the real hiss of a serpent, might admit of discussion. - At all events, it made Herkimer shudder in his heart's core. ; Do you know me, George Herkimer?" asked the snake possessed. ', ' Herkimer did know him." Hut it demanded all the intimate and practical acquaintance with the human face; acquired by modelling i actna! likenesses in elay,. to reengnizo the fea tures of lloderic EUiston in the visage, that now met the sculptor's gaze'.' ' Yet it was he.. It added nothing to the wonder, to reflect that the once 'brilliant young man had undergone this odious and fearful change, during the no more than five brief years of Herkimer's abode at Florence; ; The possibility of such a trans fbrmation" being granted, it'was as ea-'y locon ceiTe it effected Sri a moment as in an age. In expressibly shocked and startled, t" was still the keenest pang( when Herkimer remember ed tht the fate of hirf eousin Koslna, the ideal of gentle wobiauhood; was iadissttlubly : inter woven with that of a being whom Providence seemed to have uuhunianized. . ' ' , "EUiston t lloderickr cried he, "ihad heard of this; but my ' conception eamc'far abort of the truth WhaC has befallen you V Why do I find you thus t" , - " Oh, 'tis a mere nothing 1 A snake ! A snake! '" The commonest thing in the world. A' snake in the bosom that's all," answered Hoderick Elliston. - But how is your own breast?" continued lie, looking the sculptor in the eye, with tho most acute and penetra ting glance that it had ever bceu his fortune W encounter. " All pure and wholesome ? reptile there ? By my faith and conscience, .-and fcy the devil within me, here is a wonder! A man without a serpent in his bosom J" '-J3e calm, - Ellisttfn;"" whispered George Herkimer, laying lm hand upon the shoulder of the snake possessed. I have crossed the ocean to TOeet yon. Listen !-iet us be private ins a me8SiSe from ltosiQa:--from your i your It gnaws me I Roderick. - - It gnaws one 1" muttered ''-With this exclnmntlnT. - i. -----iuc niosi irennoftt m w muuia, me uniortunate man clutched both "us Poa aia breast, as if an- intolerable Ctg of torture impelled him to rend it open nd let oat the living mischief, even' were it entwined iwith his own. life; ;IIe then freed himself from -.Herkimer's grasp, by a subtle" motion,,-and, gliding through the gate, took refuge' in his anti'jnated family residence The sculptor did not pursue hiin., 'IIe saw that no availablo intercourse could be expected at sqch. a:imotncnt and was desirous, " before l&C'fKPM f'. to which.it L bere. attemp-, occur in more' than one instance. ; ' I z4 f. another-meetingi to inquire, elosely into the nature of Roderick's dkeasey and the circum-r stances that had reduced him to. eo lamentable,' a condition, Jle succeeded in obtaining the necessary information from an eminent medi- . cal gentleman. . . ;'' .; Shortly after Jiilliston s separation from nis wife now nearly four, jears ago his associ ates' had observed a singular 'gloom spreading over his daily life; like those chill,! rey mists that sometimes steal away the sunshine from a summers "morning. -The -symptoms caused them .endless : perplexity. They: knew not whether, ill health were robbing his spirits of elasticity or whether a canker of the., mind, was , gradually eating, as such, cankers do, from his moral system into the physical frame,; which is but the shadow of the former. They" looked for .the root of this trouble in his shat tered schemes of domestic bUss wi-fully shat tered by himself but could not' be satisfied of its existence there. ; Some: thought that their once brilliant friend was in an incipient stage of insanity, of which his passionate im pulses .had perhaps been the forerunners ; oth- ers prognosticated a general bright and grad ual decline. . From Roderick's own.iipa they could learn nothing. Jlore than once, it is true, he had been heard to say, clutching his hands convulsively upon his breast -"It gnaws me! ' It gnaws me!" but, by differ ent auditors, a great diversity of explanation was assigned -to this ominous expression: What could it be that gnawed the ' breast of Roderick Elliston ? Was it sorrow ? Was if merely the tooth of physical disease ? ; Or, in his reckless course, often verging upon profligacy-, if not plunging into its depths, had he been guilty of some deed, which made his bo som a prey to the deadlier fangs of remorse? There was plausible ground for each of these conjectures ; but it must not be concealed that more than one elderly gentleman; the victim of good cheer and slothful habits, : magesteri ally pronounced the secret of the whole mat ter to be dyspepsia 1 r , . ; ; :;s vrt . : Jdcanwhile, Roderick seemed aware how generally he had become the subject of. curi osity and conjecture, and, with a morbid re pugnance. to such notice, or any notice what ever, estranged himself from all companion ship Not merely the eye of man was a hor to isim ; not merely the- light of a friend's countenance, but even the blessed sunshine, likewise, which, in its universal benificence, typilica the radiance of the Creator's face, ex pressing his love for all the creatures of ; his hand. The dusky twilight was now too trans. parent for Roderick Elliston ; the blackest midnight was his chosen hour to steal abroad, and if ever he were seen, it was when the 'watchman's lantern gleamed upon his figure, gliding along the street, with his hands clutch- ed wpon his besom, still muttering,-''!! gnaws me! It gnaws me!" What could it be that gnawed him? . i ..... . ' After a time, it became known that Elliston was iu the habit of resorting to all the noted quacks that infested the city, or whom money would tempt to journey thither from a dis tance. By one of these persons, in the ex ultation of a supposed cure, it was proclaimed far and wide, by dint of hand bills and pam phlets on little dingy paper, that a distinguish ed gentleman, Roderick Elliston, Esq., had been relieved of a S.hakk in his stomach I So here was the monstrous secret ejected from its lurkiug place into public view, in all its Hor rible, deformity. , The . mystery was out, but not so the bosom serpent.. He, if it were any. thing but a delusion, still lay coiled in his liv ing den. The cuipyric's cure had been a sham, the effect! it was supposed, of some stu pefying drug, which more nearly caused the death of the patient than of the odious reptile that possessed him. When Roderick Elliston regained entire sensibility, it was to find his misfortune the town talk the more than nine day's wonder and horror while, at his bosom, lie felt the sickening motion of a thing alive, and the gnawing of that restless fs.ng which seemed to gratify at once a physical appetite and a fiendish spite. .. . ' lie summoned the old black servant, who had beeo bred tip in his father's1 housc and was a middle? aged man while Roderick lay in his cradle1'-''- - --'.- v - i ; . Scipio''? h? began, and then paused; with his arms folded over his .heart. . 'What -do: people say of me, Scipio ?" '. . -, ' t, " Six I my poor master ! that you Ltd a ser- pentin your bosom," answered the servant, with hesitation. . "And what cLse asked Roderick, with a ghastly look at, the man. .- "Nothiug else, dear master," replied Sci pio, only: that the doctor gave you a pow der, and the snake leapt out upon the floor. ' "No,-- jiol" muttered Roderick to himself 1 as he shook his head; and pressed his hands with a more convulsive force upon - his breast, ; " I feel him still. -. It gnaws me I It - gnaws. ; me !" .- . . r ; . , .. . . -, . . ' .... .. ; . : : Front this .time, the miserable sufferer cea sed to shun the world,-but rather solicited and forced himself upon the notice of acquaintan ces and strangers.5'- It ' was' partly the result of desperation, on finding that the cavern of his own bosom had not been deep and dark enough to hide the secret, even while" it was so secure fortress fdr ths loathsome .fiend that had crept into it. . But still more, this craving for notoriety had a symptom of, the intense morbidness which .now pervaded his ,11' 1 1 I-" 1 naiure. ivu persons curouicauy.uiseasca are egotists, ''whether the disease be of 'the mind or body ; whether sin, sorrow, or merely the more tolerable calamity of some endless pain,' or mischief among the cords of mortal life. Such - individuals are made aeutelr eonlsas of a self by the torture in. which it dwells oclt, therefore, grows to be so prominent an object with them,, that they canuotbut present it to the face of everv casual nasser br. There is a pleasure perhaps , the very greatest of yhich the sufferer is susceptible in dfcplay ng the wasted or'.ulcerafed limb? or the can cer in lue.breast : and th fmiW tl.'mn ' with so much the more difficulty does the perl pctralor prevent it from thrustingjp its enake-i I like head; to frighten the world j for it is that Cancer, or that crime, which constitutes their , respective individuality, , Roderick Elliston.t who a little while before had held himself so; scornfully above the common lotof men, now paid full allegiance to this humiliating law.7 The snake in his bosom seemed the symbol. of, a monstrous egotism,, to, which everything was referred, and which. he, pampered, night and day, : 'with a continual and exclusiye sacrifice of devil-worship. ; .J... :u t J ..He soon exhibited yrhat most people consid ered indubitable tokensfof insanity. . In. some of his moods, strange to say,., he prided and: glqryfied himself on being marked, out, from the 'ordinary experience of mankind, by the, possession of a double nature, and a life with in a life." He . appeared to imagine - that the snake was a divinity-r-not celcgtiaL; 4j3jrwsi btt darkly infernal and that Jae tiience de rived an eminence and sanctity,' horrid, in deed, yet more desirable .than whatever am bition aims, at ; Thus he . draw his misery around - him, like a regal mantle, and looked down triumphantly upon those whoso vitals nourished so deadly monster, Oftener, how ever, his human nature asserted its empire over, him, in the shape of a yearning for . fel lowship. It grew to be his custom to spend the whole day in wandering about the streets, aimlessly, unless it might be called an aim t establish a species of brotherhood between himself and the world, .j , With cankered inge nuity, he sought 'his own disease in every breast, s Whether, nsaue or . not, he sI)owa so keen a perception of frailty, error, and vice, that many persons gave him credit for being possessed not merely with a serpent, but with an actual fiend, who imparted this evil faculty ef recognizing whatever was ugliest iu man's heart,. . . -' For instance, he met an individual, who, for thirty years, had cherished a hatred against his own brother. Roderick, amidst the throlig of the street, -laid his hand on this man's cheat, and looking full in his forbidding faceA , 4 " " How is the snake to-day ? he inquired, with a mock expression of sympathy. ' The snake !'' exclaimed .the brother-hater ".What snake do you ineauT'';. ..' . . " The snake! The "snake ! Does he gnaw youf" persisted Roderick., .," Did you take counsel . with him rt this "morning, when you should hive been sajTng y our- prayers ? Did he stingy when )-ou thought of your brother's health, wealth and gooij repute ?-" Pid"he ca per for joy ,' when you r'emembe'ril the" profli gacy of his only 6on ? .And whether he 6tung, or whether he frollicked," did you feel his poi son ' throughout your bodyjand soul, conver ting every thing to sourness and bitterness? That is the way of such 'serpents'. T X have learned the whole nature of 'them from niy own" , '-; .:;; ';' ' " : ." - " " Where is the police?"- roared the object of Roderick's persecution, at tlie same time giving "an instinctive clutch to Lis, breast. -' Why is this lunatic allowed to go at large?" " 11a," ha," chuckled Roderick, releasing his grasp of the man. ''His bosou serpent stung him then !" " , . .' . " . .- ? Often, it pleased the unfortunate youiig man to ; vex people with a lighter . satire, yet still characterized by sonicwhaVef snake-like viru lence. One day, lie encountered an ambitious statesman, and gravely inquired after the wel fare of his boa constrictor ; for of that species, Roderick affirmed, ' this gentleman's serpent must needs be, since its appetite was enormous enough to devour the whole country and con stitution. - At another time, - he stopped ..a close-fisted oldfellow, of great wealth, but who skulked about the city, in the guise of a scare-crow, with; a patched .Hue surtout, brown hat, and mouldy boots, 'scraping peneo together, and picking up rusty nails. Pre tending to look earnestly at this respectable person's . stomach, Roderick assured him that his snake was a copperhead, and had been generated by the immense quantities of that base metal, 'with which he daily defiled his fin gers. , . Again, he assaulted a man of rubicuud visagej and. told, him that few bosom serpents had more of the devil in them than those that breed in the4 vats of" a 'distilleryr Tho next whom Roderick, honored ,with his attention was a distinguished clergyman, who happened just then to te' engaged in. a theological con troversy,, where human" wrath was more per ceptible than divine aspiration., : ,, ." "You have swallowed a snake in a cup of gacramentaLwiue," quoth he : (t Profane wretch l,r) cxclaictei the divine ; but nevertheless his hand stole to his breast. . He met a person of sickly, sensibility, who, on some eariy disappointment had retiredfrom the world, and thereafter hold no intercourse with bis fellow, men, but brooded sullenly passionately over the irrevocable past.'. .This man's very heart, if Roderick might be belie ved, had been changed inMV a serpent, which would finally torment both him and itself to deaths. Observing' a married couple whose domestic troubles were matter of notoriety, ho condoled with both on having mutually ta ken a 1 house adder to I their bosoms. To an envious author, who depricated works which he could never equal,' he said, that hia snake was the slimiest and filthiest of all the. reptile tribe, .but was fortunately without a sting. A man of impure life,- and a brazen face,: asking Roderick if there were any serpent in 1 his breast, ho told him that there was, and of tho same species' that ncC tortured Don Rodrigo, the Goth.'-' He-, took' a fair young girl by the hand, and gazing sadly into herveyes, warned her that she eherisheOt $ serpent of tho dead liest kind - within her gentle .breast and ihe. world found the- truth of those omuious words, when, a few months afterwards, - the poor girl died of lovo and shame.;' Two ladies.-rivals in fashionable i life, who tormented on another with a thousand little stingi" of 'womanish spited were given to understand that each ot their hearts was a nest of diminutive snakes, J which did quite as much mischief as one great onei !.. --J- : " , ' ' :'"" ' "Bat 'nothing seemed to please Roderick bet-. tV than. t laVhold f a nerson infeetfid with jealousy which fce represented as an eoor- mous green reptile, with an ice-cold length 'of body, and the sharpest sting of any snake, save one. . ' -i . - v " And what, one is that ?? asked a bystan der, overhearing him. . , ..,. ..' w It was a dark-browed man. who put the question; he had .an evasive eye, which, in the course of a doxcn'y'earsi' had looked no mortal directly in the face. -!: There was an ambiguity about this ; person's character a stain upon his reputation yet none could tell precisaly of what nature ; although the city gossips, liialo and female', whispered the most atrocious surmises. Until a recent period, he had followed the sea, and was, in. fact, the very ship-master-whom George Herkimer bad encountered, under such singular circumstan ces, iu the Grecian Archipeligo. ' Vbat bospm-serpcat - L tbo lrpst sting Xv- repeated 'this 'man': "but he put the question as 11 by a reluctant necessity, and grew pale while he was uttering it. . ; ' , " Why need you : ask ?" replied :Roderick, with a look of dark intelligence. "Look in to your own breast! ' Hark, my serpent bis tirs himself! He acknowledges the presence of a master-piece !" " " ' " , ' ; ' And then, as the bystanders afterwards af firmed, a hissing sound was heaad, "apparent ly in Roderick Elliston's breast It was said, too, that an. answering hiss opnie from the vi tals of the ship-master, as if a snake- wero act ually lurking there, and had been aroused by the call of its brother reptile ' If there were, in fact, any such sound, it might have been caused by a malicious . exercise, of ventrilo quism, on the part of Roderick. ;., a Thus, making his own actual serpent if a serpent there actually was in his bosom the type of each man's fatal error, or hoarded sin, or unquiet conscience! and " striking his stidg so unreihorsely .into the sorest "spot, we. may well imagine that Roderick became the pest of the city. Nobody could elude him; none ,could withstand him. He grappled with the ugliest truth that he could lay his hands on, and compelled his adversary to do the same. Strange spectacle in human life, where it is the instinctive effort of one and all, to hide those sad realities, and leave them undisturb ed beneath a heap of superficial topics, which constitutes the materials of intercourse between man' and man I It w as not to be tolerated that Roderick Elliston should break through the tacit compact, by -which tho world has done its best to secure repose, .without relin quishing eviL- The. 'victims of his malicious remarks, it is true, had brothers enough to keep them in countenance ; for, by Roderick's theory, every mortal bosom harbored either a brood of smalt serpents, - or one overgrown monster.that had devoured all the rest. Still; he city could not .bear this new apostle.'. It demanded byeariaU... and particularly, by the most resjR'ctable inhabitants, that Ro derick should no longer be permitted to vio late the received rules of decorum, by obtru ding his own bosom-serpent to the public gaze, and dragging those of decent people from their lurking places. - . Accordingly, .hj.raliyes inte-Tfercd, and olaccd . him- in a'prirate asylum for, the in sane. ".When' the news was noised abroad ic was' observed that, many persons walked the streets with freer' countenauecs, and covered their breasts lss carefully with their bands. - His confinement, however, although it con tributed not a little to the peace of the town, operated unfavorably upon Roderick himself. In solitude, his melancholy grew more black and sullen." He .'spent whole days Indeed, it was his sole : occupation in communing with the serpent. A conversation was sus tained, in which, it seemed," the hidden mon ster bore a psB,; though unintelligibly to the listeners, and inaudibly, except in a hiss Singular as it may appear, the sufferer had now contracted a' sort of affection for his" tor mentor ; mingled,' however, with the intensest loathing and horror. Nor were such discor dant: emotions ; incompatible ; each, - on " the contrary, imparted strength and poignancy to its opposite. r Horrible love horrible antipa thy embracingJ one another in his bosom, and both concentrating themselves upon a be ing that had crept into his vitals, or been en gendered there, and which was -nourished with hisfoodrand lived upon his. life, and was as intimate with,; him as his own heart, and yet was the foulest of all created things !-r-But not , the ; less, was it the true type of a morbid nature: ' . ' ' ' Sometimes, in hi moments of rage and bit ter hatred against the snake and himself, Ro derick determined to be the death of .him, even at tho expense of hia own life. Once he attempted , it, by. starvation. But, while the wraticV-d mac was on tho point of f wishing , the monster seemed to feed upon his heart, and to thrive and was gamesome as if it were tho sweetest and most congenial diet. . Then he" privily took a dose of adivc poison, imagi ning that it woull not fail to kill either him self, or the devil, that possessed lfuii, or both together." Another "mistake"; for if Roderick Lad not yet been destroyed by his own pois oned heart, nor the snake by gnawing it, they bad little to far from arsenic ar corrosive sublimate. , Indeed, the venomous pcbt ap peared to operate as an antidote against all other poisons. "The physicians tried to suffo cate tho fiend' with tobaeco-smoke. : He breathed it'as : freely as if it were his native atmosphere. Again, they drugged their, pa tient with opium, and drenched him with . in toxicating liquors. ...hoping that . the , snake might thus be reduced to stupor, and perhaps belgected from tho stomach They succee ded in" rendering Roderick icselible ; but, placing ineir nanus upuu were inexpressibly horror-stricken to feel the .nnntor wrirodin?. twining, and darting to .lacin"- their hands upon bis breast, Tuey and fro, " within ; its narrow, limits, enlivened bv the opium or alcohol, .eviuenuy and inci-Thence ted to unusual feats of activity. forth, they" give up all attempts' at cure or palliation. The doomed sufferor saomiwea 10 his fate, resumed his former loathsome affec tion for the bosom-fiend, and Spent whole )Sis erable days befow a looking-glaas, withh mouth wide open, watching, in hcqe ajid hor ror, to "catch a glimjise uf the snake's head, far "down within his throat. It is supposed that succeeded ; for the attendants once heard a frenzied shout, and rushing into the room, found Roderick lifenessupon the floor. r .He was kept but little longer under re straint. After iiinute invesfigafion, the medical directors of the asylum decided that his 'mental disease nid not amount to insanity, rior wpuld warrant his confinement; especial ly as its influence upon his spirits was unfavor able, and might produce the evil which it was meant to' remedy. His . eccentricities were doubtless great he .had habitually violated many of the customs and prejudices of socie ty; but the world was not, without surer ground, entitled to treat him as a madman. On the decision of such competent authority, Roderick '-was released," ana had returned to bis native city the very day before his incoun ter with George Herkimer. .' : '" ' ' ' '"'As soon as possible, after learning these particulars, the seulptor, together with a sad and tremulous companion, sought Elliston at his own house. It was a large, sombre edi fice of wood with pilasters and a balcony, and was divided from one of the principal streets by a terrace of three elevations, which was ascended by successive flights of stone steps. Some immense old elms almost concealed the front of the mansion. . This spacious and once magnificent' family residence was built by a grande-c of the race early in the past century, at which epoch, land being jf 6mall compara tive value, the garden and other grounds had formed quite an cxtenslve domain. "Although a portion of: iLe ancestral heritage had been ulienated, there was still a shadowy enclosure in the rear of the mansion, where a student, or a dreamer, or a man of stricken heart, might lie alL. day, upon the grass, amid the solitude of murmuring boughs, and forget that a city had grown up around him. ." " " Into this retirement the sculptor and his companion - were Ushered by Scipio, the old black servant, whose wrinkled visage grew almost sunnywit.h intelligence and joy, as he paid . his humble greetings to one of the two visiters.' ' ; ' ' ' " ' " Remain S in the arbor," whispered the sculptor : to the figure that leaned upon his arm ; ',' you will know whether to make your appearance." "God will teach me," was there-ply. ' " May he iapport me too !" 1 i Roderick was recliuing on the margin of a fountain, which gushed into the fleckered sun shine: with the same clear sparkle, and the, same voice of, airy quietude, as when trees of primeval ' growth flung their shadows across its bosom. ' How 6trange is the life of a foun tain born at every moment, yet of an age coeyal wit'ajhe rocks, and far surpassing the venerable antiquity cf a forest ! . '" You are couie ! I have expected you," said Eili5ton, when he became aware of the sculptor's presence. ' liis manner was very dliTcrent from that of the preceding day quiet, courteous, nd, as Herkimer thought, watchful both over his guest and liimselt. The unnatural restraint was almost ihe only -trait that betokened any thing amis?. He had just thrown a book tip on the grass, where it lav half opened, thus disclosing itself to be a natural history of the serpent tribe, illustrated by life-like plates. Near it lay that bulky volume, the Doctor Dubitautum of Jeremy Taylor, full of cases of conscience, and in which most men, possessed of a conscience, may find something applica ble to their purpose. - S :!'" ' "You see," observed Elliston,' pointing to the book of serpents.-while a smile gleamed up on his lips, " lar.i making an effort to become better acquainted with my bosom friend ; but I find nothing satisfactory in this volum. ' If I mistake not, he will prove to be tut generis, and akin to no other reptile in creation." : " Whence1 come this strange calamity?" inquired the sculptor I ': ; ' ': -" My sable friend, Scipio, has a story," re plied Roderick, "of a snake that has lurked in this fountain pure and innocent asitboks ever since it was known to the first 6ettlers This insinuating personage once crept into the vitals- of my - great grand-father; and dwelt there many years, tormenting the old gentle man beyond mortal endurance. In short, it is a family peculiarity. But, to tell you the ruth, 'I have- no faith in this -idea 'of the snake's being an hcirrloom.' He is my owd snake, and no man's else.1 " But what was hia ; origin V demanded Herkimer. ' ... - ' Oh t there is poisonous stuff in any man's heart, sufficient to generate a brood of eeT pents," said Elliston, with a hollow laugh. " You should have heard my liouiiliox to the good towns people." Positively, I deem my self fortunate! in bavin bred but a ?ingle ser pent - You, however, have none in 3-01 bosom,', and, therefore, cannot . sympathize with , the rest of the; world." It sruaws me !" . ... It guaws me With this , exclamation, " Roderick lost his self control and threw himself upon the . grass, testifying his agony bv intricate wri things, in which Herkimer could not but fancy a resem blance to til-? motions' of a snake. Then, like wise,, was heard that frightful hiss, which of ten ran through the sufferer's spee-ch, and crept within the words and syllables, without interrupting their suecefsion. . . " This is awful,' indeed!" exclaimed the sculptor i "ati awful infliction,' whether it be actual or imaginary ! " Tell me, Roderick El liston, Is there any remedy for this loathsome evii ?" . . """Yes, '.but an i:np3sslblc one,' muttered Roderick,, as he lay wallowing with his faco in the grass. Could I, for one instant, for get my self, the serpent might not. abide with in mc.'- 'It is my diseased contemplation that has engendered ahd,'uburikhe lam ! , : " "Then foigct yourself,, my husband., said a gentle voice above' him '; v jjorget yoursr lf ia the idea of another !" V' , ' V . "l " Rosina had emerged from the arbor and was bonding . over him, with tho shadow of his angmVh rcfleelcdin her countenance, yet so mingled with hope and selfish love, that alV" anguish seemed bur an" earthly shadowr and S" dreanu She touched Roderivk with her hand. A tremor shivered through his frame.. , Lt3 that moment, if report-be trustworthy, the sculptor leheld a waving motion through 'the gras, and beard a tinkling sound, us if some J tiling had plunged it-lie fountain. Be tho truth as it might, " it ' is certain that Roderick Elliston eat up, like at man renewed, restored'; to his right mind, and, rescued from the fiend, which bad so miserable -overcome him in tho. battle-field of his own breast.' - - ' Rosina! cried heA in broken' and passio' nate tones, but with nothing of the will wail that had haunted his voice sc long--) t Fox-jt give ! Forgive I" . Her happy tears bedewed his face. " The. punishment has been sevcrej". eb scrved the sculptor, " Even Justice might, now forgive how much more a woman's tenderness!' Roderick Elliston, wether the serpent was a, physical reptile, or whether the ' morbidness of your nature suggested that ' symbol to your fancy, the moral of the atory ' is not the less true and strong; A tremen " dous Egotism manifesting itself, ia 'your r case, in the form of jealousy is as fearful a, fiend as ever stoic into the human Leart.- j Can abreast, where it has dwelt m long, bo purified?" .v;..t.'J I. -r.!?r. 3 Oh, yes !", said Rosina, with a heavenly smile. " The serpent was but a-dark fanta-r sy ; and w hat it typified, was as shadowy a8s iuelf. , The past,, dismal as .it se-tius shallj fling no gl.xiiu upon thu future. To give it . its due importance, we niust thuik .'of is aa an anecdote in our eternity V -Democratic' Itccicw. ..--.:...:.: -.i , Eather Strong: 1 -. :i --1 " Why ia it, niy son. that when you dropi your bread aul butter it i always the butter-! ed side down ?"(; ," : ... - . - , " I.dont know. J.t hadn't oughtcr, tad U? The strongest side ought t. be upprmost, hadn't it ma? and this ycre is the strongest butter I ever seed Y'. . .'."' . i '" Hush up : it's ' some of your' aunt's chur- ning. Did 7ic churn it ? . The great lazy thing!1 - t ,.? V hat, your aunt ..- . , "No; this yere butter! To make-that poor old woman . churn it, when its stronger enough to churn itself!" ' '- - f A " Be still, Ziba J It only wants , working ' over." "Well, inarm, if I's you, when I did it, Pd put io lots o' molasses !'.' - ' - '- " You good-for-nothing!- I've ate a great' deal worse in the most aristocratic New York boarding houses.'' " .'.-' - . . Well, people o rank onjht to eat it." . Why people o' rank T5 : " Cause it's rank butter." "' 1 "fcYon varmint you! What makes you talk so smart?" . " Tho butter's taken tbi bkin off my tongue, motlu-r !" , " Ziba, don't lie ! Icau't throw away the , butter. It don't signify." . ; " I tell j-ou what I'd do with it, uiarm. ; I'd keep it to draw blisters. You ought to sea the flies keel over, and die. as soon as they touch it!', ; .' " ' . :y ' " Ziba, don't exaggerate ; but here is twenty-five cents, go to the store and buy a pound ' of fresh. iV. Y. PifiigvM. v -,; m 11 - "i .1 A Platsible Remedy. A gentleman in ' Alabama, in exerting himrelfone day, felt a sudden pain, and fearing" his internal umtliiu- . cry had been throwu out of gear, sent for a, negro on his plantation' ho made some pre-te-usions to medical skill, t prescribe for him The negro, having investigated ; the cause, prepared and ' administered a dose to his pa- ' tient with the utmost confidence of a Fpecdy ' cure.. No relief being experienced, however, tho' genthman sent for a physician, who, on ( arriving, inquired of the negro what medicine he had given his master. - , . , ,. , Boh promptly responded "-.rosin and al-: urn, sir What did you give them for ?" continued I the doctor. : - " "-' : " ' - ', ; " Why," replied Bob;." de alum to draw the parts togeder and le rosin -tosoJdvr uui " . The patient eventually recovered. . - -,, ' A Cofs'CoLiKCTou' Sold." A c friend of ours who prides himself upon his knowledge of coins, was very neatly sold by an acquaiu- tance a day or two siuce. The latter handed him an American coin, resembling the new quarter dollar, and asked him if he could dLa-' ' cover anything peculiar about it. m "I; cannot," said be; " but why do you J ask?" '' - ' "' ,. " : ' '"' "Because," replied the other, " they can be had anywhere about town for twelve aud thirteen cents." ': ... .--' Is it possible?" replied the judge of coins. ..' I thought it fsJt light. ; For how . much did you say tliey could bo had ?"' , - '. . For twelve -and thirteen cents," replied . the other. O!",. exclaimed the' victun. a3 the pell dawned upon him, " twelve and thirteen j.ako . twenty-five." , - ,; ..., -2 -' ; Jty"Pcrscvefauce,' paid a lady to a ser vant, is iho only way to accomplish great I things.' Oneday eight dumplinga were sent dwu stairs, and they; all disappeared. "Sal--ly, where arc &)1 those dum)lings?'' "I., managed to gel thro?h thcui ..ina"'an,"-r-, "Why, ho pn earth did you contrive to cat . so many dumplings?" "By perscverancet , ma'aai," said Sally. - ' . . ma am, saiu ; Dr. Parr and Lord "Erskine is said to have been the vainest men of their time. At a dinner.some years since,' Dr. Parr, inecsta cie9 with the conversational powers' of Lord ' HrSkine, callrd out to him, 'though his junior J 31 v Lord, I nrc:m to write your epitaph."': " lr. Parr," r-Jl tho noble lord, "it is " a tcmptitiou t commit filicide.". .. ;:
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers