U
,1
i.1
a is
THE ELESSINGS OF GOVEHN2EIT, LIKE THE DEWS OF HEAVEN, SHOULD EE DISTRIBUTED ALIKE UPON THE HIGH AND THE LOW, THE RICH AND THE POOR.
"m u - ir-rr... '.'. ,, f' ,
111 Til ft
US 1 1 0
n m m
I
. 111'
IVil
oI
III
IS.
' Trif
I.v3t
iV'rr f4
!St Vr '
, the 1
he to1
!).4l'. I
.Veil ia
Icnce. I
at thfl
; 10 4
Tf..v
'K?CUU"1
last
.mi cn
nib"
1 It
!cr, '
.,,1U1
1"
-inteu"
t4
,ilik
vet P'.r : i
. a,vf
.rt -r
yew SERIES.
TERMS:
TEMOCKAT & SKXTIXEL"
is rrr-
SJ' Hdicd every Wednesday
Morning at
Cue lHr l?rty tents per
siiiiiii payable in Advaucc,
O.Vff VOf.l.AR A.VD SEVENTY-FIVE UTS.
If nt within six months, and
TV0 DOLLARS
U not I'lii'l until the termination of tint year.
V mis riiti -n will be taken for a short
ttr
(:ri'
1 th.m six. i i r us. ami n suuscriDcr win oe
lis.-.iiitumc las paper until ail ar-
vearage arc p.u
!, except at the option ul the
svil'H-vi'i:iir for six months will" lie
-ClliO
or.'i: ! li.a!i, unless tno money
is
paid
Art ertislnpr Halts.
: insert' n. Tc do.
Three ihj
1 ,ipl;lR
12 linos
21 lines
30 lines
50
1 00
1 jU
3 months.
$1 50
2 ro
4 00
r, Oo
.10 oo
15 00
$ 75
1 00
2 00
$1 00
2 00
3 00
12 do
K 00
0 00
12 00
14 00
20 00
35 00
Lire?
: Ijijcs or ICS,
i.iiim', T2 lines
00
.-,o
00
00
00
4
1 ncieu'0
('! nn-
I :jt; lines
0
12
f Nr';;ire:
l.ii
I" i column,
I ii. f O-illUMll,
.y AH ai'vertiscnv.-.t
.1 ,. i.iiiy.li'T of illsC! li's
VI 00
must he
U shod.
marked
with
or thev will
ii ii'.i
1 until f rl'itl. and charged aecorilinh
oa 3octrii.
MY BIRTHDAY.
hirthihiv ! oh! what mvria-1 momories
and sorro
ake at thv ivlma.
-j.in the chords t;
have
silent Ion;
! tl.' V ar-j I. :'-.) th-:i sv.ch r.ea melody
a ttur.s an l smiles are Mended m my heart
;., i'.,e n te-. 1 list. They're coming iww
11 . t'lheiu'i-e of ehi!d:sh W;
ii. as a t'.i k sii.ilw int.n vene
c r.vi
:.-.t!
sei-t is li'aiieii in nioui .in.
:i ii
iifu ever mingled imit.
li-ht a:id uh
n.
My birthday !
oh !
by f.
1! v
h- t th ni
bee;: welcomed
nivi
hc.vi 'is
hi-ii.ihe
of.
.n.'s I'll meet on earth m move!
i i :o n i.i'i.i' v,1mi! smiles was dearer
r-.
'V . i .iv vin-i' .' t-wt than others e'er could he.
lit: vras a Mnile wreathed hy the haduw'd ligl'.t
ll'iiaiiiiiiij,' t.ei .cj.iril'. dci tl.S.
r.'en now
u ha.4 fi'd for ver from my ga.e,
t' ai: I mother, ve.s. e Vu now I tlnu.;,
. I I' .k up totlio suit stars at niht,
at I can trace the holy radiance
, tiiv blest smile that from its realm of blisn
it?, swek-t li' ht of love and purity
; :i ii-v saddened spiiit;'aijd 1 feel
. t i'.i thy home in
l'ar:eii-e thcioM le
; Li
oidc mv motlier l-r t.ei
wild tide of time M.ad s-
e.i aoovc
;nt
innciicii
U
toll
the h..ii;i
S.-A,
-.v..vc .n.iii ;;'ii.i'; on; ii.'""'j ,
i . n : i .tv
I
:..iu l
.viil dv.c".! i.i happiness win
tlK.
y ? Now
earth is
' M
I wc'.i-oh" the", my o:rl!.'
iVt to me when : ::
Wlicd
h r.iM'ir'i (!iv.e with fruit and I'.cv,
.1 l J I.i
,i who:
r iir.
Air.
hjvdi-
tll.sS
l''.Ta in aiimmei
liiffl
l v. t ad!v I i:::;.t "iect thee now,
1-
tlu: . .ir.-und me .seems the sua to throw
,i
h ud r: and the. very ?ir
.inns 1 c!c:i as it fans my
cliC!
1-
mitur. coidd divide the thou
d.ts
..:u (
il.rf jt" no Sil ' rie.ii L.
II-.W
n
..'.v very like my spirit,
the month
it ushercl it into cxia:enec. arm,
!.:oUious. ininuNive, as the gh'W
, ,r cM,.'.i .Vt. lihiL's o er lnorniim s summer rKy
,1 tru.i and diaivio'css tw :vs the-bright jays
..it at creation's h- nr were kindled there
re the auctions burning in its depths.
ri'(;'nt month! thy every lovely tiot must fade ;
he iK'rant il. wers must droop ami wither all;
! Aiit'inm, with its gentle sadnc.s, come;
triiitci's cheerful hours must pas
ami
, smili:
thou
Spring, must cjmc and go ere
And she, perhaps,
'.Mr greets thee now, will lie beneath
t'ring llowers in that sweet dicamlcss
dei p
'en the very weariest heart can rc.-d
-' u in
rn and eve bright dew drops, Heaven's
vn tens,
ten the reen turf above her head
I k re jieri aps some loving hand will strew
-e.' rito llowers the ilowtrs she used. toK-ve
' l ' :i. li. Uut if when thu com'st again
"'' lind iier among the living ones of earth,
foiycr is now that when her birthday next
' 'iiwn, iu litht will find her ha. pier,
'''.!y v.elcomed ly her joyous smiles.
10, 1.-S.
ADA.
ie .ev
York News states that a
(''irjli i-cd souk! In -i-i'ifii! i-ed and at
t.
-o't
ripe pcuelies from a fruit seller, and
v)n
ecl'tng them he found them per-
J green undt
ier tno skim, t tic seller
the seller having
;:"1 1!
c skins red
in ordei to make them
.i i
If
l-tr inendjcis have been elected to the
tt .
''Usv of j r.,.. ...... ... -
ib4 and
'vu- nuiii i n u l.. i li.o i
ni.fouri
They are all deino-
" I he last h
... i .i
lOUfC tlicy idimci boven
r
ma uuee opnosiliou.
Th
i .,, ... . i t
is noes
, " ...t the nc-.it huut it:n or-poiedto
wtwprtv.
Select ale.
From the Hume Journal.
THE MIDNIGHT ASSASSIN.
BY li I A C O M O S. C A SI P A X A.
When I was a much youuger man than I
am now, I saw no ioconsidcrable portion of
Europe, with a knapsack on my shoulders.
Frauee particularly, I traversed, iu its length
and breadth, on foot. It is the only mode of
travelling that was ever satisfactory to uic.
Above all things, I like- to be free, untram
melled and independent; aud travelling with
a knapsack is the only way iu which I ever
could secure these requisites iu anything like
perfection.
The knapsack", to be sure, must not be too
large or too heavy ; and to keep it from
beeiming so, it is indispensably necessary to
S'ud the weighty articles ahead, establishing
certain depots, or hcad-cjuaiters, along the
route, and putting upon your back only a few
changes of i nen, fur present use.
lut I am neither writing a eulogy on
pedesti iauisu; nor a hand-book for the prac
tice of it. Enough of this, therefore.
Oneo upon a time," iu the early fall
setisou, just as the viueyards were beginning
tt l.lnwlt tlfli f li '!Tw f 1 1 1 1 r i'L frri Hi.c
he grapes,
was tiudriur aloii
a solitary mountain path
leaning noia nuu;-iu-i
cf St. Amour, ia the
i . . . . i . . i
aumicr to
the viliaire
Dejiarimcut of Jura
It
was
a wildly i'ictuie.v;ue and romantic
region.
My way, for the most part, lay
a beautiful stix am, a tributary of the
and t he attractions of the scenery, had
alon
Aiu : and
::iveu me so many excuses for loiierin
that
and
it was b..coinin' every moment
more
lti',1'0
c id
t
Kit it would be in; possible
Amour that nLrht.
for
n.
; ) read -A
As the sun left me, I was descending into
a muca more
and uneuldv;
level country, but still a wild
.ted one, a!i'ordii:g no sign of
i urn an uunnatiou. J. lit tWMgut passed away,
the shades of night descended, and the stars
eaunj out, one by io, aud looked as though
they were winking and blinking at me, in
no ckery at my vain attempt tj liud a place
of shelter.
For more than an hour I gioped along the
uncertain path, iuwardly berating myself for
the lazy, loitering, lounging disposition which
had led mc
able scrape
into such an extremely disagiee-
At last, I sat down upon a wayside boul
der, and resting my chiu upon tho palm of
my right hand, I began to reflect seriously
upon what was the best course for me to
pur.-ue. 1 leit Inat I mignt w.uiv on nali ine
night without fauuiug
a sncitcr, ana 1 was
therefore not lone in cumin r
to a conclusion
that I could not do a better thing than to
take the boulder for a bolster, the knapsack
ior a
for a
pillow, and ail out-et-uoi-rs m genera!
bed to lie
unun till next inornii.''.
While
sary for
emii.-cnt!
bed cLj:
welcome
the few
.osai of
rrangements neces
my person in this
the d;;i
' in
live
y c;
ef
au-t unncf
U li
'J!
!'!
rs were saluted
by tho
a dog.
tl;e SiarKiu oi
nv pillow and the
up :i
rest o;
my
Ik.i.
bed-i'mnit u
!. I started
re (bcl
oft in
tor excepted) iu one
the direction of the
noise, "ti
woodsmen
.'ei.liii
by
hen
L.':e LariT,'
they di-
as the b
tiu."ji.s!i
trees by
icb
the the
nort
in OS
I
ii it
om
ut
j s;.!e
OI tU'.
rowti
r: theia.
i
The bark did n
much m-e to me, ii
make an imp": tan
..a it. in.:: ia the ::tn
vioiis-y be( n cone.
t last, inii!; enoustn to no of
and of itself, butit led me to
:t discovery, namely, a light
i'0 direction, which had pre
. ileal by a patch of sv.'.-.n-pv
vs-itu a growth of stunted
'vo'llid oo. 'ji'.i a
trees and briars.
This IL'ht L
followed up steidily until it
led me to a small stuue house, standing in
solitary bleakness upon the desolate-looking
iiK,or Tho light proceeded from a lamp or
caudle shining through au uncurtained and
unshuttered window, on the ground-floor.
As 1 approached the door, I heard the
bark again, and this time the dog accom
panied it. It was a viilanous-Iooking cur,
and it snarled and snapped about my heels
till called off by a hardiy less viilanous-Iooking
man llu was a tall, dark-browed
pear-ant, with a sour, foi bidding look, as I
could see by the increased light when the
djor was thrown I'uUy open.
"Good eveuiug." said I. "Will you be
kind enough to tell me how far it is to St.
Amour Y'
"About two leagues," said the man, gruf
P.y, with a juitois that rendered every word
he spoke a separate enigma.
As far as my capabilities were concerned,
the two leagues might just as well have been
two hundred.
"Is there any public house between this
place and fe't. Amour?" asked I.
'TLeic is no house cf any kind," replied
the enigmatical peasnut
"In that case, my friend, you will have to
supply me with a lodging for the night. I
couldn't travel another league if evcy foot of
the way was strewed with gold Napoleons." .
It is a fact which I have often observed,
Lut which I will not now undertake to ex
plain, that those who murder their mother
tongue in the most hideous manner, making
themselves nearly unintelligible to those who
speak it iu its purity, are nevertheless able,
m )st generally, to understand what is said
by the latter tolerably well much better
than the tail pure speakers are able to com
prehend tlCJil.
Of this phenomenon I had an example in
this instance Tie dark-faced peasant ap
pcared to understand my 'French (which was
Parisian as far as it was anything) very
well, while at least half the words of his 1
had 10 guess at.
After my broad h:r.t about the lodging,
the man oyed me attentively from head to
foot, and then told mo thrt I might come-in
if I hhed, Luf-1 would Cud accou:m.oda-
EBENSBURG, SEPTEMBER 8, 1858.
r-t.-y:tm--v-.- tairag'J-g?T.tg'--;
tions of the poorest quality Of that I felt
persuaded already, but I had not the slightest
idea of refurdug his invitation ; and lest he
might take a notion to repent of i I shot
through the door with all possible expedi
tion. Inside was a tall, dark-browed woman,
built very much after the same pattern as
the man, and evidently his wife. Both of
thmi looked to be over sixty years of age.
The woman codded, without saying a word,
and then pointed to a rickety old chair, in
which I was glad enough to seat myself
The house aud furniture were much like
those of the Freneh peasants generally ; but
the sour-looking, taciturn occupant of the
place were as unlike the jolly, good-natured,
talkative rustics I had been in the habit of
seeing in my travels, as cuuld well be imagin
ed. Hoping that their reserve would wear
o!T, I rattled awa' upon all sorts of topics,
and did my best to arouse their curiosity
au undertaking in which I had never yet
failed in the cct of a French peasant but all
in vain.
The louger I stayed the worse I was satis
fied with the place and the people, and I be
gan to have serious doubts whether it would
not have been better to have trusted myself
to the tender mercies of the open heath. It
would have been unpleasant enough te have
been cooped up anywhere with two such
hang dog looking mortals; but in this wild,
solitary spor, many miles away troni any uu
man
well
habitation, the unpleasantness might
be excused for degenerating into abso-
lute anxiety.
It turned out, however, that the supper
which they set before me was by no means a
bad one, and its discussion had a decided ten
dency to raise my spirits, thoirgh I felt sev
eral times a vague disposition to ask myself
the question whether the supper, under the
circumstances, was not rather too good to be
altogether an houeit one.
When one's gastric apparatus is highly
strung by exercise, a really good meal has a
yonderiu;ly tortityiug tricot
in this instance. Mv misgiv
I louud it SO
njjs disar-T'eared
one by one, and by the time I was ready for
bed I was ready to laugh to scei n all my fool
ish suspicions, as mere baseless, nonentities,
engenuti'Cd ij
and an empty s
iiritated coins achincr legs,
tomach.
I was shown up a dilapidated staircase into
a bedroom over that in w hich I supped, It
contained two beds, cue of which was already
occupied, apparently by a traveller v. ho had
preceded me. The b?ds were placed, with
their heads towards each othiir, near tho wall
faithest from the door. With this unexpec
ted room-mate I would willingly have dispen
sed, but there was no help lor it, so 1 wisely
determined to think no more about him, and
go to sleep as soon as possible.
But resolutions of this kind are sometimes
i.oi uuite so easily kept aj made. Weary as
I was, I found it impossible to put such a
tether upon my thoughts as would serve to
keep them in decent subjection to my will.
ii-ijuut jvaiii-icr away, line unruiv enu-
i - t i
en, running into all sorts of out-of-the-way
uooks ami corners, m spite oi my exertions to
re i ei
t them. JJy-and-by 1 began to grow
nervous, to a ridiculous extent, and to bj an
noyed by tho moat trilling uuises, &o that even
the loud breathiug of my samuoleut compan
ion was a torment to mo.
While lying in this condition, I heard a
noise at the door of the cottage, which was
scon afterwards opened, giving admission to
several rer.sons men, dou'wtlcsj the noise
of win-so wooden shoes was dis'.iuctly audible. ,
Presently , too, 1 heard their voujoh, Ihou-h
in : nj pie-sed tunes, and soon afterwards I
coul t .-ee a light streaming through the ma
ny tracks and crevices of the Hoor; for they
were iu the same room where we had supped,
directly below.
This incident brought back all my distrust,
and in a magnified form. Who were these
men, visiting this lonely cottage at such an
unusual hour': That they came for auy good
purpose was altogether unlikely.
My room-mate still slept soundly. Should
I wake hiniV Perhaps he was an accomplice
of the people below. Perhaps ho was put
there on purpose that I might wakeu him. I
would let hiiu alone.
The half-whispered conversation still went
j on below, aud with increasing auiaiation. I
could no longer refrain from listening to it.
I arose from my bed, and bying upon the floor
on one side, placed my car directly over one
of the holes. In this position I could hear
much of what was paid, and by taking time
to think over the words, I could very gener
ally make out their meaning,
I soon fouud that there was an animated
discussion going on among them, but it was
some tirno before I could form any distinct
idea of what it was. By degrees, however,
enough of the truth unfolded itself to make
mc feel very decidedly uncomfortable. Cloth
ed iu a patois so excessively uncouth, many
of the ideas expressed must necessarily slip
by me; but still, as I have stated, I managed
to make out the most of it, and what I did
get hold of I felt very sure of having secured
right end foremost.
The majority of the speakers seemed to- bo
on ono side, aud the old woman, with one of
the men, on the other. What the question
was I was left to infer from such expressions
as I could make out, some being in au entire
and others in a fragmentary condition. Am
ong them were the following ;
"llicLV To be sure he's rich, or well off
at any rate, if he docs travel on font."
"Well, I don't dispute it." (This was the
woman) "I noticed his gold watch, and I
am very certain it could u't be bought for a
thousand francs He has a ring, too, on his
finger, that I'm almost sure is a diamond; for
I know about such things better than any of
you. But still I go for tho little one, as I
have told you."
"But haven't I told you, over aud over"
"Well, well, well, 1 sec j-ou all will have
it ycur gy:u way; but . till I must sry that if
13
to have bis throat cut. the
little one will do best; and I'll tell you anoth
er reason why I think "
With my teeth chattering and my Lair ac
tually bristl'mg with horror, I rose and stole
softly to the bedside of my sleeping compan
ion, to sec whether he or I was the 'big one'
thus coolly doomed to destruction.
The room was quite dark, but there was,
nevertheless, light enough to verify the fact,
the fatal fact, that the niau in the other bed
was deeidedly below the middle size, while I
towered upjta the unfortuuate lotgitude of
six. feet in my tockiugs, with a proportionate
aegree oi lamuac. I had expected nothing
better, it is true, for, in a casual comparison
of this sort, I knev it would be altogether un
reasonable for mo to aspire to the hope of tur
ning out to be a "little one." Vet it was
with a more totteriug step, and a still further
sinking of the heart, that I resumed my post
of observation.
Feeling a desire to see as well as hear. T
searched out a still lariror hole and nut mv 1
eye to it
iouiid that I could get a view of)
r t
the prcatci rt of the room below, and hear.
at thcBaine tnne, nearly as well ps before.
Besides the old people, there were now five
or six young men, stout, strong, stalwart,
strapping fellows; all debating the question
whether the "big one" or the "little one"
should have his throat cut. While looking
at them, my attention was attracted by a harsh
grating sound iu one corner Ub! it was
tone of the tall
whetting one of
the most undeniably murderous-looking knives
my eyes had ever rested upnn. Even when
lying quietly ia a knife-box. such an instru
ment has a "pokcrisV lo k; but just im.igiue
it undergoing the? process of sharpening pre
paratory to making acquaintance with your
own jugulars an 1 carotids I tell you what,
now, it is not a thing to joke about, at all.
at all!
Human nature could stand no more ! I
jumped tip, and, as hastily as I possibly co'd,
without makiug a noise, 1 slipped on my ne
ther garment, took the rest of my elleets in
my hand, and weut to tho window, determi
ned to make a jump for.it.
Just as 1 was beginning cautiously to open
tho window, my proceedings were suddenly
brought to a stand still by a glimpse of one
of tho tall youug men, stauditig like a sjn'.i
nel directiy beueath the place where I was.
iLill ui.i.iiiiiuv.u l'J frv-t Li Livjsone-, J. ,
... ,n .:.. l -i ,
wtiica was iu iront oi tue nouse. Jut escape l
in that quarter was still less practicable, for i
the door was open, and some one of the pjo- j
pie on the inside was every now and theu
.. . 1
comiug to the threshold, if not quite out of
doors.
Like a hunted beast, I knew not which way
to turn; but at all events5 escape, for the
present at least, was impracticable. I re
turned to the hole in the floor. The very
tallest, and the ugliest, too, of the whole batch,
was taking olf his stLnts his wooden shoes
with one hand, wh'.lo he held that horrible
knife with the other.' After the shoes were
removed, he felt tba edge of the knife, and
with diabolical complacency exclaimed:
"Til cut his throat with that, and do it so
slick that he'll never know it!"
if j-od had been in my plauo, dear reader,
L d:ue say you would have acted very brave
ly, and 1 dare say you will feel n great deal
of contempt for me because I was not more
courageous; but I must "tell the truth an i
shame the devil," though I a.n sorely afia'd
Uiat it will lock more like shaming myself
thac Suta-i.
Ti-r. : ii.t t :t i.,
A iU dili:p-3 IHUil is., I. Lib L. was JUSU O ' I
as thoroughly scared as any one could well
b, so much so that 1113' knees actually smote
together as I staggered oh" to my bed. It
was that loug-bladed. sharp-poiuted, buck-horn-haudloJ,
'Vren'st-lookiug knife that did
the business. I have always had a m ral an
tipathy to cold steel. "Villanous saltpetre,"
and its compounds, arc nothing to it. I bore
it all tolerably well, till I saw that murderous
man-sticker, and fancied that I felt it grating
against one of my ribs then I "caved in,"
and acknowledged myself a scared man.
1 was not so abjectly frightened, however,
as not to take the necessary steps for defend
ing myself, nor was I at all doubtful about
my ability t3make a creditable resistance I
bad a brace of loaded pistols and a dirk, be
neath my rillow. Placing the dar;er where
I could readily seize it, I cocked the pistols,
aud held one iu each hand, just underneath
the bedclothes. In this position I waited the
result with such calmness as I could command
I was not kept long iu suspense. Less thau
five miuute3 had elapsed, w hen the tread of a
naked foot, but nevertheless a heavy one, re
sounded upon the stairs. The room door was
fastened by a wooden bolt, tolerably stout.
Would the midnight assassin break it open?
He did not. When he found that it was
fastened, he fumbled about it for some time,
with some sort of an instrument, trying, I
suppose, to push the bolt back. After a pret
to long trial, during which my fecliugs were
certainly not of a very enviable character, he
became satisfied, apparently, of the futility of
the attempt, and gave it up.
After the dull sound of the retreating foot
steps had died aw ay, a profound silence reign
ed throughout the place. What was to come
next? The murderous wretch assuredly would
not forego his horrid purpose because of such
a trifling obstacle as a wooden bolt. What,
then, was he preparing to do?
Them are few situations more trying, even
to the strongest uervei, thau one like this; a
terrible danger hanging over your head, whil.;
nil efforts to avert its fall are denied you The
compulsory inaction, in such eases, is harder
to boat than auy thing else.
At last, tho noisclces, motiouless suspense
became so intolerable, that I resolved to wa
ken my companion, at all hazards. I had al
ready ouc leg out of the bed, whuu a tuddeu
interruption of the oppressive silence altriitod
my uttciitiou. It was a uoisc outside, but of
cither of them
what nature I could not for some time deter
mine. While I sat with my eyes and cars both in
tent upon catehirg something from the quar
ter -whence the sound appeared to proceed, I
saw a light shining from without upon the
window opposite my bed, and presently a hu
man hand, with that terrible knife iu it, was
produced from behind a curtain which hung
before the the window
I knew there was a broken pane of glass
bchiud the curtain. The curtain itself was
fastened at each of the four corners, by bits
of tape, to nails driven in the wall. There
was something unearthly ia the look of that
bony hand, brandishing the long, glittering
knife, and no visible body connected with it.
With just light enough thrown upon it to
direct its motions, tho armless hand plied the
knife until the two lower tapes were cut; it
then proceeded to turn t'.ie button, and care
fully and noiselessly to open the sash, which
was fixed unou hia-'cs. Now the whole arm
made its appearance, then the ngbt shoulder,
. .. .- i
theu II
ic head, and finally the entire raw-boned
long-limbed body.
Though tall aud spare, the intruder was
very mus-eular, and perhaps my superior in
strength. My only hope was in my weapons,
or rather in my jhtols. He carried a small
dark-lantern, and suffered just light enough
to escape to direct him to his object. His
first act, after Le had fairly entered, was to
turn the light fiist upon my face, and then
upon that of my companion. This was done
with a great deal of care aud caution, aod as
one of us was sleeping soundly, and the other
pretending to do so, his scrutiny, no doubt,
terminated iu a perfectly satisfactory manner.
With the stealthy step of a prowling tiger,
the fellow approached my bedside, wiih the
lantern iu otic hand and that fearful knife in
the other. His jraze was now fastcued upon me,
and mv eyelids were open just enough to en
able mo to soe what he was doing, without j
his being aware of it
He paused. Slowly and carefully I diseu-
! vraged from the bedclothes the muzzle of my
right liana pistol, ana icvenca u ai ma neari. ;
11
I .r roc-.,lf,i;l Alibi K. lkt2 1
last. I lis i i'rht foot moved forward. I pressed
my forefinger upon the trigger, aLd gradually
increased the pressure, so as to make the dis
charge of the weapon simultaneous with the
next forward movement. He moved but it
was to turu upon bis heel and walk away to-
- , . - . ..r.il
wards the bed ot my companion. I he "little
Minn t- o tr .r thn Ttftf im
one tneu was to oe tne victim, arter au. as-
touishmcnt for au instant almost paralysed
me, but then came the thought, can I lie qui
etly here while that poor fellow u murdered
within a few feet of me ? Humanity forbid !
I should feel like an accomplice in the crime
ritiil grasping the pistol, I raised myself
quietly with my other arm, and beheld the
young peasant very quietly removing, from a
little pen between the two beds, a rabbit!
There were two of them, a "big one"' and
a 'little one," aud it was the former of course,
that the "midnight assassin" was after,
wjt!
the fixed resolution to cut his throat that night,
aud have him ready for our early breakfast
next morning, at all hazards.
Yes, dear reader, there was nobody in dan
ger of midnight assassination but the rabbit.
The worthy old couple and their six sons con
stituted a very respectable family. That un
mitigated old scamp Piron quotes that still
u 11 mil i'j'iU ihr old scauip Kabelais as saying,
Call mo scoundrel, thief, liar, robber, and
assassin, if you w ill, but call mc not rc.jicctu
Wc." But. in spite of the wittiest of French
men, we must assert that our j'oung peasant
was much too respectable to be the assassin
of anything more LijvJal than a rabbit, or at
least a chicken.
Poor though they were, these humble peo
ple were resolved to do the best they could
for "the stranger within their gates," who
they agreed was "rich, or at least well off,"
(a mistake by the way. aud therefore accus
tomed to good living. Tho more frugal moth
er, and one of the sons, contended that the
little rabbit would do, but the majority voted
for tho "big one," and honest Jean Louis
whetted his knife, put off his sabots, and de
clared that it should bleed that night.
I may here mention that I heard some one
oftheuisay: " Via unl cht fitii wok allun
manger 2e. gros Ltpin,'" But I had often heard
the word lapin used as about synonymous
with our slang term "rofc;" and manger is
daily employed to convey the idea of putting
an end to a thing, in any fashion.
I have merely to add that as it was consid
ered r.u important point not to disturb the
stranger, when Jean Louis found the door
bolted, and was unable to open it, ho procured
a ladder aud got in at the window, taking the
knife along with him merely for the purpose
of cutting the tapes of the window-curtain,
and retaining it iu his hand afterwards. He
was so busily engaged that he saw nothing of
my movement with the pistol.
1 never made any allusion to y blunder,
and to this day worthy Jean Louis, has no
idea that he was ever so near being food for
gunpowder. My room-mate, who was a dis
tant relative, and from a distant prt of the
country, too, was not disturbed, and, the
sight of lUe rabbit having dissipated all my
misgivings, I was soon at ease in the arms
of Morpheus.
In the morning, of course, all became clear
to inc. I found that the presence of the young
man under the window, where I supposed he
had been placed as a sort of sentinel, was al
together accidental The unusual soberness
of the old pi ople was also easily accounted for.
They had, only the day before, buried a be
loved child a lovely little girl the hope aud
joy of their declining years. This, did not
however, prevent them from giving me a very
good breakfast, nor did )t prevent mo from
giving them a practical illustration of my re
vised version of the ambiguous phrase t:iuu
j.r le ta ipin, (o eat tho rabbit.)
.Sixty deaths resulted from yellow fever iu
New Oilcans on the tlOth ult.
VOIi. 5. ISO 13.
What it is to be a Belle.
BY A BELLE.
It isn't enough to be pretty and modest to
be a belle. Good manners arc not in the
secret, neither is great beauty alone, though
that comes nearer than auything else. But
dou't 3-ou know what people call tone in pic
tures t It isn't the color nor the drawin"
only it is a sort of something not to be de
scribed ; at least, I have asked a great many
of the long-haired, bad hatted gentv who
paint pictures, and tbey never agreed what it
was. It i? a sort of mellow complexion over
tho whole thing, and is as different from
color as the bloom upon a ripe grape or plum
is from the crude positive Lue "of the unripe
fruit or did you never DOtice lxc differ
ence ? No? Well, Jdien, come to Nahant,
and you can study every variety of blush
and b'em upon the ripening fruit, in Mr.
Tudor's gardens, behind those thick paled
fences, that strain these rough sea winds
into soft zephyis be fore they touch bis trees,
very much as a line tooth-comb would trans
form the rummy breath of any old eailor oa
the coast into a kind of music before it pol
luted a baby's lunga.
All this means tact. To be a belle it is
necessary to Le handsome, well .made, of
great good manners, aud of consummate
tact. Now, any girl can have almost unyr
thing Lut the chief thing. If you are not
positively squint-ej-ed or of deformed reso
lution, and Madame well, the freshest
French woman will make you handsome and
of good figure. Manners you must manao
for yourself. I have found the best rule
perfect kindness I mean, of course, kind
ness of manner. Most men are a little bash
ful with women. Young men get over it
by bravado older men with a kind of silent,
superior, condescending air Now, if you
studj' never to take advantage of this shy
nets, which makes men doubly sensitive v
that many a clever man is conscious of being
a perfect fool with women if ycu never
wound them ?y look, or word, or insinuation
i'.-i ..
or inir,ijcation and never seem to lon th
4 - - "
any one man against any other why a little
ludicrous flattery of manner only, not of
words, does the whole Lufincfg the man u
yours.
Have you never noticed that very "smart"
woaicn arc never belles? There arc, of
course, what may be called Ioui'' youag
ladies from some western cities, and from
New York, sometimes, who smoke and drink
sherry-cobblers at night, and call the gentle
men by their christian names, and are always
very conspicuous ; but there is the same dif
ference between such people and belles that
there is between .notoriety and fume.
The diflieulty is that tact u net to La
taught It is the sublimest sympathy con
stantly ou the alert. Its aim is to please
positively, by saying and doing what is
agreeable; and negatively, bv omittin all
j allusions that arc not so. "Never tpt-itk of
uemp to a man wnosc lather was handed."
is the negative way of stating fact. "Ail
things to all na.n," is the positive way.
There is no need of-asking mc about tho
morality of this. I am treating of belles aud
manners, not of saints and moral philoso
phers. One thing-, however, I am free to sny to
you in strict confidence; and that is, that
good mauncrs are not always indicative of
good morals. I meau, of course, using tho
word manners in the usual sense. If vou
sec a man or woman every day, you would
naiurany prcsenuy uiscover tlieir sympathies
and tastes. They would betray them invol
untarily. For instance, if a man cared
nothing ?r children if he were impatient or
ill-tempered he c-.uld conceal it for some
time, but not for a long time, unless he bad
some very desirable end to serve by j.lavin"
a huge and difficult game. " 0
But for all that, if tho great D . shonl.i
ever come to Xahaut, or Newport, or Sa
cara-
toga, which, of course, he never does for
where could ho stay, or what could he do
and, entering Lis came upon the book as
the llev. Mr. Lamb, should mingle in tha
charming groups that swarm along the piazza,
or sit so amiably iu the parlor, I think tho
manners of tbc reverend gentleman would ha
so winning and entertaining th&t th youug
men would view him without jealousy and
the old without cynicism. The young women
would consider disparity of years nothing
where hearts were truly united; aud the old
ladies would seriously ponder how much titey
might reduce the necessary figures for their
daughters, ia coHsFueriCiou of certain pcrsoua!
advantages in the husband. Old and 3'oung
would go to be! charmed with the manners
of their new acquaintance ; nor, among the
other dreams ef the night would the fancy
obtrude itself that, when the Rev. Mr. Lamb
weut off, he disappeared in umokc, and that
the gcutIou:anly companion of an eycrg
could such an awful "tale unfold."
Ou the other baud, I suppose Dr. John
sou's morals were good, Lut his manners,
were ccrtaiuly offensive.
You are surprised that I speak of Br.
Johntn? Yo have sccu me whirling in
the polka with Tom Dyce at the hotel, or
racing orcr the beach with him in his wagon?
Very well, it is true, I am that young lady.
.1 wear two bracelets aud ear-rings, and these
very hoopy skirts. I bowl, bathe, dance,
dine, flirt, drive, sigh, smile, pick up mossos,
aud wander .over thj roeks ia a broad
brimmed bat aud a very becoming morning
dress, which the girli here trill call peijuor,
apparently act tuowing' that jteignor is tho
drossmg-gowu mine is a short gown, iu
which we sit when the hair is being brushed.
I am that same young lady aged somew hero
between seventeen and twenty-three, and I
i have spoken of Dr. Johnson I know about
! him and about a good man3T others, and you
are surprised. That is always the way with
1 men. You profess to honor us your mouths
I froth 'ffith compliments. Suddenly we show
i
r
3 C
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