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Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, May 04, 1859, Image 1

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"WE WILL CLING TO THE PILLARS OF THE TEMPLE OF OUR LI3 TIES, AND IF IT MUST ALL, WE WILL PERISH AMIDST THE RUINS.
SIKNS, DURISOE & CO., Proprietors. EDOEFIELD , C, MAY 4, 1859. VOLUMEXIV.-No 17
THE TRAVELER'S STORY
A TERRIBLY STRANGE BED.
SHoRTLY after my education at college was
finished, I happened to be staying at Paris
with an English friend. We were both young
men then, and lived, I am afraid, rather a
wild life, in the delightful city of our sojourn.
One night we were idling about the neighbor
hood of the Palais Royal, doubtful to what
amusement we should next. betake ourselves.
My friend proposed a visit to Frascati s, but
his suggestion was not to my taste. I knew
Frascati's as the French saying is, by heart;
had lost and won plenty of five-franc pieces
there, merely for amusement's sake, until it
was amusement no longer, and was thorough
ly tired, in fact, of all the ghastly respect -
bilities of such a social anomaly as a respec
table gambling-house. " For Heaven's sake,"
said I to my friend, "let us go somewhere
where we can see a little genuine, blackguard,
poverty-stricken gaming, with no false ginger
bread glitter thrown over it at all. Let us
get away from fashionable Frascati's, to a
house where they don't mind letting in a man
with a ragged coat, or a man with no coat,
ragged or otherwise."-" Very well," said my
friend, "we needn't go out of the Palais
Royal to find. the sort of company you want.
Here's the place just before us; as blackguard
a place, by all report, as you could possibly
wish to see." In another minute we arrived
at the door, and entered the house.
When we got up stairs, and had left our
hats and sticks with the doorkeeper, we were
admitted into the chief gambling room. We
did not find many people assembled there.
But, few as the men were who looked up at us
on our entrance, they were all types-lamen
tably true types of their respective classes.
We had come to see blackguards ; but these
men were something worse. There is a com'c
side, more or less appreciable, in all black
guardism-here there was nothing but trage
dy-mute, weird tragedy. The quiet in the
room was horrible. The thin, haggard, long
haired young man, whose sunken eyes fierce
ly watched the turning up of the cards, never
spoke; the flabby, fat-faced, pimply player,
who pricked his piece of pasteboard persever
ingly, to register how often black won, and
how often red-never spoke; the dirty wrin
kled old man, with the vulture eyes and the
darned greatcoat, who had lost his last son,
and still looked on desperately, after he could
play no longer-never spoke. Even the voice
of the cronpiersounded as if it weres rangely
dulled and thickened in the atmosphere of
the room. I had entered the place to laugh;
but the spectacle before me was something to
weep over. I soon found it necessiry to take
refuge in excitement from the depression of
spirits which was fast stealing on me. Un
fortunately I sought the nearest excitemeut,
by going to the table, and beginning to play.
Still more unfortunately as the event will
show, I won-won prodigiously; won incredi
bly; won at such a rate, that the regular
players at the table croAded round me; and
- staring at my stakes with hungry, superstitious
eyes, whispered toge anot.her, th it the Eng
lish stranger was gong to break the bank.
The game was Rouge et Noir. I had played
at it in every city in Europe, without however,
the care or the wish to study the Theory of
Chances-that philosopher's Atone of all gain
blers! And a -ambler, in the strict sense of
the word, I haa never been. I was heart
whole from the corroding passion fir play.
My gaming was a mere idle amusement. I
never resorted to it by necessity, because I
never knew what it was to want money. 1
never practiced it so incessantly as to lose
more than I could afford, or to gain more than
I could coolly pocket without being thrown
off my balance by my good luck. In short I
had hitherto frequented gamblingtables
just as I frequented ball-rooms and opera
houses-because they amused me, and because
I had nothing better to do with my leisure
hours.
But on this occasion it was very different
now, for the first time in my life, I felt what
the passion for play really was. My success
first bewildered and then, in the most literal
meaning of the word, intorcated me. In
credible as it may appear, it is nevertheless
true, that I only lost when I attempted to es
timate chances, and played according to pre
vious calculation. If I left everything to
luck, and staked without any care or consil
eration, I was sure to win-to win in the face
of every recognized probability in faivor of
the bank. At first, some of the meni present
ventured their money safely enough on my
color: but I speedily increased my stakes to
sums which they dared not ribk. One after
another they left off playing, and breathlessly
look-ed on at my game.
Still, time after time, I stakced higher and
higher, and still wvon. The excitement in the
room rose to fever pitch. The silence was
interrupted by a deep, muttered chorus of
oaths and exclamations in different languages,
every time the gold was shovelled across to
my side of the table-eveu the imperturbable
croupier dashed his rake on the floor in a
( French) fury of astonishment at my sucess.
But one main present preserved his self-posses-.
lion; and that man was my friend. He came;
to my side, and whispering in English, beggedi
me to leave the p lace satisfied with what II
had already gained. I must do him the jus
tice to say-, that he repeated his warnings a,.d
entreaties several times ; and only left mes and
went away, after I hail rejected his advice (I
was to all intents and purposes .gambling-I
drunk) in terms which rendered it u~np',ssible'
for him to address me again that nighbt.
Shortly after he had gone, a hoarse voice
behind me cried :-" Permit me my dear sir !
---permnit me to restore to their proper place
two Napoleons which you have dropped.
Wonderlul luck; sir!i I pledge you my word
of honor as an old soldier, in the course of
my long experience in this sort of thing, I
never saw such luck as yours!-never!i Go
on, sir-&cre mile bombes! GJo onm bul fly,
and brcak the bank !"
I turned round and saw, nodding and smi
ling at me with inveterate civility, a tall manm,
dressed in a frogged and braided surtout.
If I had been in my senses, I shiouldl hayv
considered him, personally, as beinir ra:theLr am
suspicious specimen of an old soldie-r. He
-had enggliig bloodshet eyes, mangy muns
tachios, and a broken nose. His voice be
trayed a barrack-room intonation of the worst
order, and he had the dirtiest pair of hands I
ever saw-even'in France. These little per
sonal peculiarities exercise1, howvever, no re
pelling influence on me. In the ma I exc-ite
ment, the reckless ti'iimph of that monmenit. I
was ready to " fraternize" with anybody who
encouraged me in my game. I acceptedl the
old soldier's offered pinch of snaifr; elappe.l
him on the back, and swore he was~ the Ih in
estest fellow in the wverld-the mmo-'t glirioums
relic or the Grand Army that I hal ever m.--t
with. " Go en I" cried my miitairy frienid.
snapping his fingers in ecst.sy,-" Go, on and
win!i Break the bank-Mille founscere-! myi
gallant English comrade, break the hank!''
And I did go on-went on at such a rate,
that in another quarter of an hour thme crou
Pier called out: " Gentlemen! the hank has
discontinued for to-night." All the notes, and
all the gold in that " bank," now lay in a heap
under my hands; the whole floating capital
of the gambling-hose was waiting to pour]
into mfineketsaI
"Tie up the money in your pocket-hand
kerchief, my worthy sir," said the old soldier,
as I wildly plunged my hands into my heap of
gold. " Tie it up, as we used to tie up a bit
of dinner in the Grand Army; your winnings
are too heavy for any breeches pockets that
ever were sewed. There! that's it!-shovel
them in, notes and all I credie! what luck I
Stop! another Napoleon on the floor! Ah!
sacre pei polissou de Napoleon ! have I found
thee at last? Now thea, sir-two tight double
knots each way with your honorable permis.
sion, and the money's safe. Feel it! feel it,
fortunate sir! hard * and round as a cannon
ball-Ah, bah! if they had only fired such
cannon balls at us at Austerlitz-nom d'une
pipe! if they only had! And now, as an an
cient grenadier, as an ex-brave of the French
army, what remains for me to do? I ask
what? Simply this: to entreat my valued
English friend to drink a bottle of champagne
with me, and toast the goddess Fortune in
foaming goble-s before we part !"
Excellent ex-brave I Convivial ancient gre
nadier! Champagne by all means I An Eng
lish cheer for an old soldier! Hurrah ! hur
rah! Another -:nglish cheer for the goddess
Fortune! Hurrah ! hurrah ! hurrah !
" Bravo I the Englishman ; the amiable,
gracious Englishman, in whose veins circulates
the vivacious blood of France ! Another glass?
Al, bah!-the bottle is empty. Never mind!
Vice le cin ! I, the o.l soldier, order another
bottle, and half a-pound of bon-bons with it!"
"No no, ex-brave; never-ancient grena
dier! our bottle last time; m6 bottle this.
Behold it! Toast. away I The French Army!
-the gr eat Napoleon !-the present company!
the croupier! the honest croupier's wife and
daughters-if he he has any! the Ladies gen
erally! Everybody in the world!"
By the time the second bottle of champagne
was emptied. I felt as if I had been drinking
liquid fire-my brain seenied all a flame. Nu
excess in wine had ever had this et'ect on me
before in my life. Was it the res.-It of a stimu
laut acting, upon my system when I was in a
highly excited state ? Was my stomach in a
particularly disordered condition? Or was
the champagne amazingly strong ?
" Ex-brave of the French Arny ' cried I,
in a mad state of exhilaration, "I ant on ire!
how are y.i You have set me on fire! Do
you hear, my hero of Austerlitz? Let us
have a third bottle of champagne to put the
flame out !"
The old soldier wagged his head, rolled his
goggle eyes, until I expected to see them slip
out of their sockets ; placed his dirty forefin
ger by the side of his broken nose ; solemnly
ejaculated "Colfee!" and immediately ran
off into an inner room.
The word pronounced by the ecentric vet
eran seemed to have a magical effect on the
rest of the company present. With one ac
cord they all rose to depart. I'robah'y they
had expected to profit by my iintoxintion;
but finding that nmy new friend was boenevo.
lently bent on prevenitinag me fron getting
lead drunk, had now abaodoacd all hope of
thriving pleasantly on my winnings. What
ver their motive might b., at any rate they
went away in a body. When the old soldier
returned, and sat down again opposite to me
it the table, we had the room to ourselves. I
Don!d see the croupier, in a s-,rt of vestibule
which opened out of it, eating his supper in
olitude. The silence was now deeper than
ver.
A sudden change. too, had come over the
"ex-brave." He assumed a portentously so
lemii look; and when he spoke to me again,
his speech was ornamented by no oaths, en
forced by no finger-snapping, enlivened by no
apostropties or exclamations.
" Listen, my dear sir," said he, in mysteri.
ously confidentlial tones-" listen to an old
sldier's advice. I have been to the nistress
of the house (a very clarmiag woman, with
a genius for cookery!) to impress en her the
necessity of making us sone particularlv
strong and good coffee. You must drink this
c-dfe in orer to get rid of your little unia
ble exaltation of spirits before you think of
g >ing home-you mnust, amy good and gracious
friend! With all tha:. "oney to take home
to-night, it is a sacred duty to yourself to have
your wits about you. You are known to be a
winner to an enormous extent by several gen
tlemen present to-night. who, in a certaim
point of view, are very worthy and excellent
fellows; but they are mortal metn, my dear
sir, and they have their amiable weaknesses !
Need I say more ? Ah, no, no! you under
stand me! Now, this is what you must do
send for a cabriolet wheni you feel quite well
again-draw up all the windows when you
get into it-and tell the driver to take you
home onaly through the large and well-liglited
thorough!fares. D.o this; 0and you anid your
money will be safe. Do this ; and to-morrow
you will thank an old soldier for giving you a
word of honest advice."
Just as the ex-brave ended his oration in
very lachrymose tones, the coffeea. caine in,
ready poured out in two cups. My attentive
frienad handed mec one of the cups with a bow.
I was parchedl with thirst, anad drank it on' at
a draught. Almost instantly afterwards, I
was seized with a fit of giddiness, and felt
more completely intoxicated than ever. The
room whirled round and round furiously; she
old soldier seemed to be reguhirly bobbing up
and down before me like the piston of the
steam-engine. I was half deafenied by a vio
lent singing in my ears; a feeling of utter
bewildernt, helliessneNs, idiocy, overcame
rae. I rose from my chaitr~ holdinmg on by the
able to keep my balance; and stammered
aut, that I felt dreadfully unwell-so unwell
hat I did not know how I was to get honie.
" My dear friend," answered the old soldier,
sud even his voice seemed to be bobbing up
ad down as he spoke--" my dear frienl, it
would be madamens to go hotne~ in yatr state ;
you would be stire to lose your mioniey you
might be robbed and murdered with the great
est ease. I am going to sbe-p here ido you
sleep bere, too-~they make up capital bieds in
this honse-take one; sleep off the effects of
the winse, and go home safely with youar win
ninags to-morrow--to-morrow, ini broad day'
light"
I had buit two, ideas lefu -onec, that I must
never let go hold of may haudke-rcief full of
money; the other. that I must lie downa sonme
where imimediately, anid fall off into to a com-.
rortable sleep. So I agreed to the proposal
about the bed, ad touk the offered armn of'
the old soildier, carrying my mioney with nmy
disengaged hand. P'receded by the croulpier,
we paissed alonig soime passages anid up a
flight of stairs inito the bed-room which I was
to occnpy. The ex-brave shook mue armnly
by the hand1 ; proposed that we should break
fast together. and then, followed by thme erou
pir left mne for the night.
1 ranu to the washa-staund; drank some of the
water iiinmy jng'; poured the rest out, and
plunged may facee into it-then sat downm ii a
chair and tried to compose mmyse-lf. I soonm
felt better. The change for nmy lungs, froma
the fetid atmiospahere of the gaimbliing-room to
ihe coal air of the apartment I now occupied;
the abnoast aqiually refreshing ebanage for myi
eyes, fromu the glaring gas-lights of thei " 8b
lon'' to the dhima, <piet lieker of one bed-rooma
candle ; aided wuunderfnlly thme restorative
effecwts ofi cold water. The giddineass left ine,
and' I bte:iai to) feel a~ little like a reasoniable
be-ing a~faine. My first thought was of the
risk of! sheepuing all aight in a gamblding-hoase ;
mny secoind, of the still greater risk aof tryiing
to get out after the house was cloasedl, anad of
going home alonie at aight, through the streets
of Paris with a large sumi of umney about me.
I htad slei't ini worse places than this on may
travels, so I detuerii ied to lock, bolt, and bar
ricade my door, and take muy chance till the
next iiOrman-5
Accordingly, I seenred myself against all
intrusion ; looked unde: the bed, and into the
cupboard ; tried the fistening of the window ;
and then, satisfied that I had taken every pro
per precaution, pulled off my upper clothing,
put my light which was a Cim one, on the
hearth among a feathery litter of wood ashes,
and got into bed, with the handkerchief full
of money under my pillow.
I soon felt not only that I could not go to
sleep, but that I could not even close my eyes.
I was wide awake, and in a high fever. Every
nerve in ny body trembled-every one
of my senses seemed to be preternaturally
sharpened. I tossed and rolled, and tried
every kind of position, and perseveringly
sought out the cold corners of the bed, and
all to no purpose. Now, I thrust- my arms
over the clothes; now, I poked them under
the clothes; now, I violently shot my legs
straight out down to the bottoni of the bed
now, I convulsively coiled them up as near
my chin as they would go ; now, I shook out
my crumpled pillow, changed it to the cool
side, patted it 1lat, and lay down quietly on
my bak ; now I fiercely sloubled it in two,
set it up on end, thrust it against the board.
of the bed, and tried a sitting-posture. Every
etfurt was in vain; I groaned with vexation,
as I felt that I was in for a sleepless night.
What could I do? I had no book to read.
And yet, unless I found out some method of
diverting my mind, I felt certain that I was
in the condition to imagine allsorts of horrors;
to rack my brain with forebodings of every
possible and impossible danger; in short, to
pass the night in suffering all conceivable
varieties of nervous terror.
I raised myself on my elbow, and looked
about the rooin-which was brightened by a
lovely moonlight pouring straight through the
winlow-to see Wit contained any pictures or
ornaments that I could at all clearly distin
guish. While my eyes wandered from wall
to wall, a remenmbranee of Le Maistre's de
lightfil little book, " Voyage autour de ma
Chambre," occurred to me. I resolved to
imitale the French author, and find occupa
tion and amusement enough to relieve the
tedium of imy wakefulness, by making a men
tal inventory of every artice of furniture I
could see, and by following up to their sources
the multitude of associations which even a
chair, a.table, or a washing stand may be
made to call forth.
In the nervous unsettled state of my mind
at that moment, I fiund it much easier to
make my inventory than to make my reflec
tions, and thereupon soon gave -p all hope of
thinkiig in Le Maistre's Ifinciful track-or
indeed, of thinking at all. I looked about the
room at the different articles of furniture, and
did nothing more.
There was, first, the bed I was lying in ; a
ftur-post bed, ot all things in the world to
meet with in Paris!-yes, a thorough clumsy
British four-poster, wihl the regular top lined
with chintz-the regular fringed valance all
round-the regular stiiling unwholesome cur
tais which I remembered having mechani
cally drawn back against; the posts without
particularly noticing the bed when I first got
into the room. Then there wai the marble
topped wash-hand stand, from which the wa
tor I had spilt, in my hurry to pour it out, was
still driping, slowly and more slowly, on to
the brick floor. Then two small chairs with
cuat, waistcoat, and trjwsers flung on them.
Then &-large elbow-ehir covered withAirty
white dimity, with my cravat and shirt-collar
thrown over the back. Then a chest of drawers
with two of the brass handles off, and a taw
dry, broken china inkstand placed on it by
way of ornament for the top. Then the
dre-sing-table, adorned by a very small look
ing-glass, and a very large pin-cushion. Then
the window-an unsually large window. Then
a dark o1l poicture, which the feeble candle
dimly showed m1e. It was the picture of a
fellow in a high Spanish hat, crowned with a
plme of towering feathers. A swarthy sinis
ter ratlian, looking upward, shading his eyes
with his hand and looking intently upward
it might be at some tall gallows at which he
was going to be hanged. At any rate, he
had the appearance of thoroughly deserving it.
This picture put a kind of constraint upon
me to look upward too-at the top of the bed.
It was a gloomy and not an interesting object,
and I looked back at the picture. I counted
the feathers in the man's hat-they stood out
in relief-three white, two green-I observed
the crown of his hat which was of a conical
shape, according to the fashion supposed to
have been favored by Guido Fawkes, I won
dered what he was looking up at. It couldn't
be at the stars:; such a desperado was neither
astrologer noiE astronomer. It must be at the
high gallows, and he was going to be hanged
presently. Would the executioner come into
possession of his conical crowned hat and
plume of feathers? I counted the feathers
again-three white, two green.
While I still lingered over this very impro
ving and intellectual e mployment, my thoughts
insensibly began to wander. The moonlight
shining into the room reminded me of a cer
tain moonlight night in England-the night
after a picnic party in a Welsh valley. Every
incident of the drive homeward through lovely
scenery, which the moonlight made lovelier
tfaan ever, camne back to my remembrance,
though I had never given the picnic a thought
for years ; though, if I had tried to recollect
it, I could certainly have recalled little or
nothing of that scene long past. Of all the
wonderful faculties that help to tell us we are
immortal, which speaks the sublime truth
more eloquenti,- than memory ? Here was I,
in a strange house of the most auspicious
character, and even of peril, which might
seem to make th cool exercise of my recol
lection almost out of the question I neverthe
less, rememnbering, quite involuntarily, places,
people, conversations, mmnute ci cumstancee
of every kind, whieh I had thought forgotten
for ever, whiub i could not possibly have re
calhed at will even uinder the moat favorable
auspices. And what cause had produced in a
moment the whole of this strange, complicated,
mysterious effect ? Nothing but somte rays
of moonlight shining in at my bedroom
window.
I was still thinking' of the picnic-of our
merriment on the drive home-of the senti
mental young lady who would quote Childe
Harold because it was moonlight. I was
absorbed by these past scenes and past amuse
ments, when, in an' instant, the thread on
which my memories hung snapped asunder;
my attestion immediately came back to present
things more vividly thani ever, and I found
myself, I neither knew why nor wherefore,
lookinig hard at the pictunre again.
Looking for what f
Good God. the man had pulled his hat
downt on his brows ?-No ! the hat itself was
g me ! Whbere was ti.cetonical crown ? Where
the feathers-thmree white, two gre-en ? Not
th'ere! In place of the liat and feathers, what
dusky object was it that now hid his forehead,
his eyes, his shading hand ?
Was the bed moving ?
I inrnedl on my back and looked up. Was
I mad ? druink ?'dreaming ? giddy again ? or
was thet top of thme bed really moving dlown
siking slowly:, regularly, .silhmtly, horribly,
right divwn thiroughoiit the whiole of its length
and bradt-right dolwni upon me, as I lay
My blood seemned ti stan-I still. A deadly
paralyzinig colhiness stole all over ime, as I
tuirne'd my head round on the pillow, and de
termined'to test whether the bed top was real
ly movintg or not, by keeping miy eye on the
man in the picture.
Thme next look in that direction was enough.
The dull, black, froway outline of the valance
ahore me was within an inch of beingparallcl
with his waist. I still looked breathlissly.
And steadily, and slowly-very slowly-I saw
the figure, and the line of frame belowsthe
figure, vanish, as the valance move| down
before it.
I am, constitutionally, anything but timid.
I have been on more than one ocasiot# in
peril of my life; and have not lost my self
possession for an instant; but wheii the'On
viction first settled on my mind that thebed
top was really moving, was steadily and con
tinuously sinking down upon me, I looke u
shuddering, helpless, panc-stricken, ben h
the hideous machinery for murder, which was
advancing closer and closer to suffocate pie
where I lay.
I looked up, motionless, speechless, bregth
less. The candle, fully spent, went out; but
the moonlight still brightened the ropin.
1)own and Lwn, without pausing and without
sounding, came the bed-top, and still my
panic-terror seemed to bind me faster and
faster to the mattress on which I lay-doyn
and down it sank, till the dusty odor from he
lining of the canopy came stealing into y
nostrils.
At that final moment the instinct of self
preservat; n startled me out of my trance, and
I moved at last. There was just room for.me
to roll myself sideways off the bed. Ai I
dropped noiselessly to the floor, the edge, of
the murderous canopy touched me onrvthe
shoulder.
Without stopping to draw my breath, wjth
out wiping the cold sweat fron my face, I rbse
instantly on my knees to watch the bed4p.
I was literally spell-bound by it. If I had
heard footsteps behind me. I could not have
turned round ; if a nAeans of escape had been
miraculously provided for me, I could not
have moved to take advantage of it. The
whole life in me was, at that moment, con
centrated in my eyes. 4
It descended-the whole canopy, with fte
fringe round it, came down-down closedoiwn,
so close that there was not room now':to
squeeze my finger between the br-d-top and
the bed. 1 felt at the sides, Ln1' -:iscovered
that what had appeared to me tIrin beneath
to be the ordinary light canopy of a four post
bed, was in reality a thick, broad mattress, the
substance of which was concealed by the
valance and its fringe. I looked up and saw
the four-posts rising hideously bara. In the
middle of the bed-top was a huge wooden
screw that had evidently worked it down
through a hole in the celing, just as ordinary
presses are worked down on the substance
selected for compression. The frightful Sp
paratus moved without making the faintest
noise. There had been no creaking as' it
came down; there was now not the faintist
sound from the room above. Amid- a dead
and awftil silence I beheld before me-in the
nineteenth century, and in the civilized capi
tal of France-such a maclhinc for secret
murder by suffocation as might have existed
in the worst days of the lniitsition, in the
lonely inns anmong the Hart. Mountains, in
the mysterious tribunals of Westphalia ! Still,
as I looked on it, 1 could not move, I could
hardly breathe, but I began to recover the
power of thinking, anti in a moment I dis
covered the murderous coispiracy fram
against me in all its horror.
My cp of colfee hail been drugged, ail
drugged too strongly. I had been saved frdi
being smothered by havingAaken,on overd &
of'ome-mreoti -wI Irhad -chafe
fretted at the fever-fit which had preserved my
life by keeping me awake-! How recklessly I
had confided myself to the two wretches who
bad led me into this room, determinet, for
the sake of my winnings, to kill me in my
sleep by the surest and most horrible contri
vance fir secretly accomplishmrg ny destrne
tion ! Ilow nan- men, vinn.--s like ine, .id
slept, as I had proposed to se.-p, in that bed.
and had never been seen or hs-ard of More!
I shuddered at the bare idea of it.
But, ere long, all thiughnt was again suspen
ded by the sight of the murderous canopy
moving once more. After it had remained on
thre bed-as nearly as I could guess-about
ten minutes, it began to move up again.
The villains who worked it, from above cvi
denitly believed that their purpose was now
accomplished. Slowly and silently, as it had
descended, that horrible bed-top rouse towards
its former place. Whetn it reached the upper
extremities of the four posts. it reachedl the
ceiling too. Neither hole nor screw could be
seen; the bed became in appearncte an ordi
nary bed agaitr-the cainripy an orditnary
canopy, even to thre most suspicious eyes.
Now for the first time, I was able to move
-to rise from my knees-to dress myself in
my upper clothinig-and to consider of how I.
should escape. If I betrayed, biy the elightest
noise, that the attempt to sntibeate rme hand
failed, I was ceritain to be mmurdut-ed. Had I
made any noise already ? I lis-tened initently,
lookinig towards thre door.
No I no tiotsteps) in thre passa-te outside
no sound of a tread, light or heaivy, in the
room ab~o-e-ab~sr'hite silence every-where.
1Besides lockirrg anid bolting moy door. I had
moved an old woiidei chest a:gainst it, whrichi
I had founrd under thre bedl. To remuove this
chest (may blood ran (-o,1l as 1 thought what
its contents miy/d be !) without mnaking somre
disturbance was imopo sile ; and, mroreover,
to think of e~ueaping through the honse, now
barred'up for the night, was slicer insanity.
Only one chanice was left mze-the window.
I stole to it ont tiptoe.
My bedroom was on the first floor, ab~ove
an entr-esol, and looked into a back street. I
raised my hand to open the window, knowing
that on that action hung, by tire merest hair's
breadth, my chance of safety. They keep
vigilant wateh in a House of Murder. If arny
part of the fenrme cracked, if the hinge creak
ed I was a lost miruu ! It munst hase veccupied
me at leasit five mintutus, reckening by timne
-five ours, reckoidnng by ens pense-to openr
that window. I surc-ceeded int doing it silently
-in doing it with all the dexterity of a honse
breaker-anrd then looked downr into thestreetb
To leap the distance beneath rme would be ad
most certniin destrucetiori ! Next, I. looked
round at the sides of the house. hIownr the
left side ran thethic-k water-pipe; it passedl the
edgeof the winidow. Thre mnomnnnt Isaw the pip'-,
I knew I wias saved. .\ly breath caime anrd
went freely for the first time since I hal seenm
the canopy of the bed moving downr upon ime I
To some men the means of escape wIch I
had discovered might have seemied ditlicult
and dangerous enrough-to me the prospect of
slipping down the pipe into the street did not
suggest even a thought of peril. I had al
ways been neenwstomred, by the psraet ice of
gymnastics, to keep up rmy schoolboy ponwers
as a daring and expert climber; and knew
that my head, hands, arid feret would seire me
faithfully int airy hrnzards of a'seent or dc-ent.
I had already'got oire leg over the winadow
sill whren I retrmmbered the haudkerec.ief fill
ed with miony uner my pilloiv. I could well
hrve afforded to leave it behind nme, but I was
revengefully determninred that the misereanrts
of the gamibling-house should miss their plun
der as well as their victimi. So I wvernt back
to thre lied arid tied the heavy hndkerchtief at
my hack hby my cravat.
.Just as I had made it tight and fixed it in
a comfot~rtable place, I thunghrt I heard a
souindi oh bireathting outside th,e dotr. TIhre
c-lill feelitng iof horrowr run thtroungh rre again
as I listenedh. Nio I ideatd silentc still in tire
passage-I hadh only hreardl the night-air blow
inig softly irnto tire roomi. Tire next mroment I
was on the winidow-sill--and tire next I had a
fim grip otr tire water-pipe with my hands and
knees.
I slid dlgwtr into the street easily and qriiet
ly, as~ I thought I should, and immediately
s er f ata tnh trpm. n.ped a ban
".Prefecture" of Police, which I knew was
situated in the immediate neighborhuod. A
"Sub-prefect," and several picked men among
la subordinates, happened to be up, muaturinr,
I b lieve, some scheme fr discoveriig tle
perpetrator of a mysterious murder which all
Paris was tialkinig Of just then. when I begin
my story, in a breathless hurry and in very
bad French. I could see that the Sub prefect
suspected me of being a drunken Englishman
who had robbed somebody ; but he soon al
tered his opinion as I went on, and before I
had anything like concluded, he shoved all
the papers before him into a drawer, put on
his hat, supplied me with another (fur I was
hare-headed,) ordered a file of soldiers, desired
his expert followers to get ready all sorts of
tools for breaking open doors and ripping up
brick-flooring. and took my arm, in the inost
friendly and familiar manner po.ssible, to lead
me with him out of the house. I will venture
to say. that when the Sub-prefect was a little
boy, and was taken for the first time to the
Play, lie was not half as mIch pleased as he
was now at the job in prospect fur him at the
gambling-house!
Away we went through the streets, the Sub
prefect cross-examining and congratulating
me in the same breath as we marched at the
head of our formidable posse comitatts. Sen
tinels were placed at the back and front of the
house the moment we get to it; a tremen
dous battery of knocks was directed against
the door; a light appeared at the window; I
was told to conceal myself behind the police
-then came more knock.z, and a cry of
" Open in the name of the law !" At that
terrible summons bolts and locks gave way
before an invisible hand, and the moment
after the Sti'o-prefect was in the pasage, con
fronting a -w:.iter :all-trtssed and gbastly
p Ve. his.was the short dialogue which im
mediately took place :
" We want to see the Englishman who i.s
sleeping in this house."
"Ile went away hours ago."
" Ie did no such thing. His friend went
away; he remained. Suow us to his bed
room !
'-[ swear to you, Mmsieur le Sous-prefet,
he is nut here! e- " '
"I swar to you, Monieur le Garcon he
is. le l.-pt h.,re-e didu't find your bed
comfortable-be came to us to complain of it
-here he is among my men-and here am I
ready to look for a flea or two in his bed
8te:ad. Renaudin! (calling to one of the
subordinates, and pointing to the waiter)
collar that nin, and tie his hands b. hind
him. Now, then, gentlemen, let us walk up
tairs !" -
Every man and woman in the house w n
seenred-the " Old Soldier" the fir.t. Tned
I identified the bed in whtch I had slept, an
then we went into the room above.
No object that was at all extra-irlinary ap
peared in any part of it. rhe Sub-prefect
looked round the place, comnn Jed every
body to be silent, tamped twice on the floor,
called for a candle, looked attentively at the
spot he hal stam:;e I on, an-I ordered the
flooring there to be caref-elly aktn up. -This
was done in no time. Lights were rroduced,
and we saw a deep raftered cavity betu een
the floor of this room and the ceiling of the
room beneath. Th-rough this cavity there
ran perpendicularly a o-t of case of iron
thickly greased ;,and-in-ide the ca nppear
9 he screw, whch commuiicated with the
bed-top below. Extra lengths of screws,
freshly f ied ; levers covered with felt; all
the complete upper works of a heavy press
ontructed wita infernal ingenuity .;o as to
in the fixtures below, and when taken to
pieces again to go into the s imdlest po~sible
-omnp:s-were next di-cuvered and pulled
,ut on the floor. After some little difficu!tv
te Sub-prefect succeeded in putting the
achinery to.:ether, anl leaving his nimen to
work it de.cende'd with tie to the iedrooi.
The sNotherimg caiopy was then lowered,
but i.ot so noikeles:.ly as I Vad seen it lower
el. When I mentioned thi, to the Sub-pre
eet, his answer, simple as it was, had a
errible sigoificance. "Miy muen," satid he,
are working down the bed-top for the first
ite-the nmen whose money you-won were
in bet ter practice."
We left thme house in the sole possession of
w' polica agents-every one of the inmates
being removed to Iprison on the spot. The
Sub-prefect, after taking dowvn my "'proces
:cr-at' in his office, returned wit It me to my
otel to get my pasport. " Do y'on thitnk,"
[ askedl, as I gave it to him, that any mhen
bai e r-enlly been smothered in that bed, as
hey tied to smother me /
J'I have seen denset- of drowned men laid
t ait the Mrue,' aniswerm-e' thte Sub-pre'
feet, in whointse ~po-ket-books- we-re thund let
ters, stating that they hnd cammtnttedl suticide
n the Seiine, because they had lost every thing
t the grauming-tabele. I )o I know how n.any
f thmse tmen entered the s~tn am ulinig-hout
hat /ou entered ? won as i/oul wonm ? took
hatzt hed as y/r took it ? sit-pt in it I were
unotheredl in it ? antd were pr-ivately thrtiownm
into the river, withI a letter ot expl stnan
witro by tl~e murnderers and laced in itir
rocket-books 1 No mant can sty htow mamy
r how few have sulIfered the fate fronm which
you have e-capied. TIhe peopile of the pmi
hling-house kept their- bedstead tmac.inecry a
secret from u.s-even from the polieu! T he
dead kept the retif the secret fir themt.
od night, or rather good motring; Mott
~ieur Faulkner! -.Be at my oll.e again at
nine o'clock--in the mec ntime, ant rc roir!"P
The rett of my story is sooni told. I was
xamined and re-examined ; the gambling
ouse was strictly seat lched all through from
top to bottom; tie prienners were sepi'rgely
lterroated ; and tWo of the itts gillty
mten.~g shevm made n confession. I dlciover
d that the Olud Soldier was tho mnaster of
the gamnblintg-houtse-jevice discovered that
e atd hbeen drtummteed out of. the army as a
vagabond years ago ; that he had been guilty
ef all sorts of villanies since ; that lie was in
possession elf stolen property, which the ownt
ers identdfied ; an I thmat he, the croupier,
mother acceomphtce, and the w-oman who hadl
nade my cup of coffe-e, were all in the secret
~the bedstead. There appeared some reason
to d-m1 .t wvhether the inferior per- ocs at tached
to the house knew anythiing of the suffocating
ntachitery ; and they t-ecetved the benefit of
bat doubt, by being treated simply as thieves
md vagabond'. As for the Old Soldier and
his two head-mtyrmidons, they went to the
;l!eys; the woman who I a drugged my
:ffee was imprismued for [ forget how many
yert; the regul:mr attendants at the gamn
bling-ouse we-re considered "suspiciouts,"
nd plaecd under " surveitlanee;'' and I be
cae, for 'ane whole wveek (which is. a long
tie,) the Lead "lion" ini Parinian soiciety.
My tadventuro was dratumtized by three illus
ti.ius playmatkers, heat never saw theatrica)
ayhight; for the censorship forbade thu -
troduction on the st age of a correct copy of
the gambling-house bedstead.
One good result was produced by my ad
venture which any censorship muitst have ap
povedl;--it cureed me of ever again trying
" Ruge et Noir" as an amusement. The
sight of a green cloth, witht packs of cards
ud heaps of money on it, will henceforth be
for ever associated in mtintd witht the sight oif
a itb-cattopy descending to aulf.,cate mae int
the silenuce and dar-kness of thme might.
Patuovmo.-" What makes you so grunm,
Tom ?"
" Oh, I had to enidure a sad trial to my
feelings.'
" What on earth was it 7".
" Why, I had to tie on a pretty girl's bon
et arkile her mama was lookinir on.
From the Mlemphis Eagle ant Enqiuirer.
I Love this Glowing Southern Clime.
BY FRANK MYRTLE.
I love this glowing Southern climo,
With skies so wildly bright;
Where reigns one constant sweet spring time,
So full of fond deligtht;
Where flowers are blooming all the year,
As beautifully fair,
As if the floral queen had made
Ifer fragrant palace there.
I love the Southern sringsters note,
The balmy zephyr's breath,
Where perfumed strains of mushe float,
Front out the forestsa depth ;
Where blithesome hearts are warm, and true
As ever breathed a prayer,
And where enchanting pleasures woo
The soul to linger there.
I love the Southern twilight hour,
It breathes a holy spell,
While musing'neath the orange bower,
Or in some fairy dell;
I love its starry heavens by night,
Its dewy moonlit eyes,
Where Luna's silvery beams of light,
Gleam through the orange leaves.
You speak to me of happy homes,
For in the snowy North ;
I know the heart, where'er it roams,
Will love its native hearth ;
But say. is nut this Southern clime,
So heautifully fair,
Morolovely in its sweet spring time
Than aught you cherish there ?
Fifty-Two.
I'm fifty-two to-day, Tom,
I'm- fifty-two to day;
My limbs are growing weaker,
My hairs are turning gray
Yet, it does not seem so long, Tom,
Since I was young as youI
And scarcely can I realize,
That I am fifty-two.
I've witnessed many changes,
I have seen bright hopes decay,
And all the dreatns of early lifo
Like shadows pass away. .
I've drank of sorrow's bitter cup,
Now scarce know what to do;
Yet, still I hope for better days,
Although I'm fifty two,
I've been deceived and flattered, Tom,
Defrauded of my right;
otill flu I trust in Him above,
It can't be always night.
A day of brightuess yet will dawn, t
The right I will pursue, U
And trust in God's good Providence,
Although I'm fifty-two.
Good lessons have learned in life, t
Among them I have found,
Though friends are very few indeed,
Acquaintances a'.onnd.
I'll trust my own exertionp, Tom,
An upright course pursue, t
And keep a bright and trusting heart,
Though I am fifty.two.
An Unfortunate Individual. 9
The fact is, Jake, I nnst have been born on I
a Friday, fI.r I'm the most unlcky man born
in old l'ike. We'll, the fac.t is, I aint had nto
uek sitnce you left here, and how in the
hunder rIm alive now is mnore'n I can tell. ~
L bout the end of Decetmber, thte old man told
me to take eight bales o' cotitont to MIontgome- ~
y and sell it, and ef I wanted to get any littleC'
raps for myself' to do it. Well, I took the
otton to Montgomery anal soldl it fnr ten ce'nt- ~
apound', and it 'twatnt two hours after that, I
act Joe Sparks, who had sold1 fourtten bales ~
f wus cotton than mine fur eleven ents a f
ond-el' he didnt't i'll be darned I Well, I ~
tryedl roundt~ about Montgomery fur two days '
eein'~ th' sig hts, and at lasit Jloe and me meets C
up with lit n esctt. As we weare agoi ng to '
au:tre foar homte netxt tmotnan!. We thiout~hL we
rouldl have a gooad time oft it that night ; so
e wetnt to~ a ruestyraunt, or whaatevtr's the ~
amte olf it, to htave a good bit of suthin to r
at. A tall felcer, with a .eet tied on front, ~
ome into the stall where we was se'ttin, and ~
i:.mtmten(ed( a bowint and scrapin and grinnin, ./
od hatnde.d Ben a programt. Ben .hnaded it r
tai e ause he coul.hat read, and I made out ~
Li read.. "shad," r;ghtt on the to~p of it. Now, ~
Ja', yon tteedtt't laught, fur I never seed at
had in all my life till thent, anal I albttrs took .
p atn idea, tit a shad we.re at fisht about the II
ze'.a of' a pyvreh. an I could eut htalt' a do'zent d
yireh any' 'time, and reckoned iBen and Joe '
aold do0 the suite; so I just told the fellow r
ith the sheet on, t.,bring alotngeighteen shad, a,
nd hauve them tried brown at that I Well, we e
et there and talited and talked, attd the shad Y
idn't conme, till bimehy Joe stat ted to go call is
he feller, wyhen he met three niggers a comhin, f'
atd each nigger had a tray with six ahtad in
t. Great ('olly, Jakea, ef J'the kleeet of thecm
had11 WaLIt a foS lony~, I wish I may be dern-, I
'I ? .tty. I book hel'',~retger i at doJ you f
all ihmem etre?"
"Shad," says he.
" Shad !" enave 1.
"Ye,. sir," says he ; "t antd fine ones too- e
frst of thet seasait, sir."'
"What's the tac on em?" saya I. y
"$3 apiece," saeys he, r
Jake, was you over kicked by a mule? If ~
ou was, you tmought know about how I felt.
as I
"Boys, I'll pay for the fish; but ef I eat ,
nny of' 'eta I hope they way choke me I" g
I gave the feller $34 outen the old man's t
money, anid as I was goin out, he hollered at e
e and told me to give him a call next time t
came back to Montgomery. Jake, you know a
I'm not a very stout man, but i'm reckened r
ome up in Pike, and if he'd beeii thar, in- ?
tead of Motntgotmery, there's no tellini' how I
ighit have disligured that face of his'n.
Well, I leltlien antd Joe a setting thar, and
rentt to the hotel and got into bed. That s
itight, somteboidy busted open the dour wvhile I t
as asleep anal'took nmy breeches and every a
arned cetnt of tire old matn's money. Thar i c
as, Jake, with tno mnoney and no breehes, a
nd what to do I didn't ktow. I was afraid '
o go home without the nmotney; the old man a
would have never got over me. I sent fori
en Wescott, and borrowed twenty-five dol- a
ae and a pain of breeches f'rom him, and took 1
the first boat for Mobile, and I be darned if
i'd stop this side of Texas, if I cou'd helpi it.
Whena we got down to Selmy, it was night,I
ad I went' atshiore while they was takin itn
otton.' J ust as the boat was a startitt' a fel
en staeps ttp and sez he, " mister, wish'd y-ou'd
ive tme a halt' dollar for two qutarters." 1
ive him the' half, took the two qutarters, and.
he boat started. I looked at the quarters as
oon as I got into the cabin of the boat, and
ake, I be dogonn'd if they wasn't both five
ollar gold pieces. I didn't say a word to
obody,. btit I reckon I struck a litne for my
state room about as fast as anything you I
mves se , r far some one woald ea and1
elain the money. Next morning T went to
the bar and took a drink. By the by, Jake,
they keep mighty nice licker on the boat. I
drunk the whiskey and slapped down one of
my gold pieces, and told him I had no smal.
ler change. The feller looked at the money
%har? and looked at me sharper, anil bimeby
he says, sorter savageous Ake. "look hers
stranger, where did you get that ?"
Well, I wasafraid to tell him how I rot it,
ind so says [ boldly, "I gut it in Mont
gomery."
"1Well, it's a counterfeit," says he, "it aint
wort h a cent."
I run my hand in my p icket and took out
the other gold piece, and showed it to him.
und I wish I may be darned, Jake, if they
wuasn't both counterfeit.
It was no use a talkin'; I knowed I was
nnocent, but then there was two counterfeits.
mud they swore I was trying to pass apurious
noney. They run to my state room to
iearch my baage; they jist swore I wawn't
dIl right, for they said a man a is all rirlit
md etquar', don't generally travel all the way
'rom Pike county to Texas witiont soie
3aggage. The barkeeper and the taate, and
tae captain and the cook, all rared and char
ed and got the passengers toge-ther, and
.hey held a confab and finally agreed to be
asy on me. They wouldn't take me to
Iobile and put me in jail, but they just run
he boat agin the bank, put out a plank, and
old me to make telegraph time in gettin' off.
hike, I knowed I was innocent, and told 'em
11), but it was no use. I reckon I got off
hat boat quicker'n I got on it.
The place whar they put me out was a
eg'lar cane brake, and the mud was about
wo feet deep. I got out after a while, and
walked two miles before I got to any house,
n-I when the derned niggers see'd tme, they
ikt the dogs on me, and tired am I was,
here wasn't one of em could ketch' me.
Vell, I wandered about from polace to place,
ill at last I got down here to Mobile. Iliad
little money left from payin' my passage
t Montgomery, and got me some common
lothes. Waitin' round here to se.- if I could
nd anybody that knowed me anti help me
in to Texas, the guard took me up as a eu
icious character, found the same gold piL-ces
n my pocket when they searched me, sa-l
:ept me In the guard-house till they couhi
laId out sumthin' about me, and I'd been
here yit if I hadn't thought of you, and told
em you knowed me. You're a trump, Jake,
nd I reckon I'll- take your advice-go back
ome and tell the old man a straight truth
bout the matter.
We heard " Jake" tell him to call at his
tore the next morning and get some money;
fter which we left, cogitating upon the glori4
us uncertainty of appearances, the ficklenes6
f fortune, and the high price of shad.
How to Keep the Baby Quiet.
See th'e mother has a contented mind
hat's the best recipe I know of. Always
2eet her with that smile which the immor
l "Guide to Wives." recomnnmends them,
nder mountain loads of perplexity and pro
ocation, to keep on hand for their husband-.
)on't imagine because home looks cosy and
onifortable when you return to it at night,
hat it is well either for the baby's sake, or
ts mother's, that you should never take the
iter out of it for relagation and fresh. air,
)1, if you but knew how a woman loves' a
man for occasionally thinking of these little
hing-little to you, but great to us. I
now it is less trouble, if your purse is well
Lied, to step into a milliner's and order home
new bonnet, which so many wires have
ranted to throw out the wiandt.w, for very
itterness of spirit, had they dared. A bn
et which your ostrich husband fancies will
ver all his conjugal selfishness, anti sins of
mission and commission. ie had rather
ive her this than draw the boots on his slip
ered feet after tea, and take the weary wfe
nd mother out for the fresh air; and t eon
c wonders why " the baby worries," and
ceps both awake all naight, and why its
other's eyes look so r-ayless, and why she
eaves that little sigh whent he sits duwn to
rd his newspapers; and then he settles
own to the coumfortable conclusion that,
after all, there is no understanding women,"
nd reads on. Sometimes he says "Alt," or
Oh," or " by Jove," but nobody but himself
nows whether a steamboat is burned up, or
fty people have been made mincemeat of~ by
Railroad accident; or Bonner bas gol
nother "illustrious contributor," or the tail
f the comet hats swished throngh the milky
ray. lie is too iazy even to talk about it.
Now, " bonnets" don't cure the heart-aciae;
n. all the rings and bracelets yoatu'ss into a
romd. lap, (I speak of~ a true womnan,) are
t worth one clasp of your arms rtound her
eek, when you conic home from your place
f bausiness. We~ don't wanst forecer to take it
>r yranted thsal you lore usy.. We are de
onstrative, we women. There is no needi
Syour breaking your hacks to pick up our
ankerchie.f as you used, in the old courting
mes; (heavens l how you stepped round
iten i}neithier do we want you, after hang
g up your coat and list in the bail, to sit
own int the parlor amnd cross your legs,
rithout ever coining up stairs to give us the
eturn kins, which is potent to make us forget
Ii thec little musquito stinging household an
oyances, which are but a feather's weight
rhen our hearts are light and happy : for it
not work, which make leaden hearts and
motteps. F.tm Fgix.
Ax EDrroR's Dmv~ns or A Faiaxa,-An
itor, vindlicating the private chnracter of as
'end, who hmas h'.,n, nailed fur the crime of
icoi stealing, thuoleirends hiumn I
We have known Mr. Thomas for twelve
ears. Wir acquaintantce commeined with the
reat equinoxial storm, which blew down onr
randfahr's barn. At that time lhe was a
oang nma, in the prime of life, and, we think,
ised the best marrowfat peas that we ever
te. He wits a good mathematiciat,e kind to
se poor, anad trodbled with fits. In all the
lanons of husbanid, father, uncle, and trustee!
f common lands, he has followed the directI
andard of duty. Mr. Thomas is at this time
rtythree years of age, slightly marked with
se small pox; an estimable citizen, a church
tember, and a man of known integrity for
i years. And as to sheep stealing, that
e would have done it if he could get an op.
ortunity, is without foundai in in point of
Iet. Mr. Thomas could have stolen onur lead
e~'cil several times, but he didn't'ado it.
A San MIImAK. -A man livinag near Nash
ile, who had been absent in California some
ree years, ott comning home recenttly, found
babe only three nonths old lying in the
radle. With a cruelby utterly diabolical, he
t once cut off the infant's ears to avenge his
wonded honor." 'The screams of the little
ufferer called in the family ; when the infur
ited man learned that the child belonged to
neighbor wbo was visitinig his wife ; but he
ad to flee to escape a lynaching.
Captain Travis, who is said to be the best
istol shot in the world, sent a ball last week,
ys a Washington paper, through, a box of
he diameter of a half a dollar, held between
le thumb and forefinger of his servant, at
le distanace of fourteenm paces. lIe also struck
n the center a half dimte held between his
-n feet.
Jerry Diggs remembered his miserly uncle
n his will, for he bequeathed "to my mother's
..tra. gn-flint and a knife to akin It
sentence or anranam Hineaaia. -
For the Murder of Jam- t-SriMand--By
Judge Jihn Belton (WeU-Spring1mi*
l8M9. -
Auxnu.ut STrwLAND:-hi great duty of
prepuring you to meet the stern -realities of
the law, is now to be -performed-, and I ap.
proach it with a greater desh to reach your
heart than in moist other eses. For 1 feel
that you must di! that there is no hope of
mercy on earth fur such a poor guilty creature
as Iou are.
loung man, review your past lifeI HAS it
been one ot indulgence in strong drink, in
gaminig, in swearing, in desecrating the Lord's
1ay, in wearing concealed deadly weapons,
and iu fiyhting? I" it has been io spedt,
young as you are, there is a fearful amount
of crime to be cunsidered.
The bloody tragedy which you ensoted'on
the night of the lath of March, at Smoke's
Cross Roads, must be next presented to your
mind. On that night, without a moment's
warning, you slew your uncle. With all his
sins on his lea 1-with the awful- oaths with
which he had polluted his lips, in taking the
name of the living God in vain-in lis drun
ken moments-you rushed him out of time
ito the preienee of tLe awful Judge of qui&
and dead I rita what inmeasurable horrors,
n.to what unending tormnqats, have you con.
signed him! Think. oh, think, that you can
hear his lost spirit, as it sinks from the pres.
ence of God toward the lake which burns
with fire adis brimstone, crying out, "Lost,
lost, forever l.st I" and then ask your sou
what firfeit you ought to pay:? A few short
years here can be no equiadent.
In yo .r cell, in larkniess and light, will not
the bloody image of yoni slsin uncle stand by
yoar side, and point to his gaping. wounds,
and say you did it? Retember, Tpray you,
the bloody scene, when you struck blow after
blow upon the bead, shoukier, a-m and side,
of your drunken uncle; remember that hig
blood was poured out like rain on the leaves
upon which you stood; that your clothes,
your hands, and knife, were covered with it.
Recolleet, that wi.hout a word from .im, with
his hand sacked in your collar, and, perhaps,
one hand on your hair, you gave ham seem
wounde! I desire to any to you, and ask on
to remember it, that I have been for fortyi ve
years next month, as a lawyer ad a judge,
connected with the administration of js*9
antd in that time, more than one hundred eases
of homicide have passed under my review,
and I have met with few Cases where such
fiendish cruelty was exhibitadas in your case,
You were drunk atd a demon that fiend.
ish disposition which had indu you again
and again to threaten the life of your uncle,
was developed by the poisoned liquid which
you swalled at the grog-shop, on that fatal
night. Do not suppose tbat drankenness is
any execse before God or man, for your
bloody deed. It is rather an aggravation.
I turn now fromn you, to your young and
newly-weddel wife. Will you turn with me
and bend over her tears ? Oh, let, at least,
her agony, let her lamentation for the hu.
band of her youth awaken some pity, some
f.eling, some remorse, in your blood-stained
and guilty heart.
But above all, young man, prepare to die I
to die -a Vbristian a death, and with a Chris.
tiau's hope. You have spon to pass.through
the dark val y of the shadow of death- it it
be not lightil by' thd Sun* of'3iliteotuansu,
it wiU be dark and full of unimaginaid I or.
rurs.
Let me urge it opon you-pray to God,
wrestle with him and say, as old Jacob did
"11 will not let thee go except thou bless me.'1
Such a prayer may open the gates of Heaven.
It may be that you have your Savio.r's pray
er, "Father, forgive himt for he knew not
what he did." 1 have been told you wished
to be baptized; you must first be reconciled
to Uod ; you usust feel and know that you
have " passed from death unto life." if you
can say, as the Etnuch did to Phillip, "I be
lieve that Jesus Christ is the Son of God,"
rou may be, as he was, baztized; and if, in.
eed, he vouchsafes so .give you the liv'ng
faith, I hope, before you go hence, you may
be buried tm baptism, and rise to newness of
li.e.
Poor, guilty young man, my heart bleeds
fr you. I know that you are the child
of ignoranos and vice ; your life of tweatty.
three years has not been illuminated,- by a
single ray of goodntess. All, all in the past
is dark and gloomy. The thunder of Gjod's
vengeance is rolling over your head. He is
aout to say, " Cut him down, why eumbereth
he the ground ?'' Haste to the out-stretched
arms of thte Saviour I He says " Come."~ Oh,
come to him, and live forever..
The sentence of the law--is: That yo.: le
taken hence to the place whence you last came,
anad there, that yo.: to closely.ands.oely con
fimed suntil Friday, the 17th day of June next,
on which day, between tl.e hours of 10 in tl.o
frentoon and 2 itt the af~ernoon, you wili ,e
taken by the Sheritf of Colleton District to
the place of public execution, and there be
ungf by your neck till your body be dead
and may the L~ord have mercy on you r soul.
-Co4eton Sun.
FLOasU. F.uat.-'I he Ladies of the Calhoun
Mnuumentt Associat:on propose opening a
"lFloral Fasir - at thue Hall of the South Caro
lina Institute, in Cli. rleston, 8.0C., on the 10th
f May next, l'or the purpose of sceurinag ad.
itiontal aid for thae conu-mtplated Monument
to the late John C Calhoun. Th'.v have by their
fors accumulated about *30,000, which
is held in safe and remunerative tuvestments,
T'hey propoae--should the roceeds of the
approaching ~'air warrant 16-0forthwith
commenec! the work to which they haye
plusIgdtmve ijetgy' and solliL by advertise.
ment ini another column, the avorable eone
siderationa of the patariotlo throughout the
State, to aid thei in this ifotas tunderta
king. With the amount at~ i'aised and
the rich piro .ie or the ftire, thycannot but
feel austhorize~d in saying that te" consutfi'
mation so devoutly wished for " will soon be
reaied.-Clb.,rlestonl Mercury, 27th ApriL
COUar PRaCTICE ix TaN Dstcf 6,
Co~cnrA.-The telegraphicro re of the
Sckles trial for the Ahswcisted Prsgives
the followintg mode of proee-Hngs Inthe
Courts at Washington, on the closing oft
ase t
The m ie of' proceedure here Is aninewhat
peculiar. After the evidence is closed, eihef
,ie tmay ak the Court for Instructions to the
jry on the law, and If no' one askas, the
Judge hias nothing whtatever to say to the
jury in the way of charging them. If I..
structions are asked by the one side and
objected to by the other, the matter is argued,
atd, after the argument, the Judge-intuots
the jury, when the smiaming up speeches are
made, the counsel for the prsction havig
the last word. The Ju gsbnethlfagfl
to say to the jury. lu$Ii use, Ithe.
ction do not ask for~intruc*ions,thed~io
will not, attd thuas asgameint on thatt
will be avoided, and..the Judge willI e
no right to Instruct theijury. '
WILArM~a TELLr OuT-oNL-We uaw a
sportsman of this- city, os' Saturday last,
shoot an apple frem the head of a friend, wih
a rifle. The apple was plumped nsl
through the centre, anmd the young mian who
had made a target of irmsetr seemed to se
gard the mnatter as -a very good joke!. By
request we oit giving giames, but-,onch for
the truth of the stateinent. .The--distance
was sbout fifteen feet, and wewere sh~
two-apples that had bWa hitin the ssme~iay
- sioato our arivid.-Uardhrd Gitmrai

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