Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-05-17

STAT DIS kiON 4 N 49,
had exchanged the regions ofsafe quiet and
rustic simplicity for those of wild misrule
and rapine. Her chains made an instan-
taneous impression upon the heart Of Mu-
nuza. who removed Pelagius from his
court IN the same manner taat Roderic had
removed Julian. He then announced to
Ormesinda the violent passion which he en-
tertained for her, and offered to make her
his wife but when she declared that she
would never dispose Of her person but with
the app1obation of her brother, dnding that
hobe deferred maketh sbe heart sick, he pro-
ceeded to crafty his appetite by violence.
Upon the return OF Pelagius, the wretched
Ormesinda announced to him her ~nrepera-
bic misfortune, and as Munuza, who still
continued his promises of marriage, failed
to carry them into effect, Pelagius made
a solemn VOW of revenge /; but his ven-
geaflce, like chat of C~ollatinus, was the ven
gearce OF an honest man and a patriot
Withdrawing himself and his violated sis
ter J1nQm the power Of the petty tyra5lt,
w patronage he had SO lately consider
e hfording him the only chance Of e
merging from obscurity and iasigniGcal1ce,
he again sought the rugged regions Of AS
turia, where he calculated, and With rea-
son, as the event evinced, p 0 finding.
powerful resources in The affection ana hde-
lily pfthe inhabitants of the mountains,
His retreat was a thunderbolt to Munu-
"a. Deprived of the possession Of the
charming 0rmesinda, his passion encreas.
ed in violence, and he resolved to use eve
~ exertion, per fas ct netfas, 20 regain the
object ofhis desires. 90 the viceroy Mou-
sa he denounced Pelagius as a rebel who
had wandered to the mountains with aview
to organize instruction anon the Chris
tians who had not submitted to the Caliph's
empire, The report was credited BY Mou-
.sa, who immediately Sent a body Of troops
70. Munuza, with which be Instantly ON
sr4Aased his march, intending to surprize
ped Ms in his retreat, OF the situation Of
which had obtained information. Pcla-
,gius &ut a mornen to escape, Cros-
sing tRssVer, upon one of the banEs of
which !hshad been encampcd, and enter
ing the ds6les OH theopposite side, hetook
post at a place called II NgNs de Caneos, a
situation similar to that in which Jonathan
Of old performed such wonders, fortified by
a Boncz and Seneh, ashorp rock on thr opr
sids, aid a shmpfoc& or tie other sidr, and
surrounded by " inaccessible iaouasains.d
To those mountains a great multitude Of
people had retired, Subsequent to the aisas-
trous hattie Ct Heres. 10 adore their God
and their Redeemer in these sequestered
solitudes, 20 nffra99iction zviM tie ht9blc
dGod, appeared TO those pious pilgrims
of the moansain and the forest, a much
more enviable lot than to enjog The bleQg1uss
At SIN Jar q seas0n, OF egen for ages. The
rustic cross erected in the vicinity Of eyery
fountain, or in the midst Of every copse,
consoled them for the absense of all the e.
~legancies and embellishmen of life
Combining, as far as was practicable, the
operations of agricultural industry, with
the patriarchal ~emplovments of the shep-
herd and the hunter, they lived In peace
and piety, regardless of the agitatioas of
the busy and bloody scene from which they
had escaped.
The world forgetting, by the world forget
Having happily found I" .alodge in the vast
wilderness" an almost g boundless CONT
guilty Of shade they had nothing more TO
ask of the Divine Being who thus c%ontinu-
ed to them the free exercise of theirreli-
gion, but that the g rulno of war might
never reach them more" Hence the nos
tile approach Of Munuza filed them with
confusion and CONSERVATION. Courage they
possessed in abundance, but they had no
hope of the restoration of their country to
an honorable rank among the nations, and
anxious only to 6 pass a Life of piety and
peace" they were DESTROYS to avoid another
-. Q,,& r,,+I 4La oJS,oIx 800 -. c,I L..