Martinsburg gazette and public advertiser. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1826-1833, 1830-01-28
Fyom .fckurwan's Forget me Not "
THE TEMPTfNG MOMENT.

l Seven towns C0nteDdSd TOT tue ulSllncuOn
of having gwen birth TO Homer. Had Gil
bert Ghrmes, q man, as hope to show OF
no contemplate genies IN ms way, been the
| subject OF similar discussion, one might
| have yenfured shrewd guess Al the place Of
| his nativity only know that he was not
born In Scotland, for every town an that
kingdom has umeqIiyecally disclaimed the
honor. \ small maIlsc: town ia Kent, hows
| yer. IL not the place of his birth, was the the
stre of his achievements. lie was the son Of
reputable parents, who were, to use the sig
niiicant expression of certain sect, "toltra-
bly, well To do IN the world"
In the Uranium OF Gilbert Ghumes the organ
of appropriation was very early aud prom
nen1iy developed His infancy even was
iruiifulin evidences Of THIS fact. Among bis
brother. and sisters he was constantly effect
ing transfer. of property, chiefly invested in
sugar plnns and gingerbread, from the cl-
der by strata gem, and irom the younger by
force. His incursions on the laFder and the
store closet we're sise truly formidable: many
a clrrant-tart, which had been dcslyncd 10
soiace the .tomscbs and besmear the faces OF
some FIVE or SIX expectant urcfnns, was pre-
maturely diverted to his sole use and adore
ment
His genius continued to unfold itself 40 he
grew into boy hood, and accordingly, we find
MN, at the early age OF sevea, the rlngieader
of conspiracy ior the abstraction OF certain
apples f-om the al freseo bazaar of female
fruit merchant, who. having been ground IN
to forgetfuiness by an itinerant professor Of
the organ, afforded to the juvenile depreda
tore their opportunity, and to the world an
example Of the disasterous consequences Of
taking Morpheus as q sleeping partner IN the
concerns CT trade This fragment OF GIibert's
history, arising out OF the first tempting
moment" ofwhich be had awaited himself iii
public. wa. communicated 20 me by the mas
ter Of the freeschooi, who, happening to be
und@r the operation of shaving on he opposite
side Of the market place, witnessed the ex-
plot.
In order TO dissolve certain associations in
which feats of similar kind had involved
him, bis parents determined on sending hun
20 boarding school IN remote county: a
measure, however, which rather tended TO
foster tipe talents 1t was designed TO dIscour
age. lie early distinguished himself by sal
lying forth from the window OF his dorDtory,
one moonlight night, with his pillow case as
4 succedancum for a sack, and returned ioa-
ded with the spoiis of nighborinG garden.
This notable loraywa. followed by complaints
from the proprietor for the spoilingot his gar
spelling Of the pillow case He was mulcted
of SIX weeks pocket money to indemnify the
one, and soundly fiogeed for the satisfaction
of the other The hogging was, of course.
SET down to the fortune ofwars for which there
was no remedy but patience and beef Urine.
Not 80 the mucture--tor a second and undis-
covered attack upon the apple orchard redu-
ced tAe cost of his former booty iisy per cent.
Al thus period Of bis life he yves q tall, bat
ll-proportioned and ungainiy boy; and, altho'
ne bore lis head AS upright as most persons,
he Ind remarkable dislike to looking any
one full in the face, hut rcQuiied the Glance
OF another by the instant aversion of his own
His very limbs appeared to be rather acguir-
Ell than natural property, and to have be-
lonGed originally to some one else. As he
could not be kept al school all his life, it be-
came necessary for his friends to determine
on his future path in the world. The very
confused aud indistinct notions which te en-
tertalned OF meSHa and tJSHa. were formidable
objections to his embarking In trade. The
profession vi arms ws5srepUgnant alike TO his
views and MS taste, inasmuch as little was
to be gained from it but kurels, which he
we'll knew bore no fruit The organ of bss-
trucuVeness was not powerfully enough de
'vejoped IN has chronological system TO ensure
success TO him in physlc; and it would have
been stark madness to consign his peculiar a.
bibles to'so contracted sphere as the church.
IL was, therefore, at last resolved, in that,
order to secure him against a premature ac-
quantance with the practice OF the law, he
should devote q few years TO the study of the
theory; and he was accordingly articled to
Nicholas NiSht,hade, a pettliogging alter
ney IN his native town.
Nicholas had sldden, win not say risen.
into considerable practice and comparative
wealth by undertaking business with which
no respectable member of the profession
would pollute his hands He was a short,
round figure, of dark compile Aion, with an
overhanging forehead, HUSKY brows, small
shut piercing eyes, a nose somewhat hooked,
and a neither lip, which projecting cousidera-
oiy beyend the upper, impaired a simgularly
shreWd, but SINISTER expression TO his coun-
te1ancs. lie was of rather frugal habits;
wine he never tasted, it had, indeed, been
too genel Gus a liquor for him-ssa vi,ao ccritas
Porterwss his nectar, but though he quafied
IT freely, it never muddled his brain, the mar
cetc and dclcterious ingredients of his pota-
| tons appearing te have been absorbed by his
heart. for It was poisoned 90 its very core
Hilbert Ghrmes friends, who were
worldly and tar-castipg set, in placing him
with such man, had specialized upon hrs
discovering, IN his rev profession, a field for
legallzed depreciation so extensive as to leave
him little -indueementfor exploring any other
But they calculated not upon The force of gen
aus; ior, before the term of his probation had