Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1831-12-01

without our special wonder hd-6eh.
Many proverbial expressions arc founded ON
experience. "fhe unguarded hour" is one Of
them; and il has become SD common, that few Of
those who oftenest employ it are aware of the
mystery to which it alludes. 1t conveys the be-
lief that mankind are each protected by super
natural guardian. Itimplies also, that the angel
at times quits his post, and that in the interim,
"the unguarded hour" the defenceless mortal is
liable to be assaulted by the insidioHs temptations
Of the universal adversary. Whether this i'm
pressive thesis be all hypothesis an apocalypse,
1t battles the human understanding. 1t cannot
be rejected as altogether earthly and Of mortal
Imagination, nor accepted ss divine and Of celes-
tial descent. But it is not my present purpose
to examine the evidence on either side; have on
ly to describe series of seeming accidents, cal
culated to enforce the doctrine by the circum-
stances IN which their advent took place. and to
awaken at once solemnity, wonder, and dread.
"Many years ago." said a friend, "when de-
tanned by indisposition in a small village in Hun
gary,a discovery was one morning made, by which
the superstition ofthe simple inhabitants was great.
ly excited. Ii bad been a custom from time i'm
memorial, when the Judge in Office travelled
through the country to dispense justice, that as
often as he came to Panigstein, and believe it
was only once in course Of the cycle of the
moon. every nineteen years, and at the change,
that he held free assize in the open air, near
the Martyrs cross, an ancient monument which
stands alone on the solitude of the moor, at the
distance of bowshot Or more from the church.
The cause of this venerable ceremony being held
at that particular spot, Was never satisfactorily
explained, bat il originated either in q prediction
which had been delivered BY tue martyr, or on
some incident connected with his doom. On eve
ry occasipn when the court was held at this spot.
the inhabitants were summoned, in the name Of
heaven, to hearken to the list Of offenders which
the magistrate of the district openly placed In
the hands Of the Judge, and all such as could bear
witness to ausht regarding them were command
ed to come forward and do so.
ALTHOUGH then but in shattered health. this
remarkable ceremony, which CHANGED while
was at Pan,gstein. induced me to be present among
the crowd Of spectators when the judge was ex-
pected to arrive. The day was gray and silent;
the sun was not invisible, but his dim orb hung
in the armament with an obscure lack lustre sick
illness; aud all the landscape, and every living
thing, seemed overcast and detected. The en-
signs of judgment which marked the place Of adj
ministration added to the solemnity of the scene;
and the magistrate, 70 augment the gloom. had
ordered lofty new and black galIows to be rails
cd at little distance from where the benches and
table for the court had been constructed.
g Among other impressive customs connected
with the free assize, is one of unknown antiqui-
W The magistrate, in preparing the list of Of
tenders for the Judge, is not allowed to diyulge
to any person the names OF the criminals intend
ed to be accused; md il is alleged, that this has
a religious influence on the morals of the people,
no one being aware how his conduct may have
been noted, nor Of what he may be found charg-
n Al Il. =,
very awful to all. On the occasion when was
there it vas not anticipated that any particular
crime would be divulged, and it was thought ra-
Their odd that the magistrate should have ordered
the galIows to be erected; indeed, in the opinion
of the people, the calender was clear, so peaceful
and free from all violence had been the county
from former assize, nineteen years previo as.
1.-The magistrate | knew very we'll; he had
sometimes invited me to his house; was gentle
man In great esteem with the immediate villagers.
From small beginnings he had raised an ample
fortune, WAS famed for the strictness integrity,
and distinguished for great benev olence aud ho-
ly purity Of life 1t was thought by many that
there WAS some degree Of ahectation in his sin.
guiar piety, for in his youth he had been less aus
tere, and he had put on his sanctity Somewhat
suddenly, in consequence OF an event which,
though distressing in itself, could not be said TO
affect him more than any other in the town.
"lt was murder committed exactly nineteen
years before the very morning when the assize
was held. No trace Of the assassin had been dis
covered, and that circumstance, together, 18th the
worth Of the victim, had produced a strong i'm
preston on every one; but on none more than |
this magistrate. whose faithful servant the victim
had long been. The crime was mysterious, for |
the man poor, and it excited universal sur
prise that one who IN his condition had been SO
much respected should ever have provoked doom
30 sudden and inexplicable. Time had greatly |
the recollection of the occurrence; it
was almost forgotten by every body but BY the
widow and the charitable master, who, with his
amily, constantly endeavored-.o soften, with un-
.vailing sympathy. her grief. She, however, be.
,ame old and crazed. and when pointed out to
ne was spectacle of extreme misery. She was