Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1837-10-13

quiet elsewhere. she had lett nm at last
to starve alone. He ground his teeth and
cursed her.
He begged his bread from door TO door.
Every half penny he could wiring from the
pity and crcdulty of those TO whom he ad.
dressed himself, was spent in the old way.
A year passed over his head; the roof Of a
Jail was the only one that had sheltered him
for many months. lie slept under orch.
ways and brick fields-any where, where
there was some warmth. o, shelter from
the cold and rain. But in the last stage OF
poverty. disease, and houseless want, he
was a drunkard still.
At last: one bitter night, he sunk down !
on door step in Plccaddiy, faint and III. !
The premature decay ofvlce and profligacy |
had worn him to the bone. His cheeks |
were hollow and ivid; his eyes were sunk |
en-, and their sight was dim. His legs
trembled beneath his weight, and a cold
SILVER ran through every limb.
And now the long forgotten scenes Of a
misspent life crowd thick and fas: upon
him. He thought ofthe time when he had
home--a happy cheerful homeland OF
those who peopIed it and hocked about him
, then, until he forms of his elder children
seemed TO rise from the grave, and stand
about hun; so plain, so clear, and so dis
tinct they were, that he could touch and
feel them. Looks that he had long forgot
ten, were fixed upon him once more; voices
long since hushed in death. sounded like
the music Of village bols. But it was only
for an instant. The rain beat heavily upon
him; and cold and hunger were gnawing a,
his heart again
He rose, and dragged his feeble limbs
few PAGES farther. The street was silent
and empty; the few passengers who passed
by. at that late hour buried quickly on,
and his tremulous voice was lost in the vi
oence of the storm. Again that heavy
chill struck through his frame, and his
blood seemed to slagnate beneath it. He
coilcd himself up in a projecting doorway,
: and tried to sleep.
But sleep had fed from his doll and ga-
zed eyes. His mind wandered strangely,
} but he was awake and conscious The
D wel-known shout Of drunken mirth sound.
ed in his ear, and the glass was at his lips,
d the board was covered with choice, rich
= food--tbey were before him; he could see
them all, he had but to reach out his hand,
and take them; and, though the Illusion
t was reality itself, he knew that he was SIT
ting alone in the deserted street, watching
t the rain drops as they palied on the stones,
that death was coming upon hun by inches:
and that there were none to care for OF
help hun. Suddenly he started up in the
D extremity Of terror. He had heard hi.
own voice shouting in the night air, he
n knew not by whom or why. Hark A
r groan! Another His senses were leaving
d him: half formed and incohercnt word,
burst forth from his lips: and his hand
sought to tear and lacerale his flesh. lie
k was going mad, and he shrieked for help
till his voice failed him.
t He raised his head and looked up the
long dismal street. He rccoleclcd that
It outcas's like himself, condemned to wander
G dav and night in those dreadful streets. hat
n sometimes gone distracted with their owr
loneliness. He remembered to have heard
!, many years before, that homeless wretcf
G had been found in a solitary corner, sharp.
G ening rusty knife to plunge in his owl
y heart. preferring death to that endless
= weary wandering TO and fro. In an lns,sn
:, his was taken: his limbs received new life
he ran quickly from the spot, and pause,
|. not for breath until he reached the rive
d side.
d He crept softly down the steep stone
!. stairs that lead from the commencement o
a Waterloo Bridge down to the waters level
b He cIouched into a corner and held hi
g breath as the patrol passed. Never dlt
prisoners heart ihrob with the hope of LID
n eriy and HE hal so eagerly as did that o
!. the wrelched man at The prospect of deaf III
q The watch passed close to him, he roma n
r ed unobserved, and after waiting till thu
sound of foot steps had died away in thu
:, distance he cautiously descended and stoo,
i beneath the gloomy arch that forms tn,
- landing place from the river.
h The tide was in, and the water flowed q
his feet. The rain had ceased, the win,
lulled, and oil was for moment still an,
y. quiet; so quiet that the slightest sound OF
> the opposite bank, even the ripping Of The
- water against the barges that were moore,
:, there. was distinctly audible to the ear
- The stream stole langudIy and sluggish,
- on. Strange and ionlastic forms rose t.
" the surface, and beckoned him to ap
, proach. dark glowing eyes pccred from th,
water, and seemed to mock his hesitation
:. while hollow murmurs from behind urget
% him EDWARDS. He retrealed few PAGES
a took short run, a desperate lea ant
20 plunged into the river.
N Not five seconds had passed when he ros,
to the waters surface, but what a chang,
had taken place in that short time in al
) his thoughts and feelings! Life, life, il
any form, poverty, misery. starvation. an,
thing but death. He fought and struggled
i with The water that closed over his head
y u and screamed in agonies of tcr'or Th
u curse Of his own son rang in his ears. Tn,
% shore but one foot Of dry ground-b
- could almost touch the step, one hand
q breadth nearer and he was saved, but III,