Southern Argus. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1834-1842, 1840-01-21

wnen tney were nIuaeu grvuIIu.
AS he passed here, Ralph called to mind that
he had been one of jury long before, on the
body of man who had cut his throat; and
that he was burisdin this place. He could not
tell how he came to recollect IT now, when he
had 81 often passed and never thought about
him, or how it was that he felt an interest in
the circumstance, but he did both, and stopping
and claspng the iron ratings with his hands,
looked eagerly in wondering which might be
his grave
While he was thus engaged, there came
towards, him, with noise Of shouts and singing,
some fellows full of drink, followed by others,
who were demonstrating with them and urging
them to go home in quiet. They we're IN
high good humor, and one of them, little
weasOn, hump-backed man, began to dance
He was a grotesque, fantastic figure, and the
few by-standers laughed. Ralph himself was
moved to mirth, and echoed the laugh of one
who stood near, and who looked round in his
face. " hen they had passed on and he was
left alone again, he resumed his speculation
with a new kind of interest, for he recollected
that the last person who had seen the suicide
alive had left him very merry, and he remem-
bered how strange he and the other jurors had
thought of il at the time.
He could not fix upon the spot among such
heap of graves, but he conjured up strong
and vivid idea of the man HIMSELF and how he
looked, and what had led hun TO do it, all Of
which he recalled with ease. BY dint ofdwel-
linz uDon this theme, he carried the impression
with him when he went away, as he remem-
bered when child to have had frequently be-
fore him the figure of some goblin he had once
seen chalked upon a door. But as he drew
nearer and nearer home he forgot 1t again and
began to think how very dull and solitary the
house would be inside.
This feeling became so strong at last, that
when he reached his own door, he could hardly
make up his mind to turn the key and open it
when he had done that and gone into the
passage, he felt as though to shut it again would
be to shut out the world. But he let it 90,
and it closed with loud noise. There was
no light. How ve:y dreary, cold, and silent it
was!
Shvering from head to foot he made his
way up stairs into the room where he had been
last disturbed. He had made kind of COM
pact with himself that he would not think Of
what had happened until he got home. lie
was at home now, and suffered himself for the
first time to consider it.
His own chiId--his own child He never
doubted the tale; he felt it was true, knew it
as well now as if he had been privy to it all a
long. His own child! And dead too. Dying
beside Nicholas-loving him and looking upon
him as something like an angel! That was
the worst.
They had all turned from him and deserted
him In his very first need even money could
You buy them now everything must come out
and everybody must know all. Here was the
young lord dead, his companion abroad and be-
yond his reach ten thousand pounds gone at
one blow, his plot with Gride oversct at the
very moment oftriumph, his after schemes dis
covered, himselfin danger, the object of his
persecution and NIcholas's love, his own
wretched boy /; everything crumbled and fall
en- upon him, and he beaten down beneath the
ruins and grovelling in the dust.
If he had known his child to be alive, if no
deceit had been ever practised and he had
grown upbeneath his eye, he might have been
a careless, Indifferent, rough, harsh father
like enough-he felt that; but the thought
would come that he might have been comfort
TO him. and they two happy together. He be-
gan 10 think, now that his supposed death and
his wife's flight had some share in making him
the morose, hard man he was. He seemed to
remember time when he was not quite so
rough and obdurate, and almost thought that
he Rad first hated Nicholas because he was
young and gallant, and perhaps like thu strip
plinr who had brought dishonor and loss flor
tune on bis head.
But one tender thought, or one Of natural re-
gret IN that whiFlwind ofpasson and rcmorse,
was as a drop Of calm water IN stormy mad
doned sea. HIS hatred Of Nicholas had been
fed upon his own defeat, nourished on hs IN
reference with hia schemes, httened upon his
old defianco and success There were reasons
for is increase Il had grown and strengthen
ed gradually. Now Il attained height which
was sheer wild lunacy. That he ofall others
should have been the hands TO rescue bis mis-
cradle child, that he should have been bis pro-
tector and faithful friend, that he should have