Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1843-03-17


life, discovered a shrivelled, cadaverous
spectre, hugging bag of gold, and lament
ing the hardship of being called away just
day before the interest became payable on
his bank stocks. | met in another place a
speculator, with the perspiration rolling
down his face in torrents, who was calcu-
lating the immense profits he might have
made if he had only foreseen this sudden
catastrophe. A little farther on, saw a
gutton devouring pair of canvass backs,
and heard him at intervals mumbling TO
himsel(-"they shan't cheat me of my din
ner." The next person | particularly no.
ticed, was a stanch believer in progress"
who was terribly out of humor that the
world should be destroyed Just as it was
on the high road to perfectiblity. He
had an essay in his hand which he was
about to enclose in bottle, dramatically
sealed, in hope that it might float down
to posterity, aud make him immortal, for
getting, as | supposed, that the world was
now about to perish by fire, and not by
water. In the course of my farther pere-
CARNATIONS, fell in with father, very busy
in making will, dividing his property among
his children and another dsinheriting his
son for marrying against his wishes. A
usurer was lamenting that he was not aware
of what was coming as he would certainly
have borrowed good round sum, and thus
escaped paying the interest. A worthy deal
err in political haberdashery, who had been
seeking office, | believe, ever since the flood,
was exclaiming against fate for cutting him
off, now that he had actually received prom
Use of succeeding gentleman who was only
FIVE years younger than himself, immediate
ly on his death. This example by the way,
brought to my recollection circumstance
that happened in real life, and within my
own knowledge, where an old man of up
wards three-score and ten, actually hanged
himself on the marriage Of his daughter, to
whose fortune he looked forward to becom-
ing heir, provided she died without issue.
1t is somewhat singular that people always
calculate on OUTLYING those by whose deaths
they expect to be benefited
In the course of my peregrnations, en-
countered some of the disciples of the proph-
ct, who, might have been supposed, would
have been prepared for the event they had
SO long confidently anticipated. But it seem
ed they were as much taken by surprise as
their unbelieylng neighbors, and were run
ming to and fro in great CONSERVATION, or
preparing in all haste for what they had
been expecting at leisure, according to the
ways or the world, who see farther into fu-
turity than their neghbors. Entering the
chamber of middle aged widow, and stanch
follower of the prophet, who had retreated
somewhere, found an open letter, not quite
finished, which purported to be an answer
to a proposal of marriage from another dis
cple, and in which the prudent dame very
judiciously postponed her final decision un-
Ill after the first of April. own procee-
ded TO other unwarrantable indulgencies of
curiosity, only pardonable in person fast
asleep, in the course of which | made GER
tain discoveries, which, now that am a.
wake, scorn to disclose to the world All
| will venture to say is, that | saw enough
to convince me that if the widow really be-
lieved IN the approaching dissolution of the
world she had determined to make the
most of it while it lasted 1t is impossible
to say what other discoveries might have
achieved if had not heard footsteps APP
preaching and experimenting it might be
the lady herself, l retreated with considera-
BILE precipitation, in doing which encoun-
tered, and overthrow, fat cook maid who
was coming up in great haste to apprize her
mistress that the Kitchen was so hot she
could not breathe in il any longer, and who,
notwithstanding the solemnity of the occa-
sion, gave me most awful benediction.
The next house | entered was that Of a
NH, ff
do kindness to any human being. He had
accumulated millions by rigid, inflexible
system ofpreying upon the wants of his fell
low creatures, and denying himself the COM
mon necessaries of life, except on rare oc-
casions, when his vanity got the better of his
avarice; and he would give some great par
ty or ostentatious feast, in order to excite
the envy of his neighbors, and get pulled in
the newspapers, always making himself a
mends for his prodigality by squeezing adj
ditional sums out Of his unfortunate clients.
| found him busily employed in making his
will, and talking to himself by fits and starts,
from which gathered there was great
contest going on between the ruling passion
and the fear of the future, which prompted
him to make reparation, as far as possible,
for his past transgressions. From what
could gather he had come to determine
ton to restore the principal of all the money
he had screwed from his debtors by his usu-
rious practice, but could not bring himself
to give back the interest on these exactions,
which he said would utterly ruin him. As
the heat became more intense, he seemed
gradually TO relax but the moment it sub
sided little relapsed again. This happen
ed several times, until at length the old man
quoted his conscience by leaving his whole
estate for the purpose of erecting hos
pital for the reception Of the families of all
those he has reduced to beggary by his
frauds and inhumanity, at the same time
saying to himself, 81 shall go down to pos
,1Sifv az n oreat nuhlic henefactor A. +