American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1845-06-09

complicated wing.
Thus passed the evening. The guests had
done full justice to themselves and their enter
tanners, and now it was time TO depart for their
severa! homes. The ceremony was at length
accomplished, after some difficulty in finding
the bonnets, shawls and cloaks of the girls,
and after considerable trcpidaton on the part
Of thc bashful beaux. Ii was at length over,
and the farm house was again quiet The
company however had scarcely left, and the
retrcating sounds of laughter Ginning in with
the merry sIeighbells had but Just died away,
when the family of Lee were disturbed by
cries from without, proceeding from James,
who had but just returned, after gallanting
home, the mistress of his heart, who lived at Il
small distance from the farmhouse. Running
to ascertain the cause they found him, leaning
against one of the pillars of the rustic stoop,
supporting the body of a young man from
whose stiff and frozen limbs the life seemed to
have departed, After few hurried inquiries,
to which James could only reply that on his
return lie had found the scnseless form of the
stranger lying across the snow-path at the foot
Of the steps, thcy carried him into the house
where, by applying the usual restoratives,
they at length succeeded in bringing the stran-
ger to a momentary consciousness. Being too
much exhausted, however, to say more than
merely to thank the kind people who had res
cued him from death, he was removed to
warm comfortable bed, where he seemed to re-
pose.
/ During the whole night Isaac Lee and wife
watched by his bedside, for his sleep was rest
less and violent fever heated his brow. Thus
they sat when the grey light of breaking dawn
stealing through the half opened window cur
tans, dittused sombre hue over the objects in
! l,o ,,b,lo Ia, a.. A.
candle titiully hared in its socket. The coun-
tenance Of the sleeper seemed still more wan
wan and pale in the oblique rays while his
quick, nervous breathing, broke tcarfuly upon
the Stiffness and his eye cleaned with unna.
tural brightness through the halfopened lids;
! yet he moved not.
Lee gently laid back the long dark hair
from the heated temples of the sick man, and
after applying a cooling lotion to his throbbing
brow, gazed intenly into his face, as if striving
to account for the strange resemblance, W hich
he tancied he there saw, to some long absent
friend. AS he gazed upon that pale face, me-
mory seemed to awake from the sumbers Of
years to the consciousness of the past. The
stranger seemed to form a link in chain
that bound him to other days, yet Lee could
not solve the mystery. As he stood thus, the
invalid suddenly assumed sitting posture,
throwing his arms into the air, and wildly
gazing on vacancy. The next moment he was
calm: but again, as if seeking to embrace some
phantom of his phrenzied Imagination, he
stretched forth his arms beseechingly, and
shtieked-
'Oh! hope, hope!-money and friends-mo-
ney and triends--noney and friends and hope'
Despair and death! ba! ha! we'll you fight,
which shall have me. but death shall conquer''
lie fell back exhausted, but soon another pa
rogysm aroused him from his temporary quiet
'"Tis bitter, bitter cold! well, ha, hs. ha! this
clean white snow-bank makes fine ,deathbed
and then that's good, have this worlds
charity for bed-tellow, for feel itc icy en-
BRACE
He paused moment, gasping for BREATH;
then, less wildly, in a more melancholy tone
he continued;
"liouseless, mcneyless, friendless--has Ed
ward Florence come to this2 Has
"(Hracious Providence!" exclaimed the as
tonished couple, as the strange likeness was
explained; "can this be true?-the son Of our
beHelactor thus deserted"
"My father! mother! but | forget you are
dead, so you can't help me! no, no---l'll die
here by the roadside"
Again he fell back exhausted and speechless
The two sadly gazed upon the son of kim who
had been their best friend.
"Thank God, he has been directed to our
roof" at length fervently CALCULATED the WIFE
ale has found refuge prepared by the benev-
olence of his departed father, and friends whose
love skall be constant as their gratitude
"M&y heaven restore him. said the hus-
band. "Amen!" sobbed the wife.
The angel of love bore that heartfelt prayer
to heaven, and breathed it in the ear of mercy.
A calm slumber descended upon the sick man,
and his respiration became more regular. For
hours he lay thus, and when he awoke his fe-
yer had left him. Intelligence sat once more
upon his countenance, and mild gratitude
beamed from his eye. The danger was past,
yet his excessive debility indicated that weeks
would elaPGe before his strength would entirely
return.
The kind family did all TO assuage his suf-
ferings that affectionate soleitude could do
Constantly, day and night, some one watched
by his bedside; and when, during his GONZALES
cence, the hours seemed to hang YEARLY upon
him, the gentle Ellen, with smile, would win
him from his melancholy, or read from some
book to beguile the tedium of the eaden-foot-
ed moments. What wonder, then, if love
reared an altar in each Of their hearts, where
on burned the pure flame, kindled by gratitude
in the one, and by compassion in the other,
Edward Florence indeed felt u growing af-
lection for her, who to him appeared more
than an angel; for in his loneliness and desola-
ton sympathy and love were doubly valuable.
But year before, death had robbed him of
his parents Reverses in his business prior to
this, had made his father almost a bankrupt;
and the young man, bereaved by the loss of all
he loved, and chilled by the prospect before
him, had sought in the West, the few acres of
land left HIM, which offered the only hope of
support He soon exhausted his little stock of
money; sickness came upon him; and on the
verge of despair and death, he was rescued by
the son of him whom his father, in better days,
had saved from ruin
Here we would drop the curtain, but we
cannot forbear single glance more.