Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1845-11-13

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.outh, and between whom a strong friendship il
lad existed from that period. Duval had recent d
Y returned from Europe, where he had resided h
A number of years. He was charmed with the a
family, and soon became a constant visitor. He a
formed one in all parties of pleasure, aud in the C
absence Of his friend, accompanied his lady on t
her visits of amusement and pIeaSure--a priyl-
lege which he sedulously improved whenever
opportunity offered.
Duval, Notwithstanding his personal attract
ions and high character as a gentleman be-
lonoed to a class Of men which has existed more
or less in all ages, to disgrace humanity. He
protested to be a philosopher, but was in reality
a libertine. He lived for his own qualification.
1t monopolized all his thoughts, and directed all
his actions. He belonged to the school of Vol
taire, and recognized no feeling of the heart as
pure, no duty or affection as sacred. No con-
sideration Of suffering, of heart-rending grief
on the part Of his victim, we're sufficient to intln-
idatc his purpose, or check his career of inflmy.
Schoolcd in hypocrisy, Discrimination was his bu-
siness and he regarded the whole world as the
sphere ofhis operatiohs,-the whole human IA
family as legitimate subjects for his v%illalnous
depravity.
That such characters-so base, so dcspicab!e,
so lost to all feelings of true honor-can force
their way into respectable society and poison the
minds Of the unsulIled aud v%lituous,n may we'll be
a mater of establishment to those unacquainted
with the desperate a%rtlulness of human hearts-
But these monsters appear not in their true char
~acter; they assume the garb and department of
gentlemen, Of philosophers, of men of education
and refinement, and by their accomplishments,
the %suayity of their manners, their sprightliness
of conversation, bewllder before they poison, and
%Cascinate before they destroy.
If there be, in the long catalogue of guilt, one
character more ~hatefully despicable than anoth-
er, it is the Libertine. Time corlects the tongue
of SANDER, and the generosity Of friends makes
atonemcnt for the depredations of the midnight
robber. Suftrings and cllamities may be assua-
ged or m~itigated by the sympathies of kindred
hearts, the tear of affection is sufficient to wash
out the remembrance of many of the sorrows to
which flesh is heir to. But for the venom ofthe
llbertine, there is no remedy-of its fatal conse-
IHIGuGCSS IIlCIC lo III uIlLlSdtlOh' Ills hIbClulo,
blasted in reputation, are forever excluded from
the pale Of yirtuous society.
Duval's insidiouS arts were not unobserved by
his intended victim. She noticed the gradual
development of his pernicious principles, and
shrunk with horror from their communicating in
~Auences, She did not hesitate to communicate
her observation to her husband-but he, blinded
by prejudice in favor of his friend, laughed at
her scruples. Without a word ofCaution, there.
fore, his intercourse was continued, and such
was the weight of his ascendant power-such
the perfection of his deep laid scheme, and such
his facility in Guessing over what he termed par.
donaJic, but which, in reality, were grossly licen,
%tious, lndiscretions of language and conduct
that even the lady herself was induced, in time
to believe that she had treated him u%njustly. The
o gradual progress Of RIGHTEOUSNESS is almost i'm
perceptible, and before she was aware OF her er
- ror, she had drunk deeply of the intoxicating
draught, and had well nigh become a convert t.
- Duval's system of philosophy. Few who ap
proach this fearful preciplce are able to retrac,
r their steps. Before her suspicious were awaken
ed, thepurlty Of her family circle was destroyed
Duyal enrolled on his list a new name-the wif
Of his bosom friend!
An immediate divorce was the consequence
r. The misguided woman, who but late had beef
IT the ornament of society and the pride of her ia
mily, was cast upon the world, unprotected, AM
without the smallest resource. The heart of thu
husband was broken by the calamity which rem
" dered this step necessary, and he returned will
his children, to the obScurity of humble life.
y AT a late hour on one of these bitter colt
evenings experienced in the early part of Janua
" ny, of the present year, two females, a mothe
and daughter, both wretchcdly clad, stood shiy
ering at the entrance Of a cellar, in the lowe
part OF the city, occupied by two persons of CO
It or. The daughter appeared to be laboring vi
der sever indisposition, and leaned for support o
the arm Of her mother, who, knocking at tn
door, craved shelter and warmth for the nigh
The door was half opened in answer to the sun
mons, but the black who appeared on the stair
declared it was out of his power to comply wit
the request, as he had neither fre,-except tn;
which was furnished by a handful of tan-nc
a. covering for himself and wife. The mothe
D. however, too much Injured to suffering to be e.
IS silly rebuked, declared that herself and daughtC
were likely to perish from cold, and that eve
Iy permission to rest on the floor of the celia
S, where they would be protected, in some degre,
g from the chipping and eager air." would be
d. charity for which they would ever be grateful
rs She alleged, as an excuse for the claim to she
10 ter, that she had. been rejected, n few minute
re before, from a small room which, with he
y daughter, she had occupied in a neighborir
OF alley, and for which she had stipulated to p.
n fifty cents per week, because she had found he
S, self unable to meet the demand,-cycry resourt
10 for obtaining money having been cut off by Il
severity of the season. The black, more gen
ID rous than many who are more ambitious of
+ reputation for bcnevoIcnce, admitted the shive
ing applicants, and at once resigned, for the
E. accommodation for the night, the only two sea