Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1847-11-03

ID LsECTg' IA u b.
= saH sIsaLs. s.
eas The Ffee-born and the Slave.
- N ONE. OF THE CLASS OF '9s.
,zS-s e-,..r CONCLUDED
Eaa ~ 5,-cHAPTER FIFTH.
att far outvenoms all the worms of Nilew
Melville havin g parted from Rexford on
the night before mentioned repaired to bis
lodgings and forged the letter whose fearful
effects, we have just witnessed; his compan.
Jon, had copied it in the hand writing Of
Miller, and so perfect was the resemblance,
that even the quick eyes of Love did not
Detect the imposition. A few weeks subse-
eouent to the incidents just related, letter,
accompanied by package, was put into the
hands Of Brooks. A glance at the address
revealed the writer to be Mr.. Brooks, the
father of his absent though never forgotten
Frances. 1t had been long time since he
had heard from her, and although he had
forwarded two letters, they both remained
slnanswered. He hardly burst own it to
himself. yet his trembling fingers could
scarcely break the seal. The letter had
been written hurriedly, and some words
were almost ihegible. 1t charged him with
cruelty toward an innocent and confiding
being; it accused him Of caprice; detailed
briefly but graphically the woe his letter
had borne with it; spoke of himself as we'll.
nigh childiess; cursed him one moment and
blessed him the next, but finally forbade
him to write word Of explanation, declar-
ing that he would return any and every
: letter he might address to him, and finally
wishing him all the joy, consciousness of
his treachery might leave him, in the new
Yyiafions he uas about to assume, he sub
ecribed himself sthe father of your victim.'
The man Of might was bereft of strength;
the stern man was subdued, and he who
sentenced mento death with countenance
almost unmoved, buried his face in his
hands. nndswset Ikea child. Yes, grief
causes the heart Of the beggar and the prince
10 beat in Unison, and the touch of sorrow
has rendered many strong heart weak and
warm and futtering as an infants. He
loved Frances; loved her with fervor and
devotion that the heart can know but once;
loved her rs only the .beautiful and pure
can be loved. That there was something
unaccountable in the circumstance, painful
" oppressed him; q dark doubt Of conspira-
cy. fitted like spectre through his mind,
but generous as he was, whom could he
charge with so vile deed, and if Melville
was thought Of at all, the thought was in
stantly banished. as unworthy the mind that
conceived it, Long had he sat, alternately
:. lost in conjecture and thrilled with anguish,
'' which the stainless alone can feel; the an
, guish that steals over the sun-bright spirit
1, with the shadow of an unjust imputation.
: He felt himself helpless and poweriess, at
the mercy Of some secre;, and deadly foe,
: against whom the bulwarks Of a noble char
s aeter, reared with the incessant toll of years,
!. was nc, defence; foe that would tarnish
) the sun, if it were necessary, to blight
!. flower or wither a hope. Oh! it is a fearful
:, thing, even for the great and good to fall
into the hands of evil men! What shall we
say. for the simple and the weak! Heaven
: help them! Often and often, has wanton
breath word that just quivered the air for
ed life blessing; broken it too, never to be
:. ,reunited! The clammy breathings of Sian.
der have settled in deaih-damps upon the
! brow of many a joy, and the tongue of scan-
: dal has knelled the burial of many q bright
and promising hope.
The package which had remained unopen.
ed, he now seized, and tearing off the en-
velope, his own letters met his eye. He
looked then: over, fby chance she might
have retained one, but they were all there;
even the lock of hair was not forgotten
But The bttterest Of all was the thought that
the evil could not be repaired; that nothing
which he could write would avail anything,
and with the decision of noble mind, he
! : Of once determined to endure patiently and
silently, what could not be remedied. One
passage in the letter he read over and over.
but no light fell upon i:-''in the new rela-
= tons be was about to nssume"-what il
could mean, he was unable to conjecture,
and only left it for Time, the great revela.
tor, to disclose N
Melville had laid the plot broad and deep,
J for he had also despatched letter to the
father of Frances, in a feigned hand, and
.sisned; ssA Friend to TRUTH Thus it has
! ever ,been;. the vilest deeds have been per.
. Spr,ettrated in the name OF Truth, and many G
Tyrant's chariot wheels have dripped with
hlood. in the name of Liberty and Love
The communication was arlfully worded
protesting the sorrow and surprise will
which the writer had observed the unprin
sEcipled course Of Charles, whom he ha
been taugh. to respect. He went on to say
that Brooks was on the eve of an alliance
with a lady Of wealth and beauty, whose
-sfanrily resided in New Orleans; that vsi
to the city would, he feared, confirm tn
truth Of the statement; that he had evident
lyl ceased to think of Frances as his betroth
ed, and that, knowing these circumstances