Arkansas intelligencer., 1849-12-29


thousand dollars had been bet on the issue of the
race, as to which vessel should first touch the
wharf al st. Louis.
The struggle went on, and still with equal sue
cess. he excitement grew uriddenng. Ladies
clapped their hands and waved their ha ndkerchiefs
70 encourage even the smoke begrinled firemen
Exqulsltes in broadcloth tossed their golG.headed
canes INTO the river, and aided in acooding like
the lowest menias. -aS
Such is the Passion of competition, the master
impulse of the souls of the sage and savage
prince and peasant! Such is the Unsuitable anne.
,i'e ior hazard IN the human heart, always deye-
loplnS itself IN some one of its Protean forms
But talk not of the excitement of horse race
where steeds contend swift as the wind Away
win WIN The stimulus of cards, dice, and chess i
!" hat are such paltry affairs as these compared
fo the fire lace of laundering steamboats, Ii is
ee nature OF all emotion to expand, and thus
"Tommodate itself to the grandeur of the agents
with arouse IT. and 10 the sphere in which it
| operses
oNward ~ The shout rolls down the ancient
iNeI' aE startles the blue crane from his perch
| in the lake. - 0''' "0i '"'h
"Onwaror' The crews c,,rse The rom.
manners rave More wood More water Ten
'nousanu doiiah IS the costly prize!
onward The smoke bols. The furnace
Is req ho'' sevenNtnes heated The tubes wbiz
70 'he 'ouch OF he engineer The wheels fly.
anu '"o III 'isoleu steam means like fiend in
o "''ei'rss cSlonally soft thrilling wall,
us u 10 warn MS nassrs not TO urge him loo far
All day long the rae is protracted and neSar
was there farer path for the trial of sneed
1t lies over God s Imperla highway of the maoni6.
cent west. 1t is the road through the valley of a
| dozen of states. -
breakfast dinner, supper, were prepared and
eaten only by snatches, or not eaten at all. for
l xyi1 cTtlIH ~ l., L.
drunkenness of such scene as that.
| We have said that all aboard the F;n,v O,oe,
partook of the common excitement. tn, state.
ment, for the sake Of truth requires slight xuol
| lficaIion. There were two who avoided the y,r.
! tex.
William Grey, wealthy young man Of New
Orleans, stood unmoved and immovable in the gen
erai tornado of animal passion. He was a solC
son, and he had been left an orphan in infancy
From inherent disposition rather than favorabl,
education, he had imbibed riged code of ethics
which, blending with poetic and highly imagi
native turn of mind led him to abominale gam
bling as the most dangerous Of all vices. Hence
he looked on -i.o present. strifo wiki loathine
amounting to horror.
Helen Harrison was native of Boston. One
year previously her parents had emigrated tc
Illinois, where in short time, they both fell 0
prey 10 the tevers OF the climate, and now pool
and iflendless, she was making her way back te
tho classic city of her birth. The grief Of recent
bereavement saved her from that infectious ex
citcment which so many older and wiser head:
had been unable TO withstand.
Ii could not be otherwise than that two persons
who looked the one with disdain and the otheI
with sorrow and tears, on the intoxicated circle
around them, should specially observe one another
stationed as they both were on q serene eminence
above the passionate tumult of the hour. William
Grey gazed long and often during the day on the
i lae 70 ,,lI Ill "a
intelligent, and brilliant stars-and yearned tc
know who the strange maiden was and she, or
her part, cast many oblique glance of timid but
irresistible admiration toward that manly counle.
nance and noble form, which filled at once the
ideal of her dreams, and made her inwardly wish
that she had brother such as he.
Loveat first sight is" q fiction of romanccrs, >
cries one I" a deluson of the Senses" sghs an
other. We will not now gaihsay either theory
Yet who has not loved at first sight! Who ha.
not seen eyes ancing from stages and steam
boats through windows, and from beneath veil
thrilling the hearts with spirit-like token o
kindest recognition, not wanton passionate
but pure as the gaze of an angel through starr!
haIoes Then the soul longed toJlal its celesta
mate but the moments glimpse sufficed not 70
an opportunity, and the vision faded on the sight
eaving its memory fresh TO all eternity. He VIII
never loved at first sight never loved at ALL
not blessed with the faculty Of loving. Bu
enough Of such crates, and now let us finish on
story.
The race still continued and augmented in in
terest. The sun set and the moon and stars rose,
but the spectators scarcely noted the iact. OnT
problem monooolized all thought" " men VII !,
heat TO ST. Louis. Who will win The Ten 'hous'nu
dollars 2" .s.,;,bt /, s,or,, bro.,, o,
So ,he moon became obscured with murky
me rain began to patter on the hurricane deck
co - ladies' retired below. Still the exctemept
was unGiminished. The race was almost rum
The boats were opposite the mouth of the Illinois
1t is only twenty miles to st. Louis. and nei,ber
rival bad yet gained any perceivable adyanrama
eihon the captain of the Fairy Queen veptured
IN IN desperate expedient. He ordered barrel, or
III ana turpenllne to be broken open and used to
lew and beautiful boat shot ahead ,ba LII. .no
'iay' and soon left her some distance in the rem =
At this moment William Grey was seated nen r |
ne open door of the ladies' cabin, os,ensblv rood