The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1849-06-23
WHOLE NO Az

country, they came to MY very side, !
thought, with anxious, fearful looks, for
they seemed aware that was dying; and
there close, very close, was my mothers
pale face, and her sobs were loud and con-
vulsive; and therew was my old and attach
ed uncle, for whom l had been named,
and who had always been so deeply inter-
ested in me, and so anxious to hear of my
making noise in the world, he was hang
ing over my shoulder, and he was weeping
quietly without saying one word; but there
was such agony in his eyes that would
have given worlds to comfort him-but,
more striking to me than any even of the
forms of my nearest kindred, was fair,
soft, young girls face, the face of one I
loved. She came close very close to me,
1 thought, and laid her hand on my brow,
and the pressure of that hand was so warm
and life like, that death became still more
fearfully dark and repulsive.
At this period 1 think I had no remain
ing consciousness, in the way of reasoning,
all my faculties were existing merely in
the life of dreams. I cannot, therefore,
state with any certainty what passed for
many hours afterwards, but have kind
of recollection Of glass being held to my
lips, it must have been by Savall, and l
drank with no reluctance, but with delight,
a cool, delicious draught, and then fell
back on the sofa much happier than I had
been.
AT last I awoke to perfect consciousness.
I started up, wondering at first, why / was
there in a darkened room, with broad day
light streaming in through the shutters.
1t took me some moments to remember the
scenes of the preceding night. My first
thought was to search fer my pocket-book ;
it was gone. Next missed my watch; it
was new and valuable one; not one six
pence of loose cash was left in any Of my
pockets, so we'll had Savall ransacked my
person during the period ofmy unconscious
ness.
Iopencd the shutters, and looked around !;
there were the glasses standing on the ia
BILE precisely as they had been the night
beiore-the silver spoons, and some other
valuable articles, however, were not there.
A strange sensation Of giddiness was in
my head and [ felt as feeble as when first
rising from my sick bed; but was not APP
prehensive of danger, for 1 believed, and I
suppose truly, that Savall had administered
to me not poison, but some powerful mar
cotic or Supplying drug, in order that he
might possess himself quietly of my COW
eted pocket-book. suppose that he had
represented to me that he had given me
poison, for the purpose Of frightening me.
His story of the antidote he possessed, l
hardly believed, though, on examining a
glass which stood on the table close to the
sofa, found the remaining drops Of some
pungent but pleasantly favored mixture,
resembling nothing which ever remem-
bered to have previously tasted; this tai
lied exactly with my dreamy recollections
of the draught had swallowed, and knew
not what to think.
The house seemed altogether deserted
as walked out of the back parlor, the
door of which was now uniastened. Not
sound of life was heard in any direction.
I opened the front door, and discovered
that it was far past noon.
gave immediate information respecting
Savaii, and vigilant search was immedi-
ately instituted, but not trace either of
him or his wife could be found, and never
since heard of him.
/ have never since been able to open a
pocket-book containing bank notes, with
out the vision of Savall arising for mo-
ment before me, as if to claim his part
So pertinaciously has this idea possessed
me, notwithstanding many efforts to root
it from my mind, that l have sometimes
been almost tempted to believe that Savall
had been long dead, and that his spirit,
still doomed to feel the lust for money
which in life filled him, is fated to haunt
perpetually every place where pocket
books and bank notes appear. l would Of
ten have given much more than the sum
of which he robbed me, to get quiet of the
fixed impressions of him which are in my
mind