The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1850-01-23

loved the virtuous daughter of the poor
manager Of the strolling company; one
whose beauty character and mind would
have done honour to more enlightened
audience. So in the great sylvan woods
of Leicestershirc. youth and hope made
the love Of weeks equal the love Of
years, and soon, before the altar of
village church near at hand, they be.
came and wife. The mother of the
ncw-madc husband was proud, rclent-
less woman, who, as soon as this mar
raige was revealed to her, not simply
denounced her son, but bound his sist-
ers by vow, never by deed or word to
hold communion with their brother
Fate seemed to aid this criminal and
cruel resolution, for, some few months
after it was formed and stcrnly acted
on, its object lost his life by fall from
his horse, and his young and broken.
hearted wife had again to find refuge in
her fathers caravan; for the instant she
made her claim, as the lawful wife of
Mr.. Vcrdun, Whitmore first displayed
himself in his true character, and per-
emptorily and satirically denied her
right. The aged clergyman, who had
oiliciatcd at the marriage service was
dead, the clerk denied having witnessed
such ceremony, the vcstry of the
church had been robbed, and no regis
ter, or attcstation of such marriage was
to be found. With the view of appeal
ing to the mercy of her husbands sist
ers, the young wife journeyed again in
to Leicestersairc. but scarcely had she
reached the precincts Of the old hall of
the Vc"duns, then she was taken i'll,
and i'll the village poor-house, and with
out other aid than tnat of two aged wo-
men, who resided there, became the
mother Of boy; but grief had SO un-
fecbled her, that she died that same
night. Her friends were too poor to take
or even aid the child; so his early years
we're passed under no better roof than
one Of straw, with no tcnderer mother
than the village bcldame with no thrift
ter nursins.c' adlc than the mud before
the roor.hcusc door---with no faircr
landscape than the lazy stagnant pool
beside it. All who noticed or helped
him were prosecuted by the agent; and
more so when after Mrs. Vrrdun's
death; he became sort of guardian to
her daughters. The youngest of these
married, when the child was about four
ycors old; but she was soon left wild
ow, with an onl y daughter; and so re-
turning to her sisters with her child,
she lived in very retired manner,
leaving. as did the others, the entire
control Of the estate in the hands Of
Whitmorc, who soon ruled it i'll the ar
hisrary spirit most congcnial to himself.
Thus, every tenant who fostcred the
young heir. William Vcrdun, he hated
and injured in every possible way he
could: but old John Glover was proof
against his hate, and regarded every
fresh vcxation (Which came by no
means at rare intivals) as he did the
mlldust upon his rosy face.
AS soon as he could, old John Glover
took the boy home, and procured for
him the best learning his means would
affo,d. But every one who helped the
boy, howcrcv humbly or indirectly, was
so Immediately an object Of persecution
and susi icon, as to at length fear even
speech with the child. Yet, ncycrthe.
less, in old Johns peaceful home. and
in his own patcrnal woods, the boy
passed many happy days; and here it
was he first made acquaintance with
his little cousin Lucy. She, unlike her
aunts and woak-mindcd mother, was
bound By no VOW Of hate, and having
childish dread of Whitmorc. and tried
with the monotomy Of her drcary home,
she soon shared with her cousin, in the
old green woods, the secret book, the
secret task; but at length even this was
discovered, and stcrnly forbidden, and,
when found useless, she was mt once
sent away to a distant part Of England.
In one of the old gables Of tho manor
house there was an ancient library, usu-
ally kept locked; 50 that after Lucy
Fosters departure, no thing Of life cv-
cr was within it, except the spider or
bnzzing-ly. But with an old key which
he found in in the millcr's chest, VIII
liam Vcrdun, when he was about twelve
years old, got access to this ancient
room, which had a door opening into
the garden, and there for three years
he read the old worm-catcn books which
lined the walls. WMtmorc, who han
spies in all directions, heard at length Of
even this; and one night, to make sure
of his prey, he crcpt there with stcalthy
foot, and found the boy. With much
show of saving him from scvcrcr pun
ishncnt, he grapplcd with him and
thrust him forth, though the words
which passed that night only made his
hate the greater.