The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-10-17

to run up into the woods and find himn rushed
precipitately, as thought, into the thickest re-
cesses Of the wood The path, however, being
very circuitOus, | suddenly came into it, and
nearly ran against a person whom il needed no
second glance 10 recognise, although his back was
luckily toward me. The hat the breeches the
cane, were enough. II not, part of a red-covered
pamphlet, sticking out of the coat-pocket, was
" IL must be number thirteen Z" exclaimed and
as the little old gentleman was sauutering north,
shaped my course with all possible celebrity in a
southerly direction.
In order TO protect myself for the future took
precautionary measures and in addition to hav-
ing myself denied, kept the window down, and
made my egress and ingress through adoor round
the corner, as Peter told me he had several times
seen the little old gentleman, with a package in
his hand, standing opposite the one through
which we usually entered, and looking at the
Office wstfully.
BY means of these arrangements, succeeded
in preserving my solitude invioate, when, to my
indignation, received several letters from differ
ent parts of the country, written by my friends,
and pressing upon me, at the solicitation of the
little old gentleman the propriety Of giving the
| "Thespian Magazine good notice. tore the
fet-ers, cs-h as read them, into three yieoes,
and dropped them under the table Business
calling me- soon after, to Philadelphia, | stepped
on BOARD the steamboat, e&hilarated with the idea
that was TO have at least two or three weeks
pite. | reached the place of my destination about
| five o'clock in the afternoon. IL was lovely
weather The water spread out like unripped
glass and the sky was painted with thousand
varying shadows of crimson and gold. The boat
touched the shore and while was watching the
change of lovely cloud, | heard the splash of a
heavy body plunged into the water. A sudden
sensation ran along the crowd, which rushed from
and turned away their heads; and | perceived
that man had fallen from the deck, and was
struggling in the tide with only one hand held
convulsively above the surface. Being prac-
ticed swimmer, | hesitated not a moment, but
hung off my hat and coat, aud sprang 20 his res
cue. With some difficulty succeeded in bearing
him to boat and dragging him from the stream
| had no sooner done so, than, to my horror and
astonirhment, found bad saved the little hard
| faced old gentleman His snuff-oolored breeches
were dripping before me-hs broad-hrimmed hat
foated on the current-but his cane tthank Heav-
en- y had sunk forever He suffered no other
| i'll consequences from the catastrophe, than some
| injury TO his garments and the loss of his cane
| His gratitude for my exertions knew no bounds
| He assured me of his conviction that the slight
acquaintance previously existing between us,
would now be ripened into intimacy, and informed
me of his intention to lodge at the same hotel
with me. He had come to Philadelphia to see
| about a plate for his sixteenth number, which
was to surpass all its predecessors, and of which
he would let me have an early copy that might
notice it as it deserved.