The Rutland herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1850-1852, 1851-05-05

| Nevertheless he fell IN infortablc
Al his siius,ioa. .alsNe With EtAan Brand
on The Wild mountain aide. AM was
rish, glad TO hear the murmutof Tongues
and the foo.s,ep. Of what seemed prr,-
~ numerous party. stumbling over the
stones and rus,l,ss through the under
brush soon appeared the whole lasy
regiment that WAS wont to infesi the
village tavern, comprehending three or
four individuals who had drunk flip be.
side the bar room Are through ali the
winters, and smoked their pipes beneath
the stoop through eli the sumners since
Ethan Brands de; ar,,r.. Laughing
bois.erously aud mingling all their Vol.
ces together in unceremonioas talk hey
now burst into the moonshinc and mar.
row streaks Of 6re.lsht that illumins.
ted the open space.
There, among other old ae9uain,an-
tancts. wns once Ubiquitous Hlan, now
almost extinct, but whom We were for.
merly sure to encounter nt the hotcl Of
every thriving village throughout the
country. II was the stage agent. The
present specimen Of the genius was
wil,ed and smoke dried man. wrinklcd
and red nosed. in a srartly cut, crown.
bob :ailed coat. with brass buttons. who,
for a length Of time unknown, had kept
his desk and corner in the bar room, and
was still putting what seemed to be the
same cigar that he had lighted twenty
years before. lie had great fame as a
dry joker, though perhaps, less on ac-
count Of any intrinsic huInor than from
a certain flavor Of brandy toddy and to.
bacco smoke, which impregnated all his
IDEAS and expressions, rs well ns his
person.
Another well.remembercd, though
strangely altered face was that Of Law.
yer Giles, as people still called him in
courtesy an elLery rag.a-mufIin. in
his soiled shirt.sleeves and tow-cloth
trousers. The: poor fellow had been
an attorney, in what he called his bet
ter days. sharp practitioner, and in
great vogue among the village litisan,s;
hut flip, and sling and cocktails imbib-
ed at all hours, morning, noon and night,
had caused him to slide from intellect
TO various kinds and degrees Of bodily
labor, till, at last, to adopt his words,
, he slid into n soap vat; In other words,
. Giles was now a soap boiler, in small
, way. lie had come to be but the frag.
! ment Of human being, a part Of one
, foot having been chopped off by an axe,
B.. and an entire hand torn away by the
! devilish grip Of n steam engine. Yet,
{ though the corporeal hand was gone, a
, spiritual member remained ror. stretch.
! ing forth the stump, Giles steadfasly
b. averred that he felt an invisible thumb.
S and fingers with us vivid u sensation as
t before tho real ones were amputatcd -
c A manned and miserable wretch lle
l. was; but one, nevertheless, whom he
c could not tramplc, and had no right to
;. scorn, either in this or any previous
If stage Of his misfortunes since he hat
# still kept up the courage and spirit o
n man. asked nothing in charity, AM
d witk his one hand-and that the Ief
e one fought stern battle against wan
n and hostile circumstances.
l. Among the throng. too, came ano,he
c parsonage, who, with certain points o
&c similarity to Lawyer Giles, had man,
more Of difference, 1t WAS the villag
~ Doctor, man Of some fifty years, whom
n n q, an earlier period Of his liSe, we shou
N have introduced as paying profession
"a al visit to Ethan Brand during the lat
in ter's supposed insanity. lie was nov
4. purple-visaged, and brutal, yet hall
ID gcntlemanly fgure,wiih something wild
ruined. and desperate in his talk, anC
in all the details Of his gesture and mar
=" ners. Brandy possessed this man lik
a. a.. AN evil spirit, and made him as su,ly an
:? savage as wild beast, and ms nliserabl
as lost soul: but there was supposed
be in him such wonderful kill, such ma
ID, tive gifts Of healing, beyond any whic
ve medical science could impari, that soc
Is ciy caught hold Of him, and would nc
at let him sink out Of its reach. SO, sway
Sc ing TO and fro upon ti. horse and gruml
ia ling thick accents at the bedside, he vi
e, tied all the sick chambers for mile {
bout among the mountain towns, On
in sometimes raised dying man rs
re were, by miracle, or quite often, II
'e, doubt, sent his patient TO grave tl,'
d. was dug many year too soon. TIL
er Doctor had an everlasting pipe in h
ed mouth, and, a. somebody said, in ali,
to sion to his habit Of swearing, it was a
ily ways aiigh, with hell.fre.
,m These three worthless pressed forwal
w. and greeted Ethan Brand each after b
he own fashion. earnestly inviting him
pariake OF the contents Of a cers
ny back bottle, in which they averred,
les would find something far better wor
Ter seeking for than the Unpar 1onsbie 81
not No mind, which has wroush, itself
xr. intense and solitary meditation, into
high state of enthusiasm. can endu
ed the kind Of contact with low and vulg
INK modes Of though, and feeling to viii
ing Ethan Brand was now subjected.
made him doubt and strange TO say,
wn was a painful doubt-wheiher he b;
ing indeed found The objectionable 81
all and found it within himself. II
hat whole question on whie!, he had exl.at
10 ted lie, and more than life, looked j.
Of a de!usion.
nee Leave me lie said bitterly,
To brute beas.s. that have made yourseiy