Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1852-12-22


God | am ruined he exclaimed, losing
all selfcommand; the house of Brcntz and
Marbleis is a total wreck and oh ! he groan-
ed in prolonged accents, as he fell helplessy
back upon one of his magnificent lounges,
ain ruined, ruined, ruined
His poor wife, aintand sick at heart. dar-
ed offer no consolation she sat trembling
and white as the dead.
For hundred thousand am [ upon their
papar-ifty thousand sent them thee DAYS
ago in payment for ordered goods, this infer
nal show has cost ue as much more. too
shall 10 snistE1 led ;--it is vel known how
largely deal Tiers; nay God. my God |
an lost man
And so it eventually proved. Ruin fol-
lowed upon ruin, wreck upon wreck two
ships in which he was large owner perish
ed at sea sickness came upon his house
hold, and the most prominent of hs friends
who had fawned after him al the great party,
shook their sagacious heads and pronounced
it a Judgment from Almighty God old
Stanton had been hard man, hard upon
the poor.
But then was it not strange that these
commentators turned the grindstone with
the same mercless intent, ard held their
helpless victims upon it with strong grip?
And now come with me to narrow court
or rather long lane walled in on all sides
but one, with houses so high that the shad-
ows froyn out the sun iilthy, dark, era
" looking place full Of mosgre, pitiful chill
drsn with long, lean limbs and lack lusrc
eyes that tell Of want and famishing. Come
with me towards this centre tenement toll
1t-ey staircase: lock in yandaf, ,nais-
cradle room, and see the DID, broken down
merchant, spectre Of his former self, sit
ting moodly and with banlaged limbs be-
fore the little fire. Behold the still handsome
meek and gentle wife moving slowly around
on the bare boards as if her feet had not long
ago left the surface Of carpetod floors. And
yonder, looking sadly out upon the dreary
prospect, stands Herman, his face pale and
careworn, his proud mein and naughty fea-
lures i'll counterparts to the deSolation a
round him.
With the sudden revolution in the mer-
chants affairs, every aspiring hope with re-
gard to Herman 5 advancement was crushed
in his heart He was proud oEtbe son ofhis
old age-the last Of nine-and had fondly
trusted that the boy might one day become
an honor to his name.
But the child-for he was scarcely more
must nov work FOR a subsistence must seat
ter to the winds his lofty aspirations. In
stead of the honored walls of Eton. he must
toll In dusty Offices, or crowded shops in
stead Of standing as an eloquent pleader at
the bar of his country, he must grOyel along,
contented with little it bat brought hila
food enough to keep out starvation. True
to his impulses, he managed to obtain an
underling situation in the office of a noted
barrister, where he received two pounds per
month, which little salary was handed reg
ulary to his parents. The boy could never
forbear calculating with greedy eye how
many fine books it might purchase, and how
gradually it would enable him to pursue th'
studies so cruelty interrupted.
But books made no longer an item in tht
) fathers consideration Of expenses, Bread
for that they must now labor, and his perpet
i ual din was money, money regret at havin!
lost it; the misery it might save them-alas
J he had grown almost monomaniac, queI
) euious, fretful old man; gold-go!d il was t
constant theme of the poor, fallen merchant
I Just after his failure h. had been prostra
ted with severe shock Of palsy, and wa
) unable any longer to walk witiRut assistance
: What should they do they were al proud
| they could never stoop to solicit help OF IA
distant relatives. Starvation stared them i
: the face they had sought obscurity-uobo
n dy knew thcnl-hut just when they we're be
ginning 10 despair, when misery and destitu
;, ton seemed promising them gloomy future
t kind Providence iEterpoSed. HERNIA
obtained the clerkship before mentioned. an
] salary sufficient to meet all their most pres;
! ing wants, and give them, perhaps, fe'
n homeIy luxuries.
r Years passed and the young man was sever
!. teen, He had not been advanced, becaus
IS it is q difficult thing in that country Of eS
Il tremes for man to rise by his own mer
4 where gold can buy preferment.
d Tue ola merchant yet sat, day by day
IS rropped up by pillows in his great easy cha
Is and ate with Infinite relish his three SAVIOR
tz meals, after which he was wheeled to ii
1t cDeeficSS inLOH anu TetiIdlueG 9dLiD2 VI
into the busy court, lost in dreams Of Il
lr past; or else he scanned some book or papt
$ which sympathizing friend might place
it his hands. The humble spirited blue eye
ii wife, whose fair haxen hair was silycring da
d ", walked every morning TO the crowde
d market and made her little purchases, the
,e back to the monotonous round Of domest
r. duties, which she performed with aslow
hand and more hating step as time wore o
ID Bot soon came an unexpected blow. II
is barrister, solicited by some needy relativ
IN profared Herman 5 clorkship TO another, al
st gave the poor boy notice to quit, prouisiI
It. his influence in procuring for him as good
o. situation
lis 1t was dull, damp, cheerless NoTemb
n evening when Herman received this sad new
ed He had just been counting up his little sa
nd ings which by dint OF rigid economy in
~ own expenses, he had been enabled to acc
Of mulats, and with which he was calculati
n. to commence small and select library.
1 had heen varv hapny all day but with II