The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1852-06-12
From the Carpet Bag
Love and Catnip.
4 Sketch of a. act,lai Occurrence, IN Mdncheste,
New Hampshire.
BT EDGAR uMNERs.

I blthtilcu lOT u tIlOUltnt upon tnt OU-CufltN.
| In one corner, seated upon the sofa, were tho
| forms Of gentle maiden and her adorng lover
The youth was pleading bis passion with all the
cloqueGce of impetuous love, and implnrng hi.
charmer to name the happy day that was to unite
/ them forever But what was his grief to find
! that she did not meet his wishes with currespon
ding ardor.
| "Ah, Susan" he sighed, have then deceived
myself IN fondly believing that your gentle heart
reciprocated my passloni'
She fixed her liquid eyes upon him, but her
words were few and coldly uttered.
! Il rather think you hap, ?
What you cannot mean that you do not love
me! You will not tear from the sky Of the iu.
/ ture, the bright sun of hope, aud leave me to
grope forever in darkness Oh Susan, by the
happy hours we have passed together-by all
the bright dreams of happiness we have cherish.
ed-by the vows you have sworn to love mel
conure you to revoke what you have just utter
ed, and promise to be mine -
But all unmoved by this appeal, she curls her
ruby lip, and scornfully answers,
Il shant 10 no such thing r.
"Mcrciful heavens do hear arighti Must
then live on in loneliness, with all my hopes with.
cred aud dead, lik" solitary sunhoUer stalk in
! the chilling winter Nay, by the whole universe
swear it shall not be Mark me- cruel one
thou hast been the polar star by Which guided
my whole existence. Thou was the rock upon
which founded my hopes Of happiness and II
! thou will not consent to be mine, / swear by the
blazing sun, that " ben ha rises as usual to NOR
row morning, before breakfast his rays shall shine
on me cold corpse beneath the angry waves ol
| the raging Menmac, or, perchance, my bloody
remains will be found upon its banks. and II
| these means Of death fail me, will swallow Poi
son do you hear and expire for love of thee -
/ Then you will have noughl to remind you Of him
who loved YOU better than q thanksgiving dinner
save the consOling reflection that you are his
murdere-s,'
| But his agony, his threats affected her not
She was Us cold AS the icicle that in mid winter
hangs from the nose Of the town pump. Cruel.
ly, deliberately did she crush his last hope, and
with mockIng incrcduious smile she said
you durSent do Hg'
He sprang to his feet, despair was painted on
his features desperation ghred in his eyes
With his hands clasped in agony, he turned an
in implorng look to the mistress Of his heart
aud exclaimed
Once more implore you to reflect; recall
those cruel words, or go to fulfil my threat !;
and with his hand npon the latch awaiter decis.
ion 1t came ike thundelbot to the unhappy
youth.
You may so--if YOU wish--to grass 80
With n bound hr gained the street; furious he
dashed along, and turning the first corner, rau
nganst gust Of wind that was gushing the 9th.
er way. The wind knocked off his tie, which
| had cost him n Y but the week before vet hc
needed not liz ics'. Like whirlwind i've swcp,
along the side walk, and espying blue bottle IT.
n druggists window, he made tracks like a lougi
tudual Of crude and solidIfied city milk toward ds
| it. Opening the door with an mpetuosiy that
made the clerk spring over the counter and seek
safety behind glass case, he fixed his eyes with
the voracity of a bcreayed maternal tigress upon
the slim and trembling attendant, and hoarscly
growlcd:
"Poison give me poison !"
! "Eh-ah-uhdt" gasped the horror stricken
clerk from his place ofrsfuge
Poison do you hear I" thundered the youth
furicu3y
With shaking haud the clerk filed a phia
and overrun the liquid on his new inexpressibles
but not needing this mshap he placed the signi
| icant label, Poison, on the bottle and standing
on tptoe reached it over the top Of the show.
case TO his dangerous customer Clutching it
fercely, the doomed young man hurled a quarter
at the head of the clerk, aud then hurried to his
lodgings
/ When he reached his room the excitement had
passed away, bu, it was succeeded by cool de
| liberation and determination that was as abso
luely blood chilling as n cold bath in December
Undressing, he prepared for bed, and then SER
ing the vial of poison, he drank its contents un.
hesitatingly. Getting into bed, he aroused his
chum, who had slept throughout the whole Of
this terrible scene, and babe him rise and call his
parents, and also send for his false lady love to
come and see him die. His request was complied
with, and soon hi, weeping parents arrived to
bless their dying son. While they were lament
ing over him, the door opened and Susan, the
cruel, but now repcn,ant object ofhis love, enter
ed the foorr. As she approached the bed side
oi the expiring youth, he raised himself feebly up
and said;
Susan, for thee die!' aud sunk back help
less on his pillow.
Who shall paint the anguish, the agony Of the
lovely maideni With shrieks that rent the ali
into shreds and drove the ancient tabby from the
room, she rushed to her doomed lover and im
plored his forgiveness. She called him by eve
ry cndearing epthet, br, alas it was too late -
Fondly she embraced him tcnderly she parted
the hair from his brow aud kissed his pale fore
head They were reconciled while he was or
the brink Of eternity.
Blu, the poison was nj work within: he felt il
coursng its burning way through every Stin.-
| lie was conscious that he had bit n few short
moments to live, when his chum, who had enter
ed to bid last farewell. inquired what he had
taken, Perhaps there was an an,idote
"Alas-nol" murmured the unhappy victim
"t is too late to think ofremedcs. l am nlmos,
gone The bottle of poison is on the mantle,
/ In pnt knny lie mama
The chum seized the vial he looked nj what
remained Of the fatal draught--dubious hC
sighed, and extricatng the cork. applied 1t "a
his olfactory probcscls. Three long sniils took
hp, and the phal tell with q crash from his al
most palscd hands, while in tones Of wonder he
| cjacuated-
"Cd,nip by thunder !"
"Whai :" exclaimed the expiring lover, spring
ing bolt upright in bed,
Extract Of ca,nip as sure MS skunks; you arc
not poisoned ut ALL
With one bound the dying man gained the
middle Of the room. His lady.love fed in dis
may ut beholdng him in his scanty costume, anC
he. picking up the fragment ofthc phial, soon "a
| ,sird himself that it was indeed catnip that ht
had swallowed
Great was hi. rage ut this discovery will
horrld imprecations on the luekless wight VIII,
had deceived him, got into his clothing. and arm
! ing himself with a big stick, he sailed foIth I,
wrcak boodk vengeance on his devoted head
But to his deep disappointment the drug s,or,
was closed, and the attendant gone. Taking III,
edge Of his wrath oil by shaking ou, Of his boot
A ANAL boy whom he encountered on his home
ward way, he swore deep and terrible oath o
vengeance on tho druggists clerk TO be iuflc,e,
n a A.. L. ....lL L...s.