Daily American telegraph., 1852-02-05
AMERICAN TELEGRAPH.
t From the National Era-l
MN. RENwIcK,s STORY.
BY MARTHA RUSSELL.

4 =
| MR. RENwIcK's STORY.
! BY MARTHA RUSSELL.
M [coScIUprp.l
aThe upshot of the matter was, that we
were to be separated Tom was to be sent
away to school, while remained at home. The
Words sent as0ay' operated on me like magic !;
they opened a hope Of escape, and wrung from
me, what nothing else could have done, name
ly, a confession @nmy guilt, and an earnest
request that mi be sent away instead Of
Tom ! even- kas a sore temptation, chill
dren)-I eve my mock humiliation
farther aU ] alone was guilty, |
'lsHv aWhas hat u nd thinI was told, Fred Mar
tyn9 Why, Just what they told every one else,
thatI was SO hopelessly and inherently wicked
so utterly and irredeemably vile and worth
less-that it would be an imposition to ask any
stranger to take me into his family; that no
one soiside be expected to bear with me but
those connected by ties Of blood; that it was a
sore trial, but as it had pleased Providence to
send me to them, doubtless as cross, they
would try to bear it with Christian patience ;
and SO on, to the end Of the chapter.
~ listened to all this with undisguised in
dignation and contempt. ] knew that it was
because my property was in their hands, and
they were unwilling to see a cent of it go into
another PERSONS that they refused to let me
go. knew that Tom had often beat me within
an inch of my life, without having the walls of
eternal wrath poured out upon his head, and
began to regret that | did not pay him off
more literally. So the hardening process
went on, and all that saved me from becoming
very brute was the influence Of that girl OF
whom spoke, Rachel Halliday. She was the
daughter Of Widow Halliday, our neighbor, q
poor, proud, ambitious woman, but Rachel
was "-
.An angel ~ exclaimed Ed, suddenly and
almost unconsciously supplying the word for
which the old man seemed groping l
"No; not an angel, boy. don't think the
angels ever troubled themselves much about
me- either that time or since, and she did. She
was true-hearted, gentle, loving girl-better
than dozen angels to me; for she alone
| seemed to know me as | was, or, rather, as !
might have been, and tried me make me bet
| ter. We were schoolmates, and in the winter,
| when the snow was deep, used to 60 on be-
fore to make her path or draw her on my
sled, wondering all the time why Tom didn't
| try to take her from me, as he did everything
else that loved. But she was too little and
Insignificant for him to care about then. Peo-
pie talk about childish feelings and childish
Friendships went on the old man, after
pause "and the ease with which they are
erased or forgotten but it is not SO, Fred Mar
tyn Boy as was, the feeling that / cherished
for that girl was the ruling influence of my
| life; for her | struggled to subdue my quick,
fiery temper-for her strove for the prize of
scholarship in the village school-for her
even while she gently blamed me for giving
4 10 raoonoilaI mo m tho
thought of staying there after that affair with
Tom.
awe were but children then; but as the
years went on, there came, even to me, magi-
| cal change over her. From little, PALE some
| what feeble girl, she bloomed into a lovely wo-
man-tal, fair, graceful as a lily, and I-well,
| [ NAV as we'll out with it-I worshipped her as
| only strong impetuous natures that have been
defrauded of their share Of human love in the
world, can worship. You, children, with so
many outlets to your hearts, can never know
what she was to me.
"But to go on. My guardian, as said, kept
country store, and. as my talent for business
had been discovered from my waiting on Gus
toners night and morning and ON holydays, at
sixteen was taken from school, and installed
as clerk in the store. Tom had entered college
year or two before, for he was to shine in a
profession so saw little Of him save at vaca-
tions, and though the feeling between us was
not quite after the David and Jonathan order,
we got on right peaceably. The drubbing |
had given him so many years before, followed
up by those he got at school, had improved his
manners in some respects considerably.
"Thus, the weeks sped on, and was twenty
But one year more and should be free. How
Rachel and counted the days. flor you must
know, children, that by this time all things be-
| tween us were settled.) What fools we were,
dreaming all sorts of pleasant dreams that were
| to end smoke! We'll, we were happy then
and it is no small thing for any man, in look
| ing back over track of sixty years, to be able
to lay his finger on any one point and say
Then was happy!'
"Tom spent that summer vacation at home,
but | saw less of him than usual, for he was
much abroad among the village girls, with
whom his college airs took wonderfully. On
Rachel they were wholly lost, for she avoided
him as much as possible. 1T so happened, that
Just at this time it was necessary that some
one should go out to Western New York, which
was the West of my boyhood, to look after
certain wild lands, upon which MIR. Alling had
contrived to get some claim That gentleman
urged Tom to 90, but the latter declined, and,
to my great surprise, launched into panegyric
on my rare business tact, and proposed that
should be sent Mr.. Alling caught at the sug-
gestion at once he well knew that did pos
sess qualifications for the business which Tom
lacked besides, if ague and fever, or any other
evil incident to that unsettled region, happened
to me, it would not be Of much consequence
any way. | was delighted with the prospect
of getting away, though very careful not to
show it; and let me add, that should have run
away dozen times during the past years, had
it not been for the thought of Rachel, and graf
| flying Mr.. Alling by leaving my property in
his hands. So the Western journey was ar