Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1852-01-28

The proud, inflexible man started. with
a nameless awe, at the sight Of this Of.
feer. pa.
], sYour exeeiiency viii excuse me, I
hope said the jailer, for visiting you SO
late but promised the prisoner that
would deliver this packet to you, in per.
son, and at this hour. And, as he spoke,
he took from his ooat-pocket bulky let
ter and handed it to the governor Tho
latter received It with trembling hand.
which he tried in vain 10 prevent for. in
truth. he was ashamed Of his weakness;
and then quietly laid It on his table.
How did the man behave 2 he saidg
partly to conceal his unaecountable emoZ ,
ton. r
He died, sir. as he lived, was the an.
swer, with sad shake Of the head 'Ho
told the clergyman that he would soon
know more of eternity than thousand
priests could tell him and that, therefore
it was useless to talk. Yet he did not
object TO the prayer on the scatfold. He
said that ii would do him no harm, and
might work some good in the crowd Il
was one of the decencies Of society," he
added scornfully, 'by which, he supposed,
legal murder was sanctitied.'
Awful
so it was, in one sense. And yet no
died brayely not game-like, however.
more like Pagan stole than Christian
murderer
The governor laid his hand on the turn
keys shoulder. My friend he said,
you had strange liking for this muir.
derer, and this excuses TO me your extra
ordinary observations. You would act
,,.o,o ,rssa1xv 40 laaV kl,nV,n onpaanlaI katU.
ever, for all will not understand you as /
do. There is too much mock sympathy
for crime aAoat, he added, severely, too
much of disposition to elevate murder,
ers into heroes. 1t i'll becomes public Of.
ficers, especially, TO countehanco such
morbid sentiments
".
The governor was alone.
He sat, for some time, with the uno;
pened packet in his hand, turning II over
and over, his heart beating with strange
violence,
The lamp, that hung just overhead.
threw its bright glare full on his broad
brow, and thence down his striking eoun-
tenance, the workings Of tho latter show.
ing how much he was agitated and how
he struggled against his emotion.
This is weakness he said, AZ last
i am oycrworked and nervous, What
can this outcast, this Pariah have to say
to me, that thus tremble at it?' And,
with sudden resolution, ho broke the seal
and casting the envelope carelessly TO ono
side, began TO unfold the letter
A locket, of fashion some fye and
twenty years back, fell 70 the table, il
As ir struck from his fingers, by an un1
seen hand, the letter dropped TO the floor;
and that stern, immovRble man shook as
II in an ague ft. ~
1t seemed as IL he could not remove his
eyes from the locket. There ho sat, his
face ashy pale, his gaze fixed on tho toyi
it possessed for him the fearful fasoinai
ton Of the Basilisk. Terror, horror, and
agony chased each other, by turns, over
his countenanco. Several times he exten'
ded his fingers TO take up the lockOt, but
as often Withdrew them with a start, be-
fore touching It, as il there was death In
the contact.
And yet it was but simple toy, at
least for stranger TO look upon. Il was
entirely plain, though Of gold, and con-
tanned no setting: but some hair, eyiden.
tly that Of two persons, was fancifully In.
tertwined, forming the letters II. 3. and
e. w, worked in cipher. When last he
had seen that lockct, il had been In the
possession Of Ellen Wharton. IL was his
gift to her. Can VIC wonder, therefore,
at his present emotion?
Ohl what tides Of old reeollectlons,
full ofthe bitterest remorse, ,surged through
his soul. The wound, which had been
closed for years, broke out afresh his
| -. slytfk fIaa
ny: and never, never had he seen his sin
in SO terrible light, no not even IN his
first hours Of vain regret.
But it was not alone the thought Of Ei.
len which tortured his soul. An awful
suspicion had flashed upon him, ~ sud.
den as il was paralyEing. What could
the possession OF that lOcket by the inar'
derer mean?
Great God r groaned the governor, af.
ter fearful silence, in WHICH he had Ie.
volved this suspicion until Il assumed tho
form Of a certainty, 'he was my own child.
The same pride--the stubborn spirit 90
like my own-his desire 10 see me- He
spoke in 0asps, atilong intervals, . Gee h
all--oh Lord God, thy arm is long and
thy vengeance sleepleSs-I abandoned
nv offspring, and forgot even his exis-
t6nee, but my sin has found mo out o.
last ~
He started from his seat, and began
wildly 70 pace his study, his dsmeanor
more like that Of wild beast than a man.
Had the iailer seen him then, he would
have had NO difficulty In recognizing Che
I relationship between the prisOAeT and gov
ernor, little as he then, or ever aiteTs sus-
pected the terrible truth. =
Atlast the governor psnsed A. Che q.
. bic. and glaring at the lfiter, which still