Washington telegraph., 1853-11-02
The BDrdcrer's Child,
or WASHING ToEAT EIGHTEEN

" WASH ealthi sunny das III the year lIau
the seene piece Of iofest land On the
Northern Neck Of Virginia contiguous to
noble stream Of water lmplemcn cf sur
ycying were lying about aud several men
idly reclining under the trees, bctukenea
by their dres. aud appearance that thrg
composed party engaged IN laying nii
the wil1lnntls ot tho then frontier If the
Old Dominion These pefsohs had appa.
rcnlly JUS finished their noon tide meals,
for the relies of the banquet were scattered
around
Apad frem the group walked youna
man, evidently superior TO h. companions.
though there wa nothing ebln,iyc in his
air, which m the contrary. was distinguish.
ed by aliabiliiy \ certain dignity If a..
pcct, however. accompanied him Added
to this, he Wa tall aud compact frame.
aud moved with an elastic tread Of one ~.
cu,iumed 10 constant eXefeise in the open
air lii eunntenauce could nni have been
said to be handsome but ii wore n look Of
decision and manlnc,s uui usually found IN
one % yuns for he was apparently liitle
over eighteen years Of aen llis hat had
been ea.t uii a. il for e0miufi. and hr had
paused With one fo.t advanced in grara.
ihl and nainfal attitude. at the mnmcut Ne
have iuinslueed him Ia the reader Saa.
denly there AS Shrek then auGher, and
then r, tai in rapid succession The voiaa
was Tint af woman. anl seemed 10 Pm.
cced irp'n the other side af a dansc ihickei
Al the hri serram, tie Youth turned hs
head in Tie direction frnm whence the .unnd
proceeded. hut when it " repeated h.
pushed asile the unietafaRih which sepa.
rated hin 'ram il, and puiekcnins hi. fool.
step. a til erit- succeeded each other Nith
alarming tapiliiy he ,oan dashed into m
open spsea or clearing Is the hurdrrer
even then tillel Il. an tie banks Of The
s,rcam. IN the centre Of which rude IL
cabin aal Whn-e we'll pile pai.el over ON
end. sud The .mose curling from the chin.
nov ri"n signs II hahiintion. Asihc Young
man with face flushed by haste broke frum
the nuitrsruwlh. BE- saw his companion.
crowded together on The bank. Of the river.
while ia ,h,ir midJ woman, from whom
proceeded tho -hr.ok.. was visible, held
tack hy wo ol the most athletic Of the mon,
but struggling vigorously for freedom
Il was hni the work of On instant, 10
make his way through the crowd aud con.
front the female The moment her eye fell
on him, she exclaimed
"Oh sr-yon will do something for me
Make them rl,a.r me Cor the llvo Of God
Ny boy.my poor boy, is drowning aud
they will not let ne 60 20
1T would be malurss-shc will Jump in.
to tho river. said unc of those who held
her. as the frantic mother siroyc again 10
break from their grasp Tho rapids would
dash her to pieces in a moment
The youth had scnrccly waited ior rbe.r
words. Iii eve. took in at a single glance
the meaning Of the .ai group, lie rccol'
lccicd The child Of the woman, bold little
fellow Of four year, oll. whose handsome
blue eyes aud Gnxcn riug'cts made him a
ia,oriir with strangers, nud tllcd the maih.
cr's heart with pride whenever she gnzcd
on him. lie had bocn accustomed To play
at will. in the little enclosure before tie
cabin. but this morning the gates having
accidentally been left open he had Stolen
incauiiou.ly ont when his mothers back
wns turned. reached the edge Of the bank,
and wa. in the net Of looking over when
hi. parents eye caught sight Of him The
shrek she uttered prccipiaicl the catas.
rrorhc she feared. foi the child frightened
a, the cry. losi hi, balance and Ccll hcadlong
into the stream, which here went fuamng
and roaring along amid innumcrablc rocks,
constituting the most dangerous rapids
known IN that section Of country, Scream
now followed scream in rapid succession,
as the agonized parent rushed to the hank.
She nrriycd there simultaneous with the
marty whom She lcil reclining in tho shade,
and who were scattered nhnu' within n few
stem, of the accident Fortunate was il that
they were ~ near cl.c the mother would
have jumped after the child and both been
lost. Several Of the men approached the
brink aud we're on the point Of .prngiug in
nncr the child, when the sight Of the sharp
rock, crowding the channel the rush and
whirl Of the waters, and the want Of any
knowledge where to look for the boy de-
TERED them, and they gave up the enter
prise.
Not 50 with the youth we have intro.
Juccd. His first work was to throw of his
coat next to spring to the edge of the
bank Here he stood for a second, running
his eyes rapidly over the scene below, and
taking IN with a glance the different currents
and tEano,t dangerous of the rocks, in or
der to shape his course when in the stream
lie had scarcely formed bio conclusion
when his gaze rested on a white object in
the water that he knew at once to be the
boys dress and while his companions stood
aphast at hi. temcrity they were prevented as
much by constcrnntiou rs by the awe with
which he had alrcody inspired them from
interfering, he plunged headlong into the
wild and roaring rapids ,.,