The Belmont chronicle, and farmers, mechanics and manufacturers advocate. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1848-1855, 1853-08-05


cattle. Durham jumped out Of the sleigh
and rushing ahead, pushed his way by force
through the closed door, when he found the
interior a complete drift that had come down
the chimny, and sifted through every ungarded
crevice. BY this time Mr.. Holiston was
upon his heels, anxious to find how matters
stood within.
But, o, horror! horror! God have mercy
on the drunkard's family! There lay Mrs.
Durham on her own bed, cold and stiff, with
a newborn infant, naked, at her side, also
dead and frozen. Behind the mother, and
pressed close against her person, was deai
little Charles, with his icy arms enfolding
her, and very drop of blood CONCEALED in his
veins. They then hastened to the little girs'
room, and found them in their bed, emacated
TO mere skeletons, but not so long dead as to
be completely frozen. They, too, were
! locked in each others little arms. The fears
Of poor Mrs. Dunham had evidently brought
on premature death, ending in convulsions,
the very night of her husbands departure;
and she and the infant had frozen together
Little Charles, with chid's instinct, clung
to his dead mother, and his arms were soon
frozen by the icy contact, from which point
the frosts of death gradually spread over the
whole body. The little girls had kept up as
long as they could, without wood or food, and
then had crept together into their bed, 10 find
an icy grave. Poor little Amelia's prophetic
dream was more than fulfilled.
No words, no description can reach the
reality. 1t was chornel-house of the hor-
rible traffic in intoxicating drinks. The fro
zen victims of this worse than Moloch, in his
thirst for innocent blood, with the lines of
sorrow still visible in their indurated fea-
lures, uttered, in the dumb accents Of death,
such remonstrance against our legislation
on this subject, as to appal and confound
those who have given their voice and vote in
its favor. o, detestble legislation! who can
number the deadl Who can estimate thy
crimes! Who can tell the extent of the
pauperage, the poverty, and the wretchedness,
which owe their being to thee!
Mr.. Holliston was silent, and SO was Dur
ham. 1t was case to battle feeling, and
beggar language. They dug some wood
from under the snow, and lighted fire.
Durham was helpful in all tLis. Mr.. Hol-
iston then proposed to go and bring in the
neighbors. Mr. Durham" said he "per-
haps You will feel better to go with me-"
"No," said Durham, quietly. "you go, and
I'll stay and watch the fire and keep the
house.
Every WE'LL, I'll be back soon," said
Mr.. Holliston, not little surprised at the
self-possesson of the miserable man. But, had
he looked cautiously, he would have seen in
it the suicides calmness. His eyes we're
CLASSY and fixed. 1t was the repose of des-
pair; it was the self-possession of one to
whom living was death, and death his only.
lille. Not tear did he shed, nor "a groan did
he utter, nor complaint did he make. As
soon as Mr.. Holston was gone, he took the
pen that had dropped from the fingers of his
dying wife, thawed out the inkstand, and
wrote on the paper, under the last tear.be-
sineared lines of her agitated hand, the fol-
lowing note:
"This world is my hell. There can be no
worse. have duty to do to my departed
wife and children, which 90 to discharge.
must confess at their feet my crime, and be-
seech them to forgive me. Dear, dear ones,
follow you to the sprit-land!
CHARLES DURHAM"
When Mr.. Hoiiston retured with the
neighbors, they found him hung with a rope
to one of the beams of his house, and quite
dead.