New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1853-07-18

strives for empires it is there her avace seeks for hid
den She embarks her whole soul in the
Of al, ctiou aud if shpwreckcd her is hopeless
! Tor il Is a bankruptcy OF the heart
The thick heavy fog Of a late autumnal morn
ing hung its leaden curtain over the majestic
oaks which iringcd la GTGnde Cheniere and
| completely obscured from view the river Mer-
mentau. which here rushes on with impetuous
! speed 10 deposit its waters into the bosom Of the
! Mexican Guil A succession Of islands, yerdant
with the evergreen foliage Of the trees which
! give their name 10 this place, are connected to-
gether by marshes, covered at high tide with
water, and the coast thus formed presents a
varied aspect, differing widely from the usual
characteristics Of southern scenery. The high
est RIGGS were formed too low to resist the de-
vastating effects OF the storm Of Is, and the
Gulf which is plainly visible from La Grande
Cheniere rolled in tumultuous destruction
over all Of human life which inhabited the de-
voted spot.
With strange Indifference to preceding
events, the present inhabitants have reared
their dwellings over the the desolated home
steals Of their luckless predecessors and the
only precauticn they have taken against the re.
currence Of a similar event, has been to nail
rough ladder to the trunks Of some Of the stout
est and most deeply rooted trees-a haven Of
doubtful security against the force Of winds
which snap the lottiest monarch of the forest,
like the brittlest reed of the prairies.
In one of the shallow coves which indent the
river bank young ON this aforesaid au-
tumnal morning was busily employed mending
II small skitf, and accompanying the ponderous
blows Of his hammer, with n wild air, the words
of which, as well as his whole appearance, be-
tokened the Spanish origin of the singer.
The straight black hair, the swarthy skin, the
well cut features were all the common type of
the caste to which his sailors dress proved him
to belong but close observer would have no.
ticed strange discrepancy between the femi-
nine delicacy of the small hands and the ardu-
Gus toll in which they were engaged. There
was a restless fire, too, in his keen black eyes
and perceptible curl upon the short upper lip,
which bctokened little interest in his occupa-
ton, and when the last nail was driven in, he
threw the hammer aside with an impatient
movement, and leapcd on shore to cast off the
rope which secured the skif
" At last, . he exclaimed aloud, 81 have fin
ished job in four hours. which an experienced
hand would have accomplished in as many min
utes, A precious delay, truly, when | aught to
have been on the Oriole last night"
" But you shall not go now. Leon. said a soft
voice, and from the dense mass Of fog around,
the speaker emerged and laid her hand on the
young mans shoulder.
6 And why shall ] not 60. my pretty Nina y
enquired he, as he gently took her hand and
beauty seemed equally to belong TO the two
eras Of childhood and manhood-chidhood, in
the trusting, innocent light Of the large brown
eyes, the downy soitness Of the round check
the auburn hair which had caught the sunbeams
on its Furnished surface but to womanhood in
the thoughtful sadness of the sweet mouth the
mantling blood which. at every word sent its
eloquent tide in a quick warm gusl over cheek
and brow, and the graceful, well rounded form
whose perfect symmetry the coarse peasant.
like garments were unable TO conceal
. What brings you here, this damp, cold NOR
ming and why have you determined that
shall miss the tide, which now sets ont fair fol
| 0riOle She lies at anchor near the mouth @
the river, and the Captain only waits for me tt
sail You know, dearest, Nina, he continued
you know that | have already fingered tot
" long on shore
Is = But, still you must not 20, Leon answer.
ell the girl eagerly, " for old Placide declares
that in less than three days, we shall have sucl
a storm as has never been seen here before lie
dreamed, toe, he saw dismantled hulk ridin.
the waves, and the sky became hlacker anc
" blacker, and the waves higher and higher unit
the hulk went down but before it sunk he say
that it was the Oriole and you, Leon, were OF
board !" And here the soft eyes OF the speaker
filled with tears as she turned them mploriDgly
to her companion.
"Old Placide is fool, cried he, somewha
- impatiently, and you, my dear Nina, arr
y very ereaulous to believe al he tells yeu |
needs little foresight continued he, looking Il
; the mass of yapor above them, to discover
,. that we shall have bad weather very shortly
but would like TO know if il was a dsmantleC
10 hulk he saw in his dreams, how could he, who
when awake cannot tell one vessel from anoth
err, see so plainly that it was the Orole :
Hush, hush, Leon said Nina, reproyingly
p, "Plaeide is a wise man, and knows things which
ar
you never heard how he found the vessels which
are sunk in the Mermentau
o. Tell it to Inc, Nina" laughed the young
man, pulling his fair companion to scat besid,
him, " tell II to me, your self and will look il
your eyes and try togather from them sutiicicn
faith for the marvellous visions Of your respect
ed cumpatriot =
'Ah, Leon" sighed Nina, shaking her hea,
with a solemn air, nothing is sacred to you
You laugh at dreams and at omens you belicy
4 neither III the hdfteurS, or their charms an(
Holy Virgin, | saw yOu, the other day luugl
at hraHd-mere Jarreau because she put tn
- consecrated candle to her head to cure the head
ache
And did she cure it " asked Leon, with
concealed smile Did she not say that it ha,
lost its virtue it had been blessed seven year
before But do not be angry with me- con
tlnued he soothingly, for you know am
90 hereto, and have learned to regard all thes
things at what is generally considered their tru
value But tell me now about the vessels whic
Placide so wonderfully discovered"
. About four months ago. commenced Nina
and, in fact, not long after Placides arrival i
these parts-tor You have heard, Leon, that h
is a stranger-and no one knows from whene
he comes, or whittier he goes-shortly, then
after his arrival, he was taken very ill. NJ
- father and three of the neighbors attended him
and in his frenzy, (tor he became delrous) the
were compelled to confne him, by force, to tn
' bed, to prevent his doing his nurses or himse
some great injury. One night when the feve
was at its height, he began TO describe scene
10 as if he was then an actor in them. He spok
of brig entering the Mermentau, pursued b
another vessel, and he raised himself in the he
It, and brandished his arms, as if he checred o
the pursuit, whilst such blasphemies fell trol
his lips as made the hearers Withdraw, terro
= struck, from his side, He continued; and, as if
passed visible before their eyes they saw the hri
reached, boarded, and the work Of destructle
Cetnmsusa3 'Cut them all issp, ks gniSi, sn