The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1854-11-15
.RAvENNA, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER Is, 1854.


reckoning with me which shall surely come
My heart tells me that have not long tC
live, that | must soon gloriously fall in the
service of my country, but feel presents
ment within me, strong and mistaken, thai
l shall not sink into that welcome rest tC
which 60 before my hand has struck dowr
that fiend in human form, who has made me
the heartless mourner that | am. Twice
have l sought him out in battle, and twice
has he escaped my sword; but when we NEE
again, there is something in my heart tha
tells me he shall die. The hope Of that hou
has sustained me until now. But for this
and the tender years of my children, tha
claim a fathers care and protection, woulC
have long since have laid down life which
is but burden, But enough of this Mike
shall detain you no longer. God guarc
you, and restore you safe to the camp. b.
wary, be vigilant, and throw not yourself il
the way of danger. Farewell, my brave
boy, shall feel i'll at ease, until You return
again" .-,s.-.
Pressing the hand of his comrade, Con
yers turned his horse head and Departed
Mike paused and gazedlafter him as he rode
away, bearing himself proudly on his bound.
ing charger, as though no ravening sorrow
| few with him on his course.
"Alas! poor Conyers," muttered Michsl
as he turned to leave the spot. "As gen
tie as the dove, but as brave as the lion; the
smile OF Eden is ever on his brow, while its
serpent is gnawing at his heart" Thus So
liloquizing, he turned away with saddened
brow, and proceeded at quiet pace until he
had cleared the crazy bridge which spanned
the river, and picked his way along rotten
and broken cause-way which led throug
the oozy swamp; and then giving the rein to
his horse, he plunged through the dense for
est through which his route lay. -
1t was already past the hour of noon when
he separated from Conyers; and fearing lest
night might overtake him before he reach.
ed the end OF his journey, he permitted his
noble steed to measure over the ground with
rapid strides. He had not gone far, however,
before the heavens gave tokens of an ap-
proaching storm, by signs which might have
passed unnoticed by careless observer, but
which one SO attentive as Michael could not
but remark and interpret Alright The wind,
which had slept for the last twenty-four
hours, began to spring up from the east, in
short titfuI puffs, and casting his glance to
the westward, dull hazy atmosphere just
upon the horizon, taught him ere many hours
should elapse to look for one of those vio-
lent gales to which The southern country is
SO subject about the incoming of autumn
Meantime the declining sun was kindling up
one-half the heavens.
''Not as in northern lines obscurcly bright,
But in cloudless blaze Of glorious ght.'
But accustomed as he was to all the signs
Of the heavens, the decetcul glare Of the
burning sun did not lead him to err in his
prognostications. Anxious to reach his
journeys end, before the anticipated storm
should burst upon him, he checked not the
speed of his willing horse, but suffered him,
unchecked by the rein, noiselessly and fleet
ly to scud along the narrow bridle-path that
wound through the forest.
The eyes of the brave young trooper grew
bright, and pleasant fancies nestled around
his heart. as he FASTENED away from the toll
and confinement of the camp, to meet once
more the beautiful and idolized Dora Single
ton. ... ... ,. -..
Lovely indeed was the maiden whose heart
followed the young soldier to the camp, and
whose joyful smile welcomed his glad re-
turnings. A dark-haired, black-eyed crea-
ture, of scarcely the medium height, with a
complexion pale, yet wondrously fair and
transparent, and form of more than or
dinary grace, and of exquisite proportions,
she was the very being to bring host OF
lovers to her feet. Cordial in her manners,
proud, vivacious, and with that dash of CO.
quetry in her nature from which no really
beautiful woman is wholly exempt, the
sphere in which she moved was delightful,
yet dangerous centre of attraction.
Her father dying when she was but a
mere child, her mother contracted second
matrimonial alliance, which was soon ter
minated by her death, and at the age oil
twelve years, Dora was left to the guardian
ship of moody and unsocal stepfather,
with whom she continued to res de up to the
date of our story. Inheri;ing from her. faith
er, an ample, and even splendid fortune,
yet without relative or friends, in whose
sympathy she could confide, the beautiful
woman, now in her twentieth year, felt all
that utter isolation and lonlness of heart SC
painful to evan the manly and self-depend'
ent, but especially SO to warm-hearted ant
sympathizing woman, whose heart yearnec
for the friendship and affectionate compan'
ionship of her sex, even as the dying gazelle
in the sultry desert, longs for the bubbling
fountain and the grateful shade. The mode
and the circumstances of her life had, how
ever, impressed upon her character some
what of the noble and generous traits of the
heroine. Naturally ofa proud though gen
tie spirit, her very habits Of seclusion, whicl
in another might have produced painful diffi
dence and timidity, had added strength ant
Eself-reliance to her character. !,