The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1854-08-30

the salen estate of those who had been
men 4 the uncovered shame of death ;
the lwide-open lips, the sunken eyes, over
which the eyelid was undrawn, the swol-
len tongue, the frame withered into an
expression of anguish, revealed all the
pain and shame of death. But here and
there, the hand of some one who had
been survivor, was visible in the at
tempt to conceal all this. In one place
there was shallow grave into which a
boy had been rolled; and close by, on a
heap OF clothes, out of which bones ap-
peared, there was spade, with which
the unfinished work had been attempted.
In another female body was covered
from sun and moon by mans cloak !;
an2-a few PAGES off lay man, whom
nothing shielded. There was an infants
skeleton wrapped in woman's shawl,
under what had been hawthorn hedge !;
the mother had either perished in at
tempting to find water, or had laid her
child down, and gone away, like Hager
in the desert, not to see it die. The
poor innocent's skull was turned on its
shoulder, it's cheek must have rested
there while the face remained. 1t was
too young to have struggled much
Paplett thought on his little Alice; of
her unconsciousness to the fate around
her: of what would be her and Charles
and poor Ellen's fate, if he failed in his
seareh, or persisted by the way He
reused himself from looking on all these
sorrowful objects. and went on his dreary
way. The second day after he left the
cavern, he came to stately pile of build
imgs which he determined to explore for
helife=giving stones he was in search Of
1t stood upon its terraces, surrounded
b. its eolonades and garden steps, In all
its old pride aud beauty. Its forests
were withcred indeed, its gardens burn
ed, its fountains dry, but the palace
glanced back the sunlight, aud was as
steadfast'and perfect as in the days of
! the living. Paufett drew near, and
fouisI, as he came close, signs of the last
daTs of life in it. The doors were open
o-ziie air; and few marks of objects
sesSsyed, remained in the outer rooms
Tasfe was securing and dragging on the
marble floor; and Paulett doubted for
moment what had left these marks, till
he saw on one side of gilded table, a
barrel lying there empty, from which the
top, as it seemed, had been accidentally
knocked, aud the liquor had flowed out.
The marble bore the stain of wine, and
where it had flowed, the slabs were
broken in two places, from the violence
of the struggle of those who saw the
liquid flow, to wet each one his parched
lips.
Paulett thought the lord of the castle
had probabably deserted it before the
move what was most valuable in his pos
session. lie went on through long gal
leries and magifcent rooms, all silent as
death; statutes which represented man
in his glory and his strength; books,
which were the work of that high spirit,
bow extinguished under the pressure of
bodily wants; luxurious superfuities,
which were for better days of the world
all was valueless, all open, he might
go where he would, till at length one
door resisted his effores, and seemed to
have been barred with a certain care
from within. Paulett's heart beat high.
Was there some one still living like
himself; another human creature strug-
CLING for existence in this great world,
and guarding, as he had done in his cav
ern, his treasure of water? Should he
have another companion to speak with,
another, with whom, perhaps, to get
over the evil days; to whom to commu-
nicate his secret of producing water from
diamonds? For the first time since he
left the cavern, he spoke aloud-he cal
led-he called in the great silence of the
earth, but nothing answered him. If
any one were still alive, he might be
afraid of another creature-had not he
himself left pistols loaded for his poor
Ellen, to defend her life and children, if
any human being should come near her !?
He gent y shook the door, and then pro-
ceeded to more violence and forced it
open. 1t was the door of great dining
room, on whose lofty ceiling, as he enter
ed it, wreathes of smoke rolled, which
the air had put i'll motion, aud heavy
smell, as of burned charcorl, struck bin
as he entered There were no living
creatures inhabitants were all dead
i'll the last posture of life. The table
was covered with gold and silver vessels,
and among them were dead flowers and
fruits, dried by the close chambers. 1t
sh 'uld seem they had drunk deeply be-
fore they died here-perhaps they had
collected the last liquids, and resolved
to perish when they once more feasted
for there was wine still in some of the
vessels, nay, in one there was water;
and the ghostly shapes were adorned and
Enthusiastically covered with jewels and
velvet, and all sorts ofrare exquisite Or
naments Some were still on chairs,
some fallen forward on a table, some
PROSTATE, as if they had laid down to
sleep. There were fragments of shiver-
cred glass on the floor; there was stat
ue broken to pieces on the table, on the
pedestal of which was written "Patience?"
there were pieces of torn paper in hands
of one, which seemed letter; all these
faint shadowings of long stories, and of
a scene of which there remained no wit
ness, struck Paulett's eye. One had
sunk down by silver tripod in which
the charcoal had burned, and the match
that fred it was amongst his garments.