Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1854-12-21
Nj | S G. E LIAN EOUS.
November 25, 1853.
From the Knickerbocker.
A WINTERS EVENING TALE.

A WINTER S EVENING TALE.
s'Beware of fraud, beware Of fcklenesse,
In choice and change of thy deere loved dame;
Lest thou of her believe too highly blame,
And rash misweening doe thy hart remove"
Two old men sat together over their
wine on Newly ears eve. Two old men
SO differently rarely sill in social converse /:
for one was tall and his shoulders were
broad and his loud "Ha! hs!' rang out mer-
riIy every now and then. aud lis healthy
bloom was still upon bis cheek only the
frs, fros,s of Iife's winter whilened bis
ubundsnt bsir, end CHEEKY, good bumor-
ed lIgh, still beamed from his bright blue
eve. The other, so pale and wrnkled, so
bowed down, so humble in address, in Ut.
terance so feeble and indis,nct lha, his
companion turned his ear patiently toward
him in good nalufed close attention. Only
a few scattering locks Of gray were lef. TO
stray over his furr"wed brow. and bis dim
hsf-closed eyes, burrowing under the shaggy
eyebrows, wandered lis,Iessly over the Ia
BILE and the floor, while the words fell bur
ridly end trembling from his tongue. The
TWO we're talking over the storms that had
swep, over the ocean Of their lives; bu,
while one spoke Of ,empes,s safely outrid-
deu. and rocks of shoals well Escaped, the
other told of long fruilless wandeJings in
far off lands. under schorching suns, tor
men,ing spirits urging him on, and vain,
delusive hopes smiling in mockery before
him.
Come, come, PHIL said his entertain
er; 'you and are too old now 10 mind
much The rsking up ofold scho"lboy pfanks
Pray now what high crime and misdemean-
or, or what a,rocious plo. sgainst the s,aid
decorum OF vr,uous society was il thai
drove you forth into this wilderness o! the
world, in truth, you seem TO have called a
goodly bundle Of sage experiences: wha,
Phil Hopes nervous mouth twitched
more than ever, and his hand irembled as
lie raised his 9 ass and shook half The con-
tents oul upon the marble table; but be
took heart when The last drop was empiied
down his throat, and again the glass flowed
with the dark red wine; and again i. was
drained TO The bottom.
Then Phil Hopes eye was raised till j,
met that of his employer, and i, wsvercd o
moment and wandered off along The fresco-
ed walls, and over rich gilded frames of
mirrors. and back again I'LL j, fixed upon
the Brussels carpet,
81, is hard, Mr.. Wllard'-he began thus,
low and lremuIousIy-''hard TO open ones
lips so late in life 10 q secret they have
kept so long locked up within them bu,
there is something within me now ,ha,
drives me TO confess against my will, and
,ha, tears my secret f'om me, though hop
ed il should be buried in my grave" And
his voice grew husky, snd once more the
heavy decan,er was cIn,ched IN his feverish
grasp, and third brimlng glass followed
the others down his throat.
~ was far different, Mr.. Willard, from
wha, am now when ! went to pass my
summer vacation in lovely village among
the mountains of Massachusetts. They
called me handsome young men lhen"-
here a shadow Of smile fllckered over his
wan vissge- s'and ! was in much be.ler re-
pu,e for fea,s of agility aud skill in The
aheletic games Of colIege-li(s than for any