Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1854-06-17
miscellaneous.
Prom Dickens Household Words.
THE HERMIT OF DAMBURGvILLE.


abroad and spent some time in little continen-
tai town which, il you please, will call Damburg-
vile Citapoi, although it may have been neither
in Holland, Germany, France Italy Greece.
am about to tell the true tale of person living
in that town, and wish to do without directing
nnybody's eyes towards him.
In the parish church of Damburgville- Cittapoli,
mass is ccebratcd-so much am obliged to say
~-and at that chuch was in tho habit OF attending
pretty regularly | used to see there very de-
Nout-loOking man who Was never absent from his
place, and whose humility Of bearing and extreme
seriousness of demeanor fiXed upon him good
deal of nttcntion. lie had the figure and the
movements of tolcrably young man. at any rate
OF man under forty, but lie seemed to be sixty
years old in the face thought when ! used to
meet him for the sake Of looking AZ him in the
porch. His dress was too cjarsc to belong to n
gentlemen, and yet remarkable for gentle
= mans neatncss. lie spoke to no one and once or
twice shrank back against the wall that he might
not be touched by riu when | was passing HIM
He used to wear gloves too when all ether hands
were bare at the communion.
| male inquiries and obtained no clue to the
knowledge desired nobody seemed TO know who
the man was, except one friend who supposed IT
inust be "Nat you call the Jack ketch." l said
that he was not mt a | that sort of person. Then
al Fiscd to ask the priest concerning him, ''for
hc knew everybody.
had made friends tn the priest, and did not
hesitate to take my friends advice. Ills reverence
informed me that from my description the person
who had excited my curiosity must be-what shall
lake for a name-Bertram dc Mcdci.
"De Mcliciv' | said; surely have heard of
that name before
probably" said the priest. at is one of our
historic names. The person of whom YOU speak
belongs to altillu sraous family
And yet he is unknown here
Ills history is strange, and IL is not unknown
here. lie has no associates The good old gen
teman then cased my mind by telling me the story
upon the getting of which my heart had long been
set.
Bcrtram would have been born with all possible
advantages, it, as the father said he had not pos
scsscd an innate propensity for evil. His nurses
dcspared of him, his mother greved for him, at
school he clever but misused his abilities. As
young man he learned what be should have shun-
ned sympathised with what he should have hated,
and by the time he had become fairly a he
was perfect villain Master of his property, he
wasted it-he became estranged and ut last who'll
ly cut off from his family, and the tribunals of
iu ticn grew to be more and more familiar with
his face. lie endured many short imprisonments
under fcisned names at last for a capital crime
he condemned to DEATH, but his sentence was
commu.cd. and in the flower of his yeras he was
sent for life to the galleys.
His fate did not COW or alter him. The convicts
spend much OF their time in work. Galleys are
legal iations now-a-days The men work on the
roads or in the dockyards. Their hard labor is
aggravated by heavy chain fastened from the
waist to the ankle; sometimes two prisoners are
chained together, and are thus for years compelled
into association. Bertrum was strOng-easily per
formed his work-likely the society of criminals
and was pattern to them all of carelessness ;
he the to cheer dependency or to put
down remorse in others. This courage lasted till
the list of men, who older prisoners than
himself, became shorter and he approached the
distinction of being senior among those about him
who were undergoing punishment for life. Then
re became restless, envied those who went out
after short probations into the grey world again ;
he became melar holy. lie felt no remorse, but
&e was weary o, 'notony of the wall: and the
sea. the bed and the chain. He wanted liberty.
One dag he sat on his bed knitting, the sol
der in charge of the ward called him by name.
He resc, ard having answered, found that he had
not been called alone; five other prisoners were
summoned The six men were led under guard to
room in which sat the superior officer, with one
two others, and the nature of the busines in
hand was explained to them. In one of the pro
vncial towns there had died government official
whose place it was usual to supply from among
the conv.cs of the worst class The Office was
that of exccutioner of the town of Damburgville
Cittopo, and the six prisoners selected tC
have the option given them, each i'll his turn, o
buying freedom by acceptance of the vacant
Office.
They were told that the salary was good one
but that the officer appointed would live quite alone
because of course the townspeople would not visit
with the headsman, even if he gentlemen
and not a convict of the lowest class. Bertran
stood fourth in the order of seniority and wa:
therefore pained to feel that he should loose this
very good chance of emancipation.
lie did net loose it.
The first who was called forward declined to
leave the prison, saying that he was accustomed to
it, and should not know what to do with himself at
Damburgvillc, with nobody to speak to.
The second who called answered that he
should not like to undertake such bloody work
AT this there was n general laugh, because the
man was known to have committed more than one
murder lie understood the laugh, and offered
explanation of his scruple. lie said that there
difference between some things and other
things that when fellow was in the humor, and
had something pretty to gain, money or revenge,
he did not mean to say that he was any way tender;
but that it was quite another matter to be taking
to blood as business for ones daily bread.
The third convict said that he did not reckon
himselfa worse or better Christian than his neigh
Der who had last spoken he had been bad enough
in his tme and thought it fit now to amend. i
he went out into temptation he could not answer
for what mischief he might do.
Bertram next had liberty to speak, and he &C
cep'ed the place without any hesitation. lie was
instructed that he had leave to depart when HI
chose, and the necessary passports were immedi
a.ely given to him, with a of money for hi
first expenses. lie was ordered to announce him
self to the chief magistrate of the town, when h
arrived at Damburg,ille and informed that tn
papers necessary to install him in this Office wou
at once be drawn out and sent for signature to tn
capital, whence they would be sent in due cours
to his employers. Bertram de- Medic wa
really free and would not waste moment in de
lay lie put off his prison clothes, dressed him
self in common suit, and made such haste tina
h. was able to leave the prison home by the frs
public conveyance that set out after he had re
ceived his liberty. So he arrived at Damburgvill
while he was still in the first flush of exultatio
and surprise.
After refreshing himself at an inn and payin
some attention to his toilet he went out, travers
ing the streets with the gladness Of a child nquir
ell for the mayors house sent in his highly respec
table name on a card, and was ushered into tn
drawing room. 1t was with extreme surprise tla
lie found himself received by the mayor and hi
family as n visitor and treoted with rasnact A