Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-11-14
EVENING STAR.
THE EioUETAIT ADvKSTURF

! ioi ue 10 clOss on my way 10 the town of $;
| acircumstance by no mea0s cheering 10 tray-
eller mounted upon a ia led old hack. which
Pursued the Jog-trOt tenor Of its way" peril
nacIOusly resolved net TO move a whit faster.
| and that, too, In defiance If the almost CON
tinued application of whip and spur 10 both
OF which he appeared to have be1ome s. ia
mIlIarized as 10 regard their visitations rlerc-
! ~ as simple aud necessary ihtinatian that
| ne must "mOvc on; for, no sooner dill he find
relaxation of their m0nitions, than a propor-
tomato abatement OF his speed was the imme-
| diate consequence.
After having endured the irtolerablc fatisue
and joltiDS OF journey Of forty miles per
formed IN such a manner, it may easily be
supposed that the closing In upon me of = dark,
| cold, frosty, December night, with the pros-
pect Of having an additional eleven miles 10
travel before attained the end of my journey
over lionel J, bleak inhospita bic moor, every
yard ct which was as strange to mo as the
| TildS Of Siberia had no tendency to decrease
my WEAKNESS.
L had scarcely accomplished two miles Of nv
cheeriesS undertaking, when the darkness
which had been gradually growing tbjakc-
became 50 black and imrenetrable as T. rem.
dcr lt impossible for Inc to distinguish my
| hand, when held up, even within a few inches
| OF my eyes. The sky was hid behind q cano-
| Iy OF untathomable darkness, through which
not the glittering cf one solitary star was vis;-
| "'C- oil " aS Dldch as EreDuS.'' The wind
| which throughout the day bad been intensely
cold, now became bitterly SO, bringing with r.
| heavy fall OF snow, which beat 50 strongly j.,
| my face As to disable me from holding M INV
| head, ana frequently came in such fitfuI and
| violent gusts as ID compel my almost wcrn ont
| hack to make dead stand. To add to nv
mlsfOrtunes, my horse, L now discovered. by
his frequent houndcrirgs, had wandered out
| OF bis regular patl, and expected every mo-
! ment that lie would be either co,rpIe.eiv on
! tangled amongst the bramblcs, or that we
/ should both bebuTied in morass, or hurled
| headiong to the bottom Of some dreadful preei
| pee; all Of which dangers my terrified iInaci
nation magnificd in a tenfold degree.
! In this state Of feVeTish anxiety. while IN
| proceed was to encounter more imminent peril.
L determined to stop nay horse and remain in
my then situation, either till the violence of
! the storm was abatcd, or the Ii-lt Of returning
! dawn should enable me to guide him back r.
/ the hiGh road. Accordingly, L turned lin.
! win has mead facing tho opposite direction To
that from whence the wind proceeded. pulled
! my cloak more closely round me. and. calIipc
to my aid all the philosophy L was master OF
remained anIiously waiting till L could pur-
| sue my journey with less darger
Being now IN Il state Of inaction, / bc-an TO
feel more and more sensibly the bitter inten-
| slty It the cold, which SO strongly affected nv
hands and feet, tha, almost doubted whether
them IN
body Inc snow, which adhered 10 nv haiT,
and the brim # my hat, was speedily trans
formed into icicies; my cloak was frozen so
stiff that it became utterly useless to rae. and
hung from my back as though it had been a
board; and at length so perfectly benumbed
was my whole body, as to be almost wholly
inscnsible to feeling.
All the while my horse stood 7notionless as =
| statue, seemingly incapable of exertiop as
| Its rider. But although the use Of Iny bodily
powers was denied me, l felt-ay felt bitter
ly-that the passions within me were ...s",
phlRt h6aE the power of thinking renained'
Hope, fear, grief, rage, terror, despair ag.,-
natcly rent my bosom, each urging ne Oh to
something impracticable, OF hurting me To the
lowest abyss OF gloom and desp sndeney now
calling up feelings Of anger ana threatening.
now filling me with terrible apprehensions.
AMI now overwhelming me with horror Ia
vain L strove t. give vent to my feelings; In
vain strove to shriek aloud the angry strif,
of conflicting passions choked my utterance.
L wept, it IS true but the tears fell no faither
than my eyelashes, where they CONCEALED. AID
entirely deprived me of sight
Terrific and torturing a was this state of
| fearful agitation, the intervals of reflection
brief though they were, visited ne with far
moro excruciating anguish. ! thought of
home, of friends, of those linked TO my heart
by the dearest, the closest ties Of affinity and
dHccllCl, OI R'J ID NEOGl L laQ pilgntGu
troth at the altar, h6r unbOunded tenderness.
Ter constancy, her love Of the sweet pledges
OF our union, their happy looks. their enSa-
ginG pTattle, their artless smiles, Of the anx-
iety with which al these beloved ones were
awaiting my return then came the most ago
nizing pang Of ali, the dread that we were
separated forever, without having been per-
mittcd the one last embrace, or to utter one
sad, ono mOurnful farewell. Oh the bitter
ness, the intense agony Of that one thought Is
beyond the power Of description
Every moment, as II Jagged on its leaden
footsteps, seemed IN age. A thousand wild
vsgarieS thr0nged my imag nation. 1 fancied
that my body was imnOvably fixed on that
dreary and desOlatc spot and changed inlo q |
marble prison, in which my spirit was doomed
TO remain pent up until the end Of all things
should come and l cursed the cruelty Of fate
which had entailed on me so barbarouS Gcs- |
tiny-nay, more, even dared to call in qtes-
tion the justice OF the DEGREES Of heaven and
once, hcrrid thought in the height OF my
irenZied desperation, l was On the pon: Of i'm |
precGting its wrath; but there was rnopi- |
tor within NE spoke not in the still small ac- |
cents OF gentle repro0f, but in a voice Of thun-
der that shook my inmOSt soul, it cried, " Fog
beari'' |
Again my restless imagination coniurcd up |
fresh objects of terror. | fancied that the |
last days had arrived, that the end OF time |
N"S oI manu- IEde lIC sIiI'JS Ol uarkncSS, let /
loose upon the earth, were lowering around !
me; forms, too hideous for description, a |
thousand times blacker than the darkness |
which clouded my bodily vision. were fitting |
before me, kexulIing in my sufferings, anu |
making a cruel mOckery of my woe aud that |
from this state of misery there was no hope Of |
escaping, until the great last conaagratiOn, |
when L should share the terrible fate that |
awaits the whole creation. Oh, how L wished |
that that hour was come
At length the fury of the storm abated, the |
snow ceased to fall, the bowling Of the wind 1
was silenced. L felt the ice which had closed |
up my eyes begin to melt, and in few min |
utes more my sight was again restored.
The sudden change, from the dark forebo- |
diDgs of despair to the animating influence Of |
hope, was like an electric shock to my frame |
L felt my blood, which till now seemed con- |
gealed, rushing with new vigor through every |
vein, and restoring to my half-frOzen limbs |
their lest animation.
Reused to exertion by the prospect of deliv- |