Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1855-08-22

hpIlHHlHg INTO lie. HOOh SAID he, as
the image Of his wife forced itself. upon
him Its only little fun and frolic.-
| Whose business is it !? Get out with your
nonsense
And thus speaking, the young husband
and father closed his hands as though he
would hold upon the feelings he had tried
to repress, and then he hastened on. At
length he reached the tavern, and here he
found his companions The laugh and
the joke commenced, and ere long Malcolm
| forgot all about his home. He sat in the
bar room, and his sharp Wit made food for
much merriment
'Who says there's danger in the bowl 2
cried young man, as he raised the glass
to his lips.
It's the ravens croak, said another of
his companions. Here's confusion to the
idea
Good y exclaimed Malcolm Warren,
posing his glass. POISON in the bowl
Nonsense! Look at old uncle Adam, now.
Hes 6een used to it all his lifetime, and
he is the oldest man in town. Come, here's
to uncle Adam
The person to whom Malcolm had thus
alluded, was an old white haired man, who
: stood at the bar with glass of rum in his
hand. His name was Adam Stanford and
almost ninety years had rolled over his
head His form was bent, and his limbs
trembled, but still his head and his mind
we're clear. He heard the remark which
the young carpenter made, and having set
down his untouched liquor, he turned and
gazod upon the youthful speaker He
knew Malcolm Warren we'll.
Malcolm, he said, come with me-
{ Come alone, for alone would speak with
you. Come!
, There was something very deep and
meaning in the old mans voice, and as he
turned toward the door, Malcolm arose to
follow.
'Detain him not, said Adam, as some
of his companions sought to hinder him.
t why should | 90 with you p he asked |
To please an old man. mean to do |
: you no harm, Malcolm. Come
Passing out of the door they moved
across the street Nehr by was the village
churchyard, and thither he bent his steps.
Arriving at the gate, he passed in. When
Malcolm hesitated to enter, the old man
said
Come, follow me-
Malcolm went, and soon they stood
white,haired guide 81 vas Engi sv45AR9 this
for more than sixty years had made those
beds for the children of immortality. The
, pale moon shed its beams upon the place,
! and the chill air sighed mournfully among
!, the weeping willows that grew by the hedge.
). The grave.stoncs stood like spectres among
y the faded grass, and here and there arose a
" white monument, like some more powerful
= = spirit that watched the sanctty of the place
= - Malcolm Warren spoke the old man,
:. in voice SO deep that it seemed almost to
70 70 come from one of the neighboring graves,
,g not long since you pointed to me as an
~, a. example of how long a man might live
u who smiled upon the wine cup. You
~ pointed to me as one who had outlived al
" my companions, and yet as one who hac
~ ~. always quafTed at the Intoxicating BOWL
'on "M Perhaps you spoke truly, but you did no
4, a. speak the whole truth, for the whole trutI
-. 80 you did not know, and have brought yol
'So m here to whisper the truth into your ear
na n Malcolm Warren looked up into the oil
I,eo mans face, and as he saw how solemn wa
-" ,,, the expression that rested there, he forgo
~ the bad company he had left at the tavern
- - and his thoughts became serious.
80 of Malcolm, resumed the. sexton, l ca
=. look back now into the past, and see scol
nJ of young men who commenced the race
' 'arn life with me. We loved to learn the ez
hot citement of the intoxicating cup, and
.aIv l'a thought not then of the dangers we we
.orJo courting. Years passed on, and L sa
~ those twenty men sink into the arms
ian Ia death, and | buried them all here. Ma
anJ u colin Warren, they all sleep IN drankdro
-, qrages One after another | saw the
y fall, and at length was left alone of t
IN party who were wont to assemble aroul
ooot the bar-room fire.
1os A deep groan escaped from the your
I'od mans lips, and shudder ran through
and frame.
rorl, eAll gone ? he asked.
= - sYes, all ? the old man uttered. B
n,or. this is not half, Malcolm. Their WI
and children that died, and they, too,
ronr here O, how we'll can remember wh
>, saw them standing at the altar; q
issod when they turned away from the place Il
her were blushing brides. But few sh
and years, and began to gather them into
,one fold of death. They sank down with
/ not ken hearts and crushed hopes Some
SIDE them lived to be gray headed, but Il
H. gray hairs came down in sorrow to
not grave Sec that grave .there-the
have with the dark gray stone. He who sic
T. beneath that mound was once the happ
claar youth in the village He was carpel
= the by trade, and he built the house in wi
10nce you were born. He used to laugh
~ b;s sing over the wine-cup, and he thor
: anJ not then of harm. | once heard his 20
'otbar wife beg Of him to remain at home '
o,;on her, but he refused her the boon.
, ~ Lna told him that she was cold and hun
,.,I;no and that her children needed clothing,
=. ~ he needed her not. A few short year
"nI,, - H. terward, that wife's heart broke, and
- b:d died, and her children. The husband
" 1"A father found one cold night lying By
,s Nal roadside, and he was dead ! Thes
street their graves, for buried them all toge
oh be You can see the wife's grave next be
Z snloco 80 the gray stone of the husband, and
= mbbhnv two6little graves are where lie the Fl
q from boy and girl!
'o :l fg9' The old man drew his sleeve aero