The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1855-02-23

side, every instant in danger OF being pre-
cipiiaied downward with the awful certainty
Of being dashed 10 pieces, his friends could
hardly restrain themselves from crying oul
with terror, though such course would
probably have had the immediate effect Of
discomposing the equilibrium oil their rash
com panion, and so induce The catastrophe
they fully anticipated, without, lhe power o;
prevention. Had the adven,urer's presence
OF mind one nom snt failed-had his sell.
possession and confidence wavered or for
saken him-had his brain sickened or his
eye turned dim for single secondhand he
made the least false s,ep-had his footing
slipped on the Shiny surface Of the beam
had he ,ripped against any OF The knots
projecting from the rotten wood which had
mouldered away. around them-at once he
would have been hurled into dread eternity.
But an unseen hand sustained him. and
safely he reached The extremity Of the
beam, rulhlessly wrenched the trembling
owl fIom his perch, waved il along in iri-
unph, and then, with proud ejaculation,
began 10 rstrace his steps with il shrieking
and flu,iering in his hands. When he
reached The centre OF tho frail beam which
creaked and bent terribly with his compar.
aiively small weight, he paused, drew him.
sell up 20 his full heighl-air above, air
beneath, mir all around, naught but air
and deliberately tore the head OF the owl
by main force from the body. Having per.
petra,ed this cruel deed, he tossed The bloody
head among the brea,hless spectators, and
sharply dashed the bleeding body into the
void beneath his feet. He cody watched
its descent, until il lay a shapeless mass on
the stones below; then with slow, Drawing
men, he walked back 10 the terrified party,
and boastingly inquired Of them whether
Manners could beat that.
"My lord" solemnly said the stranger,
"you have not performed The act OF brave,
sane man, and you have committed des-
pera,e deed on one of Gods helpless crea-
lures. You ought 10 thank him from the
depth OF your soul, my lord, iha, he saved
You from the penalty you incurred"
"What do you sayp fiercely demanded
Lord Swindon. "Do you dare to inslnua,e
cowardice against me" and with flushing
brow he resumed threatening attitude.
al know moi, my lord, whether you are
brave or not; but what have witnessed
was certainly no; an exercise of true cour.
age" was The passionless reply.
Sand yet I'll wager q cool thousand, that
You dare not 10 do it,"
"True, dare no, do il; for am incapa-
ble Of offering such deadly insul, 10 my
Maker
"Fine words !" Then carried away by
the excitement Of the moment, he added,
with an insolen, look and gesture. "You
are lying coward !"
"Lis,en, my lord, answered the person
thus addressed, and this time his tone was
even calmer than before. zone year ago,
you were walking ut the midnight hour on
The pier of the seaport of Hull, and but one
other person was upon il, and he was a
stranger to you. You trod loo near the edge
OF the pier, and fell into tho sea. The
,empes, was bowling, and the tide was high
and running strongly, and ere you could Ut.
ter more than one smolhered cry, it had
swept you many yards away, and you were
sinking rapidly. Excep, God, none but
the stranger heard your cry o, agony: and
as soon as il reached his ear, he looked
forth upon ihe waters, and catching n
glimpse OF your struggling form, he Instant
ly plunged in, and after much diving,
eventually grasped you a, a grea, depth.
Long did he suppor, your helpless body,
and s,ou,ly did he buffet the sitting waves,
and loudly did he call for aid. a, the last
moment, you and he were saved, just in
time for life 10 be preserved in both. Is
no, this true, my lord ?"
''It is," omphaiically responded the
young nobleman, "bu, what have you 10 do
with it! | don't know you, though il is moi
at all wonderful" added he' with a sneer,
'lha, You should happen 10 know about
the matter, for The newspapers blazoned il
quite sufficiently"
"My lord, one question more. Did you
ever learn who that stranger was, who, un-
der God, saved your life ?"
"No, when recovered little, he left
me at the hotel, where. he was unknown,
and ] have never seen him since"
"Then, my lord" was the startling rejoin-
der, "look well at me, for am that siran-
GER"
"YouW
"fes-l whom you have branded rs n
liar, and coward. Little thought ,ha,
the life saved a, the imminen, risk OF my
own, should beso madly, wickedly leopard.
ized, for no price whatever, as / have seen
this hour.'
So saying, the stranger bowed, and before
another word could be uttered, he lelt the
as,onished party.