Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1855-05-06
"Monipe!iar."

! Mont pe!er. .r
/ The Gambler sPFang TO bis feet, his limbs trem-
| bled, and his face vas pale as death. for Mont
pelier, wss the home Of his youth, and perhaps
/ the wounded man might have been his playmate
IN chiidhood-PerhaPs a schoolmate-knew his
brothers and sisters. He clung eonvulsiyely to
The table, and with eontending emotions of rapid
thought and the weight Of the irjurs he had in
hicted, he could scarcely keep on his feet. A
stmulant was given the wounded man, and he
was momentarily relieved from that weakness
the body is SO subject to after severe wound
when the doctor inquired if there was any friend
it the city he wished seat for.
"Yes," he replied, My wife--sbe is ct the City
Hotel. on the corner Of Clay and Ksarney streets.
Tell Mary to hasten, for am badly hurt
man was sent to bring bis wife.
Doctor" said the gambler, "save that mans
life, and there is my bank, and 100000 in Bur
gcyne's-you shall have it all"
The doctor felt the pulse Of the man and pr0bed
the wound anew. The gambler watched him
with the greatest anxiety until his inspection was
finished, when the doctor shook his head in token
of impossbliiy. The gambler sat down by the
side Of the wounded man and bsthed his head with
water, and staunched the flow of blood from the
wound until the arrival of the wife; she came, ac
companied by few friends, and as heroic women
bear their misforlunes, she bore hers. Not 4
word of reproach escaped her--words Of cheer
fulness only came from her lips the tears cours-
ed down her cheeks. To her inquiry to the
chances of her husband recovery, the doctor as
sured her that there was no hope; that the wound
vas mortal, and that in few hours he would die.
She sank down upon her knees and invoked the
mercy of forgiving God for her dying husband
and his murderer. The gambler asked the for
giveness ofthe wounded man for the wrong he had
committed ard also that of the wife, which was
readily granted.
"This )" said he, sis for not obeying the sacred
injunction of my aged father and mother--not to |
gamble. have faced death thousand times,
and still have escaped; the balls OF an enemy |
whistled past my thick as hail-stones, and |
the bursting bomb has exploded at my feet; still |
| have lived o God and for thisI High above |
the red tide of battle have carried my country's
ensign, and that won for me a name among men, |
when not comrade was left to tell Of the deeds
in the battle, escaped unscathed. Why was |
not killed like the rest! All that was proud and
pleasing t. man have had; and if could recall |
this last act by living upon carron, sleeping in
pauper's grave, and renouncing every proud act of
my life, would do it. / was born in the same |
village with that man; we have been classmates
together, at the same school; received instruc- |
tions of the same aged man; we were born be- |
meath the same roof, and, o God! the same moth |
er gave Us birth! He must not die, he is my
brotheri"
And the gambler sank down in a swoon upon
the floor. The wounded man raised himself up
on his elbows; his CLASSY eyes wandered about
the room as if in search of some particular person
"Mary." said he, "is brother William here! |
L" and the words choksd in his throat and he |
sank back corpse upon his pillow. The wife |
knelt again, but it was beside dead body, and |
invoked the mercy of God upon his soul, forgive.
ness for the murderer.
The gambler awoke from his swoon, and stag
gered up to the wife, and said
"Mary, would it were otherwise, have moth
ing to live for now; the dead and dying do not
want anything in this world, take this certificate
of deposte to sged father, and tell our parents
we are both desd-but o! do not tell them how
we died.
Before the women could reply or any one in
terfere, the report of that pistol sounded again,
and the fraircids lad ceased 10 live.
On the hill near Rincon Point were two graves
few years ago, enclosed with a white picket
fence, and one tombstone stooiSit their head with
the simple inscription Brothers. Golden
Fra