The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1855-08-21
H!i5rrllanrDlls.
THE FYlGHWAYMAN'S FRIEND.
A TALE OF THE ROAD.

The worthy Toby Simpt"n was the most up
ri:h, of Quakers. Some years retired from
i,,.siles< he Inhabited pretty villa III the Su
'.,rbs of London, which surpassed all similar
ilIas in the world by an additional grace IT
-.ivrd from the. presence of his only child,
.,ely Girl of about seventeen, as good as she
Was fair. To the dazzling lustre OF English
beauty, If which she was the perfect type, her
y. rSma>i"n and manners added a subdued grarl,
" aud wirriug gen,leness Of manner, which
rendered Mary an object of the most unquall
fed admiration to all the young men OF her
acquaintance; those in her neighborhood Wed
with each other for her regard. Their efforts
,.erc vain. Mary was no coquette, and far
;om euioying the effect Of her charms, she
as quite annoyed by it, even feeling quite
- aSed with the conduct of her per,lnacIous
,: c:s. except in the single instance OF
san Mr. Edward Werestord, Il y"nng artist,
III" WAS admitted 10y her father to his entire
confdeucp 4 sudden stroke had carried oil
the beautiful wife of the Quaker, and he, anx.
,ou< to preserve memento of one so dear, had
.nmnoncd the skill of the painter to gaze on
.,. litrIess features and transfer them to the
,.:.nvasS, animated hy the bloom and radiance
ia ii:.t1 lltu forever. lUe SuCCtSS VI h-H"''"
T.. =. i delicate task, and his unaffected svmpa
+, with The deep griet Of the husband and
-. had Won the warm esteem OF both ut
!, was he side her mothers death bed that
'',iNarl fast saw the love Y girl, SO touchlnSly
,,...Lle in the sincere sorrow of her early or
n!::.uare: and there it was that there sprung
=, N their breasts deep and earnest love-
So tt If the tears Of one and the soothing alten
.irs Of the other. The year which passed
,lc.. then had drawn still closer the tic tprmed
n. l., sch auspices, and the young man had
, ,,,yth Ibid lefnre The father his wishes aud
,.:n.S. The excellent Toby saw no reason to
.:In,>v the mutual inclination of the young
...":.ic. Mary had respectable fortune, and
-, ard. without being rich, earned 10y his pro.
<>i,n enough to afford him an honorable in
,,.peu5euce His father, Mr.. Wercsfnrd, an
old city merchant, had retired from trade with
fortune tenlnld Increased. 1t was rare ex'
ample rf rapid success in his specula,ion-so
ra,iJ indeed that few had been abe to trace
,..r exact progress Of The accumulation
Wrre>ford. who was of harsh and capricous
,rmp.r. now resided alone in one OF the OUT
.kits of the city, aud taking little interest in
his .on's proceedings, left'hin at perfect liberty.
lie WAS one OF those easy egotists, who tron-
bir,l no one, in order to avoid troubling them.
selvcs-a class who are usually very complaI.
sat, so lorg as you require nothing OF them,
Edward was, therefore, free to pay his address.
.s to the pretty Qunkeress, quite sure that his
father would never think Of opposing his mar
riage. The young couple were going on pros
-, l., ,,L T,,h rnE Ea,l
ON with smiling pleasure. Nothing was to be
done but to fix the day for tie wedding, which
he had deferred until he should receive some
rents arising to him from certain farms, as he
intended to devote the money to the extra ex'
penditure of the ceremony. The time had ar
lived. He went to country house OF his, at
some miles from London, where he was III the
habit of settling with his tenants, and, as he
had promised not to remain more than one day
from home, he used all possible diligence in his
arrangements However, he was detained
somewhat longer than he had reckoned on, and
it was late on the second evening that he pre-
pared to set out on his return The night fell
dark; and as the road was lonely one, it was
not withous uneasiness that he perceived at
some distance horseman drawn up, as if wait.
ing for him, full in his path. He stopped, un,
certain whether to turn back or proceed. The
stranger, meanwhile, advanced towards him,
and the Quaker could no longer hope to es.
cape; so he put good face on the matter, and
resumed his easy trot As he approached the
man h.. perceived that he was masked-an i'll
emen. which was soon realized, for the un
known, coming close mp to Toby, took out
pistol, which he pointed deliberately at him
and roughly demanded his purse. The Quaker
did not want courage, but calm by nature, and
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