The true Democrat., 1856-01-01
A Life Story.

The New Orleans Pycayune of late date furnishes the following:
 A few days ago young man arrived in this city after an absence of ten years. He Is now about twenty years old, and when but half of his present age, he mysteriously disappeared and it was supposed that he was murdered.- Every possible enquiry was made, but nothinq could be found out concerning him. The no. lice authorities of the time used more than or dinary vigilance in the premises; and, in fact a suspected party arrested as the boys mur derer, but no proof was forthcoming when the case was called up for a hearing, and the prison. CT was, of course, discharged. Eventually the matter was dropped, and the case and the boy were alike forgotten by the public.
 Since then, years long years have passed by, and the poor boy, who was supposed to be dead, has been suffering all the hardships and privations of rough sailors life.
 The father of that boy, when alive, was one of the solid of the Crescent city, in point of wealth. But he died while his son and heir was still an infant, and left him to a mothers charge After time the mother married a second hus. band, who turned out to be a notoriOusly worth less, drunken and dsreputable character. The property which had been left for the mainte | nance of the mother and child deminished "a. pidlv under the supertendence of the boys sep- father, and seemei to be in a fair way of being swept off altogether. At this juncture the mother died, and the poor boy, whose birth gave promise of something better, was left to the tender mercies of step father-a fate any thing but pleasant
 Matters were in this state when distant re- lative of the boys mother, seeing that the fa- mily property was all likely to be squandered by the drunken step-father, applied to one of the district courts for letters of tutorshp. While his application in the premises was pending the boy suddenly disappeared, and all search for him proved vain. The impression that he was murdered became general, ana suspicion was chiefly turned towards the step-father as the author of the crime But, as we before intimated, proof was wanting, and the proceed ings in the case were commenced, they were soon dropped as useless.
 Eventually the party who had applied to tho district court to be appointed tutor Gin law) is ht minor relative, succeeded ill his application, auC family m eeting," to use the legal phrase, wa called. Whatever property remained belong ing to the succession of the deceased parents
 passed into the hands of the tutor for the ben eft of the son. It amounted, however, to on
 ly about six or eight thousand dollars. r During the years winch lntervened oetWeel the appointment of the tutor and the preseu , time, death has been busy with the parties con cerned In the first place. the drunken anl
 depraved step-father died; afterward the tuto
 followed him to the marrow houSe;' and tn
 two sureties-who were wealthy at the perioc when they assumed their uretyship-becam bankrupt, and died also. Indeed all excep two of those who took part in the " fami
 meeting " are now dead.
 c But the minor, what of him ? As stated a
 the commencement of this article, he has bu recently made his appearance in New Orleans I after an absence of some ten years He al legeS that he Was taken away from home b, n parties whom he did not know, and that afte
 being nearly starved, he was left to die on
 little island in one of the numerous byouS con l nected with Lake Pontchartran He furthe r states that he remained there day and night when he was taken off by coaster, and mad cabin boy and drudge generally on board of !. Gulf schooner. Finally, he found his way , foreign lands as sailor, and now, after l strange and romantic, though by no means poe
 tlcal existence, he has returned to his birth
 place, in search of his patrimonal rights ? Whether he will get them or not we, shall set