Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1857-01-02

Alexis aunlg himself pnhesiitatingly q, into
the roaring torrent. Being an I expert
swimmer. and BY dint Of" clinging occa-
sionaAy 'toitherocks thatstore his flesh,
Alexis managed storeach a reefjnsti be-
meath the window. behind which he could
watch what was passing. ;,
rs A slight noise soon met his ear. II was
the bark putting off from the opposite
bank. It certainly seemed as if he who
moved itlmust beimpelled byaa mad, and
headlongpassion, for it was little short Of
tempting Ptoyidence'! 1t, wasthe boat
hook rather than the oars, and his hands
still more than, either, hat. stood the
stranger in good stead, and enable him
to reach the foot. of the sloped granite
crag, to which he moored his bark. efl
On gaining the rock he proceeded to
scale it with isuperhuman efforts. the as
cension being even more perilous than
crossing the torrent had been. But it
was SO dark in these solitary depths,
that Alexis soon lost sight of the stranger.
His immediate business. however, was to
cut the cable. which he accordingly did,
when the fragile bark was drifted by the
torrent and speedily dashed to pieces.
After fulfilling his mission, the genes
rails nephew raised his head OUT Of Gu
riosity, and could perceive the stranger
standing on a'narrow ledge that bulged
out over the waves of the precipiece,
some five and twenty fathoms above the
torrent. 4t. se. e
How could he manage to climb up
that ledge ?"thought Alexis-'.and how
will he ever be able to proceed,u step fur
ther. now that the.rock is as steep AS a
wall %
A rope was now let down from the bal
ccny, as ifto answer his silent query
The stranger seiz9d it eagerly. and began
to scale the intervening space with fears
full rapidity, till. he had reached about
three>quarters of the distance. a! that
point however although his arm and legs
continued manceuvring after the same
fashion the stranger seemed not to ad-
vance step farther.
By-and by he appeared to be coming
down again. Yet no it was not the
man, but the rooe, that was being slowly
lowered. Still his efforts seemed more
desperate than ever. II looked as il he
would lain have leapt at bound to the
window he longed to reach. and whittier
his whole soul seemed to aspire. But the
rope kept lowering and lowering still
Let US now take peep INFO the inte-
r;or of the princess's room. The window
was open and the tair young woman was
sitting in her evening dishabille. with her
beautiful hair flowing down her back. un-
confined by pin or comb. Her chin
was resting on her hand. in the attitude
of one in whose mind hope is struggling
against the blighting influence of stern
reality.
Presently the clock struck one, when a
signal reached her ear.
Varinka started to her feet. aud ran
and opened cupboard from whence she
drew rope as long as fsthom line for
sounding the ocean. She then proceeded
to fasten it solidly to one Of the marble
pillars supporting the mantle piece and
after trying its strength, and answering
key than it was given. she rushed toward
the balcony, and lowered the rope over
the ballustrade. still grasping it with her
delicate fingers, as If to ensure the safety
Of the beloved objects, it was to poise in
mid air. And now the marble pillar
squeaked beneath the pressure of the
moose, as the anxiously expected guest
had seized the other end of the rope from
below. Earinka leaned over the balco-
ny. with strange mixture of joy and
anxiety, when suddenly she felt a hand
upon her shoulder. She turned round
it was her husband
Varinka remained speechless. motion
less and terror-stricken. The prince was
silent likewise. but there lurked dia-
bolical smile upon his rough countenance
as be drew forth his hunting knife. He
slowly stopped down, and. began delibe.
rately saving the rope tightly drawn
across the chamber. Varinka could not
utter n syllable. Her senses seemed Pc
tri6ed by terror. Meanwhile the hus-
band continued saving awayat the fatal
rope, with a kind of sardonic GOODNESS,
until it hung together by few threads
only.
. Make haste. madam" cried he
make haste and seize the rope, or all
will be lost for him who is hanging over
the abyss" ta
AS if galvanized into action by those
tauuting words, the young wife darted
upon the rope. and by suPerhuman ef-
fort Of strength upon the part of so fra
gile being. she wound it three or four
times around her, arm with frantic haste
Dragged violently by this one arm to:
ward the window. while the rest of her
body chung with desperation to the inside
of the chamber, she fixed her looks on
her hus band, and once more became mo-
tionless. t
Vastly we'll r. said the general. cold
lly. ", You forbear screaming, because