The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1857-02-12
Ugly as Sin.
FROM THE xsrckESsocxra.

|
crossroads, in the town ofH--, which all
who have hunted OF travelled much in Herki.
mer county will recolect; and the ,interro-
gator was q large bushy -whiskered, hard.
|; faced man, in red flannel shirt, whose op.
pearanoe no less than his dialect. proclaim.
ed him to be from the far West. It was even.
ing, aud a group of Iounsers were smoking
) and chewing BY the open FIRE, whose warmth,
though itwus mid sumner night, was Gar
from unpleasant.
The person to whom the question was ad
dressed, partly turned his head toward the
speaker, but did not immediately reply; and
: took the opportunity of examining him more
closely than had done upon his entrance.
He was, without exception, the ugliest, most
pitiable specimen Of humanity that | have
ever seen. One of his legs had been ampu,
tated above the knee; his right hand was
withcred and contracted, as If by severe
burn; his shoulder had curious hump; and
the cords Of his neck were SO drawn and
shartened, that the cheflt seemed to rest up
ON it, as on pillow. His eye-Iashes were
gone and his blood shot eyes were coh.inu-
ally moving uneasily@ithin their raw and
inGamed lids. But more painful to the be.
holder than all this, was strange inndefned
expression Of fear or horror, which told, more
strikingly than his wounds, The story OF some
awful trial to which he had been subjected
With all this, however, there was some
! thing somild and centlemunly in his man.
ner, that he seemed at once to challenge
and obtain the sympathy of every one. His
entrance into the store, apparently total
'stranger, had checked the lively flow Of the
ordinary bar room conversation, but more
than one chair by the fire was offered him,
and many aglance Of commisseration ex-
changed between the rough laborers
"Bur or catamount!" repeated the lIoosier.
"I thought" said the stranger, in the hOl-
low voice of n consumptve, that should
find sume one in here to night who would
recoIlett me. / recognize many OF your
faces. And yet" he aided sadly, "my own
mother did not know me-"
There was quick movement in The group
about him ut these words, aud eve-y eye was
bent once more upon him. But no enc
spoke.
"Deacon Pelton," resumed the ugly mar. .
"your son BilIand used togo to school TO-
gethcr down at the creuk . ed.
"I.ordi,elp u.s." said tie good Old aoacos,
|"to think OF the changes! Well. he added,
"its what we must all come to-" ...-
1t was pan that the elder was fairly pdS-
zIed.
II never thought till latefy," pursued the
Fcripple, 'ttllatH should be obliged to tell my
name to my old ,compau;Uns and lriends.--
Look at me again"
"No, no." muttercd the man in the red
shirt audibIy; some look day at that fcl.
low is rs much as / can comfortably stag
ger under.''
But the store keeper, taking step or two
forward, gazed into the ug mans for almo-
ment with on eager air, and said:
.'Neighbofs, it's BEN LARK1Ns" ga
"BEN LARKINs!' suid the deacon, "wlly,
we heard you were dead"
"You will hear that again soon,' sad the
tnewcomer, Sand it will be true story them"
There was an awkward pause; for the old
friends tjf the poor man, with all their curl.
tosity, had native delicacy which restrained
their questions. But the western man, who
now saw him for the fret time, was wholly
free from any such embarrassment.
| stranger said he, II ain't much given
to pumping man against his will, but l
should like to know how you came so, just
to keep out Of such scrape myself"
81 came here this evening"" said the ug-
Ily man, "on purpose to meet as many OF my
old acquaintances as | could, and tell my
|etory. Y knew I should have to tell it some
time or other, and I want to have itover, to
feel that my mis- fortune is known, and that |
Il =
,am free from questions" .ts a5- q
He shifted his seat as il to obtain an easi
er position, and continued: "Those Of you
who saw me couple ofyears since will rec
oIect that was then, as | had been for
many years previously, q warm and active
Z, politician. Now that have come home
to die aiaohg you, it seems Of little moment
/ who comes out the winner IN these doubtful
races; but then it was different thing tC
me, and. ] believe I was never wanting in
any service which my party asked Of me
from the time Of the election Of the good dic
General Harrison, who is, / tFust, in a bet
4 ter place than the White House now.''
fAmen!'Nssid the red. shirted man, sol
EMMY. n gt3aa # .k7 ts A 7 shs
! "When I emigratedto Ohio, two 'yeari
since,' continued 1.arkins, a carried MI
f enthusiasm wilhmes and beeame pretty vel
known in the section of country sbout sth,
A vilsge Of W, where settled. Yol
must remember, at. least all Of you who rea'
e the newspapers, that ourlast eubernatoria
& election was an unusually exciting one.
belonged to one of the State general com
' mittees, and, as the retufns on election DO,
n came in by express. we began to grow fair.
d wild. We had beforehand made all the nee
!, essart,s to have thetearliest an