The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1857-02-05
ONE WHO DIED WITHOUT LIVING.

burgundy, at the age OF seventy, leaves
the following memoir, whereby he proves
lie has not lived
All that is suffering, sorrow, cnnul, des-
pair, desire, regret, should he deducted
from life, because We should ourselves have
deducted it, had heaven permitted. When
three years old 1 was weaned at six
could speak badly; at seven 1 split my
skull; ut nine WAS cured. l must, there
fore, extract nine years from my existence :;
for surely to drink nurses sour milk, not
to speak, or badly, and to split ones skull,
is not living. At the age Of nine 1 began
my studies. Owing to my cracked skull,
my head was hard one, and 1 proved
stubborn to tuition. I required two years
labor to spell the alphabet. 1 was indebted
to letter Z alone for about fourscore hun
dred lashes; the other twenty three letters
made complete martyr of me.
Al the age of twelve 1 could read, but
my body was mangled with alphabet scars.
An attempt was made to teach me Latin,
and lost my French in the experiment.
AT fifteen 1 knew nothing at all, and a
forced diet Of bread and water had reduced
me to tho condition of skeleton. Six
years more had therefore to be deducted
AT sixteen my father made me notary's
clerk. There commenced a new species of
n"rtyrdom. got up at six, swept the
Office, lighted the stove, WAS drubLed
by the taller clerks, and my father, over
whelmcd with complaints about me, de-
prived me Of my dinner. This life led
for five years, and from life will positively
deduct them.
AT twenty, my father, quito disgusted
with his son, put me OH board slip at
: Chebourg. l washed the decks, climbed up
the top mast, mended the sails, and re-
ceived thirty lashes day upon my back
This was endured for four years. At twen-
ty-four, my father made me haberdasher.
| married Mademoisele Ursule Devousins,
turner's daughter; her portion consisted
Of 10000 l;vres, mortgagcd upon sugar
estate at St. Domingo. The day after the
wedding ] found that my wife had wood
en- leg, made by my t.ther-in law, the tur-
ner The poor woman made thousand
apologies for her infrnity, and pardoned
her out of regard to her marriage portion.
Tie St. Domingo blacks rose against the
whites, burnt the marriage portion, and the
wooden leg was all that was left to me.
At thirty lost my wife in consequence
of scrofulous disease. Ispent six years
of marriage repen.ing every minute. 1
therefore deduct these six years from my
life. Having, as everybody else, slept
third part Of my life, deduct twenty -four
years of sleep, and am below the right
reckoning, for I was great sleeper. A
year lost. aiding minute to minute. in
searching for the keys of my desk, which
I was constantly misaying. Does one
live when ono looks for key? Three
years lost in having myself shaved, pow
dercd, &C., five years in suffering toothache,
infammations of the chest, with relapscs
and convalcscence.
Three years lost in saying "What's
o'cloc..." ave have bad weather today
show do you do 2" how is your lady 2"
II have bad cold. Marlborough sen va
ten guerre-what mud in the street-what
winter this year! Six months lost in
having the mud brushed off one, and six
in brushing ones hat. One year Of endu-
rance of the entire acts of theatre. One
year lost in listening to the modern dramas,
the chief ID Gvure of genius not understood.
One year lost in complaining of salt and
tasteless soups, Of outlets too much or too
undone, of indigestion Of hard eggs. To.
tai, scventy-one years. 1 beg leave to de.
clare that in giving up tile ghost, do not
give up anything worth keeping.
The First Sno,0 Storm in the City of
Merieo.-La Nacion, a newspaper Of the
City of Mexico, speaks in its number Of the
2lst ult., of the snow storm there thus:
"Last night at half past 0 o'clock,
heavy snow storm began which lasted sew
eral hours. Never have We seen this phe-
nomenon, so common in attitudes higher
than ours, in Mexico before. 1t also excl
ted, to high degree, the curiosity Of the
Inhabitants of the capital. The thermome-
ter of Reaumer was one degree above zero,
and maintained itself there during the
whole night. The fiat roofs Of the houses,
the streets, the hills which surround the
city Of the lakes, and give her so beautiful
an aspect, the public walks, all remind US
this morning, of,.he frat snow storm we
ever witnessed, which was last fall, in tho
United States and in Europe. Mexico city
presented this morning a'truly picturesque
sight for the green leaves Of our eternal
spring formed lively contrast with the
fakes Of snow, which dressed them in.an