Amador weekly ledger., 1857-12-05

i
of Louis the Fourteenth. The profuse curls
Of his perfumcd hair seem to be bursting from
the large, slouched hat, which he wears on
one side inclined, and decorated with a red
plume, horizontally stuck to the broad brim,
according to the fashion of the day. What
a noble face. If were to sculpture a hero,
verify would put such head on his shoul-
ders-nay, would take the whole man for q
model feel that could shout with cnthu-
sasm, when see the peculiar expression set
tied in that mans eye, in front Of such dan
gers thickening upon himl Hal what is it?
What signify that convulsive start which
shook his frame, and that death-like paleness
which has fitted across his face? What wo-
man-lil1e softness has suddenly crept into
those eyes? But heaven! tearl | saw it,
although it passed as rapidly as if a whirl-
wind had swept it off, although every feature
has now resumed its former expression of
more than human firmness.
understand it all That boy, so young,
SO effeminate, so delicate, but who, in an un-
der officers dress, stands with such manly
courage by one of the guns-he is your
brother, is he not? Perhaps he is doomed to
DEATH and you think of his aged mother!-
her at oncel When | see such exquisite
feelings tumultuously at work in heart as
ever trobbed in a woman's breast; when /
see you, Ibervle, resolved to sacrifice so
much, rather than fly from your country's
enemies, even when it could be done without
dishonor, stranger as you are to me, wish
could stand by you on deck and hug you to
my bosoml
What silence there is on board of those
shipsl Were it not for the roar of the waves
as they are cleft by the gigantic hulks under
which they groan, the chirping of a cricket
might be distinctly heard How near they
are together! A musket shot would tell.-
Now the crash is coming!The tempest of fire.
havoc, and destruction is to be let loose =
What a spectacle! / would not look twice
at such scene-it is too painful for an un-
concerned SPECTATOR My breast heaves with
emotion-I am struggling in vain to breathe
Hal there it goes-one simultaneous blazei
The eruption of Mount Vesuvus-a strange
whizzng sound-the kissing of ten thousand
serpents, bursting forth from hell, and drunk
with venom-the fall Of timber, as if host
Of sturdy axes had been at work in a forest
"a thick oyerspreading smoke, eoncealing
the deamon's work within its dusty folds!-
With the occasional clearing Of the smoke,
the French ship may be seen, as if animated
with a charmed life, gliding swiftly by her
foes, and pouring in her broadsides with un-
absted rapidity 1t looks like the condensa-
tion OF all the lightnings of heaven Her
commander, as if gifted with supernatural
powers and with the privilege of ubiquity,
seems to be present at the same time in every
part Of the ship, animating and directing
with untiring ardor.
That storm Of human warfare has lasted
about two hours, but the French ship, sala-
mander-like, seems to live in that atmosphere
Of fire. | do not think | can stand this ex-
citcment longer, and yet every minute is adj
ding fresh fuel to its intensity. But now
comes the crises. The Pelican has almost ST.
fenced the guns of the English So and is
bearing down on her, evidently with the in
tention to board. But strangel she veers
round. Oil see God of mercy | feel
sick at heart The 50 is sinking slowly
she settles in the surgng sea-there- there
down! What yell of deiiancel But it
is the last One of the English AIS, in a
dismantod state, is dropping slowly at dis
tance under the wind, and the other has al
ready struck its flag, and is lying motionless
on the ocean, floating ruin
"The French ship is hardly in better
plight, and the last rays of the setting sun
show her decks to be strewn with the dead
and dying. But the glorious image of vic
tory fit, before the dimmed vision Of the dy-
ing, and they expire with the smile of tri-
umph on their lips, and with the exulting
shout of France foreverlp
But, where is the conqueror2 Where is
the gallant commander, whose success sounds
like fable? My heart longs to see him safe,
and in the enjoyment of his well earned glory.
All? there he is, kneelng and crouching over
the postrate body of that STRIPPING whom
have depicted; he addresses the most tender
and passionate appeals to that senseless form
he covers with kisses that bloody head; he
weeps and sobs aloud, unmindful of those
that look on. In faith / weep myself to see
the agony of that noble heart; and why
should that hero blush to moan like moth
er-he who showed more than human brave
ry, when the occasion required fortitude?--
Weep on, Iberville, weep onl Well may
such tears be gathered by an angels wings,
ike dew drops worthy of heaven, and if car
ried by supplicatiag mercy at the foot of the
Almighty's Throne, they may yet redeem thy
brothers life.
Happily that brother did not die He
was destined to be known in history under the
name Of Benvile, and to be the founder Of
one of Americas proudest cities To him,
New Orleans owes its existence, and his
name, in the course of centuries, will grow
] TO the esteem Of posteritY, proportionately