Weekly Clarksville chronicle. [volume] (Clarksville, Tenn.) 185?-1857, 1857-03-06


be accounted for without sopposing :
murder. Hodges may have had reasons
for concealing himself; that he was with
Winters on the very eve of his departure
may have been purely accidental, and the
watch may have been parting present
a token of the friendship which certainly
existed between the parties. There was
no proof to rebut these suppositions, or to
show the slightest interruptiou of then
well known intimacy fae,d1 ,'..r:.,5 II :,
U"I have mo- desire said Mr.. Orme, ito
throw any obstacles in the young man s
wayA1on. the contrary I heartily wish he
may ,0utlive the stigma on his, name. and
bscomse a useful and happy man, But y
our business.r The accounts of which
you'spoke, are already made ott, and if
you. will excuse me a moment, they shall
be placed in your hands. Charles can
inspect them, and any corrections, that
may be necessary, shall be made as soon
as pointed out 1 have charged no COM
missions and left out sundry advances, that
his little property mightnot be diminished
whilst in my hands, g .
Just as Mr., Orme entered the house,
George Durand appeared in the portico,
bearing the outward marks of genteel
rowdy, whose wealth enabled him to associ-
ate with gentlemen, and whose vanity
made him arrogant and overbearing to-
wards those whom fortune had not favored
so literally. At little distance, his ap-
pearance was prepossessing, but a close
scrutiny could not fail to detect evidence
of vicious nature in the expression of
his countenance. And rumor said, that
though not more than twenty y-two years of
age, he was old in the practice of vice
gaming and drinking being two of his
constant habits. as1 -f .tlr'ta.5 .,s.,'
Such was the character of George Durand,
the destined husband of Fanny 0rme.-
And what did she say to the arrangement?
Trained up in the school of obedience, she
had never betrayed to her father any dis
inclination to an union with her cousin !;
but her heart had its secret-known to
only to one, besides herself. Durand loved
her, next to his evil habits and her fortune;
and was beginning to press his suit,
stimulated by the fact that she had many
admirers, and some of them decidedly
formidable. His vanity made him san
guine--his cousin was silent But, to re-
turn. r..
"Mr. jones'" said Durand, what does
your client propose to do with himself for
the future? He ought to go to some dis
tant point, where he is not known, and
practice law, for which he is said to be
eminently qualified. IF he will do SO, my
purse is open to him, provided he needs
assistance"
~ can't say" replied Jones, "what he
intends to do; but of one thing you mag
rest assured-he will never, under any
circumstances, avail himself of your assis-
tance. Should he consent to follow my
advice, he will stay where he is, ana await
the course of events, which will, sooner or
later, vindicate his innocence, and fasten
upon the guilty-not the murder, for none
has been committed-bu the crime of a
malicious accusation"
"That is your opinion" replied Durand,
with troubled air, 'but 1 will thank you
not to repeat it in my presence; and if you
intend, by it, to convey any censure upon
my conduct, quit your insinuations and
speak out like man."
"You ought to be aware, Mr.. Durand
that am not the man to be intimidated
by drunken bully; and when l speak Of
malicious accusation, the expression has
direct reference to you-the censure is
we'll deserved, and you feel it to be so"
"You are now in my uncle's house, Mr.
Jones, and may say what you please; but
remember, there are times and places, when
and where, you can claim no such protec-
tion as is now afforded by the circum,
stances which surround YOU"
"Very prudently said, sir. And since
you remind me that this roof protects me
from your wrath, will forbear to provoke
it-merely remarking that the times and
places, of which speak, are at your option
"Not quarrelling, 1 hope, gentlemenl' +
said Mr.. Orme, making his appearance and
looking from one to the other.
"oh, nOP said the nephew, with an at
tempt at sneer "But fear, had you
not returned so soon, your polite visitor
would have extracted from me- n confession