The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1858-03-18
------H.4
THE TURN OF DESTINY.

of the Revolution, Il small room in an mn.
ireIuented street of Paris, contained Il soil.
tary occupant. lie sppeared to be young
man OF about twenty-five years of age. IIo
was SLENDER but not tall, and the smainess
OF his figure was contrastcd with the large
ness Of his head. Ills countenancc, palil
and care worn, WAS characterized by an OK
preston OF iirmncss, and by the piercing
briIiiancy of his eyes. lie sat at Il small
table, in his dimnutivc apartment, pcrusinr
letter which lay open before him. When
he had finished, he rose hastily from his
chair, and began pacing the room, uttcrin.
with energetic gestures, the following SEN
trnccs "Can this bc so Is il possible that
| am reduced to the want of even the ne
cessarlcs of life! Must my actions be clog
ged by the mead Of few pieces of yellow
metal 1t must not be SO. Cursed cursed
gold y he cxclaimcL, clcnclny Il coin in his
hand furlo"sly, and tossin. it 10 the other
end OF the room. But in u few moments
he picked it up again, and continued "Thc
unSratctul wretchcs 1t was I, who beat
oil the enemy, who, but for my intcrposi-
ton, might now be rcvcllng in Paris. And.
yet, they refuse me employment, and keep
me here starving. When asked for some
position, the reply was, was too vounr.-
The fools They do not know that study
and experience compensate for the lack of
years. And | told them us much. And
not only must bear my own troubles, but
those of my relatives. My mother writes
that she is i'll Il destitute condition. can
not help hcr!" After short pause, he
cric'l, with sudden energy: "But have II
remedy Why should drag on this mis-,
cradle life? will not do it-' Anil scz
nS pistol from the table he applied it to
his hcal. "Hut no." he said, after Il mo-
ncn;s pause, ''not i'll this way Twill rush
To the Seine and conceal alike my body ami
my fate from the eye OF man." Saying
this, lie hastily rushed from his room, and
down the narrow stairs, and issued into the
street. Walking in silence for about halI
I'm hour, he can.e upon Il bridge over the
>rn". Casting his eye about, to SEC that
II" one WAS present, he strobe to one side of
the bridge, an'l after locking over vert to
the opposite side and prepared himself for
Il run and plunge. But just at this mo-
ncnt he felt :. hand on his shoulder, and Il
vo.c. ;,ccosted linn !: "Wl,at ho, my friend.
SO You would drown yourself, would you
Good heavens, Napoleon !" the STRANGE
sis this you! Alas, what could
have brought you here 7" "That which is
the Induccr Of all suicides, misery" WAS the
nourniul answer of Napoleon. "Miscry
But what caused your misery" "Thc lack
OF money" "Pshaw, is that all ," said the
stranger. "Iou certainly can't be so dcsii-
tutc us TO think Of killing yourself Come,
my good friend, when man has enough
to cat and wear, he should not think of
death" ''But l have only one dollar" said
Napoleon "and my mothc, is starving for
want Of money" "Is possbIem said the
stranger. Il had no idea that it had come
to this. But here is purse Of gold. Take
i, and relieve your mother" Napoleon
eagerly clutchcd the gold, and hurried away.
The stranger looked after him with aston
lshmcnt, and pursued his course.
Several years after the above event,
man was vending his way in a thinly pop
llatc'i portion of the suburbs Of Paris
The traveller, seated on horseback. WAS pro-
:ceding slowly, and seemed absorbed in
iecP meditation. A few hundred yards in
ront of him lay the river Seine. AS soon
Is he had raechcd the river, lie paced slow
y along its bank until he came to a large
bridge, when dismounting from his horse,
lc tied it to post, and walked Ieisurely
slons until he came to a particular spot,
where he stopped. The bridge WAS desert,
ID and had the appearance of having been
ong fallen into disuse. The horscman
struck with sudden emotion Mt the
sight, and as he stood at one side, looking
over into the clear blue water, apparently
nadvcrtantly, he uttered his thoughts aloud:
with what thoughts do these places in
pire me! What a mighty effect have
hose still, deep waters beneath me had on
he dcstinies of the world Here, few
'ears ago, in the dead of night, 1 met a
nan, destitute and friendlcss, about to hurl
himself into the waves. I prevented him.
And now, that man, raised to the pinnacle
'f fame, is master o! the fortunes and treas.
Tres Of the world p "And has come 70
hank and reward you, Demasis !' uttered
voice behind him, and Immediately he
ound himself locked in the embrace of n
nan. Napoleon ]" cried. Dcmasis, and
cordially returned the embrace. "But," he
continued, 81 beg your majesty's pardon