Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1858-07-30

pair.
The Jew produced bunch Of keys
from his pocket, and calculated, 'Ha, ha, |
ma tear! L shall now show yer de poo
tiful gootshp T began fumbling at the lock |
of the chest to open it. But somehow it |
would not open. and defed all his efforts,
till the fellow began to curse the lock, land
work himself into a pas sion with it. He
stamped and bawled, and mathematical
some absent old woman, who, he swore
bitterly, had been meddling, and had
hammered the lock.
AT first, the fellows antics amused me;
but all at once it struck me that the pas
sion was unnatural and feigned and now
the queer reports that I had heard of
London traps and villainies rushed to my
recollection and l began Immediately to
suspect thot all was not as it should be.
I turned towards the door, intending to
regain the shop, when it suddenly few
open, and figure in the guise of an old
woman, supporting herself on a crutch,
barred the way.
say in the guise of an old woman !;
for if that apparation was of the female
sex, then I am the man in the moon. I
had mown too many masculine boards
during the last seven years to be mista-
ken on that point the seeming old wo-
man was sturdy rufian of forty, not
two hours shaven-I saw it at a glance +;
and the sight of it sent all the blood in
my veins bounding back to its source.
The Jew launched q torrent Of abuse
at his confederate, and demanded the key
of the chest. l was too much prepos-
sessed to note his acts OF to hear much
he said. I endeavored to maintain a
careless air, but could not withdraw my
gaze from the pretended old woman. !
heard the box-like thrown back, and the
voice of the Jew extolling the wares
within. l made feint Of turning tc
look at them and at the same moment
| saw the petticoated ruffian feeling with
his left hand for what seemed fragment
of a broomstick, which leaned agains
the wall behind the door. Something
perhaps my herrer angel gave me. CUR
age. I dashed at the object myself, ant
seized it in my grasp-it sCas apaintec
| bar Of iron. My worst suspicious were
confirmed in an instant; and at the same
moment the Williams who had me in thei
T tolls throw off the mask. The bigge
rufian lifted his crutch with both hands
, and aimed a savage blow, which I lucki
f ly caught on the iron bar, and whicI
I shivered the crutch to fragments. Al
most at the same moment the Jew crap
= pied me by the throat. I dashed th
heel Of the bar into his face, and he leV
! to the end Of the room, carrying my laN
n ender-silk necktie and diamond pin i
his hand. I expected the bulkier assa:
Il sin would close but instead of that h
4 planted his back against the door-no'
= firmly shut-and shielded himself wit
! the remnant of his crutch. No time I
: be lost-the Jew would recover himse
n and return to the attack in an instant
7 heavy tools were lying about shou-
! be beaten down and slain. Madly
= rushed toward the door, and was in Il
: act of posing my weapon for bio
! which should crush the skull Of the bur
70 rufian, spite of his fence, when sudde
4 ly the whole scene shot upward into Il
= air; the last thing I saw was the fir
flashing eye and demoniac grin of my o
a ponent-and I was falling, falling into
as gulf of pitchy darkness.
ed Men Of genius talk and write very fl
lo. things about the wondrous CELEBRITY
he thought and the freaks of imaginati
re. and memory under certain circumstanc
nd l don't understand that kind of subj,
ok myself; bnt its all true they say new
Of theless. In those most horrible momel
bis saw myself child in arms boy
he school-an apprentice shaving my nj
ma ter's customers in the old shop--a
what Is more, I saw myself dead a
yas dashed to pieces at the bottom oI
frightful dungeon, and my mangled be
yer stripped and plundered, then pacl
oh away in a hole, out of the world I
q n ever.
in But this vision was not destined TO
+ ;s realized. Instead Of dashing on
floor of a dungeon, I fell souse int
the mass of filthy fluid, the odor Of VIII
fol- informed me at once that l had to ez
\ else some skill as a swimmer befor
in had found my feet. Even then / st
not up to my armspits in the vile liquid,
= effiuvia of which threatened to poison
,Uv with every breath drew. Happil