Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1858-03-27
misfellaneous
From the London Monthly Magazine.
THE LOvE.CHILD.
Concluded

~ 'oN tN'NN' t'SN
away-when was aroused by the deep well.
known notes VI q brace OF big frightful foreign
hounds which :he Squire usually kept chained,
among other geological ouriusiiies, in his court.
yard they were evidently on the track which |
had taken from the brow of Transum TUrr.
Ia the smiths shop, where many of the villagers
were accustomed to congregate On winter evenings,
TO gossip, gambUl, aud play at ALL roURs on the
anyils. / had heard horrid tales about blood.
hounds in foreign parts and my grandmother
parlor was adorned with a cOlored print, in which
n leash of the breed were depicted in tho act of
tearing down a plOr naked black. OLe of them,
as | remember to this day, had leaped upon the
mans shoulder, and t%hrusting his head forward
had grabbed him by the throat, Blotches Of blood
were distributed about the dogs iaws-the vic.
tins tongue lolled forth-it was an aw full affair,
and l never could look at it without suffering that
strange cntlneous emotion which produces goose
flesh. | was far from an obedient boy aud my
wrathtui grandmother had often threatened % take
me by the scruff of the neck, hurl me over the pal.
isadoes OF Squire Patch's court yard. and let the
blOod-hounds worry me a tfihe, or fWo, these
were her very words.
The ugly monsters (they had been christencd
SIN aud DEATn) we're, as | have stated. now on my
track-hheiy business tqS toiM me.
My first impulse was to 20 down the bed Of the
brook, break cover in Cuckold's lIarem field, aud
make off towards Farmer Belroy's house, or my
g~randmother's hovel. Belruy. | felt satisfied,
would protect me and my formidable grand
UOtneT was, IN my estlmatiOn, single nandeu a
match for anything that drew the breath Of life
A bare once took shelter, literally, on her hearth
even beneath the CRATE and in defiance of a
whole army OF red-eoa.s belonging to a distant
hunt, and II foil pack of strong hounds, she pre-.
served the wretched animals life. The dngs and
their attendant gentlemen broke through her mis-
cradle window and the mud wall beneath it but
my fierce grandmother, who was the washer
woman, stood in the breach. and by dexterously
plying the simple artillery oi boiling water from
nm enormous crock, compelled the beleagners to
beat u retreat, after having suffered considerable
loss. Most OF the leading hounds, and many Of
the gentlemen. and their horses, were dreadfully
scalded the dogs huwled with agony. and ran to
and fro, swapping at everything in their way, as
though they were mad. One Of them, | remember,
flew at an elder tree in front of the hut, and seem-
ed 10 derive immense consolation from gnawing its
rough trunk. The gentlemen roared hideously,
and the horses snOrted. neigbed, whiunied. kicked.
pranced, paved, and tore up the hard gravel road
with their desperate teeth in so trightful a manner,
that l %besOught my grandmother, in screams, to
desist. Not she indeed While any of those
who had battered her mud castle remained within
range of her liquid prQjectiIe, she continued to
deal II forth By the laCleirli exclaiming, ever and
anon, You'd worry II hare, would you? She has
turned into Il witch, you see! When water fails
I've irons at the fire, and. God help me | shall
try to fattsn your iaces !" The gallant hunters
retired discou,titted and ~disgraced but the poor
hare, Notwithstanding all that we could do for it,
died the next day, as my grandmother said, "Of a
bursten heart" from her efforts in the chase. Du.
ring the night she squealed like q child in agony
her dying look was dreadfully human. | shall
never fnrget il.
Could | but get beneath or behind my grand
mothers stiff, thick, patched petticoat, | should
have dared to pebble the uoses of Sin and Death
with a consciousness of pertect i%mpunity could l
have reached Farmer Belroy's kitchen, | felt sure
that l should have nothing to fear from anything
appertaining to Squire patch;bu in the open fields
l should incur the risk Of being riewed, aud run
down. therefore determined on steering for an
other haven. namely, the cottage of Ezra. the
gamekeeper. who had shot me in the leg. 1t was
much nearer than Farmer BelrOy's or my grand
mothers. and il could be cume at, entirely. with
the exception of one meadow and IA garden,
through thick cover. 1t lay, however, in quite a
different direction, and to reach it | was compelled
to retrace my hounderiDgs up the bed Of the brook
As | passed silently and unseen the spot where i
had made my plunge. the bloodhounds, Sir and
her half.Jred daughter Death, whose sire vas a
bull dog, were baying above me, and | heard Squire
Patch s~hrieking for the CaddisUomhe otter hounds.
Quietly making my way up the stream, ! at length
reached the root of o tall and noble maiden oak,
which rose from one of its banks, and after having
overtoyped the underwood, among which it was
born, scared brayely up into broad daylight far
above the ridge of tho little ravine. This friendly
tree / climbed with ease, and travelling to the ex-
tremity of one of its upper branches, alighted safe
ly on tie level Of the wood.
Fear, as the novelists:s of Leadenhal street oS-
serve, lent me wings, and | flew through the copse.
In five minutes | mad reached the the back door of
Ezra's cottage. l opened il, shut it quietly behind
me, shot the lower bolt, the only one | could reach,
and, being barefooted, came into the kitchen with
out being heard. Kitty was clasped in the arms,
and weeping on the shoulder, of her brother. Blue
Peter. the poacher. The interview was clandes-
tine;l revealed myself by coughing, and they looked
like guilty things. Kitty Notwithstanding my filth
clutched me up to her bosom and kissed me. Blue
Peter laughed. l frankly told them my story and
within a few moments from its conclusion, | was
stripped, plunged into a large tub of soap.suds-it
was kitty's washing day-and after having been
properly toweiled, put to bed. i was still in a
state of horrible alarm but Blue Peter vaRquished
uy bitter apprehension Of the bloodhounds, 10y as.
suring me that no canine nose in the world could
follow me up a maiden oak. Kitty brought me n
podger of hot milk enriched with lots Of sugar,
aud a dash of Struggled brandy, and in half an
hour after | had entered the cottage. l was sleep
ing, AT midday, in a fine feather -bed-fast as a
top.
My repose was, however, doomed to he brief a.
that hurried but less comfortable slumber which
befel me on the the bank of the brook, | had a
violent and vivid dream, in which, as | subsequent
ly found, imagination had been powerfully assist
cd or excited by reality. Squire Patch was Satan,
cast out of the herd of swine he vomited blood
hounds in cOupiei-in eternal succession of twins
facsimiles Of Sin and Death-and these the swine
devoured. Meanwhile my grandmother danced
on al npturned washing tub, and her reveTed dom
KEY brayed. Each Of the pigs-and thore were
milliuns-secmed identical with our Sir Simon
but il is necessary to explain.
My grandmother, as | have said. was a washer
woman-ahout half a grade above a pauper but
proud reckless, and INDEPENDENT as any supreme
lord Of lives and property in the universe. Al
though earning but a scanty subsistence by the
labor Of her hands in her old age. after having
spent the early and middle part Of life in cynpar.
alive opulence-she feared nothing-she cared for
nobody. She had prospecrively paid for her bit of
battle-ground in the parish church. Her coffin
had, for years. been under the bed its cover pos
sed hinges aud a look and key the solsmn utensil
contained her valuables-a little tea-a little sugar
the key of cider-ihe small stone jar Of illegiti-
mate white brandy-her thin-worn wedding ring
which. unlike herself, not being fitted to endure
hard work. had snapped-a lock Of Billy Timm's
hair. the youth Of her maiden love-great grand
fathers battered Bible. on the yellow fy leaf of
a -. -. - - lit $500