Mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado Co., Cal.) 1854-1860, 1858-04-10
A Revolutionary Legend.

rock which rose, like huge wreck Of some
primcval world, at least one hundred feet
above the dark waters of the Wissahicon.
The man with a dark brow, and the darker
grey eye flashing with a deadly light-with
muscular form, clad in blue hunting frOck Of
the RevOlutiOn-is continental named War
rem. His brother was murdered the other
night at the massacre of Paoli.
That other man, with long, black hair,
dropping along his cadaverous face, is clad in
the half military costume of tory refugee.
This is the murderer of the Paoli, named
Dahncy .-----------.-
They met there by accident, and now they
fought not with sword or rifle, but with long
and deadly hunting knives they struggled,
twining and twisting over the green sward
At last the tory is down! down on the turf,
with the knee Of the continental upon his
brcast-that appraised knife quivering in the
light-that dark eye flashing death in his face I!
Quarter! yield!" gaspcd the tory, as the
knee was pressed upon his breast; "spare me
i yicld!"
''My BROTHER" said the patriot soldier, in
that tone of deadly hate; "my brother cried
for quarter on the night of Paoli, and even as
he clung to your knees, you struck that knife
into his heart. Oh, l will give you the quar-
ter of Paoli!"
And as his hand was raised for the blow,
and his teeth were clcnchcd in deadly hate,
he paused for a moment, then piniOncd the
tory's arms, and with rapid stride, dragged
him to the verge of the rock and held him
quivcring over the abyss.
Mercy" gaspcd the tory, turning black
and ashy by turns, as that awful gulf yawncd
below. Mercy! | have wife and child
spare me!
Then the continental, with his muscular
strength gathered for the effort, shook the
murderer once more over the abyss, then
hisSed this bitter sncer between his teeth:
My brother had a wife and two children.
The morning after the night Of Paoli that wife
was widow, and those children orphans. -
Wouldn't you like to go and beg your life of
that widow and her chdrcn?"
The proposal made by the continental in the
mockery Of hate, was taken in serious earnest
by the horror stricken tory. lie begged to
be taken to the widow and her children to
have the privilege of begging his life. After
a moment Of serious thought the patriot SOL
dier consented. lie bound the tory's arms
still tighter, placed him on the rock again,
and then led him up the woods. a quiet cot
tagc, embossomcd among the trees, broke on
their eyes. They entered the cottage. There
beside the dcsolatc hcarthstone, sat the wild
ow and children. She sat there a matronly
woman Of about thirty years, with face IA
dcd by care, deep, dark eye, and long black
hair, hanging in a dishcvelcd state about
her shoulders. On one side was dark hair
cd hoy, Of some six years; on the other side,
IL little girl, one year younger, with light hair
and blue eyes. The Bible-an old and ven
Grated volumc-lay open on the mothers
knee. And then the palc-faccd tory flung
himself on his knees, and confessed that he
had butchcrcd her husband on the night at
Paoli, and begged his life at her hands!
''Sparc Inc for the sake of my wife-my
child!
IIc had expected this pitiful moan would
touch the widows heart; but not one rclent-
ing CLEAN softened her face
The Lord shalt judge between us! she
said, in q cold, icy tone, that frozc the MUIR
derer's heart. Look! the Bible is in my lap;
will close that volume, and this boy shall
open it, and place s.tingcr at random upon
a line, and by that you shall live or die! i"
This was strange proposal, made in good
faith, of a wild and dark superstition Of the
oldcn times. For a moment the tory, pale as
ashes, was wrapt in thought. Them in faint
ing voice nc Signilicd his consent.
Raising her dark eyes to Heaven, the moth
or prayed to the great Father to direct the
finger Of her son. She closed the bOok-shc
handed it to that boy whose young check red
dencd with loathing as he gazcd upon his
fathers murderer. He took the Bible, opened
its holy pages at random, and placed his fin
ger upon verse.
Then there was silence. The continental
soldier, who had sworn to avcngc his broth
cr's death, stood there with dating eyes and
partedlips The culprit knccling on the floor,
with his face like discolorcd clap, felt his heart
leap in his throat
Then, in clear, bold voice. the widow read
this line from the Old Testament. 1t was
shot yet terrible:
"7HNt man $h"H Ne!"
Look the brother springs forward to
plunge knife into the murdcrer's heart but
the tory, pinioncd as he is, clings to the Wild
ow's knees. lie begs that one more trial may
bc made by the little girl, that child of five
years old, with golden hair and laughing eyes.
The widow consents. There is an awful
pause. With smile in her eye, without
knowing what she docs, the little girl opens
the Bible as it lays on her mothers knee; she
turns her laughing face away and places her
finger upon line.
Thatawful silence grows deeper. The deep
drawn breath of the brother, and the broken
gasp of the murder, alone disturbed the still
ness. The widow and darkeycd boy are
brcathlcss. The little girl, unconscious as
she was, caught feeling of awe from the
countcnances around her, and stood breath
less, her face turned aside, and her tiny fin
gers resting on that line of life or death.
AT length, gathering courage, the widow
bent her eyes to the page, and read. 1t was
a line from the New Testament:
'LOre yOur enemies !!
All, that moment was sublime. Oh, awful
book of God, in whose dread pages we sec
Moses talking face to face to Jehovah, or Jc-
sus waiting by Samaria's well, or wandering
by tho waves of deep Galilcc. Oh, awful
book! shining tonight as speak, the light Of
that widows home, to the glory of the me-
chanic shop-shining where the world comes
not 70 look, on the last night of tho convict
in his cell; lighting the way to good, even
over the dread gibbct. Oh, book Of terrible
majesty, and child-likc lovc-of sublimity
that crushes the soul into awe-of beauty
that mclts the heart with rapture, you never
shone moro strangely beautiful than there in
the lonely cot of the WisSahicon when you
saved the murdercr's life.