The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1859-06-11
From the Spirit Of the Time;
A NIGHT in the Forest.

Night in the Forest.
Fd1-Are you not a scwardi Answer me TO that
| and Poins thtre.
Poins-Zounds, yc Eat paunch, We call me coward
| FaI.-I call thee coward. I'll thee damned ere
call thee coward but would give thousand pound
could run fast thou canst. You are siraisH
enough in the shoulders. you care not who sees your
back Call you that backing of your friends: pdsa'
upon such backing Give me them that will face NE
cave me cup Of sack: am rogue II drunk 10 aay
king Hsnry ".
! 1t was a beautiful morning in May
! Isl, that | started from the city oi
! Pittsburg, homeward bound, ga Erie and
buffalo, to the quiet little village Of A
upon the banks Of Cayuga Lake. | can
never forget with how light heart pull
| ed the ribbons over my bonny bays
/ young and spirited, and recuperated by o
] tortnights. soiourn on the banks OF the
! Ohio, after q drive of hundreds OF miles III
! the South and West We fairly bounded
! from the pavement TO the sandy soil, leav
! ing the smoky city in the fading valley, as
| though merely playing with the mile
| stones which surrounded it. The sun
shone down never so gloriously on new
! born spring; the very trees seemed bound
! ing into life, and partaking Of Nature. :
/ Joyousness. both driver and horses were III
a gale OF spirits. Seventeen short, happy
3 =
I boast. and although no " south-down' foe
/ yet mantled my chin. felt myself sufii
! ciently advanced 10 assume a miniature
importance, ut least Away W. few. leay
ing the haunts Of civilization it-clf IN ou!
journey towards the "Oh!o line along
/ which the road threaded its way 10 Lake
Erie. There were no railroads then in
that part OF the West: steamboats, and
pOst-coacheS were the only modes Of con-
yeyancc Spurning these occasionally, the
traveller who might hc obliged TO leave the
mail routes. would provide his own team
to 90 and come at pleasure, Thus was /
Journcying alone, but now Il was the home
ward w0y-to the home OF hovkr"I day.
surrounded by scenes cndeaTed, ey"a 70
the memory Of old Troop. the watch
dog. whom | lOHged to see and embrace Is
well p the rest oi the family | had been
absent eight months wandering ghitLcr and
thither. crossing the AllcGhclics. pasSiu"
over every foot of the famous Cumberland
road. ana visiting most of Ili. prominent
points adjacent | felt myself great tYa-
ve!Cr, and Sightseeing a. with all old ira
veled sHobOcrut- had become a nuisance
Besides, / was in lovel Ny Duiciana was
not merely. a, | thought, 4 boyi-h fancy.
No, she was the very perfection ot all Gre
a:ed beings The smile OF Minerva was
upon her lip and the form Of 4 Neuus was
blushinG from the fleccy clouds of riucl-ts
that covered her rosy checks. True, she
was some four or tive years my senior, but
what o: that? Was not Il man? At
least. thought, nv travels Will increase
her respect for my attainmcntS, and thus
the dlstance-the bridge OF sighs-the
years between u viii become anuihil.ted
i...3 .
ere / reached the little village aforesaid,
rendered immortal bv her presence. some
unmanncrly ape, perchance might step
IN and step out, too with my beauty
What woud- then that | cracked the
whip. and urged on my tIu,ty road-ters
be- i day lost u love : sometimes a whole
lifetime of woe, thought /, as the hours
and miles few past me
And thus mU,!n--.t was now nearly
might've entered the forest Of Black
Pines. Was hardly aware Of their pre-
scnce. Until starting from my rcverie. aud
gazing round, | looked il vain Tor the
place Of our entry. These woods had been
described by Tie landlord where ! had
dined. Ii would occupy several smart
hours. he remarked. To cross tAeu-ac-
conpanylnG h.~ words with very solemn
look iudccd-., look which flied me with
dread. and which had haunted lle tie
whole afternoon. There was no human la
hi,ation on the long road through them.
only solitary cabin Ian ne..- their far
th"st edge. where | must spend the night
! quickercd the speed Of my horses q. We
passed finally into the forest The sun
was Just vanishing behind the distant hills.
and the long shadows of the tall pines on
either side impaired a melancholy aspect.
l. l.rr- l.
seemed TO me that IL all nv wandering
had never encountered 30 dense a wood
The road too. was uufenced, and wound
around amongst the charced stumps and
trees with nervous pTOdigality. As the
shades of evening approached, ! Srasped a
tirrner hold upon the lines of my horses.
until al last, Ike the boy in the graveyard.
! whi>tled Twice | caught myself, with Il
sang trout that would have carried the
tomb-Stones whistling with all my might
the Star Spau2ied Banner But, alas
that tulsome production had no influence
upon the sun, moon, or stars, and ! abau-
doned it and all other spangled banners.
now III very dread instinctively of the
more than darkness which seemed creep
Ing over the scene with an awtully solemn
misunderstanding my usual poetic mus
ingS Of '' twilight into chaos. and creating
a dreadful feeling OF utter loneliness with
in my breast. ! thought of all the great
and brave men of antiquity, and tried 10
nerve myself up | could not remember
that Alexander, Caesar. Pompey. Napole-
on, or any OF the other old braves. had
ever been accused Of coWardicc; but the
reflection would constantly intrude itself
upon me that they had never encountered
a dense forest on a dark night alone. And
such forest? full of all sorts of animation
life-like rs mine, until at last the impres
sion became fixed, that crossing the Alps
,rth an army, TO mind, was something 10
be preferred to crossing the, forest of
Black Pines without one. This latter
conviction was considerably strengthened
by an opportune Shrek from neighhoring
tree which, to my mind, undoubtedly pro
ceeded from n wildcat among its branch
cs, | had read OF these irightiul animals,
and involuntarily shuddered as | measured
the distance from the top of tall tree to
nv wagon seat, The shrek of the wild
cat was general signal and from all sides
of the forest the redoubled clamor now
rung ont i'll answer TO the summons, until
even my trusty steeds, partaking of the
general melee. SHE'D at every passing object.
1T is medical theory. that powerful inn
pressions are created by the imagination as
fully occupying the brain rs the proceed
ing from actual cause. | was certain that
various dark figures had fitted over nv
pathway even to the ill-shaped brigands
hat, with its white, flowing feather, to de-
note the leader of his band Itseemed an
age too, since we had entered the wood;
miles had been measured, and yet no sign
revealed the clearing near the little Inn.
At last | stOpped my horses Was If not
upon some unexplored passage north or
a "speck Of advice upon that subject
not at all satisfactory to myself; this was
evident, for my heart beat louder than
ever-I could hear it thump! To return