The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1859-06-30

his steps. Arriving at the gate he
passed in. When Malcolm hesitated
to enter, the old man said: s.y ~
"Come, follow me-" bemmr, a
i Malcolm went, and soon they stood
within the village church-yard I! And
this white-haired guide was the sexton,
who for more than sixty years had
made those beds for children of immor-
tality. The pale moon shed its beams
upon the place, aud the chill air sighed
mournfully among the weeping willows
that grow by the hedge. The grave
stones stood like specters among the
faded grass, and here and there arose
a white monument, like some more
powerful spirit that watched the sancti-
ty of the place. - 3E'i aroao'.en
Malcolm Warren" spoke the old
man, in voice so deep that it seemed
almost to come from one of the neigh
boring graves, "not long since you
pointed to me as an example of how
long q man might live who smiled upon
the wine cup. You pointed to me as
one who had outlived all my compan-
ions, and yet as one who had always
quaffed at the intoxicating bowl Per-
haps you spoke truly, but you did not
speak the whole truth, for the whole
truth you did not know, and have
brought you here to whisper the truth
into your ear" t-5
Malcolm Warren looked up into the
old mans face and he saw how solemn
was the expression that rested there he
forgot the bad company he had left be-
hind at the tavern, and his thoughts
became serious. f
Malcolm, resumed the sexton, "
can look back now into the past, and
see score of young men who COM
menced the race of life with me-. We
loved to learn the excitement of the
Intoxicating cup, and we thought not
then of the danger we were counting.
Years passed on, and l saw those twen-
ty men sink into the arms of death,
and buried them all here. Malcolm
Warren, they all sleep IN dras'akard's s
grayes! One after another saw them
fall, and at length 1 was left alone of
the party who were wont to assemble
around the bar-room fire"
Adeep groan escaped from the young
mans lips, and a shudder ran through
his frame.
"All gone ?" he asked. eaJ
"Yea, all !" the old man uttered.
"But this is not half, Malcolm. Their
wives and children that died, and they,
too, lie here! O, how well l can re-
member when saw them standing at
the altar; and when they turned away
from the place they were blushing
brides. But few short years, and /
began to gather them into the fold Of
death. They sank down with broken
hearts and crushed hopes Some OF
them lived to be gray headed, but their
gray hairs came down in sorrow to the
grave! See that grave there-the one
with the dark gray stone. He who
sleeps beneath that mound was once
the happiest youth in the village. He
was carpenter by trade, and he built
the house in which you were born.
He used to laugh and sing over the
winecup, he thought not then of the
harm. /. / once heard his young wife
beg of him to remain at home with
her, but be refused her the boon. She
told him that she was cold and hungry,
and that her child needed clothing, but
he needed her not. A few short years
afterward, that wife's heart broke, and
she died, and her children were found
in the morning, frozen. The hus-
band and father / found one cold night
lying by the roadside, and he was
dead these are the graves, for I bu-
ried them all together. You can see
the wife's grave next beyond the gray
stone of the husband, and those two
little graves are where lie the frozen
boy and grip iif
The old man drew his sleeves across
his eyes to wipe away the tears, and
while he did so, Malcolm bowed bis
head and groaned mournfully.
Malcolm Warren" he said, "there
was once full regiment of stout sol
diers followed Napoleon Bonepart into
Russia. There were many other regi
ments. went also, but of this one in par
ticular have l read. Of that whole
company of men, only one solitary in
dividual lived to return to the home O
his birth! All the rest died on the way
They were starved and frozen, and
! they dropped by the wayside. Now