Des Arc citizen., 1859-03-18

none. I 6ercey ordered her to get some. She turned her eyes sadly upon me, the tears falling fast over her pale cheek. Al this moment the child in the cradle awoke, and sent up furnishing wall, startling the despairing mother like serpent's sting 3}eA
 ]" We lave no food, James; have | had none for several days. have noth- l ing for the babe. My once kind husband, mustwe starve 2'
 \" That sad, pleading face, and those streaming eyes, and the feeble wall of I the child. rnaddened me, and I-yes, I struck her fierce blow in he face, and she fell forward upon the hearth. The furies of hell boiled in my bosom, and with deeper intensity as fellI had com. mitied a wrong. had never struck Ma ny before; but now some terrib impulse bore me on, and I stopped as well as l could in my drunken state, and clenched both hands in her hair.
 ses God of mercy. James v exclaimed my wife, as she looked up in my flendish countenance. you will not kill us--you will not harm Willie 2vand she sprang to the cradle and graspcd him to her embrace caught her again by the hair, and drag ged her to the door, and as lifted the 1 latch the wind burst in with cloud of snow With lhe yell of a fiend, l still tlragged her on and hurried her out into the storm. With wild ha! ha! l closed l,he door and turned the button, her plead ing rnoans mingling with the vail of the blast and sharp cry of her babe. But my work was not complete.
 C turned to the little bed, where lay my elder son, and snatched him from his slumbers; and against bis half.wakened struggles, opened the door and thrust hlm out. In the agony of fear he called me | by name was no longer fitto bear, and locked his fingers into my side-pocket. l could not wrench that frenzied grasp away, and with the coolness of a devil, as was. shut the door upon his arm and with my knife severed 1t attlie wrist.
 The speaker ceased a moment, and buried his face in his own hands. as if to shut ott some fearful dream, and his deep chest heaved like a storm-swept sea. My father had arisen from his seat and was leaning forward, his countenance blood less, the large drops standing out upon bis brow. Chills crept back to my young heart, and wished was at home. The old man looked up, and never have since beheld such mortal agony pictured upon human face as there was on his.
 stIt was morning when awoke and .l J tbao "a tense, first secured a drink of water. and then looked in tbe accustomed place for Mary As missed her for the first tune, shadowy sense of some horrible nightmare began 10 dawn upon my van. dering mind thought had a fearful dream, but invountarly opened the out side door. with sbuddering dread. .'
 !" As the door opened, the snow burst in, followed by the fall of something acrors the threshold, scattering the snow and striking the floor with sharp, hard sound. My blood shot like fed-hot arrows through my veins. and rubbed my eyes to keep out the sight. It was 70, God !! how horrible !--il was my own injured Mary and her babe frozen to ice! The ever true mother had bowed herself over the child to shield it, her own person stark and bare to the storm.
 <" She had placed her hair over the face of. the child, and the sleet had frozen | to lhe white cheek. The frost was white in it's haf-opened eyes and upon it's tiny fin brave boy" s..9
 Again the old man bowed his head and wept, and all that were in the house wept with him. In tones of low and heart broken pathos the old man conclu- ded
 "I was arrested and for long months raved in delirium. awoke, was sen fenced to prison for ten years, but no tor lures could have been like those 1 endured witbin my own bosom. 0 God no o!-I am moi fanatic. I wish to njure no one. But while live, let me strive 10 warn others not to enter the path which has been 70 dark one 10 me.
 The old man sat down, but spell, as deep and strong as that wrought by some wizards breath, rested upon the audience Hearts could have been heard in their beating, and tears to fall. The cd man then asked the people to sign the piedgea My father leaped from his seat and sn ed al il iteagerly. 1 had followed himl as he hesiiated moment. with pen in ink, a tear fell from the old mans eye ofF the paper.
 Sign it, sign t, young man. Angels would sign it, would write my name there ten thousand times in blood. if t would bring my loved and lost ones"
 My father wrote " MoRrIMER HUD- SON" The old man looked, wiped his tearfu1 eyes, and looked again, his couu- tenance alternately flushed with a red and dealh-like paleness. "It is-no, il cannot be; yet how strange p mutlered the old man. Par don me, sir, but that was the name of my brave boy"
 My father trembled, and held up the left arm. from which the hand had been severed
 They looked for moment in each oth- CTS eyes. both reeied and gasped
 |" My own injured soni'
 ssMv father [" .5 eI .l