Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1860-02-16


gently, and the old man came to the door,
''Good evening, Mr.. Harris"
"GoOd evening, sir, he said, respectfully,
but evidently good deal surprised. On the
hearth Of an oldstone fire place, burned, dinlly,'
few dying brands, which was all the light his
means afforded.
=" Mr.. Harrls," / said after an embarrassing
pause Of moment. g have come here to.
night for little conversational hope / amnot
intrudlng?"
lie did not answer.
81 feel strong interest in your history" 1
continued, g and dropped in, as I was going
by. to ask if you would tell stranger, why
you choose THE mysterious seclusion, instead of
taking an active part in the affairs of life. 1t
is no vain curiosity, that has prompted me to
this, but sincere desire to render you ser
vice. hope you will not doubt my motive.
He arose from his chair, and commenced pac-
ing slowly up and down the room, but made no
reply.
" Pardon me Mr.. Harris, for this unkind in
trusion upon your privacy. am troubling
you perceive, instead of helping you to better
feelings. am sorry that made the effort"
" Stranger, !" said the old man in a hollow
voice, /" you are the first that ever asked me of
myself, and whether 1T be idle curiosity or
better motive, will tell you why, for the storm
without is like another storm that is raging in
my heart.
moved my chair up nearer the fire, and the
old man quickened his pace to nervous rapid
ity for few minutes, and then stopping sud
denly, and looking intentIy into the blazing fire,
exclaimed in a voice that sounded strangely in
the lone cabin"
q" Oh! ii is horible'.
"What is horrble?" asked, thinking he
referred to something visible.
" The retrospect" he answered, without tax
ing his eyes from off the fire, " the dreadful
memory. Oh my soul is going out, it is con-
suming slowly, slowly. Stranger, some years
have passed away, but they have dimmed no
memory, they have faded nothing but these
loeks---the horror is living in my soul and
there it will live forever
He turned around again, and paced the room
for moment, and then stopped and looked in
to the living Goals, as though he would read
there rather than from memory.
Z" You have heard the tale-how came here
with my boy-poor motherlesS boy-and how
murdered limits true MURDERED HIM?"
I started at the singular confession, and look
ed up at the old man, but there was no change,
nothing but the same steady gazo at the burn
ing Goals.
"Yes, stranger, in a cold storm l took him
with me up the river-up into the still water
above Blasco Fall, hunting wild ducks. ALI
day long we went up and down the smooth sur
face, and always something prevented my sue
cess, till was tantalized beyond endurance,
and got nervous and fretful, and for want of
some other object to vent it upon, vented it
upon my poor boy, who done all that he could
to assist me. The storm howled and the rain
poured necessarily, till we were drenched to the
skin, and shivering with cold. 1t was nearly
night, and my patience exhausted when chan
ced to bring down duck which had risen from
the water ahead, severely wounded, but yet
able to swim as fast as we could by any posi-
bility propel the boat. Down she went with
the current, nearer and nearer the great boom
thot 10 Stratchpd acrOsa tho rUar ohovo Tho folIo
and we padding rapidly to overtake her. We
reached the boom almost together, and the duck
dove under, and rose in the still water just be-
You'd. 1t was only small place that was still,
and then the mad waters sucked through the
openings in the rocks and went foaming down
a steep declivity for a few rods, and then plung-
ed into the gulf below.
The boat struck the boom, and the duck
came up only a few feet below in the little pool
of still water, and in my moody madness and
extreme disappointment at the loss, l ordered
Eddy to dive in after her.
81 shall drowned father J" said, the poor
boy.
80 say" and I lifted him out upon the
boom by force, for the duck kept floating down
slowly, and was afraid she would go over be-
fore Eddy was ready.
"Oh father shall drowned" said Eddy
imploringly.
"Quick Plunge in I'll risk it," said in
my insane desire to get the game. Eddy was