The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1860-01-19

and prostitution, and murder, and connibGLisfn;
and Beole Lloyd the dsathOr of 1t all Now, the
messengers and the hateful yellow missives
come pouring in upon him by thousands
messengers of all ages, and complexions,
and races-poor and rich, in SIX and vel
vet in rags and NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. ia all
languages, In every character known on the
face of the globe-all telling the same tale of
shame and horrori Shut the door--drive the
bolt--yet here they come again by the window
| Put hands before your eyes! oh, Godl It's
written there too, in letters of blood: Rob6er
cfscidops and orphans Starvation, and crime,
and prostitution, and murder, and cGnaibal
isms-asm Beale Lloyd the author of 1t all
There was to be race, he dreamt, and he
had ventured largely upon the result. A vast
throng, loud talking, pushing, eager, were gath
| cred about the course, waiting the event. There
sat the judges, mounted aloft in their stand !;
there, with parti-colored show, sparkle ofjewels,
futter of ribbon, rustic Of silk, throng of love-
ly women, too; while all the ground was pack
ed with men. But, where are the horses who
are to rum Is it a race, when the course is
thus blocked, hurdle-fenced, and ditehed? Why,
no; it must be steeple -chase-but, where are
the red-coats? Hush Sti Stl Hark | The
judges rise. Silence in front, there--we shall
hear the entries. Beale Lloyd, betrayer of
trust, robber of acido,cs and orphans, aoiN run
a race 10Th Shame! Cruel y ell
eyes bent on him, million eyes, at
leastl n on many brows scowl, y y
on every lip sneer! Away from here How
the hot flush of shame mantles to his cheek
and browi Out of the showing, surgirg crowd I
Ne-there is no escaped See, they stand apart
| from him-all those million eyes gazing, n 4
all those dark scowling brows, all
those sneer.wreathed lips There
is no escape. He is at bay. y Aha |
Yes! To the course, and away-away from
here, foreverl IT'S but a short fight, and
| then-no more those scowls, those sneers, those
million eyes courage! Be swift, my good
limbs Bent head, clenched teeth, elbows
drawn back on onl We reach it now-over
the barrier-quick Fly, dog, for thy life |!
Fly! Ha! ha! ha! Tally no! The games
afoot! And laughter long, loud, jeering, mex
tinguishable, as the laughter of Oympian
| gods, when Hephaistos superseded Hebe, bursts
from the crowd as they break ranks and rush
to spur nor whip. He runs well who runs for
life. Hal what was that shout? A
mad man striking right and left among the
crowd-wild, fnrious-doing has battles. And
now-they have him down-'ts Rupertl
but-no time to pause, nowl On! on J onl
| Tally no! Tally no! and aacdy! The thief
runs aUeu! Hot breath of the shouting, jeer-
ing mob, warm upon his back-and their mex
| tinguishable laughter in his ears. But on, oni
IT'S better so, than to face those million eyes,
those scowls, those lips, all sneer aud scott |
| On-past the grand stand, now. How the wo-
men hutter their fans, and smile, and tnkle the
sweet music Of their laughter SeeI one rises,
horror in her face. She outstretches her arms
She yearns towards him, hunted as he is. She
cries Father Father!" and, with a wild,
piercing shrek, topples over in a swoon
The low, black-hulled SLAYER steals noiseless
| out from the sweltering, torpid stream, and
cleaves the leaden waters with her sharp, swift
prov. He sits upon her deck. She IS his
her cargo his-and, once in Cuba, will enrich
him. Around, the savage crew, black browed
wretches, savages, cut throats, pirates. Note
the obscene jest, the harsh, raucoGs laugh, the
filthy objurgation, the impious blasphemy of
oath. "The owner?" say they, what care we
for his presence? He is one of us-and as
bad" One of them Oh the shame of the
thought to him, sitting there under the avn
| ing, upon the sunblistered deck One of theml
A fellow to those bearded UNREASONABLE,
| helpmeet of those swarthy, black proved saw
ages and pirates Now matches are
unlashed, and from the steaming hold, blend
ing with the intolerable stencil and foetor of it,
| comes strange murmur of feeble voices, chat
tering unknown tongues. Now come up, rap
| idly, clumsily, a mass of black forms, naked
and unseemly, and down upon the deck they
squat, istless, with eyes that stare namely, and
| lips that hang prone and maudn. What could
! e be them from their stunned inanition, save
| thes sight of the queen jungle of mangroves,
and the rustic of home breezes 'mongst their
| native palms? y There they squat,
shivering, yet moving not, when the water is
dashed upon them-whning, yet moving not,
when the heavy-booted crew go in amongst
them, and kick, and cuff them, there
| they squat, lstless, inane, staring,
| staring at him Why do their dull, obese, I'M
winking eyes ever stare thus at him, watching
him, following him everywhither he moves
The gigantic chieftains, braves in their own
land, refractory captives here, sullenly bend
upon him eyes of fierce disdain. Children,
gaunt and terror stunned, stare at him, wide
eyed, as lord of their destinies--would, at his
bidding PROSTATE themselves, and worship him,
the awful Oboe-man, whose power has plucked
them from their homes, add prisons them in
that black, filthy, sickening den. Mothers, with
infants at their breasts, hush their inportunate
cries, and whisper, in fright: " Hushl yonder's
the Oboe mamie will wiring your neekl"
Panama maids shall long look pale,
When Rsinshams inspires the ,alei
Chili's dark mair. long shall tame
TIE froward child with BertIam's name"
some heroism in the Buccaneer, bat where's the
respect that can be claimed for the kidnapper,
the vile wretch who, for sake of filthy pelf steals
and ensayes crew of besotted, inane, defence
less negroes? Still staring at him, moving,
gibbering Domination 1t will drive him mad
Howl, curse resist, turn upon your oppressors,
fight, slay us, or die fghting-anything, but
these looks-these fixed, questioning, unwink-
ing stares At night, they haunt him in his
berth. If he looks aloft, BOBBY" perched
on yard-arm, repeats those horrid stares. 1T
he goes to the rail, and gazes at the bubbling
wake, 10 a white shark, stealing noseless after,
speculates upon him with its CLASSY, cruel eye,
and claims him for its own. No escape-no
freedom from the questioning, the shame, the
rebukes the horrors, of those eyesl
And the days move on, and the nights, and,
with their progress, ever deeper distillation of
horror mingles itself into the substance Of his
visions. From the circle of Shame, the bat
winged fend of Opium bore him downward,
ever downward, and now he was centred within
the black circle of Terror, haunted by every SER
pent.form and every nervous thought that could
shock with wild dismay-
sPiu 81 want Lihis con sua rena:
Che sc Chelidr, Jaeui Farce
Produce, Cencri con Anhsbena,
Non tane pestile nze ne s. rec
Mosiro giamma sutta pElhiopia,
Ne con clio che d sopra il mar Rossi ee."
And go it was with his dreams Nor Libya, hot
and sandy, though it breedeth serpents as the
carrion breeds maggots, nor Ethiopia, nor Red
Sea lands, with all their wealth of foulest rep
tiles: Chelydri, foetid as q dragons breath
far-springing Jaculi; Cenchris, stiff and speck-
led. as if with their victims blood, double-head-
ed. bivious " Amphisboenas dire; and copper
= - para.s the hideou al y.fatal Cobra de Ca