Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1860-05-26
lSoaxUNICATEp


drla, sick man YEARLY tossed upsu hi. g
yer heated couch. He was young vi,.;n
an, just passed the verge of youth who -.
few hours previous had been proud fnlI =
life, and buoyant, and within whose b,a...
ambition held command, second on,v ).
conscience pure and chaste as IIilda's w,s
dwelt IN her dove cot above our moral A.,
and mud, with doves and angels e., !
nearest neighbors. Innocent as a l,a.,
governed by spirit of religious rect;,rs
in the full possession and control of ind
ment which had never failed him befo,o
purchased piscine machine, and all wa,l,
have gone on well but for physical anamo,.
The was left handed) through whose dr.e!
Vaccinations bright and blooming een;,
was fearfully extinguished. With all dn.
precautlon and cIrcumspection as he tbopob
the machine was set in motion, and a. e.
necessary consequence resulting from "a
wrong turning Of the crank, its propr;s,os Nc
vl'als were thrown into state Of yoIao,
inflammation, and rs he laid there ia hi. hr.;"
maddening pain, he was exp;ating in fnN
crime-yes his left hand was crime
which he was entirely guiltless. One or ,ba
young gentleman's companions acted a, h..
nurse, to whom the Doctor had stated n,;a.
to his departure for the night, that the in
fammatory symptoms were beginning n
abate, and that if perfect quiet was ensurei
the opiate which he had just given. wonIJ
produce its normal effect, and that tbera
would be chance for recovery.
The Doctor was a sensible, scientific ma,
who treated his patients upon the expe.tanf
plan, and thoroughly eschewing all empir;.
cism, he prescribed in this case resi-. sleen
"Tired Natures sweet restorer, balmy sle.p"
boon which to care worn, weary. main
racked man, is the greatest gift granted Ly
Heaven. Every grief is soothed. every SIR.
row calmed, each pain assuaged, and even tn.
remorse of guilt debarred from the continues
exercise of its internal privilege. Sleep to
the sick, is what food is to the we'll: il is the
gate towards renewed life, and from the mo.
ment of its commencement in dangeru.
sickness, the capacity for living begins to in.
crease-it is totally different from that torn
tude which precedes death.
But sleep was vouchsafed not to tLi.
young man, for there was something trem.
bling on the night air, whose sounds were
not to be mistaken. Oh, Drum Tb,u
bloody minded DRUM Thou hadst thy prey
almost then within thy grasps! IIadst thou
been mute, IL spirit would have lived on
earth of whom the Nation would have been
! prouIf Tho pn,tp,, p,,p,, rr,a,J
prayed for quiet, and his prayer seemed
granted, for the sounds receded slowly, aud
presently all was still. The sick man had
ceased his painful tossing, and was settling
into that delightful dreamy state immediate.
ly preceding sleep, more pleasant than sleep
| itself, III which his mind wander ed far back
to the haunts Of his youth and the scenes Of
his childhood's brightest hours. lie was a
| boy once more, with his satchel on his shout
der, attending the village school: Amen, he
was college youth striving with all his en-
ergles for the attainment OF his diploma
| Again he had ust returned from college
bearing that Of which he was prouder than
| he would have been Of untold wealth. And
then the hours of the night waved small,
| and the sick man ceased to dream, and slept
sweetly and soundly; and nov it was that
his life was balanced on the razor's blade
A thread of gossamer would have decided
whether he should live or forever die; but
the decision was liberal and allowed Of no
mistake. The young mans friend again
with pain, heard the death bearing sounds
of the approaching drum. The sick man
now, too, became restless. Again his mind
took retrospective glance, and he was the
same young man who, with party of friends,
va, interrupted and estopped, few weeks
since, in the gentlemanly enjoyment Of sele.
nading the ladies of the city with splendid
band of music, by the night police, as CON
trary to city ordinance. And then sud.
denly and with a start, he awoke, for there
was noise sufficient to have walked the dead,
and asked the cause of the uproar. His
friend raised the easement of the window
he did not thrust his hand through the glass
and answered that the weather was not
black, but that cheesy odor was emanatlns
from passing throng of sovereigus, the
people, the ''red headed men," who having
exercised the grand prerogative OF Freemen,
considered it their province to 'rlse" and were
celebrating their triumph with the shrill
shrek of one fife, and i'll kept time strokes Of
two bad sounding drums. He answered
| truly-IIis head was not in the cupboard.
Oh! exclaimed the sick man, where are the
watch? Where were they? Where were
they, who through the storm aud darkness
of midnight guard our city? Where were
those to whom mid the horrors of the night
we trust our lives? How nobly do they iul'
fill their trust! While all are sleeping with
out care, they are keeping an untiring
watch over us Their horns always sound
the first alarm of fire. Their rattles, always
sprung at the right moment, invariably
cause the burglar to be surrounded and cap
tured. Where were they?
None could sleep through that din. The
sick mans eyes were propped--his tympan-
um painfully tense-he had slept his last
sleep.
ooh, sacred rest,
Sweet pleasing sleep! of all the powers the best
Oh peace of mind, repairer Of decay,
Whose balms renew the limbs to labors of the day,
Care shuns thy soft approach, and sulen flies away
lie laid in state of watchfulness until
the lowering clouds in the east were laced
by the envious streaks of the sun, and then
the drums ceased their beating, and then
the sick man slept. But such u sleep.
Twas death Death itself in all its cold
reality. His worthless, worldly, corrupt
body, was left in all its corruptlbility. Twas
worse than nothing, but his spirit, his pure,
true, and indebted spirit, was gone-yes
gone forever. And as it rose through The