The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1861-05-18

anxious hearts Of the citizens of New
Orleans. As night came down upon tn
rescued, the glare Of huge bnniircs, tn
flashing of dancing torches, and the gilt
ter Of innumernblc lamps, with julIian
shouts, cries and cxultant laughter tha
met the eye aud ear at every turn, be
:Okened the victor's triumph. The hum
bic home Of the artisan. and the prou,
mansion Of the rich alike shonc with tn
light, and resounded with SQUADS Of JOY
But no home was 80 gny and reSpcndcn
MS that Of the wealthy and hospitnbl
General Dainemcrt; whose twn-horr
sons had that day been foremost in III,
battle, and who were NV fresh from
victory to sec their only sister wcddcd t.
William Aycrn. a young and distinguishes
captain Of the Tennessee rifles.
Long before Packcnham gave his sol
diers the bandit wntchword Of Booty
and Beauty" William Avcrn and Clara
Dainemert hnd pledged their vows; ant
their loves having gained the willing con
sent of the General, the day that shunlG
see them united hnd been fixed upon, anu
that day was the 9th Of January; though
when the time was appointed, none
dreamed that il was To b. day Of battle
IInnOred and nnScathed, the young Ten.
nessecan had ridden from the field as thu
enemy turned hi defeat and diSmay, and
with old white haired Dninpmcrt and his
warrior boys, had hastcncd to bear the
happy news to mother, sister and be.
trothcd.
"Shc shall be yours this night, my
dear William" said the old General, as
they drew rein before his house. Wlat
happier date for marriage anniversary
than that which shall be natron's pride.
IIa the good news is before us" he
continued, as his wife and daughter
sprnng from the house to greet him.
"Thnnk heaven you have all returned
safe in life and limb" was the cxclama.
tion Of the wife and mother, as she en-.
brnced her husband and SONS.
THANK the God of battles that lie has
given our country the victory!" was the
response Of the stout old patriot
The lovers uttered not a word, hut the
bcaming Of their eyes spoke volumes Of
mutual happlieSS.
But if the joy of the lovers found no
tongue, the camOrouS and hearty shouts
Of the cbon visagcd servants, clustering
around with eager faces that ShOnc in the
torch!ight, made ample amends.
~ have n promise to fulfill" saii the
General, "and We must invite our friends
aS fast as legs can carry messages. vii.
liam is to wed Clara this night. Come,
wife, you are nimh!c with the pen; write
to those who stand upon etiquette, aud
hurry of verbal invitations To the rest
Send for Your bridesmaids, Clara; my
sons shall bc your groomSmcn, William.
would that yonr father were alive to sec
this happy day You spring from II race
Of soldiers, my dear boy, and this cam
paign has proved you worthy Of your de-
sccnt"
This wns spoken MS the General led the
way into his larlor, and every word was
heard by u dark faced and naughty young
man. who rose from sofa as they entered.
"Wrll, nephew, we won the fight. and
Henry ST. Maur was not there said the
General, with severe glance, aS the
young man met his eye.
Henry St. M1ur. when taken prisoner
at Detroit" replied his nephew, "pIcdgcd
his word not to bear arms against England
during this war. Bat my heart was with
you all, uncle"
"If | had been at Detroit" rctortcd
the old patriot, "and if | had been Henry
st. Maur, I'd remained captive rather
than accept liberty with my sword in
limbo. But, make ready, my boys, for
the wedding! Bc merry and happy while
you can"
Sosaying, the noble old soldier FASTENED
to change his dress while his sons, with
William Avcrn, hurried to their apart
ments to exchange their war-staincd garb
for gOrmentS bciitting the occasion.
Henry st. Maur, a coward in heart and
n villain in mind, hadlong loved his cousin
Clara, both Tor the wealth that would bc
hers, and for her lovely person. lie was
the son Of the Generals youngest sister,
and his father had been French officer,
who had served under Lafayette. Both
father and mother sprung from brave
and warlike line, but the son had inner
tied none Of their noblcr traits.
A shrewd schemer, n cownrdly plottcr,
and a selfish, INSCRIPTIONS man, st. Maui
had lived thirty years and not done one
worthy decd. The name and influence
Of his uncle had obtained for him a cap
tain's commission, but the tap of the
drum and the fume Of gunpowdrr always
drove his watery blood from his cheeks
Glad to forSake the field for the carpet,
he had returned to his uncltS to push his
suit for the heart and hand of Clara Daimc.
inert. But he met blank rcpulse; for
both were already pledged to the brave
and handsome William Avcrn, n young
man Of noble character and rising fame
Had he dared, st. Manr would have fought
his rival for the prize; but his craven SOU
instinctively shrank from combat with
the young Tennesscan. st. Maur had
already enough wealth to content any but
mercenary spirit, but grasping eagerly
for more, and infatuated with the beauty
Of his cousin, he would have sold his sal
vation to call her and her fortune his own
When left by his uncle in the parlor
as We related, he hurried from the hous,
with thrObbing heart and burning brain
He had not dreamed that the marriag,
was to be so sudden and all that dny h,
had prayed to the evil spirits he worship
ped to guide or lead steel to the heart d
his rival. Now he saw him returned tri
umphant, victor and bridegroom! II,
haStcncd t1 do what his wicked mind haC
long been plotting. Ere many minutes
had passed he stood in the private office
Of an apothecary and chemist, who locke,
all mankind as 40 many vcrmin, dccmin,
gold the only valuable thing on earth, $,
said report, and st. Maur believed it,
Who can explain the insanity Of sucl
avariccY for Carlo Berbi made no uSc q
his wealth save to gloat over it in grin
solitude.
~ have come for the Almond" sal
Henry, as the chemist raised his Sual
black eyes to his
Have you brought the price, younj
man 2"
Henry threw purse upon the table
Carlo counted ont the yellow coins, on
by one, trying the weight and ring {