The southern aegis, and Harford County intelligencer. (Bel Air, Md.) 1862-1864, 1862-05-10


and, even as he chung to your knees, you
struck that knife into his heart Oh I
will give you the quarter of Paoli'
And his hand was raised for the blow,
and his teeth were clenched in deadly
hate. He paused for moment, and then
pinioned the tory's arms, and with rapid
stride dragged him to the verge of the
rock, and held him quivering over the
abyss.
"Mercyv' gasped the tory turning
black and ashy by turns, as that awful gulf
yawned below. Mercy! I have wife, a
child spare me!
Then the continental, with his muscu.
lar strength gathered for the effort, shook
the murderer once more over the abyss,
and then Kissed this bitter sneer between
his teeth
my brother had wife and two child
rem. The morning after the night of the
Paoli, that wife was widow-those child
rem orphans! Wouldn't you like to GO
and beg your life of that widow and her
children p
The proposal made by the continental
in the mere mockery of hate, was taken in
serious earnest by the horror-stricken tory.
He begged to be taken to the widow and
her children to have the painful privilege
of begging his life. After moment of
serious thought, the patriotic soldier con-
sented. He bound the tory's arms yet
tighter, placed him on the rock again and
then led him up the woods. A quiet cot
tage, embosomed among the trees, broke
on their eyes!
They entered that cottage There be-
side the desolate hearth-stone, sat the
widow and her children. She sat there,
a matronly woman of about thirty years,
with face faded by care, deep dark eye,
and long black hair hanging in dishevel-
led fakes about her shoulders.
On one side was dark haired boy of
some six years, on the other a little girl
one year younger, with light hair and blue
eyes. The Bible-an old and venerated
volume-lay open on the mothers knee.
And then the pale-faced tory flung him
self on his knees, confessed that he had
butchered her husband on the night of
Paoli, but begged his life at her hands =
Spare me for the sake of my wife-my
child =
He had expected that his pitiful moan
would touch the widows heart; but not
one relenting CLEAN softened her pale face.
The Lord shall judge between usv she
said, in a cold icy tone that froze the
murderer's heart Look the Bible lays
open in my lap; I will close that volume,
and this boy shall open it, and place his
finger at random upon line, and by that
line you shall live or die ?
This was strange proposal made in full
faith Of wild and dark superstition of
the olden time. For moment, the tory,
pale as ashes,w was wrapt in thought. Then,
in faltering voice, he signi6ed his con-
sent.
Raising her dark eyes to Heaven, the
mother prayed the Great Father to direct
the finger of her son. Shs closed the
book handed it to that boy whose
young cheek redeemed with loathing as
he gazed upon his fathers murderer. He
took the Bible, opened its holy pages at
random, and placed his finger upon verse.
Then there was silence. The CONT
mental soldier, who had sworn to revenge
his brothers death, stood there with dilat-
| ing eyes and parted lips The culprit was
kneeling on the floor, with face like dis
colored clay, felt his heart leap to his
| throat. @
Then, in clear, bold voice, the widow
read this line from the Old Testament. It
was short-yet terrible:
"Thdt man shall diet"
Look the brother springs forward to
| plunge knife intQ the inurderer's heart !;
but the tory, pinioned as he is, clings to
the widows knees He begs that one
more trial be made by the little girl,
that child of five years, with golden hair
and laughing eyes.
The widow consents. There is an aw-
full pause. With smile in her eyes, with
out knowing what she does, the little girl
opens the Bible as it lays on her mothers
knee, she turns her laughing face away
and places her finger upon q line.
That awful silence grows deeper. The
deep drawn breath Of the brother, and the
broken gasps of the murderer, alone dis
t,,xlt AZ = st;llnass Tha xv;doxu anil dsrIy