Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1863-02-04
From tho Bsinbridys (G1 Argue.
TUE SuIPWRECK OF TIE HEART.
sY y %wooDIIys.

Tn. st4lely-pyrxmids hSd passed forever
ftuul our xate, Aid the banks Of tho Nile
had been lstt far behind, never To he re-
visited. Ths glorious East, and scele< If
Oriental sp!rnd"r. still fingered ON our
minds, and tinged our musings with a soft
p,rlancto!y.
Mo mligh. on the oceau!-bow grand
and solemn it was. Light, ncecy clouds
Goa.ed overhead, and the s;.rs :ai mir
rurvd themselves in The CLASSY depths Of
the water. A light pie':<an: breeze f"nn
ed our sails, mud the vessel sped smooth,
vn is hulneward jour, vy.
Ws sat on d. ck smoking our cigars lie.
ally. Henry Clifton and |. The b:ut
sunlse curling upward aud wreathing il
self into fantastic shapes, suggested
thoughts Of pleasing sadness. | hummed
snatch-s OF Did songs; among the num-
Der, :" Do they miss me at home" Ocean
Burial" and lastly, Ny last cigar"
Cliff IN sat for q long while in silence, ga
zing ON the dark, purple waves, as though
be would penetrate their mysteries. At
length he said:
Did it never strike you. Horace. that
this ocean, now so still and peaceful, is
like the lives Of some men-calm i'll the
intensity Of their despair See how
smooth the waves ate-how deceitful in
their now-telling no tale of shipwreck or
storm;-brinsins back no tidings Of an
guirh. Thus it il with me. The waves
Of my heart are closed over its dead.
Many a golden venture has been
wrecked on the sea Of life. Many a ship
laden With the freight of hope has return
ii IT, ME nevermore; and yet, although
my soul is haunted. with the ghosts of
murdered ambition, persisted JOY, and bu.
ried love, my face is rs calm MS this mo
t~ionlees wave. Have you ever seen the
hull Of y dismssted ship, floating on the
waste OF waters, robbed of its beauty and
splendor, floating on, on, unconsciously,
m%otionlees in itxelf, and at the mercy Of
every wind and wave, with the moonlight
shining down ON the noble wreck as if in
pity4 And did you ever, at such atime.
think Of tho shipwreck of the heart?
Could you fancy y being whom a sudden
storm had visited, leaving the chambers
Of the heart desois,e; taking from Hope
tho Tyre which it had touched so swee:ly,
und given it to Sorrow. who breathed up.
on the strings, taking away every o t of
sweetness, and causing it to send forth
song. Of sadness orevermore? 2"
| mAde some appropriate reply, and he
continued:
"You, Horace. are returning home-l
have no home. You will be greeted by
loving ones; shall hear only the voice
of careless strangers, feeling myself a
stray waif, which the pillows Of life may
toss on whatever shore they please. There
wss a time when ! loved to quote the
lines
"'Pi. sweet .s know there Is an eye will mark
Oar eonias, and LOOK brighter whom We come"
but now they arc without meaning, and
.. ,wenty.eisnt | find myself without rela-
iives without friends, without home"
Not without friends, Clifton; and az
te q home, why a man Of Jour goodlooks.
talents and wealth, has only to SAY tie
word, and q hundred fair damsels would
10 ready candidates. to share your cot
tase' or palace"
s!sll never forget tho look of anguish
which settled on his fair, almost boyish
features, IA 10 raised his eyes to Heaven,
AVS seemed breathing ON inward pray
-~.. Then he turned to ME and said:
Light your cigar, Horace, the curling
~ the bluo smoke soothes me: and now
will tell you Why choose to remsin un'
InarriAd.
In my nineteenth year | first mel An
r,s Summers; and from that time | date
tie beginning OF a new life. We met at
su eveolng party in one of those delightful
san.n.r resorts with which our country
A single glance toll me tina
shs Ma. no hot.house plant, .As q wild.
wood 6owsr, ~transplautsd to an unc"lgr.
nal atmosphere. Bashful boy though |
IS. | contrivod to lingsr near her; and
once her eyes met my own, with an ear.
nest, penetrating gaze, that seemed to
drink in every lineament of my face. Al
Ibongh We had never met before, that one
sla,.e. told me that she loved me. Do.
i:,t smile at my folly-it WAS u case of
mutual love at first sight. Firmly do
believe that the great Arbiter of our dcs-
TIMES, who numbers even the hairs of
our heads marked out, even in The be.
ginning, spirit for spirit, and singled out,
ere they were created, for Zach Adam his
Eve. | would as soon doubt my oSn
existence as to believe that these things
70 left to chance. How do we know
.,--. there is such a thing as chance7 How
c.u wo.say that anything is accidental
Ozark how trivial q circumstance, brought
s,out by We scarcely know what, changes
..:,ss entire destiny. We start out in life
with some fixed plan, but q breath chang
e. IA, and We are borne along on the cur
rent 0f circumstances, until we have COM
pl-tsly lost sight Of our original in'en-
tions. We ozark out for ourselves some
future career, and 50 months glide on
"a orrselvas working out q lif. entirely