The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-08-24

Aileutay, and blessed their childrsnj
81 the saSee pfayexsfo he last time.
he little 0nes feceiYed.s nnd returned
his axesss and RaaletE Quilted the
cavsxnsand get ous%on 1has uncextain
rexpedSfion. 80 gtxaE 81 -.
Ehs fssa 81 tas n.souasry was 50, so
much changed that he dad scrne diff
6cnlty in making his way The
vivid colors Of the eerths were all
gone, and In place Of them was the
painful greyness of the dead trees,
and the yellow of the -parchsd soil.
Nothing was oyerthrown in ruin, but
all stood dead In its place. The
shapes OF men and animals lay strewn
upon the earth. The human beings
were comparatively rare; they were
the last survivors Of the DESTROYING
drought, whom there had been none
to bury; but these had at length died
by hundreds, and :1i their places
their bones were seen whiter than
any other object; Or. if anywhere
over the surface there hung q vapor,
it came from some collection of dead
bodies, which had not yet been re-
solved into the. elements. Those
whom he fonnd there were mostly in
heaps-the beasts had died singly;
near what had been water-courses he
saw more than once signs Of strug-
gle; and the last battles of earth had
been fought for the possession of it's
waters. He traced out many pa
thetic story among the dry bones and
faded garments. Women's dresses
were there; and fallen into a shape
less heap on what had been their bo-
SONS, were little forms, and the raj
ment of children. Where the dry
air and the sun had preserved the
face, he beheld tho fallen estate of
those who had been men in the un-
covered shame of death; open lips,
the suuken eyes over which the eye
lid was undrawn, the s,,ilen tongue,
the frame writhed into an expression
Of anguish, revealed all the pain and
shame of death. But here and there
the hand of some one who had been
a survivor vas visible in the attempt
to conceal all this In one place
there was a shallow grave, into
which body had been rolled, and
lay on its side; and close by. an o
heap of clothes, out of which bones
appeared, there was a spade, With
which the unfinished work had been
attempted. In another, a female
body was covered from sun and moon
by mans cloak, and few PAGES off
lay q man, whom nothing had shield
ed. There was an infants skeleton,
wrapped IN woman's shawl, under
what had been a hawthorn hedge;
the mother had either perished at
tempting to lind water. or had laid
her child down and gone away. like
Hagar i'll the desert, not to see it die
The poor innocent's skull was turned
on its shoulder; its cheek must have
rested there while the face remained
1t was too young to have struggled
much. Paulett thought on his little
Alice: of her Inconsistencies to the
fate around her; of what would be
her and Charles and poor Ellen's
late, II he failed Ill his search or per-
lshed by the way He reused him
self from looking on all these sorrow
full objects and went on his dreary
way. The second day after lie left
the cavern he came to stately pile of
building, which he determined to ex-
plore for the life-giving stones he was
III oe''iNii vi. IL StoOO upon lCS ter
races, surrounded by its collonades
and garden and steps, in all its old
pride and glory Its forests were
withered, indeed; its gardens burned
its fountains dry; but the palace
glanced back the sunlight, aud was
as steadfast and perfect as in the
days of the living. Paulette drew
near, and found, as he came close,
signs Of the last days of life in it.
The doors were open to the air, and a
few marks of objects removed re-
manned In the outer rooms. There
was scoring and dragging on the
marble floor; and Paulett doubted
for Il moment What had left thes.
marks. till he saw on one side of a
gilded table barrel lying there
} empty. from which the top, as il
} seemed, had been accidentally knock.
. ed, and the liquor had flowed out.
The marble bore the stains of wine,
and where it had flowed the slabs
We're broken i'll two places, perhaps
from the violence of the struggle o
those who saw the liquid flow to wet
each one his own parched lips. Pau
lett thought the lord of the castle
had probably deserted it before the
worst crisis had arrived and hac
l tried to remove what was most valu