Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1867-05-29
Tlre SW. g. Ghruuifle.
Frsn Beadls's Monthly.
In DURESS.
CHAPTER l..

dresses nave Ieau Inc man without 8
country" by Edward Everett Hale
And shall be satisfied if this true re
eital secures the credence which was
won for that fiction by circumstantiality
of detail, and almost living beauty Of
portraiture for so shall some dawn oi
hope blush upon the light which only
at each dawning of the sun ever has
swept through the window of prison
which has been, for many weeks. more
desolate to me than the tomb.
The sneer with which my custodian
promises 10 forward the Ms. for publ.
cation. makes the publication no more
probable than the derivation of amber,
from the spunny jaws of Cerberus.
Still, let it gol 1t will, at least, fur
nish me occupation and relief; and may
by some unexpected generosity of
his find its way into print, and so Sc
cure the investigation 1 have long and
Yainly asked, and which, to my con-
sciousness of innocence, seems the Ger
tain prosecutor of my release.
am charged with the marder Of my
partner in business, from the supposed
motive of securing large sum Of mon
ey, known to have been in his posses
sion few hours before his disappear
auce; my arrest being the result of a
plausible connection of facts, which,
though separately harmless, became in
the process of combination and analysis
enough with any theory of
my innocence.
1 do not complain because OF that
arrest, which was reasonable, just and
1ecessaFy but that during two months,
should have been sedulously prevent
I'd from seeing those who can only un-
,avel the tangled skein of proof-that
| cruel prejudgment has not fastened
,he public to diligence of inquiry-that
IN enmity of long standing has not dis
qualified my jailer for his offce-theSS
lave served to excite sense Of wrong,
which is gradually. burning into my
oul deviLlike hate of every thing
iumau.
One afternoon in the latter part of
asst August, was sitting in lawyers
flee in one Of the towns which looked
ut tupon the broad Ohio. l was the
unior member Of the firm, whose style,
'Melchior & Fox, Attorneys and Coun-
elors-at Law" was duly emblazoned
ver the door; and 1 was alone, Mel
hior having gone TO country town
pom the Little Kanawaha, to manage
suit involving some oil property.
My profession had originally been
and its sdoptfon-ato one Of
be Eastern CollegeS-was a customary
eferer ce to the wishes of my father,
tho had, out of homespun phrenolo-
y, elaborated the theory that dor
lant wealth of logic and eloquence
as mine. In spite of this repugnance
owever, l eventually acquired a fair
of the law, and from force
association. and the subtle aroma
books, bade fair to rise even to the
ubious pinnacle of Congressional
osition.
l had met Melchior under circum-
anees of an early sorrow, bearing in
o way upon the gloomy Present; and
have, therefore, q double motive in
hitting any mention of them.
The substantial service he then rem
cred me induced 9 strong, and-as l
slieVe-mutual regard, which cancel
| his superiority of years, and led to
Ie partnership which was destined to
, anuulled by a hand higher and
lighter than any earthly one.
If any portion Of this seem uDduiy
Id toward the man whose eVanish-
ent from earth has INJURED me be-
1een these dreary walls, it is not that
deplore him the less, but that q stu
,faction of suspense has obliterated
cry feeling aud power, which may
1t further the purpose of a psrdona-
g sefshness. Iplead in my own be-
If; let others preach his burial ser
on, and eulogize the talents and &C
Iirements of which no one can feel
CHER intellectual admiration than /,
10 snuff the scent of the falling leaves :
,m wood-walks which ! may never
ead again.
Here am /, Leander Fox, as innocent
the oriole which nested last spring :
the dells that are so dear to me but :
cir leaves droop il death-russet,
d gold, and hamy-through the still !
oler air, to fertilize the buds of snoth-
year; the painted oriole CLEANS (
rough the distant eyer-verdurous
amps of the Sawanee, and | am here, :
lf-crazed with an agony of selfpity, :
d almost careless as to how my sto- I
may read.
am very we'll aware that the first =
nment of it will be that it possesses
such polish as that of which De j
incey is, by an infinite remove, su-
,me master; and that the common =
pulses of compassion will, if they :,
II exist for me, follow, rather than
,cede, the contemptuous outcry of 7
ronted critics. Still, l care not. ] Z
cribbed by four undecorsted walls. .
hout either rhyming dictionary or =
icon of classical quotations to rub :
IN asperties and give prominence to :
rits; and hate these critical devour- "
of better men, with hate only the L'
re bitter because it is so jmpotent, ' '
| SO cruelty removed from gram !"
tic privileges.
he afternoon Of that August day b
devoted to the unprofessionRl task e.
drawing the monogram of the lovely 81
nan, whose power over me even e.
lchior's remonstrances had not en- n
ly disarmed; and as the traceryof W
initials grew under my pencil, tc
Sc exquisite lines of Ben johnson
lie almost unconsciously to my lips : OIL
T treading woulG not bend blade of grass, N
hake the downy blow ball frUm his stalkl II
ftraf fhaz zoff asfuu usy,de eh ashn / "
where sne went the flowers took thickest u
he had sowed them with her odoTous fcot. = :,
his worse than useless maundering, q,
FeVer, was interrupted by the en- n
nee of an old farmer from the Little Sr
nawha valley, who handed me q IN
efully-sealed note from my partner.
ch haYe lost, but think ! can -,
te verbatim from memory
'OLEoPoLIs, August Goth, 1867. ~
'EAR F.-Let the Office, and every tL
lg in it, take care of themselves -
Join me here at once. have STUN ~
] upon an assured fortune for US ~
b, and need you. L,
Don't stop to wonder whether l am a.
"; but sell my 'oilstone' stock to =,
d. Havens, and bring the proceeds e
large billsl with you. II. offered m
134 for it, but don't hsggle about n,
matter if he reeedes a little. Even r.
on have to sell at 100, we can carry
point. TO
"Yours, dEo. MELcHIos. Ia
P. S. l enclose power of Atty" In
-ow Havens lived three or four miles n,
of town; and even the activity he