Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1868-09-11

breath of awful suspense, and the
the bridge went down with a du
plunge into the waters beneath I Tn
sharp claws Of the wolf had alread
been fixed on the seane vegetation o
the rock. and he held there a moment
4 struggling with feroeious strength t
/ gain a foOthold, the next he slid dow
the chasm, utterlng a wild howl Q
disappointed rage.
Martha sank on her knees and offer
ed up a ferVent prayer of than ksgivinj
for her escape; but simultaneously
with the heartfelt Amen, Their
came a dreadful recollection. Tht
4 bridge formed the only link between
the Pulpit and the main land, and tina
was seYeredl True, she was no more
I then twenty feet distant from the
/ shores of the river, but she might a!
wen have been thousands of miles oul
IN the ocean. The water was deep, anC
/ 1t ran with almost inconceivable rap,
idity, forty or fifty feet below her ovel
rocks so sharp and jagged that it made
! her shiKer to look over the brink. Her
only hope was in her husband. Shoald
he return at the expected time they
might still be alive; but If by any ae-
| cident he should be detained beyond
the time She closed her eyes and
besought God for protection and help,
Cold and hungry, and drenehed by
the mist Of he river, Charlie began to
cry for homs. She could bear any
thing better than that She took of
her own garments to fold around him.
and held him to her breast and sang
him the sweet cradle songs which had
so often soothed him.
But the fierce hoWls of the wolves
and the sullen thunders of the river,
filled his little heart with terror, and
all the long dark night through, he
clung to her. neck sleeplessly crying to
go to papa.
Day dawned at last. the pale sun
swimming through the sickly sky, the
pallid forecast of a storm. Weak and
faint from hunger, and suffering in
tensely from cold, for summer isi no
bearer of tropical smiles in this in
hospitable clime-Martha paced back
and forth the narrow limits Of the reek.
N o one came-the faint sun declined
il was night again. A cold fog sank
down over the mountain, followed by
a drizzling rain, which before morning
changed to q perfect deluge. The river
rose fearfully, foaaiRg milk-White
down the gorge, fiIli6gf the air with
shuddering roar, like the peal of an
imprisoned eaFthquske.,-a.f
e The day that followed was no bet
ter-only rain and asheu- white mist
not ray of sunshine ~
A new fear rose in the heart Of Mar
tha Warren. The turbulence of the
stream must have swept away the
bridge over which her husband would
cross oD his return, and he would be
detained-for many days. may be for
weeks. r.
She gave up all for lost. Strongly
and fearfully was she tempted to fold
her child in her arms and plunge into
the cauldron beneath, and thus end
her fear and doubt It would be bet
ter, she thought, than to suffer that
slow, painful death of starvation. But
som 9tbing held her back-God's curse
was on those who do self-murder.
Towards night, lost robin, beaten
about by the storm, stepped to rest
moment on the rock Martha seized
Ipon and rent him In@tWaln, for her
child to devour raW-she who, three
lays before, WORLD Gave Wept at the
jight of a wounded sparrow.
Another night and day, ike the
,ther, only more intensely ag0nizing
Martha Warren was sullenly indiffer-
mt now suffering had palsied every
noble feeling. Charlie moaned for |
weak and spent to sit up, |
le was lying on the rock, his hand in
Ter lap, his great. eyes fixed on her
ace.
She tore open a vein in her arm with
Ter scissors, and made him drink the |
,lood Anything she said to herself to /
aim the wild, wistfuI yearning of his |
yes.
The boy raised-he sat up and peered |
through the darkness.
Mamma" he said, "Papa is coming. |
felt him touch me-"
She wept at the mockery, and drew |
he child frantically to her bosom.
The night was fair-lit up by a new
noon.
Overcome by a deadly exhaustion,
gainst which she could make no resist
nee, Martha fell into an uneasy slum-
,er, which toward midnight was broken
" a startling cry. She sprang to her
eet and gazed around her.
No her eyes did not deceive her
here on the shore stood the stalWart
orm of her husband, and he was cal
ing her name with the energy of des-
'air. She could only cry out, sob
Iarlz, Mark, y and fell senseless to the
arth. When she aWoke to conscious
less she was lying on her own bed in
he cottage, supported by her husbands
rms.
It was no dream. She and her darling
10Y were safe; and he came back.
Many weeks passed before she grew
trong again, but Mark tended her as a
aother would an infant, and by the
me the autumn frosts fell, she was the
1.-the Martha Warren of old.
At the time of the freshet, the bridge
yer the Anonoosuc had indeed been
wept away, but Mark, impelled by an
ncOntrOllable fear-almost a PRESENT.
lent----had crossed the river, at the risk
t his life on log raft, and reached
ONE only to find it vacant.
The descendants of Mark Warren and
is wife still dwell among the fertile
alleys of the. .AmonOosuc, and the old
ZEN still tell to their grandchiI dren
le story Of Martha Warren and her
-lA4. as. 5fs- SSH .E