The New Orleans crescent., 1868-12-20

silence ensusd: Ny weary head fen heavily on
y & wa ve only 1ts g svstsn y na5 sSs no.sSy
Win the !srribls rssoiiseiies Il sSs appointment
but which, - yoH may wen supposs, do not
mean to Keep. have sought your holy assist
advice and consolation a. Il b your province 10
bestow upon suffering humanity"
"Wen," said the servant sf God, to the utter
astonishment Of Ramon, !" you must keep the
and this rosary" Alter few more words iI Of aSs
vice from the curats they parted.
An hour or 90 elapsed and Ramon de Ortiz, with
. heart much relieved, but far from being fully
rssssured, started On be strange and uncertain
passing the old gate he ruins Of which still existed
aoout niteen years agoJ nearly opposite whore nov
stands the bay N bridge, he reached the edge OF
the wood and mechanically entered into the path
some time before be fairly passed the tnicket and
got into the forest. Every stem he made saemed
to bring him nearer to- the jaws Of death: he
would have retraced them, hut an invincible
power seemed to urge him on. Gloomier aid the
aspect Of the scene around him grow; the
desth-like silence which prevailed was sulv
broken ct times by the tread Of his feet upon
the dry leaves strewing his path the rafting Of
q falling limb among the branches of decayed
saplin on its way to the ground. or the weird
screech of the owl, thrilling the heart of poor
Ortiz. But on he went, looking around him be.
times without discovering the mystic personage
which bad summoned him into the woods. He
was growing very weary Of bis long journey, when
suddenly, directly in front Of him. interminable
lane, bordered on either side by tall trees, pre-.
sented itself to his views and ct the end Of the
slowly towards him, gro wing larger and assuming
more distinct form - IL reached him Ramon's
hair stood on end, but his courage failed not he
stopped short to await events. The strange OBJ
ject had now arrived within ten steps and halted.
A hasty glance revealed to the surprised Ortiz
the tall and elegant form Of Q man, with q severe
but not unpleasant face, In which two piercing
black eyes shoDe maliciously, and adorned with
consisted Of high glossy silk hat, black silk
stock, kid gloves and rufed shirt bosom of immsc-
ulate white Q black vest, dress coat and
knee -breeches; in short his general appearance
far from being repusive, would have conveyed
of the first empire. There stood the two men, the
tormentor and his victim. face to face, speeches.
and fixing each other with that intensity which
mortal combat. How long they stood thus, can
not cay, but the man IN black first broke the ter
rible silence. '' You want moneylr said he in-
quringy to Ortiz, at the same time making step
forward. forward. his right arm extended and bis hand
through the meshes like thousand wicked elnsh
eyes.
"No!" answered Ramon. The arm of the per-
sonage in black fell to his side and his counte-
nance assumed an olr OF 6stoDlonmeut.
"What, then, do you wantW
Ramon. whose emotion had been very great.
now composed himself, aud this time carefully
scrutinizing his interloeutor, discovered. for the
first time, that the personages feet were bare and
cloven. like those OF the elk. His heart thrilled
with horror, and exhibiting the blessed rosary
which had been given him by his reverend advisor,
be quickly answered: "Nothing, but the mercy
of God!" iflrlrirs
At these words the face of the parsonage in
black seemed to acquire an expression Of intense
pain, his limbs contracted and his whole frame
trembled and eventually shrunk into nothingness;
the lane disappeared. the whole scene fell once
more into deep silence. and Ramon fastened back
home to relate his adventure to the man of God,
with whom he rejoiced at the succeesfu issue of the
perilous journey, for there was no doubt in their
mind that Satan himself had vsinly attempted to
seduce the unfortunate young Castian into his
the time and everybody congratulated Ramon
upon his timely rescue by the man of God.
Ramon slowly recuperated his lost health and
resumed his regular habits; his cheeks were re.
gaining their natural warm meridional tints and
his presence in the house once more enlivened ii.
Everything, In fact, denoted speedy and en-
tire recovery Of the convalescent The political
prescriptions on Ramon had been raised, and he
was prep airing to return to his home and friends
after five years Of painful separation. One day
letter was handed to him, sealed and edged in
black. His heart failed him. and he sank into
chair. The perusal Of few lines Of the letter
tOiC INC stOfys buc WuOm ne u6Q lOV6Q even 70
idolatry had met with violent death afew weel<s
before, but had, before dying, found time to bid
him the last, long farewell.
Ramon was taken home in an insensibIe state.
and never recovered from the shock which had
destroyed all his fond hopes. He died murmur-
ing name, and his dust now lies in some isolated
grave of the cemetery on Basin street. forgotten
and uncared for. And there is probably not even
the semblance Of slab to indicate the last rest
ing place Of Of the noblest and bravest natures
which have ever existed. = tr1 rtf 4.
This legend, as told you at the commences.
ment, was related TO me in almost exactly the
same manner as now tell it to you. have
studiously avoided any adornment Of The tale In
and thus more effectively show the creduity Of
the former inhabitants of this fourishing and
progressive city. l..-- ~. .
Your friend, PoLoNrus