Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-08-19

LARGEST OITY 0IROULATI0N.
Fable.

well-built spacious and commodious
mansion. Its architecture combined
bappiIy the elements Of utility and beau
~: abundantly attesting wealth, but
scrupulously excluding 'ostentation;
Shoddy, pinchbeck, paste diamonds, and
all the like shams, were as strange IN
that house as envy, discord, discomfort
and want; and these were utterly un-
known therein. The family Of the pro.
prietor--a man Of benign but dignihed
aspect. and of manners in which were
rarely blended patriarchal simplicity with
courtlv suayiiy--was very numerous
and while all its members bore general
resemblance, they presented enough d.
yersity TO give zest to their intercourse
and 10 free them from dependence upon
the otside world for social amusement
and recreation. Yet nowhere was the
stranger more welcome. In every sense
s of hospitality the proprietor and all his
household were hospitable to q degree
never surpassed. The surrounding
grounds we're cultivated in manner
which evinced the presiding presence Of
both Judgment and diligence; the ruder
tolls of agriculture being performed by
laborers OF peculiar race and character.
These people, thrown somehow upon the
D ne;gbboring coast, found their way up
this valley, where they would undou6t-
edly have persisted in contact with the
sharp and merciess edge Of an utilitarian
c;vilization. as the wild beast and the red
Indian had already persisted, had not the
considerate and humane owner OF the
estate concluded to save them by utilizing
them. Subordinated to a higher and
stronger nature, they were kept from col
lidipr with antagonistic forces that would
have pulverized them; and while usefs
10 the world ut large, they were them
selves comfortable and happy beyond the
previous experience of their race any
where.
But, in the course Of time, great ca
lamity fell upon this valley. 1t was
swept by hurricane and shaken by earth.
quake. Its fields we're desoated by floods.
The tillers of its fields were dispersed;
It's focks and herds were scattered. The
destruction of both life and property was
fearful But at length the convulsion
began to cease, and the winds and waters
began to subside; and the proprietor of
the domain, who had managed to pre-
serve his mansion, and many of his store
houses and workshops, thanks to the ex-
cellence of their construction, went forth
with all the male members OF bis family,
in the hope to rescue from the retreat
ing flood much of the substance that was
being carried away, and intent upon put.
ting the estate again in order, so that it
should continue to be the seat OF indus
try. plenty, harmony aud prosperity.
No sooner, however, had they set about
this work before gang Of bandits broke
into the mansion and seized all the store
houses and workshops. They drive the
women and children, with fruculent
threats and brutal gibes, into hooks and
corners. They deliberately gorge them
selves with rapine. The proprietor, re.
turning before the rest, unwittingly en-
ters the house. They seize him, aud
bind bin, and gag him, and tumbling him
down before his wife, bid her behold his
helpless and piteous situation. The other
male members Of the family, coming back
in body, find the principal doors and
windows barred, and from the others
muskets protruding. They demand ad-
mission, but are told that if they attempt
TO enter they will be shot. At length the
people of neighboring village, hearing
Of the outrage, appear on the spot and
insist that the premises shall be delivered
to the rghtful possessors. The bandits,
having fortified more strongly than ever,
answer: ave are in possession. Ac-
eording to cur code, that makes our title |
complete. We are the rightful posses
sors. Go away. Ifyou persist, you will |
be rebels; you will be revolutionists;
YOU will stir up civil war. Let us have |