The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-07-02
TALES OF THE BORDERS,
THE NAN OF WARS MAN.
81 JOHN lowell.

In the calm clear nlngs of June
and July, when the heat Of the
day has been abated, it has been
my custom to walk fertb to brace my nerves
after the cares and fatigues of the day. Pent
up this thirty years in one of the dingy
shops Of the Luckenbooths, have toiled
to gain wealth enough to enable me to ex-
change the chimes of St Giles bells for the
singing of the larks but, alas (! fear my
ears will be too hard, and my eyes too dim,
ere that time when may seek to enjoy the
the melody of the songsters, or the vcrdure
Of their habitations. Gradually already
have they been becoming less cheering to
me than they were in those young sunny
days Of my apprenticeship, when l used to
sally forth as soon as had given the keys
to my master. | have still, however, the
impression Of memory and this summer
they arc as vivid as when they were real
perceptions While sitting at my desk, |
wander, in fond recollectiOns, around
Arthur Seat, and fondly think that such
evenings in june may Be yet for me as |
have enjoyed them. Such is the folly Of
men of business. From the month l com
menced for myself, the lark has been sing
ing less sweetly, and my loved hacnts have
been becoming less and less engaging.
Have the vocalists Of these times degencrat-
ed, and the fields become aged The change
cannot be in me | am still in my vigor,
and bachelor. Fity-two is not an old
man-so spoke the hearts wishes-yet this
fact is otherwise. Since that period when
took the cares of the world upon my own
shoulders, have, in general, been lost to
everything else around me. The incubus
of the counter and desk mounts upon my
shoulders, and whispers in my ears of bills
and debts unpaid, or to pay; and i'm
mediately, il place Of the visions OF my
youth, ledgers and slips of paper, sPangled
with columns Of figures, occupy what were
once the sad recesses Of love. Thus hag
ridden, vet still in search of happiness, have
| staked over the loveliest of the lovely
scenes that abound around Edinburgh, al
most unconscious Of where | have been
And what bas been the reward OF all ny
cares | have accumulated three thousand
pounds, and some properties that yield wha
some would call good interest; and th'
making of this has been The mmaking o
the sensibilites Of enjoyment, without which
it is nothing
Such were my reflections before | haC
reached the last stile next to Sambson'
Ribs Early visions Of Duddingston Loci
had haunted me through the day anC
hence | bad sought again the scene that s.
sweetly combines the Alpine and cham
paign, as if they were met to embrace.
had passed up through the valley between
the Craigs and Arthur Seat, and continued
sauntering along the narrow road, like on
cast forth by all the world, gloomy and di:
satisfed-my bead leaning forward, m.
eyes fixed vacantly upon the ground, am
my hands at my back. Some maidens AM
their swains we're dancing beneath at th
Wells of Weary, to the measure of thei
own wood-notes wild. My heart wa
touched almost to tears. The demon tha
drove enjoyment from my walks fled, and
flood of tender recollections flowed in upo
it, On that verdant spot, thirty-two year
before, had been as happy and as joyou
!. as the group before me, dancing to the sam
heart-stirring air, with one I had loved wit
all the fervOr of a youthful heart, until th
= chilling influence Of what the world cal
: prudence damped my flame, but could NJ
extinguish it. She was now the dispense
Of happiness and comfort to another, and Il
$ mother Of a lovely family-not 80 rich
what the world calls wealth how muC
richer was she in peace and joy! l hs
!. !. for years kept her heart in suspense, unit
s,G1 it sickened at my undecided courtship ar
sbufling delays. l know she loved n
i better than all the world beside, and wou
to 70 have consented to be mine, whatever hi
ls been my lot-faithful aud kind to me, also
IN soother of my soul, in all conditions, 81
:. would have been. To riches had sacri6ct
her and myself. Alas! found now the