Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1872-10-24
A CONFESSION.

Mos. men Jpuld resi,a.s a. .ellin. sue
story Of The Ra( lSes. But l am cor
WINGED that il u afford suggestion q
mercy tow21seh ss do fall and som
il. %'y yes;,tl' ss ir'''d 'y from temptation B.
l hSd been an 4ndcr-elerk in a large e.
tablishment for hany years. Natarall,
economical. my savings had attained /,
such respectable sum that venture,
upon married life. quite as much as re
fuge from the monninny e.. ~ ;n.-r---:..
s:yic OF hvfhg,s 40 in otssssSace to thos,
yearnings Of nature which a man is yer,
foolish or very bad not to heed in due sea
son. Like most men. however. adventure
OF this kind are not always followed BY th,
comfort and case and happiness which de-
pend upon money for their possession
In the course Of time I came to repen
the undertaking. for was in debt, m,
family had increased, while my income
had not kept pace wi,h my expenses
My wife lacked the courage to practice th,
sclf-denial which would be consequent
upon retrenchment of our expenses.
was daily annoyed by duns. l had Dor.
rowcd money in every available quarter
and walk in the public streets vas liter
ally denied to me By the fear Of cncoun
'cring some one TO whom | was indebted
for my house expenses.
Returning home late one night, jadct
by listlcss stroll through the town,
found the junior member of the firm wal.
ing for me. The house had received in
tellisencc, after business hours, of a trans
action entered into on their account which
required the immediate transmission to al
isolated inland town of several thousanG
dollars. together with certain papers ant
statements necessary to conclude the af
fair. 1t was too important an affair to b,
intrusted 10 the delay and uncertainty o
the mail a: the time. Upon a consulta
ton of the firm. had ~5ecn selected T.
perform the necessary two days journey
accepted the hi isSion with alacrity. fo
the reason apssng others, that it would b
such ySefeatioi, as would divert m,
Thoughts for time from the pcrplexitie
Of my miserable condition.
With the usual forethought Of the firm
everything necessary to my prompt dcpar
ture had been pre-arranged. The need
full papers and accounts and the indispen.
sable money requisite to finish the trans
actions. were placed in my hands in al
envelope addressed to the gentleman whc
had acted rs agent of the concern in tho
4 cc.
wise enclosed.
| remember well the bright Septembe,
morning on which l started on horseback
and alone on my journey, Of which | ac
compli,hcd half the first day, arriving al
farm house. whose occupant unhesi,a.
tingly granted my petition for share fol
the night in its humble hospitality.
The weather had grown colder as tn,
evening came on. and by the time l haC
reached the house I experienced sensi
bic chill. I had with me flask Of liquor
and was furnished at my own request. a
bedtime. with a small quantity Of hot wa
ter with which to compound q sort o
punch. as an antidote to the cold appre
hended having taken.
had removed the package Of money
from my pocket and laid it on the table
with view to putting it under my pillow
before retiring. As it lay on the tabl,
the address was uppermost. and on the lef
hand upper corner was a memorandum
"S5. 900 enclosed" l was standing with
my back to the door. Succeeding a few
moments Of entire silence, | heard a stcr
behind me, and almost think felt .
breath upon my face. Turning suddcn!,
round, bcheld my host with the hot wa
ter had called for in a tumblcr in hi.
hand He was quitcibeside me, and hi
eyes rested, or fanciod ther .fsstcd, O.
the package upon tn ! tablst must con
fess l was eon'ideral Startled by this in
cidcnt. My conccrI VA. not diminished
BY observing that>hi had removed hi
shoes, and was Stand ing as he had com,
up--in his ,s,ockingS My frs. impuls,
and act was to take ,hc water out Of hi
hand. Not being quite ready to use it,
put the envelope Of NJ iouey on top of it, a.
the most convenient ding TO keep /; hot
I did not turn the shpcrscription down
ward. because | feared il would bctray ,h
suspicion. which now positively enter
taincd. Of evil intentions ON the part o
my entertainer. who had quilted the room
as noisclcsssly as he had entered. im
sgined great many ways in which h.
could have become acquainted with tn
cause of my journey, and came rapidly I,
the conclusion that my employers fund
we're in danger. That they were actual,
so became evident before the night hat
passed. | recalled the man. 5 codutenauc
wildly TO my recollection, and examined
fron memory his festrres. SO as to max,
some estimate Of The character with whicl
| had to deal. Physically, he was NOR,
than my equal. When frst aligh,cd a
the house il struck ms had seen him be
fore. and after fnr.aeA and profound re
hection. distinctly / callcd him to m,
mind as merchant Y 10 y Dealt wit
our frm during my caf fken1 phneeticn will
il. and who had fails lOush the dis
honesty Of friends n he had helped
I remembered him ing been spoke,
of a. being di.ei s!sa w trade. and hav
ing sought aEovifloth IL wilderness wit
i i: {: iss:'y: H.: :ss 4 \! i'''s %
| There were but two bedrooms in Oh
house. bcsh on tie same Aoor, a passag
which commenced ut the bead os the stair
dividing them. While the thoughts whie
| have related we're passing through m
mind, heard voices in the other hcdrcor
and quietly opened my door. which m
host had carefully closed behind him
Standing sa, in the passage. I could da
tinguish nsan's and wcnan's vcigs