Litchfield enquirer., 1872-07-18

thin wasted hand in mine. and asked fiji how he felt Peaceful 9peacefnl, r he
 r=phed in ascarce audible whispes. hlhe morning I returned to the prison ald learned that he was dead. The we&y struggle so long protracted shada closd, and he had wasted away so quietly tlAt. his attendants could not ascertain the n1- ment of his departure ss ss s.zs < ss ss.E Y s
 That evening | examined the little box he gave me and found 1t a journal or fda- ry in which he had chronicled the down ward steps of his sin, his sorrow, and his lifelong remorse. Like the mystic rol of Ezekiel, tsthere was written therein la-s mentations, and mourning and woe. II subsequently, learned from other sources some incidents of his later his tory which were not there recorded, and these lhaye woven into this narrative. have thought, however, that could not present so, forc- ibly in any other language as his owl the. temptations which, in his case as in that of hundreds of others, led to the cemnis-:: sion of his crime, the penitence, remGse. and horror which followed, and the bitter ness and seeming maignity with witch. society hurls back into the pit of despair those poor sin-stricken souls, who would fain ascend if they might, from the depth of sin to a higher and purer life. Thsa first extract shall give is the first entry in the book, and reveals & troubled and anxious heart: July 6, 1887. Am sorely distressed to obtain the means of meeting my noteG. J. < F., my bankers, will not loan me a dollar, nor will the c. Bank, nor the F. Banking Go. K. and s. and D. have faIl- ed to-day. Would that I could do SC, ,a1d thus lay aside this load of anxiety. But if I fail now, W. and T. must go too, and what wretch shall be reekoned if I bring them to ruin What shall do?
 July 10. Have been trying, for folr days past, to get discount or loan on ny securities, without success. Tomorrow the note of G5, 900 to E. must be paid, or I must go into the Gazette Where shall I obtain it? Alas! know not, and though, for many nights, sleep has de- serted my eyes, as I have regolved plsps for relief, yet I can find no ray of light.
 July II. Arose this morning, after a wakeful night, almost in despair. On my way down, met O., broker, whose enor- nous slaves have ruined so many. Ke met me with smiling face, inquired con- corning my family, and said: 'You look worried and i'll. I hope you don't have any money troubles these days" am sat- isfed that he had marked me for victim but I was desperate, and replied "I do have some trouble, like every one else, I suppose. ''Can be of any assistancest to you?" he asked in bland way; ''I have a little money to lend, if you have good se- curities' I went with him to his office and showed him my securities. ssAh, yes" he said, after @ while, scanning them very carefully, ''those are fair, quite fair. How much do you want ?' nam ed the sum was short. s'sA large sum, young man, 8 large sum. However, I suppose must let you have it. knew your father very well. and dealt with him often. My rates, he continued. as he saw my face lighted up at the prospect of relief, Fare five, shillings per G1O0 per day" "Five shillings per day r I ex- claimed in astonishment. 'sWhy, Mr. o. ;, that is 90 per cent per annum. :" Exact ly," was the reply; "but my young friend, we don't talk of per annums here; you want this only as temporary loan; Isn't it worth that to get such cloud of yOur brow as I saw on it this morning Be- sides, we are through the worst now; and in few days the banks will be glad to discount your notes. Seeing that I still hesitated, he added: However, I do not wish to urge you. Don't do it if you can do better I have os4a4onaess enough for all my money" There was no help for it. Enormous as the interest was, it was the only offer I had had, and I accepted it. --s-s a.s,.. .5..sz.e ..sz s.-5..s
 July 18. Met Q. to-day. In his bland est tones, he said, ssYou are looking much better; I hope you sleep we'll. ought to have inquired" he added, the other day how long you wanted that G2,OOO, but your honest face made me negligent" I replied that I hoped to pay it in three or four days, as I was making every exertion to obtain discount. .'One thing more, |" said he, as we parted, ssyou are ready I suppose with your interest to-day; we are obliged to collect our interest weekly, in make long friends. thought mo- ment; the interest was already e35, and l had not half that sum by me. I told him so. q am sorry" said he, "shall have to compound it then, I suppose" and way ing his hand graciously, he passed on. l must get out of this mans clutches, or he will soon ruin me.
 July g. Have been struggling con- stantly for almost two weeks, to raise the means to pay up O., bet it is of no use; matters are getting worse instead of bet ter. Advertised my homestead property, but find no purchasers. ac4.
 July 25. Q. called on me for my inter est to-day. Two weeks, H7O, 12s,, 3d. Had not money enough to pay it, and be- sides, have q ,OO0 coming due tomorrow. Gave him my note for the interest. He asked for security for this too, and I was obliged to give it. What shall I do fo1 the E1 ,0O0 tomorrow?
 July .26. Borrowed G95O more of O. II is easy to see that this must have led to ruin, and that speedily. We pass over two months.
 Sept. %. o. is getting clamorous forhia interest, or more securities. Smooth as oil himself, he keeps around his establish ment some half dozen rough, rufianly fellows, who spring out upon me at the corners of the streets, come to my house at all hours, stop me if I am walking with a friend, and annoy me every day and hour, with ''Mr. Q. wants to know if you will call and pay that interest to-day.'' ] have paid what could, but trade is utter ly dead, and every day sees me more and more involved. When I see Q. he tells me he does not care for the money, but he wants little more security. Oh, God keep me from yielding to the temptation which has haunted me for month past, to offer him a-,I cannot utter it-a -note. M
 Sept. 30. My poor wife scans my face with deep anxiety. ssWhat is it," she said to me thissmorning. which gives you such care-worn, worried look. and who are these rough-1ooking men who come and call for you so often?" I faltered out some uninteligible explanation, and i'm. printing kiss on her brow, escaped from her. glad to evade farther questioning. x ~ It has been hard day for me. My in terest to Q. was due, over 92OO, and ] could not pay it and had no secutities Again and again came up that fearfu temptation. Would it be wrong to give such note to such man for security My brain whirls. What shall do? Oct. 8. The deed is done. Ioffered 0 to-day a-note. and he took it as securi