The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1877-01-17

Oue LOOk MS IOTCuue, one MS IaCe
One showed sweet gifts from sweetest hands,
The other torn and empty hands.
Atbird, and rose, and gem, and fruit,
The king was sad, the king was mute;
At last he slowly said: "My son, ~
True treasure is not lightly won.
"Your brothers hands, wherein you see
Only these scars, show more to me
Than If Kingdoms price found
In place Of each forgotten wound"
Adventures of a Merchant.
About eleven o'clock on mild De-
cember night, in the year 1908, Mr..
Nicholas Young "a respectable merchant
of New York city, turned the key in
his store door and directed his steps
homeward.
He had been buslly engaged in taking
an account of stock and was therefore,
unusually late. A model of regularity
in all his habits, he was never known
to be out of his house after ten in the
evening, except on such periodical
times as the present.
He was plain man of forty-fve, who
had never married, and inhabited an
unpretending but comfortable abode
II what was then the semi-rural dis
trict about Blocker street. His family
consisted solely of an old hOusekeeper
and colored man.
He had not walked far on the night
n question, when he was startled by
cry as of a female in distress, SEEM
ingly proceeding from close carriage,
which was driving past at moderate
rate Of speed. The vehicle had not
gone twenty yards further on before
NJ
shrill, and he distinctly saw white
handkerchief waving from one of the
windows.
Constitutionally fearless, and endow-
ed with no small share of native chiy-
airy, Mr.. Young lost no time in hasten
ing to the rescue of the presumed cap
tive. Accident seemed to favor him,
for just then the driver dropped his
whip, and, before he could recover it
and regain his seat the merchant was
at the carriage door, which he attempt
ed to open. He was resisted by q
strong grasp from within, while man
thrust his head from the window and
angrily demanded what was meant by
such unwarrantable intrusion. ~
Mr.. Young as peremptorily inquired
whether female was being carried off
against her will, and stated his inten-
ton of searching into the matter. He
was answered at once by blow on the
head from slingshot. or similar in
strument, which felled him to the
ground insensible. On recovering, he
found himself lying, gagged and bound,
to the bottom of the coach, which was
being driven furiously. Defenseless
as sheep borne to the shambles, lie
awaited his fate with as much resigna.
ton as he could muster.
Hours seemed to pass before the We
hlcle came to a stop, when the door
was opened and he was lifted out in
silence by two stout men. He now
saw by the g}immering starlight, that
they were standing on the end of q
long wharf-a pier--the other extrem-
itys of which was hidden in darkness.
Rocking on the waves almost under
their feet lay a small row-boat. Into
this, still without word being spoken.
he was transferred by the same hands
and it was made fast to the stern of a
sailing vessel, which lay close by with
all her canvass set. His two capters
climbed aboard the latter craft, whose
anchor was Immediately weighed, and
she stood out to sea, towing Mr.. Young,
alone and helpless behind her.
Before morning the boat was cast
OH, the sailing vessel quickly disap-
peared from his view, and the unfor-
tunate merchant found himself drift
ing, without oars or provisions. at the
mercy OF the. waves. When day broke
he had succeeded in freeing one of
his hands, and shortly afterwards re-
leased himself from all his fastenings.
He now discovered that his pocket
had been rifled and his watch and wal
let taken, together with the keys of
his office door and safe.
On the morning following Mr..
Young's abduction, Mrs. Comfit, his
housekeeper. awaited in vain his ap-
pearance at the breakfast table. Never
before, during the fifteen years she
had lived with him, had he been ten
minutes behind time. OF course. he
might be indisposed. With some tre-
pldatlon she went up stairs and knock
ed at his chamber door. The sum.
mons, again and again repeated. awak-
ened no response. He might have gone
out Tor walk, though such had never
been his habit. An hour passed, and
she grew seriously alarmed Finally,
when business acquaintance of Mr..
Young's called to inquire why his
store remained closed, Mrs. Comfit
procured assistance, and her masters
door was broken open. A careful
search of the apartment only resulted
in showing that it had apparently not
been occupied during the preceding