St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-04-27
From the Peoples Journal, Redwood, California
An Der True Tale.

AN " er True Iale.
Amid all the rush and hurry of life.
with its prOsaic details and monotonous
commonplaces,t the human heart, ,paIched
aud athrSt with the heat of the practi-
cal, yearns with indescribable longing
for the waters of that novelty, which
gleam afar off i'll the dim recrsscs of
fascinating fiction. How true it is that
"distance lends enchamtmemt to the
scene, "and that eyes which might easily
discover the sources of fancy'S swelling
stream, yelling up from the surrounding
rocky realities of life, are bent upon
the far horizon, to scan that which is
almost beneath them i'll original purity.
If we but possess the divining rod we
may smite from the granite ON every
hand, in ordinary life, the crystal wa
ters of strange revelation, which shall
oft render unpaIatable, by comparison,
that fluid which has been worked
! through the comvolutiuns of hot, senSa-
! tiOnal brains, to be seasoned in accord
ance with a false craving and for :; lib
eral price.
Events of wonderfully comic or tragic
cast are occurring within arms length
of us every day, and we are entirely
Oblivious of their presence. Blossoms
born of the sunny romance of life spring
into fragrant beauty of being from the
dull soil whereOn we stand, and we
heed not their perfume or lOvelineSs.
Poisonous plants, thrown up from dark
hooks by criminal soil, render our air
miasmatic yet we note not the polu
ton.
Not always are the marvels of reality
similar to the sky above us when the
day, dying, leaves it ablaze with starry
clusters but often sombre and grim,
with never shaft of light, save the
gleam of the lightning's hot passion, to
quiver over its black horror. The fol-
lowing narrative is clothed in no light
drapery of imagination, but it gives
simply to the reader the naked truth
bare, black facts. The story is plain
but striking, as it stands up i'll its ghast-
ly deformity, as one of the most horri-
BILE records of cool methOdical crime
that has ever been given to the con-
demnatiOn of men.
A few years ago, in Il fair western
land, the broad and golden acres of Il
grand estate, stretching in rich beauty
of field, vineyard, and grove, from the
shadow of the foothills of mountain
range to a deep gorge through which
rushed the dark and sullen waters of a
mountain stream, we've purchased by
enc of fortunes crowned victOrS, Il
wealthy metropolitan merchant. Here,
in the heart of IL climate whose health
giving qualities were unsurpassed i'll
the whole wide range of the peerless
West; with scenery of glorious beauty,
walled in 10y purple mountain ranges,
and reaching away in endless succession
of sun -bathed and productive lands,
well might this man, whose life had
hitherto been devoted to the battling
for supremacy in the fields of gain, pitch
his tent and like the Indian chief of old
exclaim, "Alabama." Well might he
hope here to find nook for retire
ment when aweary of the hot, hard
struggles of the world, and heIe hope
to enjoy the atmosphere of calm rcpOse
And vet not selfish was he, for the ele-
. CANT and luxurious home which he
reared as fit setting for his wife and
daughters cultivation and lOveliuesS
was thrown open to extend the kind
amenities of il lavish hospitality tC
friend and acquaintance.
Gardens blOomed in riOtouS beauty o.
I bud and blossom that burned in brill
lance of hue through daIk foliage anC
down shadowed walk, or tossed theil
snowy clusters to the idle zephyrs play.
ing beside the streams mOssy bank
His stables contained hoIses of the bes
blood and the noblest form that evel
offered themselves to mans curb anG
control. His cellars contained as rare
and ample IL stock of wines as evel
slumbered in their jewelled potency il
the vault of Il prince. All these helt
he at the beck or lightest wish of those
whom he was only too proud to welcome
within his walls-his friends. And owe
this mans rOOf-tree peace and comtor
brooded with white wings folded; while
in content, life seemed to him to prom
ise future like summer dream-tilleC
" with sun and the fragrance of flowers
= So over many a scene as fair has shOn'
n as cloudless il sky, filled with as balmN
and mellow an atmosphere while the
= thunderbOlt has cleaned alOft err
launched from the hand of inscrutabl'
fate, to shatter into dust the altar o
I mans worldly pleasure or domestic fe
licity.
e Born of his splendid hospitality an'
n conyiyiaIity of soul, into the placi'
It beauty of this fair home, sprang tn
e fiery inspiration of drink, rousing II
the mans unfathomed heart that wilt
- Thirst which leads it's victim over tn
!. bounds of prudence into that agOnizin!
state of feeling which makes it tortur
n n to live and apparent damnation to die
Is And so the man of power and integrity
y he who had battled hard and well i'll th
7 worlds wild war, to give his loved one
s a home and secure comfort, here in tn
D. very fuIfillment of his ambitious dreams
fell in the pride of his strength, and
the very heart of his citadel. Throug
the lurid lust of liquor, born III unheed
ed hours of genial ''tiOw OF soul" fe