Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1879-02-25
From the Emory Il Henry Clarion,
DECEIT.

[The following article on "Deceit''
was found in n cave near College. 1t il
purportcd to have been written more
than an hundred years ago. 1t was Sc
curcly locked up in an iron box, and
stored away amid the rocks Of the cave.
Having these quaint associations with 1t,
we think it worthy place in our paper,
We claim no particular merit for the ar
ticle, other than the curiosity it is calcu-
lated to excite. .-EDToR.
a young girl, whose cheeks had been
kissed by the breezes of sixteen sum
mers, had retired from her dear old home
! to live the life Of Il hermitess. She had
been deceived by Il handsome, though
valmting youth, whom she loved with Il
woman's tenderness. The disappoint-
mcnt was great, and she was seized with
grief and despair. Though home and
all the endearmeuta Of home were writ
ten upon the tablets Of her affection,
her resolve was firm. As she wandered
in the glen of u mountain, alone and in
solitude, She phcled bright lily, her
rival for longevity, aud then seated her
self beneath the shrubbery, which the
thick vines evergreen, excluding the
sunbeams. While seated there she
chanccd to see littlc iron h~X. Her
curiosity in,luc0l her TO open it. In ii
she found manuscript. She uulolded
the manuscript, and saw that the subject
| of It's comment was Deceit. She was in
Clined to throw 1t aside, for she dreaded
to think on Deceit, the monster which
| had withcrcd her flower of happiness,
the goal Of all human action. She,
however, read the document, which was
rs follows; Mans nature is composite.
Among the elements which constitute
mans nature Is found one called Deceit.
| have spent my life in cndcNyoring to
characterize this element, When was
quite lad, | discovered that it is both
pleasant and painful.
1t Is pleasant. When | attended the
old field school with my companions,
there was one in school who would, In
our absence, stcal our dinner from the
baskets. We could never catch him,
until we rcsortcd TO certain means
One day we mixed ipecoc with our din
ncr, and at recess scampered off to the
| swing. On our return we heard some
one vomiting. Bill was caught, and II
gave pleasure to myself and companions.
That little net Of deception has been u
source of pleasure to me till this day
Deceit IL the origin of jokes, and who
has so stubborn u heart us not to take
pleasure In an innocent joke, when re-
laxcd from solemn dutyY Deceit Is the
chid's innocent pleasure. The little
darling In It's playhouse puts life into
it, dolls, makes one deceive another,
imagincs result, and Is then carried
away IN ccstatic joy.
Deceit il painful. once covered n
bumblc-bee's nest with grass and told
my little brother to lie on it., and he lay
on IT, Very soon the mad bees came
out and stung him considerably. II was
pain to him there, and pain to me when
went home, Il had father. Deceit
often practlccd for amusement results In
sorrow. Nellie was sweet little girl,
aud loved flowers. Bob Ray put SNUFF
In lily and give II to Nellie TO smell.
She inhaled the snuff and began to sneezc.
The snccllng was SO violent she broke II
blood-vcseel and died. IL gave her
friends pnn and has haunted Bob with
pain ever since. Deceit is painful In M
much as Il dlsappoints. Deceit creates
hope IN man, aud causcs him to disin-
herlt II aud adopt despair, when | was
mlddlc-agod man discovered that
Deceit was both wise and foolish,
Il Il wise. Dan Wren and Pauline
Gates were mutual lovers, and they were
bctrothcd. But Dan knew that he aud
Pauline could never be happy together,
because their dispositions were 50 differ
ont, And he knew that II was n differ
enco Of dispositions that caused so many
men and women to be unhappy after
marriage. SO Dan lllrtcd with Pauline.
II wna much wiser In thlsca 10 deceive
aud grievc for few days than to be
steadmst and live an unhappy life, De-
ccll was the path that led the little band
of Gideon In the stiffness of the night to
the extinction Of the Midlan host. God
was It, author. Deceit was the medium
by which 'fhemstoclcs outdid the Spar
tnns, had the watts Of Athens rebuilt.
and thereby rendered her The greatest