Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-09-29

to me, hated and despised, ever
country must be equally horrible
AT length the thought of you cross
ed my mind. | learned from you
papers that you were my father
my creator; and to whom could
apply with more fitness than t
him who had given me life
Among the lessons that Felix hat
bestowed on Safe, geography ha
not been omitted | had learne'
from these the relative situations c
the different countries of the earth
You had mentioned Geneva as tn
name of your native town; ant
TOWARD this place l resolved to pro
ceed.
"But how was I to direct myself
/ knew that / must travel in
southwesterly direction to reael
my destination but the sun wa
my only guide. l did not know
the names of the towns that l wa
to pass through, nor could / ash
information from a single human
being but / did not despair. From
you only could l hope for succor
although toward you / felt no sen
timent but that of hatred. UnfeeI
ing, heartless creator! you haC
endowed me with perceptions ant
passions, and then cast me abroad
an object for the scorn and horror
of mankind. But on you only hat
I any claim for pity and redress
and from you / determined to seel
that justice which vainly attempt
Ell to gain from any other being
that wore the human form.
My travels were long, and the
sufferings / endured intense. L
was late in autumn when / quilted
the district where / had so long re
sided. | travelled only at night
fearful of encountering the visage o
a human being. Nature decayec
around me, and the sun became
heatless rain and snow poured
around me: mighty rivers were
frozen, the surface of the earth was
hard and chill and bare, and ]
found no shelter. Oh, earth how
often did l imprecate curses on the
cause of my being! The mildness
of my nature had fed, and all with.
in me was turned to gall and bitter
ness. The nearer l approached tC
your habitation, the more deeply
did / feel the spirit of revenge en-
kindled in my heart. Snow fell,
and the waters were hardened, but
1 rested not. A few incidents now
and then directed me, and 1 pos.
sessed a map Of the country but
often wandered wide from my path.
The agony of my feelings allowed
me no respite; no incident occurred
from which my rage and misery
could not extract their food but a
circumstance that happened when ]
arrived on the confines of SWitzer-
land, when the sun had recovered
its warmth, and the earth again
began to look green, confirmed In
an especial manner the bitterness
and horror of my feelings.
II generally rested during the
day, and travelled only when | was
secured by night from the view of
man. One mo- ming, however, find
ing that my path lay through a
deep wood, / ventured to continue
my journey after the sun had risen ;
the day, which was one Of the first
of spring, cheered even me by the
loveliness of its sunshine and the
of the air. l felt emo
tions of gentleness and pleasure
that had long appeared dead, revive
within me. Half surprised by the
of these sensations, / al
lowed myself to be borne away by
them, and forgetting my solitude
and deformity, dared be happy.
Soft tears again bedewed my cheeks,
and [ even raised my humid eyes
with thankfulness toward the
blessed sun, which bestowed such
Joy upon me.
81 continued to wind among the
paths of the wood, until / came to
its boundary, which was skirted by
a deep and rapid river, into which
many of the trees bent their branch
IS, now budding with the fresh
spring. Here l paused, not exactly
knowing what path to pursue, when
[ heard the sound of voices, that
induced me to conceal myself un-
Ter the shade of a cypress. i was
,carcely hid, when as a young girl
came running toward the spot
where | was concealed, laughing as
f she ran from some one in sport.
She continued her course along the
Orecipitous sides of the river, when
her foot slipped, and she
ell into the rapid stream. / rushed
rom my hiding place, and with
extreme labor, from the force of the
saved her and dragged her
% shore. She was senseless, and /
by every means in my
to restore animation, when |
vas suddenly interrupted by the
approach of rustic, who was prob
lbiy the person from whom she
lad pIayfully fed. On seeing me,
le darted toward me, and tearing
he girl from my arms, fastened
oward the deeper parts of the wood.
followed speedily, / hardly knew
Why, but when the man saw me
lraw near, he aimed gun, which
le carried, at my body, and fired.
sunk to the ground, and my in
urer, with increased sWiftness, ran
nto the wood.
"This was, then, the reward OF
ny benevOlence / had saved a
human being from destruction, and
IS a reeompense, / now Writhed
lnder the pain of wound, which
the flesh and bone. The
ceilings of kindness and gentleness,
which / had entertained but few
moments before, gave place to hell
sh rage and gnashing of teeth. In
famed by pain, / vowed eternal
latred and vengeance to all man.
ind. But the agony of my wound
vercame me; my pulses paused,
nd / tainted.
"For some weeks / led a misera-
lie life in the woods, endeavoring
0 cure the wound which / had re-
eived. The ball had entered my
and / knew not whether
t had remained there or passed
through at any rate, / had no
neans of extracting it. My suffer-
ngs were augmented also by the
ppressive sense of the injustice and
ngratitude of their infiiction. My
ally vows rose for revenge, such as
you'd alone compensate for the out
ages and anguish had endured.
"After some weeks my wound
ealed, and / continued my journey.
he labors / endured were no longer
0 be alleviated by the bright sun
r gentle breezes of spring all joy
vas but mockery, which insulted
ny desolate state, and made me
aeI more painfully that i WAS not