Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1903-04-15
The Remarkable Tale
Mysterious Bronze Box.
Of the



= death of my father, just as he had re-
= ceived it from my grandfather years
4 before. His one great desire had been
y to live to open it himself, but that
4. could not be, for it was asking of ma
2 ture too long a lease; so it fell to me
* to carry out the will of man who had
been nearly five hundred years dead. 1
e can see it now, with its silver tipped
corners and heavy hinges, and the en-
Z craving on the plate in the top, an
Is inscription which l read over and over
=. and over again until it became stamp
g ed upon the tablets Of memory never
to be efraced They cali me mad, yet
~ word for word, and letter for letter.
Z aye, will, that the reader may judge
for himself concerning my mental
!. state:
y i On. his first day Of April, in the
.: year Of cure, Lorde thousand thre
4 hundred and four score and nyne, l
'i Godefray, se!en this box with myne
Il owne hand, and willie. and command
& that it be not opende until fyve hun
ts dred yeren to a day from this TYNE.
s do also willie that only by hand of
= first born son of first born in Image
:. from me shall this seal be broken. And
= when this box shall be opende, some
3 animal which hath no soule, be it CRETE
= or small, shall ther be present AL this
& I willie, and curst be he whose shall
:. do other than here is written.
s Pho fact that it had fallen to me to
p open the box at the, appointed time
s. was my only proof that was a de-
Z scendant; Of the Godfrey Of the in
b scription That I was the first born
n OF my father, and he of his, I knew;
but further back all was tradition. No
y writing had been preserved, and
lats each descent from father to son
the box had lost something of the
!: story associated with it, till at last 4
its history had become dim and vague. !,
Through this veil of mist, as it were,
; pictured Godfrey as one Of the few
!: firm supporters of the weak and ir-
resolute Richard of England, at that
sEperiod in the midst Of troublous times.
s Then there was tradition of a NOR
{ stal foe, VINO l placed as probably an
: aadherent of John of Gaunt-the year
being that of his return from the
e.South-a foe whom Godfrey had met
/, and terribly vanquished before fleeing
) the country. HeSe, somehow, out of
this feud between Godfrey and his
nameless foe, the broaze box seemed to
have had its birth. There was. too,
]. something concerning terrible re-
Henge-a revenge to be perfected when
.the bronze box wn opened; but this,
considering that five hundred years
fzwould have elapsed, even should it, be
sepS SerYed. unopened so long--a thing
;sSsS his ioSFssa IS s
sna5,5rSs simply w;ldest. romance. =
-. at ,,,ov could a revenge be cempiet-
/ ~ ~ made of any effect When po.n
5narties would have been hunui 'D' -
Syears dead! -, os.1ov
For years after the dea.n ~ tbe
= s,ther I kept the bronze box at INC
,,otton of a chest of books little usSu,
ond unon accepting my protesstoha.
chair at the Durston Medicai OoiissI :
that chest accompanied me tni'hel. e.,
sia not remove the box from the ehes'
mill the spring of 'S5, when SOM
.hfns reminded me of it, an l We.
tSan deeply impressed with the "a. 10.
tha+ the five hundred years haa hea.
" rounded their course. oa ~ ~
vears more, should / i've anu - =
nrivilegeSo of opening the box "ouiu :
z mine. a,,
From that time forth my thoush'
20 more or less constantly upon
often at night would take IL w"
from it's hiding place in cofne. .san
NV bookcase to which nau - o..
ferred it from the chest ana piaIi,
II before me on the table, the
~ s.oarn. and, dream. over the Wonae
e S',,1I strange inscription lit = bo
Many times I was sorely zen semp,se dot
breakFlhe seal, but l resisted os usI ~
minedey resisted, firmly resoiveu =,
that mad been so sacredly oosei
W. ~ forefathers should not pc &C
Oroted ~ at last by me, even thoug
I.au es ~ con TO whom rcould hand dc
the charge. NV ey
AS the time drew on, my :, y
thought began to centre upon lne = :,
ma It was uppermost in my u
hv day the disturber of my sleel
Il DG;oh+ " If became the one absor
Is .asa ~ INV existence. In giving
= 49, 80 before my classes would
myself wandering from my sup!.' .
snite of every effort OF Will. AZ
Iewonld recover with start, 10
that. T had ceased speaking altose
3 ond WAS simply staring. 1t was
, how ever the bronze boz
- ways the bronze box. 49,.
could not but realize pnat
not holding my class;, that l,
more than once had chained TN
rertence of learned minds, was
~ mower to keep he attention Of
+hese raw inceptors. How IL
me! MY mind had never Deen u
vigorous, my powers were st w lne
rinened fullness. my yerlest uiis
n5sdom to those callow sosilng
vet they Knocked me: Can you
70 occasionally l gave way anu
q forth upon them in passionate
" was glad when the hnal
that terrible suspense drew 10
close { Z was eager to have tne
off nv hands and out OF mlnu
on .I.aa months more, and that
aons circle of five centuries "
..hod Night after nlgnt L
the bronze box in my hanos u,
study lamp, thinking, tninkins ~
Vas ! fancied, something al
pox that was almost human s
found myself talking aiouu
times. would sometimes
,,,o of another person IN