The daily phoenix. (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, August 07, 1865, Image 4
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^Home/Ruins.
A cold November's gloomy day
Looked out from earth'and sky;/
Wo went*to see the lovod old spot, . -/
My Histor deanr and L
Where once e*r father's house had stood, " !
ii? Where our young feet had trod.
When life seemed brighter'than the flowers
. ' T'pon tho verdant sod. ?
. ? .?T
Jj A black North-eastern wind swept-on
.. . From out its icy cave,
As chilly an the winter's frost
At mid-night on a grave;
. It cut mo to the very heart,
Through marrow and through bone,
And found'within, an atmosphere
As sunless as its own. .
" For years had passed since I had stood
With her, there sido by side;
. Mygontle sister! when alone
We met misfortune's tide;
And watched with loving heart? above
A head with silvered hair,
That lay in helpless feebleness
Beneath our guardian care.
Oh! sad thc chango! the frost had left
Its impress all around;
The frost of soasons, Ufo, and time,
OnJiead, and heart, and-ground!
That silvered head had sunk' to rest,
Otir own were whitened now; .
'Twas autuoin in our memories,
? And autumn on ouch brow.
Tho stranger's foot had followed ours,
The stranger's hand our own,
The things we loved were there no more,
.* Thepath with weeds o'ergrowii;
And from the acorns planted thero
By our voung ardent hands,
One sturdy oak alone remained,
Of all the stately bands.
The-willows we had planted, too,
From hedge were cut away;
Wild juniper usurped the fields, '
Of once sweet-scouted hay.
And where our father we had seen
Through his frosh clover pass,
. The liungrv cattle sought for food
Among the withered grass.
Thc fences all had disappeared,
Weeds o'er th?? mantle waved;
Beneath the cellar's crumbling walls
The la earth-stone lay in graved: ?
Th? cold winds whistled where had stood
The hall, and swung the door,
And dreary desolation frowned
Where homo was fouud no moro!
. Thc bucket with its mossy mail,
That hung above the well,
Had passed like sonic sweet memory
Before Time's blighting spell: **
Tho curb was gone; the pearly draught
. Was changea to ooze at last,
And frogs were croaking from ita slime
* A requiom for the past.
A little mound of cobble-stones,
Aud sticks of rotting wood.
Marked where the grove of cnoke-cherrioB
In rustling beauty stood.
All, all had passcdl youth, friends, and
home,
Trees, shrubbery and flowers:
No souvenir of love remained '
To answer back to ours!
Old Tiger's voice had long boen dumb.
There were no songs ot birds:
We, too, wore silent, for our hearts
Were far too full for words.
Tears from my sister's azure eyos
I saw unbidden start: ?
They answered to tho hidden ones .
Which lay upon my heart.
. Wo turned as from an ocean beach,
Trod by our youth before,
Whence every track the waves of life
Had banished from thc shore.
We saw the changing sand, and heard
The ocean's voice sublime,
And stood amid tho crumbling wrock?
Of Youth, and Love, and Tune!
WILD MR. WILL,
A Story that iras Hushed Up.
BY GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA.
A Christmas party was gathered
round ti fire-^a leaping, roaring, jovial,
coal fire-and indulging in the ortho?
dox amusement of story-telling. Wo
had an ancient housekeeper among us,
who had known some of us ever since
we were born, and the papas and
mammas of many others of us a long
time before we were born.
"Ah'." remarked this ancient durne,
when one of our stories-I think it
was a ghost story-had come to a con?
clusion-"it's all very easy to talk,
but I suppose there are other persons
who have seen strange things-aye,
and can tell strange things about 'em,
too."
"No doubt, ma'am," one of us an?
swered; "there was the old woman
who went up to tho moon; she must
have had some uncommonly strango
things to tell. "
"iikewise'the old woman who lived
in a shoe," another took occasion to
remark.
"To.say nothing of the old woman
who fell asleep by the king's high?
way," a third observed, "and was so
badly treated by Mr. Stout, tho
tinkeri"
"Ah, yes, I dare say!" the house?
keeper rejoined, bridling up, adjusting
her jnany-bo"wed eap, and evidently
in that state of temporary irritation
known to young ladies at a boarding
school as a 'pet.' "That's right.
Teaso and mock a poor lonely old
body, do! It's very generous and
manly, isn't it? It wasn't so when ]
lived with the cfiiality."
"With whom, ma'am?" I made bold
to inquire.
"With gentlefolks'."-the housekeep
er retorted snappishly. "With tnt
verv first families! With nono o
. : V.V*\v y.- ?:. ..
- . :
? . r ? -' ' - ?
?or with i knight nor <oarrowrknigh t
neither; but with - born. lords and"
ladies. ; "With , the veiy first nobility
in: the land; "though I say it?. that'
shouldn't-."
"Indeed, nia'ain!" I interposed iii
as respectful a tone as I could com?
mand, ?wishing to conciliate the -wor?
thy but somewhat irascible old lady.
"Yes, indeed?"- pursued the house?
keeper. "It isn't for nothing, pert
and flippant as you are, that I lived
seven years and three months in the
service of my Lord Millamant."
"I knew his lordship-well," I ob?
served gravely; "that is, I have seen
his portrait in the print shops and
read of his achievements'in the news?
papers when I -was a boy. He ran
'away with and married Miss Jaghire,
the great Indian heiress, didn't he?"
"Yes, sir, he did."
"He killed Sir Hargreaves Grim?
wood, the West country baronet, in a
duel about Lady Grimwood, didn't he?
I remember his trial and acquittal ?us
tlio?gh they had occurred yesterday."
"Yes, sir, he did; but he was bailly
provoked. Sir Hargreaves was a sad
man-lived at the Brimstone Coffee
. House, and always drank a pint of
Schiedam before breakfast- Ho wasn't
the first tall gentleman who bad been,
shot about Lady Grimwood.''
"And he died ambassador at Ma?
drid, did he?"
"Yes, sir; but that was long after I
left his service. It is fnli forty years
ago that I was housekeeper. to the
Right Honorable the Earl of Milla?
mant, Lord Lieutenant of Darkshire,
and Colonel of the Darkshire Yeo?
manry Cavalry, at Cartfoil House, Hay
Hill, Berkeley Square."
"And was it there you became ac?
quainted with any strange tale?"
'Ae housekeeper nodded signifi?
cantly.
"What may it have been about,
now, love?"
"Not a bit of it," replied the house?
keeper. "I could never' abide love,
and wouldn't trouble my head about
such nonsense. No, it wasn't thc
least in the world about love. "
"Murder, now," I hinted.
! "Worse!" said tho housekeeper,
emphatically.
"Worse!" I repeated. "What can
be worse?" I might have suggested
fire, thieves, suicide, elopement; but I
thought murder would cover a multi?
tude of crimes. "Now what was it,
my dear, good>sopl?"
"There," resumed the housekeeper,
now thoroughly appeased, "I see
you're all dying of curiosity to know
about it, and I-.won't keep you any
longer in suspense." Besides, the
story's a very short one. It was
hushed up at the time, and it would
have been much more than my place
was worth to breathe a word of it>to
a living soul. But tho chief people
concerned in it are all dead. The
very dog was poisoned with two
ounces of poisoned paunch by the
butcher the day afterwards, as if, poor
dumb creature, he could have wagged
a tail to compromise anybody."
"But we haven't heard who the dog
was, or the butcher either," I broke in,
I am afraid, somewhat impatiently.
"Pray begin, at the beginning, ray
dear ma(Uam, we're all impatience to
hear.''
"Well then," commenced the house?
keeper, settling herself comfortably
in her arm-chair. "You shall hear ah
about it. Just draw your chairs
closer round me, for I'm not very long
of breath."
We did as the old lady desired, and
she went on thus: ,
"In the vear eighteen hundred and
nineteen, ? was, as I ha*e told you.
housekeeper to my LoraP Millamant.
The story I am telling you has to do
with the winter of that same year. A
bitter winter it was. Frosts three
weeks long, and a deluge of mud
whenever there Avas a thaw. Co;ds,
bread and meat frightfully dear. The
poor crying* out fit to make your
heart break, and the taxes as heavy as
hard dumplings. Our taxes were paid
for us, thank goodness, even to that
on the hair-powder with which the
footmen plastered their heads. We
were all well-fed and well-cared for,
for my Lord Millamant was far too
proud and rich a nobleman to put us
on board wages when he went out of
town, and always said that he liked to
see his servants plump and rosy. It
didn't matter to him how much the
butcher's and baker's bills came to.
He had immense estates in D:irkshire,
and two or threo comfortable things
they used to call sinecures in those
. days; besides, wasn't there his wife,
I the late Miss Jaghire's, rich Indian
'. fortune?
"My Lord Millamant had been
I .'?way from London during the hunt?
ing season. Ho had a pack of hounds
- at Cartfoil Hall, (the family name wat
: Cartfoil,) Darkshire, and had been en
f tortaining all the gently pf the coun
, try-srete, -sith, ?any of tho -nobility
from London, in tho true stylo of old.
Eirgliah hospitality. All tho grand
furniture in tho mansion on Hay Hill
had been covered up' since September,
when his lordship and'her ladyship
.went out of town. The carpets in the
grand saloons were rollea up,- the
chandeliers wrapped in yellow gauze;
the pictures the same-dreadful grim
old pictures there were, of noblemen
in curly wigs, and ladies in hoop pet
? ticoats and shockingly low dresses
and tho rich silver and parcel gilt plate
of which my Lord Millamant, being 30
great a nobleman, had a vast quantity,
j was safe and sound in four oak cheats,
I clamped with ijton, at Messrs. Doublon
I & Moydor's, the bankers in Fleet
street; it was a good plan to send one's
silver to thu bankers, for there were
j plenty of housebreakers about in those
days, and no police except the wheezy
old constables; and the Bow street red
waistcoats.
"It was on the 21st of December, '
1819, that your humble servant re?
ceived a post letter, franked by Mr.
Tubwell, one of the county members
for Darkshire, for my Lord Millamant
was always too generous with his
franks, and never had any to. spare for
himself. The letter was from h%i lord?
ship, and, in his iisual kind style,
though tormy very great^surprise, told
nie that he and the countess were
coming up to spend Christmas in Lon?
don. All the time I had been in their
service, then four years come that
Christmas day, they had kept it at
Cartfoil Hall. However, there was no
mistaking my lord's directions. He
always gave them himself, for her
ladyship, saving lier memory, wai one
of the laziest creatures living,' and
never did anything much beyond ly?
ing on a sofa, and talking to her gray
and her green parrot. . I was to have
the carpets laid down, the furniture
thoroughly dusted, all,the beds well
aired; for my lord was to bring com
! pany -with him from Darkshire; and I
I was to get the plate from thc bankers,
? and have it all well cleaned for a grand
banquet my lord intended to give on
I Christmas day. Enclosed hi the letter
j was a slip of paper, containing an or
j der to the bankero to deliver the plate
to me, or to Mr. Beeswing, the butler;
and which, as fiir as I can recollect,
ran thus: <t
CAJBTFOHI HAI?, Dec. 19, 1819.
Missus. DOV'BLON ?fe MOYDOK: Please
deliver tho four boxes marked A, B,
C, D, containing the plate left in your
care, to Mrs. -, or Samuel Bees
i wing, my servants, bearers of this.
(Signed) MILLAMANT.
' 'There was his lordship's signature,
certainly; but somehow the name
seemed written in a. larger and more
tremulous hand than usual. The i's
j werou't dotted, nor t?he t's crossed, in
his lordship's general style, but still
thc remainder of the letter was like
enough to him, and the cover bore the
! Cartfoil post-mark. I showed it tc
Mr. Beeswing, who laughed at my
doubts, could swear the hand-writing
was my lord's throughout, and said it
was very likely that there had beer
merry doings at Cartfoil Hall during
the week, that my lord had taken
j t'other bottle overnight, and that bis
hand was rather shaky the next
morning.'
j " 'And you may be sure,' addec
Beeswing, 'that his lordship punishec
the small beer, if he did have t'otkei
bottle. ' The quality d rank small bee;
then, the morning after. Soda-watei
was invented, but was thought bad foi
the stomach, and wasn't at all th?
fashion."
"However, not-withstanding Bees
wing's confidence in the letter, I wasn'
quite satisfied. 'I daresay it's von
nervous and silly of me, Beeswing,' )
snid, 'but it behooves us all to be eai-e
ful. I shall take.this letter to Wilt
Mr. \\ill. He knows .my lord's hain
well enough, and I shall see what ht
says to it. '
"Now Wild Mr. Will, as we ser
vants, many of whom had known hin
since he was a baby in long clothes
called him, was to the world in gen
eral no other than the Honorable Wil
liam Cartfoil, my lord's youger broth
er. He was a dreadfully wild youn?
man, Mr. W ill. He was fond of wini
and women, and dice, and all sorts o
wickedness. Ho had been a captai)
in the Horse Guards, but had sold oui
He had fought scores- of dwels, am
killed two or three people; rest thei
souls, and be merciful to his; but h
was one of the merriest, best tempei
ed fellows you ever knew or saw. M
lord was very fond of him, and ha
i paid his debts and set him up again
time out of number; but you could d
nothing with W?d Mr. Will, He wt
always getting into scrapes; and whe
his lordship had got him -out agaii
getting ?ito new ones. People sai
t lie lived mostly now by playing i
i cards and dice, and that his carrying
on with the actresses at the pla;
? house-tho wicked, painted hussies 1
' were dreadful. I knew ho had bo
. ? .V":.V- - I
ro money of Beeswing moro than
once, and had, at least,' two-thirds of
his aister-in'-law*a pin-money, every
quarter; but still no one could help
liking him,"and he was almost adored
hy the servants. - " .'
"I took the letter to .Wild Mr. Will
at hi3 lodgin?s in Great Ryder .street,
St. James'. He was drinking hock
with a captain of dragoons and a low
wretch of a fellow that got Iiis living
by prize-fighting, but he came out on
the landing to speak to me. I showed
him the letter, and hinted at my
doubts.. v
V 'Stuff and nonsense, ' he cried,
when he had read the letter twice
through and held it to thc fight. 'IVB
Jack Cartfoil's fiat for five hundred
guineas.' (My-lord's name was John.)
.Newmsrfiet to the knocker of New?
gate, that it's my brother's hanc?.
Nobody makes blots'like these ex?
cept tho Earl of Millamant. Be.ii.lt s,
don't you see that he spells 'swept'
'3wep,f without tho t.* Jack never
could spell. Trot you away to ' the
banker's, my. worthy soul, and get
the plato, ? and poliah it all up
nice and bright, for you know how |
partie ular .my Lord Millamant is, and I
what a pother there will be if the
coronet doesu'f come well out on tho
spoons and forks. There, got along
with you, and thero's a guinea to
drink'my health. Stop-mind, for
safety, you lock the plate up in my
lady's boudoir. '
"Of course, after the Honorable
William Cartfoil had given hi* opinion,
hesitation was no longer to be thought
of. Beeswing and. I took a hackney
coach to Fleet street, and the head
cashier, when he ordered one* of the
porters to carryj^he fonr plate chests
to the carriage, Sid, 'My lord's hand?
writing was as plain as a pike-staff, !
and he should like to cash a check for j
ten thousand' with such a Millamant
signed to, it.' He' gave me-such a
nice gentleman as he was, too-a
guinea to drink the health of the firm.
Ah, how liberal people were forty
years ago!
"We looked over the plate that (
evening, counted everything; found
all in accordance with the lists', and,
with the assistance of the three house?
maids, I had everything cleaned and
polished up by sapper time. But still I
f.lt uneasy; I could not repress a
dreadful fooling of terror at some?
thing-I knew not what. The plate
was all locked up aprain and deposited,
according to Mr. Will's instructions,
I in my la<ly's boudoir, which was at
the ?-nd of a grund suit of apartments
on tho first floor. There was no door
to this room, only heavy hangings to
the doorway; but every window in the
house was bolted and barred.
"Still I felt uneasy, and, towards
10 o'clock, I slipped up, and'going to
our etcher, Mr. Chubbychop, in
Mount street, Grosvenor Square, I
borrowed his well known and fierce
bull-dog, Towler, from him,-to keep
guard in the house all night. One of
tho butcher's boys brought th?> dog
muzzled to our house, for he was
dreadfully savage, and just before we
wen* to bed, Beeswing unmuzzled
him apd let him loose in the hall.
"I had dreadful dreams that night.
I dreamed of a procession of men car?
rying coffins, one after another, in a
long procession that never ended.
The morning came at last; the young?
est house-maid awoke me, and I came
down to breakfast in the still-room,
when in canie Mr.. Beeswing, trem?
bling all over, and with a face as white
as chalk. *
"For the Lord Almighty's sake,
come this way!" he cried.
"He led or rather drugged me to
the boudoir on the first floor, and
there 1 saw a sight I shall never to my
dying day.forget. The rieh carpet
was dabbled in blood, and on it there
lay his length along the body of a
man-stark, stiff and dead. His throat
had been literally torri^ut by the dog,
which crouched by his side, uttering a
low growl now and then, and licking
his lips.
"In ono of the dead man's hands
was a bunch of skeleton keys. One
of the plate chests had been opened,
and a portion of the contents were on
the floor. The men-servants bent over
the body to raiso it, when there was a
cry of horror and astonishment.
' 'God forgive him and us all ! We re?
cognized the body of the Honorable
William Cartfoil.
* * * * * * *
"It was discovered afterwards that
the letter from the country was a for?
gery, executed, probably, by the un?
fortunate and guilty man who had
died in this, miserable manner. It
was found that ho had made his entry
by a back-door leading into the mews,
of which?he mu?t have had a key, And
creeping up a back* staircase,, had en?
tered-the boudoir by a side door he
knew well, had been heard by the dog,
and so perished.
4 "The 3tory waa huahod up, and it
waa reported and believed that youn? *
Mr. Will had gen? abroad and died
thdre. I , .
"The MiUamant title is extinct. ' '
In vio w of tko importance of the approach?
ing Convention, it io cf vital ' consequence- '
to UR that we should be represented by men,
not only of patriotism and experience, but
of legal acquirements. I beg, therefore, tat '
present to the voters of Richland fh^namca
of the following gentlemen,,who aro arni-,
nently fitte* for the responsible p?S'5 for '
.dvlcli they are nominated:
CHANCELLOR CARROL.
. HON. WM. F. DESAUSSURE,
COL. "WM. WALLACE,
COL. F. w. MCMASTER.
August 3 ' ..
THE following gentlemen arc respectfully
suggested as candidates for tho Convontion
to be" hold in September next:
WADE HAMPTON,
? A. R. TAYLOR,
' YT. A. HARRIS,
J. G. GIBBES. July 31?
For tHc Convention.
The friends of the Union and of their
State, desiring to bring into her councils
oractical knowledge, sound patriotism and
devotion to her best interests' respectfully
nominate thc followiag gentlemen as dole- >
tratos to the t'.tate Convention from tho
District of Richland:
JOHN CALDWELL, .
WADE HAMPTON,
, A. R. TAYLOR,
W. A. HARRIS.
August 1*_
Brass Foundry.
TFIE subscriber, thankful for past patron
'age, woold inform-"his friends and the
public that he ii still prepared to furnish all
kinds of BRASS CASTING in a workmanlike
manner and with despatch. *
ROBERT MCDOUGAL,
July 31 m Gadsden, near Washington st.
Card.
Cl S. JENKINS has just opened an as
j% sorted stock of GROCERIES, Liquors,
Segara. Gent's Straw and Felt Hats, Ladies'*;
Hats, Shoes and Ribbons, at his store on
. Assembly street, third door from Pendle?
ton, to which he invites the attention of tho
public._Aug 3 3j
"INSURANCE. .
GERMANIA, * IVIAG.lTtA,
HANOVER, REPUBLIC
THE? UNDERWRITERS' POLICY
OF !?iS????$"??
IS ISSUED nv >
H. E. NICHOLS, Ment.
COLUMBIA, S. W>
ONE policy of Insurance, issued by four
companies, which is made to meet the
necessities of the business community, by ?
securing, with despatch, large linus of In
; aura ncc with relia ble Companies, upon
I uniform, plain and simple conditions, there?
by obviating the necessity of applying to
v?rious separate Offices tor Insurance, to <.
the amount they are Severally able to accept;
and of holding numerous -separate Policies,
tho conditions and written portions . ot*
which rarely agree, rendering it difficult
for tho assured to become familiar with and
harmonium their various conflicting condi?
tions.
By the conditions of the Underwriters'
Policy but one set of papers is required to
' provo a loss to the several Companies
i insuring under it, theteby makin ; thc ad?
justment simple and expeditious,
j The cash assets of each Company issuing
! the Underwriters' Policy of Insurance ex
? cecd half a million of dollars; making a
! security in the aggregate of three million
dollarsi
ALSO, '
Agent fur the Hartford, rEkia, Home,
Phoenix, International, Metropolitan, Con?
tinental, Merchants, Croton, New England,
City, Washington, North American and
other tirst class fire insurance companies,
and will, in a few days, resume tho Lifo
Insurance Branch for several of the largest^
life insurance companies in the United
States.
ALSO, N .
Agent for the New York Accidental Insur?
ance Company, insuring Travelers, Railroad
Conductors, Expressmen, Mechanics and
others, against all accidents. The amount
premium being so small and the benefit so
great this Company presents inducements
for all to take out a policy. No medical
examination required.
For cards, hand bills and more full expla?
nation, caiU at our office, at present at
Bryce's old stand, next to Muller & Senn's
and Kenneth & Gibson's stores.
July ?9 2* IL E. NICHOLS, Agent.?
Scliool Xoticc.
MRS. E. R. LAURENS has oponed a
DAY SCHOOL for boys and girl?.
Applicants are requested to call at the Wost
tenement of Theological Seminary,, in
Bainding street. Aug i 2*
The Broad River
BOAT COMPANY
HAVING secured two fine DRY BOATS,
and two crews of the most experienced
Boatmen on the river, .offers its services to
the public for transporting. FREIGHT be?
tween Columbia and Alston. Tho following
rates have been adopted:
Bacon, per 100 IDH.$ 75
Corn, per bushel.'.. 38
Cotton, per bale.'_ S 00
Fodder, " _?._ 2 50
Flour, per barrel. 2 00
" " bag..:. 1 00
Other articles, per 100 lbs.,. 1 00
Passengers.!.r. 2 00
Tho Boat? will leave Conimbia at 6 a. m.,
every Monday and Friday; and will leaver
Alston at 6 a. m., everv Wednesday and
Sunday. Apply to B. *B. SIMONS,
Agent. Columbia.
Vf. A). WALTER,
Agent, Newberry C. fl. ?
J. W: CALL,
July 31'3 .Agent,'ii? charge of boats.
i