Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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% m *9 I r'^F' vv" *j A*n?w.?^ -*v .iflWffM y? .f-jgrza, vjBMpcafc. ?-& . ?& .; ;. * * -k- *n> -,.: ^ ...V^-MMU ?* ?** .* ^mmm^^ammmmmammamm^mBmm^memaammmBaBmmaBsassBBBaBm^BBBmmaeBBB i i ?? 1 1. J I J . J.L_ L ,iL^iij? THE CAROLINA SPARTAN. by cavis & trimmier. PnwRfc to Southern Higljts, politics, SlgrUuliittt, Aitlx JHiarfllnmj. $2 per AmruH VOL. XIII. SPARTANBURG, S. C., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 185(E /' L thjS Carolina spartan. by cavis & trimmier. T- 0. P. VERNON, Associate Editor. Prioe Two Dollars per annum in advance, or $2 .50 at the end of the year. If not jmid until aft?r the year expires &1.O0. Payment will bo considered in advauce if made within three months. No aubacriptiou taken for leas than six months. Money may be remitted through postmasters at our risk. Advertisements inserted at the usual rates, and contracts made on reasonable terms. The Srartan circulates largely over this and Adjoining districts, and otters an admirable medium to our friends to reach customers. Job work of nil kinds promptly executed. Blanks, Law and Equity, continually on hand <or prin ed to order. the opal ring; OR, THE FATAL LOVE TEST. An old street, which we shall name the Rue des Truauds, iu old Paris, in times not old to us. To call it a street is little more than a form of speech; it is rather a narrow, black, squalid passage that divides the tortuous rows of high, dark, lickely, bulgy, sickly bouses, irregularly pierced with windows that breathe an atmosphere the nature of which may well account for the nnwholesonreness of their complexions. It is always cold there, and the atmosphere is always charged with a deadly damp and nausea. On the ground floors of the houses are some shops that have no aspect of containing anything saleable, or of beinir the scenes where commerce is carried 0 - ? on; for you always seem to sco the same unfaded, uutemptiug goods, of whatever nature or description they be, in tho daik, mud-splashed windows. Lean, green, undersized children, some looking precociously intelligent, others stolid in their grimy misery, hang about the doorways or listlessly dabble in the mire; and towards evening, which falls early there, the rats coiuu out and forage, little disturbed by their vicinity. The street is very quiet in general, except on fete days, about some of tho low cabarets, from whence there then proceed fierce oaths and savage roars, which are supposed to bo songs of mirth and jollity; for even joy there wears a mask of vice and debasement and ferocity. On a summer evening, when the right side of Paris had not yet lost the last beams of the sun that never fell upon tho wrong. r woman turned from the gay quarter into the Hue des Truauds. She was dressed in dark garments ami closely veiled, so that nothing but her height was clearly distinguishable; and she walked rapidly, and with (he anxious air of one who i* nervously conscious of being in a false po sition. She stopped at last before a closed door, examined the aspect of tiie house, consulted * htllc paper she held in her hand, and then knocked softly. The dooi opened instantly, and closed on her a:* she entered, leaving her in total darkness "Fear nothing, mad a me," said the shrill voice <>f the invisible porter; give mo your hand, and I will guide vou safely." The visitor held out her hand in the dark, ana fell it taken Uy a hand so cold, so lean, so extraordinary small, that she could hardly forbear shuddering at the strange, unnatural contact. Through a room or passage, dark and earthy-smelling as a tomb, up a steep, winding stair c:^o, through a Idng, creaking corridor, still in darkness, now and then faintly and tno tuenUriJy broken by some iuvisiblo l>or rowed light, (he guide and guest proceeded together in silence, till at the end of tin passage they stopped, and the fortuei knocked at the door, lleing bidden to en ter, they did so; and, for the first time, lb', visitor, looking down to about the level o her own waist, saw her conductor, a dwar liunip-back of the female sex, but of an ag< perfectly undistinguishable who, after peer ing upward with a quick, strange, side-long glance, that seemed to pierce her veil noiselessly withdrew and left her standing before the room's inhabitant. lie was an old man, of a palo leader complexion, with quick, keen eyes, thai peered from beneath low, shaggy black brows, while his hair ami long thick bean were white, lie sat at a table covered w ill venerable-looking books, yellow vclluii manuscripts, and various instruments o singular aspect, on which a shaded latnj threw a partial gleam. Signing to the la dy with a lean, long hand, to advance to r seat near him, ho watched her movement! with a look of close and quiet scrutiny an< in profound silence, till she had taken tin chair. "Kxctise ine, inadatne," he said, "bul you must laiso jour veil. I cannot speak to you without seeing your face." She hesitated for a second, then sudden ly fiung it tip, and boldly and steadily mel his eye. The action and the face accorded both wore proud, passionate, resolute?even defiant; tho latter, though not in its tirsl youth, handsome. Nothing of this wai lost on the old man; neither did he fail tc .1 ... t . . |'?ai.kitc mat. iuo iioiiu vuiiv llll't'W IIXCK tilt veil was small and white, atitl that n jewel flM..s]ied from it in the lamplight. MI come," the visitor said, "for a turn o your art. Can you, aro you disposed, ti aid me? Fear nothing as to the exton and security of your roward;" ntid sho Init a heavy purso on the table. lie Appeared not to notice the move meat, as ho sAid quietly: "When you havo stated the caso to mo inadame, I shall bo belter able to answe your question." It was evident that there was a poworfu strugglo in tho mind of the visitor; for lie color rose, her nostrils dilated, and when nfter a pause, sho spoke again, her voice wn thicker, And her words abrupt nnd hurried "I love and would be loved again, whicl I am not. I would purchase lovo?thai one man's love?nt any price." "At any price to 'aim, or to you?" "To cither, or to both." "Is he heart-free?or does ho love ano llier?" "Ho loves another?his affianced wife.' "Hum! Complicated." "You have nothing more encouraging tiian than to say to ine?" The old man smiled a quiet, slightly contemptuous smile. "Patience, hello dame, this is not an affair of yes or no in the first five minutes. I must consider it." "How long a time do you require for consideration?" "I requiro until tho day ufter to morrow, at this same hour." "And you will tell mo uothing till then? If you doubt my possessing the means to reward your services, here is ouly a small portion of what 1 have both tho power and the will to bestow, in tho event of your aiding me effectually;' and bhe held tho purse out to him. lie waved it back quietly. "Keep your money for tho present. You have on your hand a jewel, which if you choose to confido it to me, shall in tho event of my deciding to accept this task bo made the instrument of accomplishing your wishes, nnd shall, in any case, bo restored , to you in safety. Ilia eve was fixed on a ring she woro? a serpent studded with diamonds and bearing on tho head an opal of singular fire and splendor. "This ring! It belonged to my mother and grand mother, and I promised never to let it out of my possession. There is a family superstition attached to it." "As you will, inndame. 1 have no wish to undertako the affair, and can only do so ' on my own conditions." Willi fiery impatience bhe toro rather than drew tho rimr from her fincer. and I 1 , o o ? held it out to him. The opal and the cmcrald eyes of the serpcnl shotforlh prismatic gleams, and lite folds seemed to undulalo as ho turned it about in the light of the lamp. "No common jewel this," he said, contemplating it; "the opal is n stone of peculiar innueuco in the occult sciences, and 1 can sco that this opal is more than usually gifted with such virtues. You did well to bring it; it may aid llto accomplishment of your desires more than anything else." "Then you promise mo " "Nothing. Understand fully that today I in no way bind myself to unylhing in the affair. Tho day after to-morrow you shall have iny final decision." lie rose. Tho lady following his example, he rang a hand hell, and the dwaif again made her appearance to lead her through the intricacies of the house. When she got into the street it was almost dark, Mild as yet the few laiiteins that at distant intervals were suspended across the alley, by lines stretched from house to house, were not lighted. Willi uncertain steps, therefore, she made her way over the slip pery, filthy pavement. More than once she was nervously conscious of attracting the suspicious attention , of a denizen of this iuiquilous haunt; do spile her resolute nature, her hcait beat I high at the sensation of encountering a very real danger; and when she emerged on the broad open thoroughfare, still only in the light, a load of alarm and anxiety was lenioved from her broa-t. As she turned , a corner she suddenly came on a group of three Persons, air old and vuntrrr ri.nn with ' ft gill of about seventeen. She re oiled at llio sight, as if something had slung her, and the young man, lancying she wl> , startled at tiuding herself tn such immediate contact with them, drew back with a "Pardon, madamel" standing out of the | way, hat in hand, to let her pass. She rushed past him, and her daik veiled figure r was soon lost in the dim light. Meanwhile the little party strolled on, ; talking cheerily by tho way. That Gaston f de Mont rouge and Genevieve Uouviercs f were lovers, was a most uiunistakeahlc fact. 5 They wero, moreover, Affianced. The eld . I erlv man on whom the girl leaned was Iter P ! father, lie belonged to a family of llio bouigeoi.se, and bad made a considerable r fortune in commerce, from which lie bad | not retired. His sitter bad married the , j Chevalier de MontrougO. and, by virtue of I a family compact, it was agreed that her : i only son should gild tho somewhat lluead| bare nobility of bis father's nice with tho i ! lotiis d'or, of his uncle's only daughter, , when both should arrive at years of diacro* f lion. At an early age, Gastoti, thiough , the influence of his paternal relations, en. i lered one of the most brilliant regiments i 1 of the guard. Soon after, his parents died i and from thcnco his uncle's house hecaiuo | his established home, when away from his . | duties?an arrangement which the worthy I man in nowise objected to us bringing the ^ | your.g people together, lending to cement , llie contract already entered into between | the senior members of the family, by ongaging the inclinations of the parlies more t especially concerned. , Tho result was eminently successful, i Gaston found his pretty, gentlo cousin, with I her nut brown hair and hazel eyes, entirely i to his taste, and Genevieve thought?and > ! not perhaps without leuson?that tho beau i' cousin was by far llio most accomplished 1 ; cavalier she lnul ever encountered. Unfor | Innately, though, other and more experif I enced judges were of little Genevieve's > | opinion. t. At a grand galhciing of the great folks, I ; of tho Faubourg St. Germain, the Marquise ! de VftllClnULill II l/.flu 1.1.It/ U'liA lin.l ii.sf J....J " J"" cast oil tlio weeds she had put on and put ofl" with nearly equal satisfaction, particu, laily distinguished the handsome young r garde, and took every moans, short of do* : daring the fact, to make him aware of the 1 ; favorable impression ho had produced. r| Gaston was, however, sincerely aud serious , ly attached to his cousin, and he had, s moreover, passed the age when youths nro . given to fall in love with women srmo ten 1 1 years their senior, llo therefore showed t himself lo.-s sensible of the great dame's condescension than might have been ex* : |>ectcd; and when on various subsequent occasons she renewed her advances, they i wore mot with a coolness that drove at once her lovo and pride to the point of ' i some desperate resolve, which the discovery ! of llie position ho and Gencvievo held with regard to each other put the finishing stroko to. Hence her visit to the sago ol tho Hue des Truaudt, a mau celebrated for his skill in tho compounding of such devilish contrivances as suited tho tasto and spirit of tho age. On tho day appointed, Madame de Vancrnsson started oneo more for tho dwelling of tho man of magic. j Would tho sago accord her desire 1 Might she hopo through him to win Gasi ton f That was all hor thought; and, or j entoiing tho room, her emotion was so I strong that sho could hardly command her voice to ask the question. Tho answer filled her with a thrill ol j wild, fierco joy. "1 havo studiod the matter closely," the | old man said, "and, notwithstanding all the , difficulties and dangers?for there are dan! gers, and to mo especially, in tho work?1 : havo decided on accepting your cominis| sion. Success 1 can promiso you; but my reward must bo in proportion to tho laboi and tho risk." "Naino your terms," said the lady. He mentioned a sum that would hare slaitled an applicant less bent on tho at laiument of her desires; but the marquiso without a moment's hesitation, acceded tc tho demand. "And tho riug?" she asked. "The ring, as I told you, shall bo uiadc the instrument of accomplishing your ob ject. Return hero this day week with an order for the sum wo havo agreed upon; and the ring, charged with tho power to perform the mission, is yours." Sho clasped her hands, with a gleam ol triumph in her (lushing black eyes. Tho evening of tho seventh day found her once moro on her way to tho magi cian's. The old man took from a little box the ring, and handed it to her. Never had it looked so magnificent. A thousand gorgeous lints flashed and sparkled with increased bistro, while tho emerald eyes ol tho serpent gleamed with a living light, almost terrible to look at. Madame dc Vaucrasson turned it about, and conlem..l.... i i a.. |>iaii;u U luviugiy. "Whatever iuan wears, or even has about his person, that ring," the sage said ' must, so long as it remains in his posses sion, love you passionately, no matter what may have been his previous sentiments, 01 what the obstacles that lie belwecu you. Beware, therefore, into whose hands it falls.' She gave him the oidor for the sum they had Agreed upon, and prepared to depart "1 expect, inadauic, that you will comt and give tue an account of your success. 1 will require thifl." The tone was so quietly authoritative that she fell herself compelled to make lh< desired prom be; and, concealing the jewel in her bosom, she hastened home with al speed. llow to convey it to Gaston? That wa the in'Xt step. She thought of various ex pedicnts, but none wholly satisfied her She resolved, at all events, never to separate herself froitt it, so that whatever occasiot chance might oiler, supposing she did no immediately hit upon a deliberate plan o Action, she might protii by. That night there was a fete at the hole of lh; Duchess do Mauhreuil, the liousi where she had lirst met Gaston. Worth he l>e there ? Probably; his family wa connected with that of the Due, and sin knew he was always a welcome gue>t. I lei toilette that evening was petforinci with greater care than she was wont to be stow on it. Hie wished when the ling dir its woik?the work she knew it was, le no power ot hers, charged to perform?1< feel or to fancy that her woman's charm ' had some share in the ellect. Slro iookci in her glass with ptiJenud triumph. llop< I and security had lent a new lustre to lie beauty. 1 be diamonds 1li.it blazed in lie 1 uxuiiant dark hair were not more bid limit than her eyes; and her cheek wore i bloom that needed no aid from art. As she entered the apartments of ill Hotel Maubrcuil, there was a general Mi and murmur. Gaston was there. li< , heard it; looked where he saw other eye I directed; and for t e fiist time, was strucl by the beau'y and majesty of the womai j whoso unconcealed preference he had s< coldly and constantly discouraged. Hi eyes followed her through the crowd; h ; saw how it bent in homage before her; h saw with what dignified indilTerenee sh received it?how valueless in her sigh , was the adoration of those who sought hu a word or a smile to treasure and be proui of. The demon of vanity had begun t work in his breast, ere ever iho ring nj preached his linger. lletwcou the dances he went tip an ! spoke to her. Her manner was htr ies earnest and encouraging than usual; if no cold, it was at least marked with a call ! dignity, very dilferent to her usual ton with him. This piqued liiin, and ho Ioiijj e<l 'or an occasion when ho might convers with hor inure at ease than ho could d there, standing before hor seat, and bin rounded by tho other guoats. Sho com plained of tho heat, and ho hastened t j ollbr to conduct hor to ono of tho !ef crowded and cooler apartments, l'assin I through several rooms, they reached th ; last of the suite, which was becoming neai I ly deserted by the recoinmencoinent of th dancing, and leading her to a sola, Gusto ; took a place by her side. The conversation was -osuinod by her, i ; tho same calm, ordinary tone; by him, w it I a certain earnestness, which t>ho seemed r tirat rather l<> put aside; but by degrees, n sbo taw bis interest evidently increasing alio suffered her nianner to relax, and t give way to a softer aspect. 4,I am toll!, Monsieur do Monlrouge, ! sho said at last, "that you are going to b married to your cousin. Forgive me if commit an indiscretion in speaking thus o the subject; but 1 trust you will bolicv how sincere is the interest 1 feci in nugl that so deeply concerns your happiness." Gaston had colored violently at tho con menceuiunl of her speech. Genevieve! th was tho way lie was keeping inviolate h 11 love and faith to her! l$ut for this emotion ; hist wily interlocutor was fully prepared, ' I and alio put iuto the conclusion of her sen' tonco an accent that soon reassured him. She knew now that ho loved unother; she I had regulated her own feelings, or at least, the expression of them, accordingly; and > he might look upon her now as a friend. ; she was a noble woman, after all! "You will not bo offended," she said, in ! the same kindly smiling manner, "if I ask you to accept a slight token of the friend i ship 1 feel for you. Many of your other i friends will offer you marriage-gifts. You will not, 1 trust, deuy mo a similar privilege." f; As sho spoke, she drew the ring from her finger, and between her words, glided i it on his. Sho knew that, onco there, sho i need not fear his removing it. llo took tho hand that performed the [ act, and covered it with passion a to kisses. 1 Poor litllo Gcncviovo's sweet face bears a far different aspect to the sunny one it presented that happy evening when with Gaston by her side she and her father strolled i out together. Now she rarely sees him, and though his , manner is always kind, it is over constrain> cd and uneasy. Sometimes lie betrays a restless imp.itionce; sometimes a sort of pitying regard; and he seems at ad times i ill at ease mid dissatisfied. At first she used to question him tenderi 1 v; but now ho has learned that this, so far ; 1 from leading to a solution of tho mystery, > ! only adds to tho uneasy symptoms. At i times she is jealous, offended, angry; but r then her father blames him, and her woI man's nature rises up to defend and justify I him. I All this Madame do Vaucrasson leains; 1 ami hor nruol nature lakes a savam. . 1..I .r 1 t I in the sufferings of the unoffending giil. Meanwhile, Casion's stormy love for tho i rolenllcss woman secuies daily u deeper f hold on him; changing his whole nature, , making him who was gentle, cheerful and i loving, impatient, irritable, jealous, at limes almost brutal. Occasionally, this tierce passion takes the aspect of hate; ho treats > j her with tyranny and scorn; he has a , i thousand caprices; a thousand exigencies, and tierco dis, utes, embitloiing all their intercourse, rise between them. r At last the marquise remembers the promise the magician extracted from her, that last day when they parted. She had Hover performed it. l'eihaps to this act of . disobedience on Iter pan may, in borne do > gree, bo altiibutahle the unhappilless the I realization of her desites litis brought her. She will lose n<> time in utleiupting to , avert his displeasure; and not latei than ; tomorrow she will go to the ltue de-. 11 n I anils, and lay Iter difficulties before him. I That night Caslon came to spend the evening with her. Tho evening passed s quietly, Gaston was inure like his former self than she hud seen him since the com. inencement of tlu-ir attachment; and she 1 rejoiced in the idea that had presented ttsoll i to Iter. At last the hour for his departure I approached. "Ilow long it is," he said, "since wo have had a day altogether to ourselves! J.et u? 1 go to morrow into the country, and spend f ) it there." 1 "Not tomorrow, Gaston. 1 have etc s gagcmenU iu town; but the day after? e any other day." "1 will not have another day! Kngage I incuts! When 1 command, what other en gagemouts standi" I "Command! This to me? Vou foii?el f yourself slrange.y, monsieur." J Long and loiiil was tho dispute; lie rot ? and oruol were the insults bandied between I them; and with far more of it ate and \en s gcaticc, than of love in their hearts, thev r parted. r At sunset, the Marquise do Vaucrassuti | disguised as of old. stole forth from tin. * wicket by which tho garden of her hote I opened o.i a quiet street, and after looking o cautiously iouuJ turned her step in the di n lection of the Hue ties I nlands. llardly had she turned the first corner s when the little dour she had locked hehiin K her opened again, and a man with a cloal II and a slouched hat and drooping fcathei J stepped foith, mid proccdetl in the diieetioi s rdic had taken, following her without evei f approaching her closely, until she ariivt. 0 i at tlie enlianco of the Kue ties 1 mauds. u Here, the darkness rendering tho ii?k o t losing sight of her greater, he venturer 1 somewhat to diminish the di-lanco lha d separated them, and kept her in view tinti o tho door at which she knocked opened aiu ? closed upon her. Just opposito to the house wa? a low d dark archway, leading no one could fron s the street at this hour distinguish whither >t Hoi.tft'.li its shade (iastoii placed hinisell n and remained in ohservatioii, quite uueou o scions that while all his attention was met cd Upon till) OppolilO hldo of the street, l)< ? whs himself tliu object of do less "g'd Mir o ! veillanco on the put of I w o men of pec nli.tr r- ly evil aspect behind hitn. ' Suddenly he was made acquainted will o the fact by being seized from the back ?s pinioned, gagged, and carried oil?it wa g quite impossible to say whither, for hi u cloak was wrapped around his head, so a r* to exclude every other object from bi c sight. 11 , After some minutes, ho found himsel placed oil his feet, and his head rcleasct i) from its covering, though his arms still n h mained hound. Looking round lie foun d himself in along room, surrounded by tlm (s or four men, and who, with co.-tr*o joke and laughter, mocked at his incautioiisius? 0 when they proceeded to strip him of what i ever obj *cts of woilh be bad about him. Suddenly, a thought Hashed across him 10 ' The ring! He remembered not tlmt lb 1 man who had lied his hands had silentl n drawn it oir in the operation. \ < l, Strang e to say, not a tinge of regiel accoinpanie it the recollection. His love for the donoi whither, too, had it tied? Marvellous! Th i- memory of it was but liko a fevered, bale is ful dream, from which he had but that iik is luent awakened. Lovo her! llo uiust bav had a fit of madness. Forsake Genevieve | j for such a woman? Was ho still in his ( senses, or was not tho wholo tiling a troub- s led vision? No, the present, at least, was 1 painfully real. I At last the men found that there remained little else worth taking, arid they an , f nounccd to their captive that they were i bun enfuns, who hud no wish to do him ! I any hurt, and that as ho had not troubled j : them with any foolish and usoless resist- j s ance, his liberty should be restored to him; i adding, however, that he must submit to 1 being conducted thence iti such a manner f as they considered it desirable to adopt. i Knowing tho hopelessness of disputing s ' tho point, Gaston assented to their arrnngo- > munis. And his head being again envelop- t 1 ed, he felt a strong hand laid on his shoulder, and himself, with various brief waru- si ; ings and directions, led through a variety I \ of tortuous ways, now tnounliug, now do- ; t j seen ding, now turning to the right, now to : s to tho left, until a certain change of at- j s tuosphere, and altered sound in his own t footsteps and in those of his conductors, t warned him that he had got into the open n ! air. After walking a little further, they ? stopped--suddenly ho felt the cord that j I hound his bauds loosened; but before be * ' could, with tho utmost speed, release his i head from the folds of his cloak, ho found I himself standing in the stieei under the t quiet starlight, alone. lie looked around, bewildered. The t s'.reet he was in was otic a considerable dis- r lance from the Hue des Truands; the affair I r seemed to become more dream-like than t ever; but one lh:ug was clear: he was free, t | and his way lay unobstructed before him. c How long a time had elapsed during the r ! progress ol these strange events the absence s of his watch prevented his being able to i tell. He guessed, hoe ever, that it could r not be too late to tind bis uncle and Gene I vievo still stirring?Genevieve, towards I whom his whole heart yearned as if years i j of pain and cruel absence had kept hitu ' f ; from her. I > , With a rapid step he proceeded to the I . well-known door. .Suddenly, when about a lo ring, he remembered the signal which s 1 of old used to announce to her his coming; < I and passing on, he softly tapped at the * ! window where site was wont to sit of an i evening at her embroidery. How long it was since sho heard that | sound! She was w atching there now, but ] not for him: her father was out, and she f I sat alone, waiting his return. Formerly, 1 she used to run and open the door herself 1 when that signal sounded; now, with a i voice she struggled h >rJ to modulate, she I ! bade the old servant, Catherine, do so, 1 while she continued to woik, but with i stitches all of which must come out to uior- i row. liuslou eulciing, stopped at the door, i contemplating her in silence, ' "Hon soir, mon cousin." She always niatkcd the relationship now , when she addressed him. , II "(Jencvicve!" What was theie in his voice that made her turn her averted look upward? Some- j I thing strangely eloquent in that and in his ' face there must have been, for in another ! i instant his brown eyed bird was in the aims I lie had opcucd to receive her. \b in while, the interview of the Marquise - do \ aticrasson with the man of magic had j come to an end, and once more she steps out into the daik and squalid sticet. lire she has proceeded far, she is conscious of a step behind her, she quickens her pace, the , . step becomes more rapid, still faster and fas , tcr she goe?, still faster and faster the step j . follows. She is about loiun, when a band i is placed on her shoulder, and allot breath penetrates her veil. ' Do not shriek!" n hoarse voice say , "it is useless, 1 mean you no harm?only i , come with me qniellv," and the other hand . grasps her. I She does shrink and struggle, but not ; long, for a thick inultRcr is placed over her 1 inoiuh, and she becomes unconscious. W hen (lie marquise awoke fiom her I . _ _ _ 1 C 1 I I , nance, sue iouiiu ueiseii tying on a uiiser.aI ble Hiul til;Ly mattress, >" ;i *00111 which ; bolter merited the appellation of a collar, r She was alette, that was something, and i stalling up, she looked around?when r ' there?clone by the hca'l ? ! the pallet?sal 1 a man watching her. She shrieked, and hid her lace in her hands, f "Do not fc it ine," said the voieo that ! sounded in her cars j.M before she became t insensible; ''I would not harm you, ma I belle, 1 adore )ou!" and lie tried to withI draw the hands that covered her eyes. "Monstei! I hate you?do not approach , ma ? away!" 1 "Gently; I tell ton I lovevou?love you passionately?but iciueinber, you nie ill r.ty power; do not provoke me, for I am uot patient. And what does not yield, I break." I lei utter, utter helplessness came across ! her stronger than any other feeling, and she wept aloud, in passionate despair. 'Let ine go, for Heaven's sake! for ' money's sake let ine go! What can you j gain bv keeping me here? Only release s me, and I swear lo make y u rich for life." s "I may not be so p.ror as 1 seem; it is ' for vour own sake I choose lo keep you. 4 Look here! this is not a beggar's posses- i slOlt. lb* took fioiu some seciel iceeptacle, ' ' and held ocforu her a nag, which even in that ?)iin place gleamed and flashed like a i mirror in the sun. S! 10 understood her |Hn<ition iiow, though not how it emtio about. t?a*lon? whom i was ho? l.<>?t to her tor ever, wherever he ' uiiglil he. Out) thing before all ollicis pro seated itself to her; she must logain posses ' sion of the iiug, must fiec herself from the 0 haled thrall of the wretch's at'ect on?any> thing? anything on earth was better than that. ' She know tho only courso to he adopter] ~ j was dissimulation; and, though her soul 0 recoiled from the attempt, she must f, ign ' a dis|Ki>ilioii to l>e won over to listen to his ? detested addresses. 0 Sho would not irrilnlo him, she would / juiu lime, and trust to find an opporlunil o attain iter object. Aud thus temper .in}; and watching, the day, whose wa ight sbo was dimly conscious of for a fei lours, passed away, and again night caint All that time she had, broken in bod md spirit, passed crouched on the wrotche nattress. Her goaler had offered her fooi >ut she had shrunk from it with loathing md though she f It not the slightest di*|x .ilioti to eat, still the want of sustonanc* md the sufferings, mental and physical, t ?*r situation, had worn her down to a dt ;rce of painful prostration. Far on in tli light she sunk into a troubled doze, i light stir iu the room awoke her; but sb iffocled still to sleep, and with balf-ope ryes watched with cat-Iiko vigilance. She saw her captor moving quictl ibout, but rather as if in consideration fc icr slumber than as though fearing detec ion. What had he to fear froin her? Sh aw him, after casting a glance from wher he lay, and listening to her respiratior ake from tho place where he kept it th he fatal ring, llo hesitated for a inoiueni is if doubtful where to deposit it, then, wit i significant toss of tho head, that said n >laiu as toss could say, "While I have he afo, there is no danger for it," ho place t in a little closet in the wall, and takin lis hat, left the room, locking the door a or him. Willi every nerve on tho stretch, th narquiso listened for sumo minutes; ther cossured by the silence, she sprang will miseless rapidity from the pallet, and in noinent was at the cupboard door; sh ried it, it yielded to her hand almost witli nil an clfuit. Again she listened, hut th apid beating of her heart was the ool lUUtid that came to her ears. Within th losct was a little box; this alio took duw md opened; aud there, encircled in itsow igiit, lay the jeweled serpent, coiled at th >Ottoui, glaring up at her with its malig iimt 1.1 CM.- -1 ' ' ' i.u.t vuivioiu W, OUC CiUlCUCU li; III irst step wai gained; the next?the next sh vas spared the necessity of deciding 01 >y tliu sndden opening of the door, wit m oath. No love now marked the exprei .ion of the liate^l ruffian's face, as he rush id unon her. Shriekiug, she crouclicr .till grasping the ring. "Give it up or 1 crush you!" "Never!" One blow of his clenched fist on her ten le, and t>ho fell, while nnd nerveles*, at hi 'eet, wiiilo the ring dropped from her lim land. The robber took it up; in an instar lis aspect underwent a change; ho gaze ipon the prostrate form with despairin lorror; he seized her in his arms, carrie lier to the light, bent over her with pa donalo exclamations of tenderness and sel reproach. She did not shrink from hii now?she did not turn her face from hi the lay unresisting in his arms?dead. A Wokd iri'cn Euakds.?William an Itufus shaved. Henry I. resumed th heard, so long laid upon the shelf. Slephe ha I a l?e;>rd, and was bearded by his ha >iis; Richard I. had a short, crisp, clos heard; Edward I. a long beard; Kdward 1 a weak beard; lleniy V. fought at Agii court with a clean chin; llenrv VI. wore heard; Kdward IV. shaved, nnd so di Henry \ II.; Henry VIII. had a wiry, clos bushy beard; Edward VI. died before h beard came; Chailes I.'a grew dwiuJlc and Spanish. In Elizabeth's reign w have Shakspeare describing thocanc colo e.l heard, the black, while, orange, tawn purple, ingrain heard; tLe beard like a get oral, and the heard like a glover's penrin knife, the hungry beaid, and the heard i formal cut; the soldier bearded like a par and the coward with the beard of lletcuh and frowning Mars. Among the euriot anecdotes of t>cards, tiie ulde-t is that John Mayo, a painter, at tire court Charles V., whose heard was so long th he could stand upon it; this cataract of hn lie kept tied up with ribbons to his butto holes, sometimes unfastening it at the Kti peror's wi?h, opening the doois and \\i dows that it might blow into the faces the angry courtiers. Another famous heai ??i that of a Bavarian merchant, whoke it enclosed in a velvet bag to prevent from dragging the ground. An old wi ter, of tnoro gravity we fear than voracit averts that tli*' inhabitants of Ilardenlui bad formerly the singular custom of cle< il?g the Burgomaster who had tho longt beaid and the biggest foot.? Our J^ricn Ci isioi s I?kvice.?'Hie Kpiscopal Chnr of St. Paul, in New Haven, Conn., lias olio of its towers two atones cut into for; of ibe ace of clubs ami ace of diamondsdevices taken from a pack of cards. T explanation given is this: the architect ft employed in ibe erection of the huildii was a IV'Ut, and a man of hitter cynii spirit. By way of hurles?pie, he rcsolv to cut the stones for the structure inlosu figures thai a huge pack of cards mig appear flaming out at the sides of the i ere 1 structure. By means of scatlbldi ami other concealments ho veiled his t sign from tho building committee till t walls were nearly carried up, and his prj tic.nl joke nearly played off. The discot ry was at last made, ami the whole stri turc, of course, taken down. In the eou of tho demolition, the architect fell from scaffolding and was instantly killed, must luxuriant woodbine mantles lite pr etil wall and nearly hides the two slot above referred to, which being near I foundation of the massive tower, were s feted to remain. '1 ho peasants uf Huntingdonshire i provcrhi.V fui tltfir lioorishness. Ono d a lady riding through the grounds ul fiieiid to whom sho wn* on ft visit, fou the g ite closed which was tho outlet I7< the fields to the high road; a peasant I stepped forward, and bowing, opened l gato that sho might pass. "What is v< name?" risked tire lady. "Tummus," said i Ih>v, with another how. "All!" replied I lady, giving him a shilling, "1 seo you not n Huntingdonshire lioy, your aie : civil." To which the urchin rpiickly ! plied, "Theo'it a liar; I l>e." vr. /^o. y The Chinese Sugar Cane. 1 Tlio Chinese Sugar Cane has come lo be the ordinary name for the "Sorgho Sucre,** e a most valuable plant of tlio sugar cane or" der, and therefore allied to the maize or In^ dian corn; but more nearly to the broom j corn. Its cultivation has commenced ' amongst us, and there is now in Washing ' ton more than an acre of it growing luxu' riantly and promising a yield of considersMy upwards of a hundred bushels of seed, ' besides many tons of steins and foliage, rich with saccharine fluiJ and solid food mate? rial for horses, neat cattle, and swine. Not only here, but in various and widely distant 0 parts of the Union, has trial been made of M it, and with uuiformly gratifying results. We have rend a letter frotn n farmer in ) Illinois who has tested its character, and 'r reports of it in the most favorable manner. '* Out of a gallon of the liquid sap in tbe stem, 0 which he expressed by the primitive contri0 vance of a rolling piu, he obtained by boil'' iug a quart of uiolosscs, with very little im0 purity and of upprojra! taste. Tlio usual ' proportions of sugar lo bp,, lie botween flf1 j teen and twenty per cent., the clirystallizas hie sugar increasing with the decrease of ^ the lalitudo. Besides this proportion of sugar there is nn amount of peihaps five to ? eight per cent, of unchrystnllizable sap, from which a very agieeable beverage can be made, aud alcohol distilled more cheaply 0 than by any other method. This tap, strange to say, if set with tho oxide of tin, will dye silk of a beautiful pink. :i As a food-plant for stock of all kinds it e seems to overtop all that we now jrossess, furnishing in fair &oiIs twenty five tons jrer acre of excellent fodder, every bit of which v is greedily eaten by animals. The seeds, 0 too, by which the plant is propagated?in " i this unlike and superior to the sugar cane n of Louisiana, which is raised by cuttings? 0 arc fit for human food; at all uvents, when >" ground and made up into cakes, after the e manner of linseed cakes, they supply a ~ gvou material for rattening block. The J1 brush or lop, from which ihcso seeds are ta1 ken, is not without its service, for the plant l" is a specie* of broom corn, and therefore its top, when deprived of seed, answers well wherewith to manufacture brooms. When the sap, top, seeds and leaves are taken, leaving only the crushed stem, it still has an economic value: paper can be manufac) tured from it. Is This valuable addition to our vegetable I' productions is oiiginally a native of China, '! but has been sedulously cultivated for several years in Southeastern Catlraria, whence ? it passed into France and Algeria, in which , last country it conies to great perfection. It would be hard to calculate its value. It constitutes every farm on which it ia grown " its own sugar caiup, orchard, winery, and *' granary, as well as a stock farm and dairy; indeed, the "Sorgho" may be deemed a sort ,] of vegetable sheep, every part and coustilue | cut of which is valuable, n ' r_ Hrilmant to tiik Last.?A gentlemau e ! writing from Paris btates that M. Place, I the French banker, who recently failed for j. the immense amount of sixteen million a francs, gave, on the evening before the j grand catastrophe, a splendid dinner, to 0 which were invited all the celebrities of a certain grade upon the Jloursc, together j w ith an e?pial number of ladies. The feast ,t was of the mcwd rechrrche kind?the cost r. probably being not less than twenty-five y ' dollars a head; and the buoyant spirits of 1 the liberal host were the theme of general ,, admiration. When the enthusiasm was at its height a magnificent dessert was placed j upon the table, having in the centre a vase I of silver gilt, which M. Plare ordered the 1S waiter to pass rou"d to the ladies, as it con* uf | tained a few nuts for llieir especial cracking. 0f Kvery lady then plunged her hand within ni! the vase, and drew forth whatever chance jr bestowed in tho shape of some tare jewel, ? die cheapest of which could not have been n. i worth loss than sixty dollars, while some of u. I them were of great price. After this de0f lightful ceremony the generous host took rj his leave amid tho reiterated applause of |lL his guests. The next day his house was si. ii h-nt and deserted, and a defalcation of six* rj ' teen millions was announced before the t'iv ' bunal of commerce. r" i The act of Congress to regulate the dip^ ! lomatic and consular service of the United y 1 States, gives the ministers to Kngland and France * 17,500 per annum each; those to rj, Kussin, Spain, Austria, Prussia. Brazil, Mcxjtl ieo and China, each 12,000. Ministers ?? : resident are to receive 75 per cent., Charge i d'Atfairs 50 per cent., and Secretaries of helie RHl'on Per cent, of those amounts. Conr^, ! suls hereafter are not to trado diiectly or ll<r j indirectly; nor are they to assume displo.jj matic functions when a diplomatic ofiicer eij of tho United States is in the country. The ,|, two ho.>t Consulates, Liverpool and London jlt aro horcafter to l>e salaried at 7,500. The ,;t Consuls at Havana, Havre, and Kio de Janeiro are to get $0,000 each; l'sris I J* $5,000; Canton, Shanghai and llonolula he each; Vera Cruz $3,500, and some tc j down as low as $500. i o | The negotiations about the Central Amorac ioati question arocariiod on in London with rse all possible expedition, and every demoni a strndon of good faith oil both sides. There A j is evidently a strong disposition on the part os- ' of the British government to treat with Mr. ?e? \ Italia*, (who seems to be in high favor with ihe all classes, and enjoys the special confidence uf- of Lords Clarendon and Palmeraton,) and with nobody else, so that no British minister will be sunt to Washington till after the r<> .if ii,.. iii fTotiittion. f ii i nk End of iiik Woni,d.?w( ??? ikI , ilint a gentleman nwued Siaveii, who is a fol?in i lowerof Miller (not Joseph luit the'l'rophel') my j l?rts just issued an epiatle to the hopeful [la- few who aii' awaiting with vxemplary pajur tionce for the end of nil tiling*, informing the them that the affair* of thin world are all the lo he settled at a period no further distant arc , than the thirteenth day of October next, i so Politicians who him calculating on reretere-1 tng an office in ca e their candidates are j elected will plca?e take notice.