Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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1111 - pmu VAUAIHX A Thriltyag Domestic Story. You havo all heard of the Cheviot mountains. If you have not, they are a rough, Tugged, majestic chain of hills, which a poet might term the Roman wall of nature i crowned witji snow, belted with storms, surrounded by pastures and fruitful fields, and wtill dividing the northern portion of Great Britaiu from the southern. With their! proud summits piercing the clouds, and their dark, rooky declivities frowuing upon the glens below, they appear symbolical of the wild aud untamable spirit of the borderers who once inhabited their sides.? We say, you have all heard of the Cheviots, ?nd know them to be very high hills, like a huge clasp riveting England and Scotland together; but we arc not aware that you may have heard of MarohJaw, an old, grcylooking farm house, substantial as a modern fortress, recently, and, for aught wo know to tho contrary, still inhabited by Peter Elliot, the proprietor ot some five hundred surrounding acres. The boundaries of Peter's farm, indeed, were defined neither by fields, hcdircs. nor stouo walls. A wooden stake here and a stone there, at considerable distances from each other, were the general landmarks ; but neither Peter nor his neighbors considered a few acres worth quarreling about; and their sheep frequently visited eaoh othor's pastures in a friendly way, harmoniously sharing a family dinner, in the sattfcjspirit as their ? selves froe at each other's tables. Peter was placed in very unpleasant circumstances, owing to the situation of Marchlaw House, whioh unfortunately, was built immcdiatly across the " ideal line " dividing the two kingdoms; and his misfortune was, that, being born withia it, lie kuew not whether he was an Englishman or a Scotchman. He could trace his ancestral line no i farther back thun his great grandfather, who, I it appeared from-the family 13iblc, had, to- ] gethor with his grandfather and father* ; claimedvMaifchlaw as their birth-place.? i Thov, however, were uot iuvolved in the i same perplexities as their descendant. i 18 parlor was distinctly acknowledged to be in I finnlUnrl unit lu-n.thirrlfi nf t.lin L itpVlorr'AnVA J > aa certainly ullowedto be iu EuglancL^Tw j tbivC auoootora wor7?urn in tbo room ^.er J the parish and, therefore, wcro Scotehlnea .4 beyond question ; but Peter, unluckily, bo- ' ing brought into the world before the death I of his grandfather, his parcuts occupied a 1 room immediately over the debatable boun- f dury line which crossed the kitchen. The t room though scarcely eight feet square, was < evidently situated between the two couu- < tries; but, no one beiug able to ascertain t what portion belonged to each, Peter, alter 1 many arguments aud altercations upou the 1 subject, was driveu to the disagreeable al- 1 ternative of confessing ho knew not what t countryman he was. What rendered the < confession more painful was, it was Peter's highest ambition to be thought a Scotch- t man. All his arable land lay ou the Scotch j side ; his mother was collaterally related to ] the Stuarts ; and few families wcro more ] ancient or reapccti&Je than the Elliots.? 1 Peter's speech, indeed, betrayed him to be 1 a walking partition between the two king- ] doms, a liviug representation of the Union ; < for in one word ho pronounced ttio letter r i b with the broad, masculine sound of the t North Briton, and in the next with the liquid burr of tho Northumbrians. \r> Peter, or, if you prefer it, Peter Elliot, Esquire, of Marchlaw, in the counties of Northumberland and Roxburgh, .was, for anauy years, the best runner, leaper and twrcstlef between Woolcr and Jedburg.? Whirled front his hand, the ponderous bullet whizzed through the air like a pigeon on the wing; and the best putter on the Bor- . dors quailed from competition. As a feath* cr in his grasp, ho seized the unwieldy hummer, swept it round and round his head, accompanying with agile limb its evolutions, ewiftly as swallows play around a circle, and burled it from his hauds like a shot from a . rifle, till antagonists shruuk back, and tho Spectators burst into a shout. "Well done, KjjL I the Squire forever !" once cxclaiuiiKTa servile observer of titles. "Squire ! ? nt f" r,?.l |).|nr WUM m*J JV mjUlllll^UVi .VVI....UV. E V1VL "Confound ye ! where was ye when I was ohristoned Squire ? My name's Peter Elliot ?your man, or onybody's man, at whatever they like !" Peter's soul wsis free, bouudiug, and buoyaut as the wind that carolled iu a zcJ phyr, or shouted in a hurricane, upon his native hills; and his body was thirteen stone of healthy, substantial flesh, steeped in the spirits of life. He had been long innrried, but marriage had wrought noftchnngc upon him. They who supposo that wedlock transforms the lark into an owl, offer an insult to the lovely brings who, brightening our darkest hours with the smiles of affection, teach us that that only is unbecoming in the husband which is disgraceful in the man. Nearly twenty years had passed over them; but Janet was still as kind, and, iu hi? eyes, as beautful us when, bestowiug ou him her hand, she blushed her vows at the alter; and he was still as happy, as generous, and as free. Niuc fair children sat around their domcstio hearth, and one, the youngling of tho flock, smiled upon its Mother's knee. Peter had never known sorrow; he was blest in his wife, in his children in his flocks. He had become richer than his fathers. He was beloved by his neighbors, the tillers of his ground, and his herdsmen ; yea, no man envied his prosperity. Hut a blight passed over the harvest of his joys, and gall was rained into- tho cup of his felicity. It was Christmas-day, aud a uiore melancholy-looking sun never rose on tho 25th of December. One vast, sable cloud, like a universal pall, overspread the heavens.? For weeks the ground had been covered ( with clear, dazzling snow; and as through- i out the day, the rain continued its unwear- < ied aud monotonous drizzle, the earth as- sumcd a character aud appcaraucc uielau" 1 choly and troubled as tho hcavcus. Like a 1 piastiff that has lost its owuer, tho wiud 1 howled dolefully down the glons, and was 1 re-echoed from tho caves of the mountuins, 1 as the lamentation of a legion of invisible , spirits. The frowning snow-clad precipices f were instinct with motion, as avalanchejapon < avalanche, the larger burying tho smaller, 1 crowded downward in their tremendous jour- 1 ney to the plain. The simple mountain rills ? had assumed the majesty of rivers; the 1 hrnai?i^wama sm filU? tfrn torrent, and, gushing fbtth as catarncts, in c fury and in foam, envelopend the valleys in an angry flood. But, at Marchl&w, the fire h biased blithely ; the kitchen groaned be- c neoth the load of preparations for a joyful t feast; and glad faces glided from room to room. Peter Elliot kept Christmas, not so much a because it was Christmas, as in honor of its b being tho birth-day of Thomas, his first- tl born, who, that day, entered his nineteenth o ycar. With a father's love, his heart year- b sod for ail his children ; but Thomas was a the pride of his eyes. Cards of apology had not then found their way auioug our border 1tiills ; and, as all kucw that, although Peter a iduiitted no spirits within his threshold, nor o i drunkard at his table, he was, naverthe- w e^?t> niggard in his-hospitality, his Invl- ? aliens wcro accepted without ceremony.? 6 Tho guests were assembled ; and the kitchen icing the only apartment in the building u argc enough to coutaiu them, the cloth was b iprcad upon a long, clear, oaken table, '1 il ri.lr*Kiniv fi?rtin VniTUnd lnfrt fionflonil II 3u the English end ol the board were plac- h< :d a ponderous plum pudding, studded with h emptation, and a suiokiiig sirloin ; on Scot- n and, a savory and well scasond haggis, with tl i sheep's head and trotters ; while the interucdiate space was filled with the good h hings of this life, common to both king- a' louts and to the season. g The guests from the north, and from tho c: south, were aranged promiscuously. Every fi wat was filled?save one. The chair t* o Peter's right haud remained uuoccupicd.? ? lie had raised his hands before his eyes, u ind besought a blessing on what was placed is >efore then), and was preparing to carve for lis visitors, when his eyes fell upon the va- u jant chair. The knife dropped upou the p table. Anxiety flashed across his counte- ii lance, like an arrow from an unseen hand, p " Janet, where is Thomas ?" he inquir- v ;d ; "hac nanc o' ye secu him ? and without li waiting an answer, he continued?"IIow u is it possible 110 can bo absent at a time ute j this ? Aud on such a day, too ? Kxeuso uic c 1 uiinuto friends, tiil I just step out and see t if I can find him. Since ever I kept this t day, as niony o' ye ken, he has always been t at my right hand, in that very chair ; and i I canna think o' beginning our diuncr whilo i I see it empty. " . Hi "If the filling o' tho ohair bo nil," said a t pert young sheep-farmer named Johnson, i " I will step intuit till Master Thomas ar- i rive." c "Yc're not a faither, young man." said I Peter, and walked out of tho room. Minute succeeded uiinuto, but Peter re- t turned not. Tho guosta bccauio hungry, f peevish, and gloomy, while an excellent din- < nor continued spoiling beforo them. Mrs. < Klliot, whose good- nature was the most prom I inent feature in hor ch^aotcr, strove, by I every possible effort, to beguilo the unplea- 1 sant impressions she perceived gathering j upon their countcnauccs. I Peter is just a3 bad as hiui," she remarked, "to hne gano to seek him when he i kcuncd tho dinner wouldna keep. And I'm : sure Thomas kenned it would be ready at ^ one o'clock to a minute. It's sac unthinking and unfriendly like to keep folk waitJ J : .mila nnnn o ing. jAiiu, t'uuuavunu^ iu ouiuo u|/uu ? beautiful black-haired girl of seventeen, who sal by her elbow, she continued in an anxious whisper?" Did ye seo nnething o' him, Elizabeth, hinuy ?" The maiden blushed deeply ; the question evidently gave freedom to a tear, which had, | for somo time, been an unwilling prisoner in the brightest eyes in the room; auA,the monosyllable, " No," that trembled from her lips, was audible only to the ear of the inquirer. In vain Mrs. Elliot despatched one of her children after auothcr, iu quest of their father and brother; they came and went, but brought uo tidiugs more cheering thau the moaning of the hollow wind.? Minutes rolled into hours, yet neither came. She perceived the prouder of hor guests preparing to withdraw, and, observing that "Thomas's absence was so singular and unaccountable, and so unlike either him or his faither, she didna ken what apology to make to hor friends for suck treatment; but it was needless waiting, and bogged thoy SARMM no vereujony, but just begin. ( No second invitation was necessary.? 1 Good humor appeared to be restored, aud j sirloins, pies, pasties aud moorfowl began to disappear like the lost son. For a moment, Mrs. Elliot apparently participated in tho restoration of cheerfulness; but a low sigh it her elbow again drove the color from her rosy cheeks. Her eye waudered to the arthor eud of the table, and rested on the moccupied seat of her husband, aud the racant chair of her first-born. Her heart , ell heavily withiu her; all the uiothor gushid into her bosom, and, rising from the ablo, "What in the world can be the meanng o' this ?" said sho, as she hurried, with troubled couutenance, toward tho door.? lor husband met her on the threshold.? agcrly; "hao ye seen nacthing o' him ?" "Naethingl naething !" repliod he:"is ie no cast up yet ?" And, with a mclftuholy glance, his eyes sought an auswer in ho deserted chair. His lips quivered, his 1 angue faltered. "Gudc forgie me?" said lie ; "and such day for even an enemy to be out in 1 ^I're ccn up and douu every wjr that I cau i hink on but not a living-^^ItUro has seen r heard tell o' him. Ye'ff^cuRO me nee- i ors," he added, leaving tto^ooso; I must i wa agaiu, for I canna rest/ . "I ken by mysel', friends, said Adam tell, a decent-looking NmJ^umbrian, "that faithcr's heart is as sensible as tin apple ' his e'e ; aud, I think we would sho\v a ant o' natural sympathy ( and respect g ur wortny neighbor, ir wju veryqu et his foot into thcfxirrup, without IozrV i mo, aud assist him in his search. For, in ; ty rough, country way o* thinking, it must i e something particularly out of the couimou lat could touipt Thomas to bo umissing.? udeed, 1 needna say tempt, for there could e no inclination in the way. And our ills, " he concluded, in a lower tone," are ot owrc chancy iu other respects, besides i ic breaking up o' the storm. " i "Oh! "said Mrs Elliot, wringing her i auds, ''I have had the coming o' this bout me for days aud days. .My head was rowing dizzy wi' happiness, but thoughts i auie stealing upon me like ghosts, and I ilt a lonely soughing about niy^hoar^' withut being able to tell the cau^o ; but *ho"j ause is come at last ! And my dear Tholas?the very pride aud staff o' my life? s lost?lost to me for ever! " "I ken, Mrs. Elliot," replied the North- i mibriau, 44 it is au easy matter to say com- i iosc yourself, for them that diuua ken what I is to feel. But, at the same time, in our ilaiu, country way u' thinking, we are al>ays ready to believe the worst. I've often icard my faither say. and.I've as often reuarked it myself, that,before anything haptens to a body, there is a something comes wre them, like a cloud before tho lace o' he sun ; a sort o' dumb whispcriug about be breast from the other world. Aud, hough I trust there is naething o' the kiud u your case, yet as you observe, when I find uyself growing dizzy, as it were, with hapkineas, it make#, jiaad u * *-o her's, poor body !?4Bairu3, bairns,' she iscd to say, 'there is owre uiucklo singing n your heads to night; wc will have a shuwsr before bed-time.' And 1 never, in iny >oru days, saw it fail." At auy other period Mr. Boll's dissertaion on presentiments would have been found i fitting text on which to hang all the Iroauis, wraiths, warnings, nud marvellous :ircumstances, that had been handed down :o the company from the days of their grandfathers ; but, in the prcsont instance, they were too much occupted in consultation regarding the different route to be taken in their search. Twelve horsemen and soino half-dozen pedestriaus, were seen hurrying in divers directions from Mareblaw, as the faint lights of a melancholy day were yielding to the ' J ,1 ncavy uamue&s wmtu u^uaitu |iivoou*^ in solid masses down the sides of the mountains. The wives and daughters of the party wore alono left with the disconsolate mother, who alternately pressed her weeping children to her heart, and told them to weep not, for-their brother would soon re* turn; while the tears stole down her own cheeks, and the infant in her arms wept bccauso its mother wept, llcr friends strove%ith each other to inspire hope, and pourfti upon her ear their uiiugled and loquacious consolations. But one remained silci?. The* daughter of j\datn Bell, who jut ly Mrs. Elliot's elbow at tabic, had shrunk into an obscure corner of the room. Before her face she held a handkerchief wet with tears. Her bosom throbbed convulsively ; and, as occasionally her broken I tighs burst from their prison-house, n significant whisper passed among the younger j?art tlie company. M/s. Elliot apporachcd her, and taking iter hand tenderly within both of hers? ,UQ kiunv. Ilinnv L" said ahn. "vnr siolis va? 1 'IK1 ct?i jTOoto couilbrt ye ? Come Elizabeth, my bontiy love, let us hope for the best.? |Ye see before ye a sorrowiu' mother !?a mother that fondly hoped to see you an'?I banua say it!?an' aui ill qualified to gie comfort when uiy own heart is liko a furnace! But o? ! let us try and remember the blessed portion, 'Whom the Lord lovcth He chaste^eth,' an' inwardly pray for strcugth to say his will be done !' " Tiuifc stole on towards midnight, and one Jiy oucyio unsuccessful party returned.? As foot ifter foot approached, every breath was holdtc listen. "No, no, no !" cried the mothob, again and again, with increasing anguish, W& no tho foot o' my ain bairnAfte her keen gaze still reuiaiued riveted^ t-ho doo^ and was ^not withti.'l the individual entered, and with a silent and ominous shake of his head, betokened his fruitless efforts. The clock had struck twelve |i?ll were returned save the father. Tho wind howled mire wildly ; the rain pbured upon the windows in ceaceless torrents ; and the roaring of the mountain rivers gave a character of deeper ghostliuess to their sepulchral silence ; for they sat, each rapt in forebodiugs, listening to the storm ; no sounds were heard, save the groans of the mother, the weeping of her clftldren, inr) Kltfnr nnd Kfnl'nn c-vlw nf fl?n Kn_ rcav'cd fcaidey, wl^leaned her head upon her fatoor'a bosom, refusing to Le com-' fart^q t At length tho barking of the farm-dog cafwa* raised to listen, every eye turned to th* door; but, before tho tread was yet audible to the listener?"Oh, it is only Peter's foot!" said the miserable mother, and, weeping, rose to meet him. "Janet! Janet!" he exclaimed as" be entered and threw his arms around her neck, "what's this come upon us at last?" lie cas: an inquisitive glance around his dwelling, and a convulsive shiver passed over his mauly frame, as his eye agaiu fell on the vacant chair which none had ventured to occupy. Hour succeeded hour, but the cut9|>any separated not; and low, sorrowful fvhispers miugled with the lamentations of the parents. "Neighbor," said Adam Hell, "the morn a new day and we will wait to see what it may bring forth ; but, in tho meantime, le? us read a portion o' the Divine Word, an' kneel together in prayer, that whether or not the day-duwn cause light to shine up on this singular bercavcuieut, the Sun o' Righteousness may arise wi' healing on his wings (upop the hearts o' all present." "Ainefjt" responded Peter, wringing his handstand,his friend taking down the Ila' Hible^road tho chapter wherein it is writen ?"It L* betcer to be in tho house of mourning t||n in the house of feasting;" and n<rairttBn nnrfion xcliicli sutpiIi ''Tf. !? r=-l I ? ' ~'v" 't,r ?f*^hot I have been afflicted, fur uefore I'waikjBicted, I went astray." The eioruing came, but brought no tidings of *he lost sou. After a solemn farewell, all the visitants, save Ada"' *^1 i bi" retain'*,.* , own hoase ; 4?*m me disconsolate father, with his iprvsntsf again renewed their search aroMjd,tl)o bills and surrounding villages. DSfer^ ifbeks, months, and years, rolled ou. Timfe'-h&tSubdued the anguish of the parents irrta a holy calm ; but their first born was dot forgotteb, although no trace of his futerJudptatin discovered. Tho general belief waf, that ho perished on tho brtaking up ol^fthe snow; and the few, in whose remembrance he still lived, merely spoke of his death aR a "very extraordinary circumstance," remarking that "ho was a wild, venturesome sort o' lad." Christmas, succeeded Christmas and Peter Elliot still kept it in eommemoration of him who was not. For the first few years after the Jbya cf their son, sadness lenoo characterized the fwtty who aatdoWin to dinger it Mnrchinw, am! still at fetor's right-Band Was placed tbo vacant chair.? But, aft the younger branches of the family advanced in years, the remcmbranoo of their brother bocnuie Ins spoignant. Christina* was, with all around them, a day cf rejoicing, and they began to mako merry with their friends; while their parents partook in their enjoyments, with a smile, half ol approval and half of sorrow. Twelve years had passed sway ; Christmas hud agaiu conic. It w^s the counterpart of its fatal predecessor. The hills had no, yet east off their suuiuier verdure : the sun, although shorn of"its heat, had lost none of its brightness or glory, und looked down upou the earth as though participating iu its gladness; and the clear blue sky was trauquil as the sea sleeping beneath tho uioon. Many visitors again assembled at March law. The sons of Mr. Elliot, and the young men of the party, were assembled upon a level grccu near the house, amusing themselves with throwing the hummer and other Bortlic deeds of their youth. Johnson, the sheep farmer, whom wo have already mentioned, now a brawny aud gigautic fellow of two and thirty, bore away in every game the palui from all competitors. More than once, as Peter beheld his %sons defeated, he felt the spirit of youth glowiug in bis veins, aud, 4*Oh !" muttered he, in bitterness, 44had my Thomas becu spared to uic, he would hue thrown his heart's bluid after the hammer, before he would hue becu bent bv e'er u Johnson in the eoniit.rv !" y utiu he thus soliliquized and with difficulty restrained aud impulse to compote with the vietor himself, .t dark, foreign-look iug, strong-built seaman, unceremoniously approached, aud with his arms folded, cast a look of_contempt upuii?llie. hnagt*"" 'qucror. Tlvery eye was turned with a scrutinizing glance upon the stranger. In height he could not exceed five feet uine, but his whole frame was the model of muscular strength; his features were open aud mauly, but deeply sunburnt and weatherbeaten ; his long, glossy, black hair, curled into ringlets by the breeze and the billow, fell thickly over his temples and forehead; and whiskers of a similar hue, more couspicuous for size than elegance, gave a character of fiereeucss to a countenance otherwise possessing a striking impress of manly beauty. Without asking permission, he stepped forward, lifted the hammer, aud 'Swinging it arouud his head hurled it upwards of five yards beyond Johnson's most successful throw. "Well the astonished spectators Tno fwtarf of Peter Elliot warmed within him, and he was hurrying forward to grasp the stranger by the hand, when the words groaned in his throat, "it was just the throw as my Thomas would have made !?Vly own lost Thomas!" The tears burst into his eyes, and, without speaking, be turned back, and hurried towards the house, to couccal his emotion. Successively, at every game, the stranger had defeated all who ventured to oppose him; when a messenger announced that dinner waited their arrival. Some of the Sweats were already seated, others cnteriug; and, as heretofore, placed beside Mrs Elliot, was Elizabeth Bell, still in tlio noontide of her beauty ; but sorrow had passed over features, like a veil before the countenance of an angel. Johnson, crest-fallen and out of humor nt his defeat, seated himself by her side. In early life he had regarded Thomas Elliot as a rival for her affections ; and, stimulated by the knowledge that Adam Hell would bo able to bestow several thousands upon his daughter for a dowry, he yet prosecuted his attentions with unabated assiduity, in despito of tho. daughter's aversion and the coldness of her father. Peter had taken his place ut the table, and still by his side, unoccupied and sacred, appeared the vacant chair, the chair of his first-born, whereon none hud sat siuco his mysterious death or disappearance. "Bairns," suid ho. "did naoo o' yo ask the sailor to come up and tak a bit o' dinner wi',us r" " We were afraid it might lead to a quartKe sons.Johnsou," whispered one of "lie is come without asking," replied the stranger, entering ; "and the wind shall blow from a uew point if I destroy the mirth happiness of the company-" " Ye're. a stranger, young man," said Peter, '-or ye would ken this no meeting o' mirth-makers. But, I assure ye are welcome, heartily welcome, llaste ye lassies," he added to the servants, "souu o' ye get a chair for tho gentleman." Gentleman, indeed !" muttered Johnsou between his teeth. "Never mind about a chair, my hearties," said the seaman ; "this will do I" And before Peter could speak to withhold him, he had thrown himself carelessly into the hallowed, the venerated twelvc-years unoocupicd chair ! Tho spirit of sacrelige utter' ing blasphemies from a pulpit could not have smitten a congregation of pious wor, shippers with deeper horror and coustcrnai tiow, than did this fiHing|of the vacant chair the inhabitants of Marchlaw. i "Excuse me, Sir ! excuse nio Sir !" said '?? *?Ar,t? #rr>m)itini' unon his tontruc: I CIC, ??V 0 p , "but ye cannot?ye cannot sit there !" "0 man, man," cried Mrs. Elliot, "gel out o' that! get out o' 'hat!?take my chaii ? ?take any chair i' the house !?but dinna diuoa sit there ? It has never been sat id | by mortal being since the death o' my deal bairn I?and to see it filled by another is t ' thing I cannn endure !" ^ "Sir! Sir !" continued the father, "y< have dene it through ignorauce, nrd we ex cuse ye. But that was uiy Thomas's scat! Twelvo yoars this very dnj?his birth day ?ho perished, lleavcu kcus bow! lie went out from our sight, like llio cloud that passes over the hills?never?never to return. And, O Sir, spares father's feelings! for to see it tilled wrings tho blood from toy heart." ' Give mo your hand, my worthy soul !" exclaimed the scau)aor ' I revere?nay, hang it I I would die for your feelings !? But Tom Elliot was my frieiid, aud I cast anchor in this chair by speoial commission.? I know that a auddou broadside of joy is u bad thiug; but, as I don't know how to preach a seruiou before telling you, all I b?t dead.'' nana or thestfaugcrTan^ speaking with an eagerness that almost choked his utterance; !Uh Sir! Sir 1 tell me how !?how !?Bid yo say liviug V?Is my afn Thomas living?" "Mot dead, do you say?" cried Mrs. Elliot, hurrying towards him uud grasping his other hand? ' not dead ! Aud shall L see my bairn again ? Oh ! may the blesuiliir n' u KroL Ati.Knnrtnil mntKitr l*?> ntimi the bearer o' the gracious tiding* ? Dut tell me?tell uic, how is it possible ! As ye would expect happiness here or hereafter, diuua, diuua deceive me !" "Deceive you !" returuod the stranger, grasping with iuipassioucd earnestness, their hnuds iu his?"Never! never! and all I cau say is?Torn Elliot is alive and hearty." "No, no!" said Elisabeth, risiug from her scat, "he does uot deceive us; there is that iu his couuteunnce which bespenkn a falsehood impossible." And sho also cudeavorcd to move towards him, when JohnJ l> ?i i* ? l? ?? * > J LAM l/v L L<? her. "Hands off, you land lubber 1" exclaimed the seaman, springing towards them, "or, shiver ine! I'll show daylight through your timbers iu the turning of a hand spike."? And, clasping tho lovely girl iu his arms, "Dotty ! Dctty, my love !" he cried, "dou't you know your own Tom ! Father, Mother, dou't you know mc ? Have you rcnlly forgot your own son ? If twelve years havo made some changes on hit: face, his heart is sound as ever." His father, his mother, and his brothers clung rouud him, weeping, smiling, and mingliug a hundred questions together.? He threw his arms around the neck of each, and, in auswer to their inquiries, replied? "Well! well! there is time enough to answer questions, but uot to-day?not to-day!" "No, my bairn," said his mother, "we'll ask you uo questions?nobody shall ask ye L liui i * ""?? ?JM MIU IVaJ I frofii us, my love? And, O ninny ! where ?where hue ye been t" " It is a loug story, mother," said be, ' aud A'ould take a week to tell it. Dut, howsoever, to make a long story short, you remember when tho smugglers were pursued, and wished to conceal their brandy in our house, my father prevented theui ; they loft muttering revenge?and they have been revenged. 1 his day twelve years, l went out with the intention of meeting Elizabeth aud her father, when I came upon a party of the gang concealed in Hell's Hole. In a moment half a dozen pistols were held to my brest, and tying uiy bauds to my sides, they dragged me into the cavern. Here 1 had not been long their prisouer, when tho snow, rolling down the mountains, almost totally blocked up its uiouth. On.the second night, tbey cut through the snow, and bttrrying me along with them, I was bound to a horse, between two, aud, beforo daylight, found myself stowed, liko a piece of old junk, in the hold of a smuggling lugger. Within a week, I was shipped on beard a Dutch man-of-war ; and for six years was kept dogging about on different stations, till our old yawing hulk received orders to join the fleet which was to fight against tho gallant Duncan at Cauiperdown. To think of fighting against my own countrymen, tuy own flesh and blood, was worse than to be cut to pieces by a cat-o'-nine-tails ; aud, under cover of the suioke of tho first broadside, I sprang upon tho gunwale, plunged iuto tho sea, aud swam for tho English fleet.? Nevor, never, shall I forget the moment that my feet first trod upon tho deck of a Hritish frigate! j>ly nerves leU as firm as ber oak, and my heart Tree as the pennant that waved defiance from her masthead !? I was as active as any one during tho battle; aud, when it was over, and I found myself again among my own countrymen, and all sneaking tnv own language J fanshould meet my father, my mother, or uay dear Hess, on board of the British frigato. I expected to see you ull again in a few ftweeks at farthest; but, instead of returning to Old England, before I was aware, it was v helm about with us. As to writiug, I never ? had an opportunity but once. Wo were anchored before a French fort; a packet was lying alongside ready to sailj 1 had a half side written, and scratching my head to think how I should couie over writing about you, Bess, my love, when, as bad luck would have it, our lieutenant comes to DiO} and sayes he, 'Elliot,' sayes he41 know you like a little smart service; come, my led, take the head oar, while we board some of those French hum-boats under the batteries I couldn't say no. We pulled ashore, made a bonfiro of one of their craft, and were set- . ting firo to a second, when a deadly shower of small-shot from the garrison scuttled our boat, killed onr commanding oifieer with half of tho crew, and the fow who were left i of us were made prisoner*. It is of no uso ; brothering you by telling how we escaped from French prisons. We did escnpo;an<I i Tom will once moro fill his vacant chair." Should any of our readers wish farther , acquaintance with our friends ; all wc can i say is, the new year was still young when r Adam Bell bestowed his daughter's hand 1 upon the heir of Marchluw, and Peter boheld the once vacant chair again occupied, 2 and a namesake of the third generation prut tling on his knee.