Read Ebook: Town and Country; Or Life at Home and Abroad Without and Within Us by Adams John S John Stowell

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SAVED BY KINDNESS THE LOVE OF ELINORE 'TIS SWEET TO BE REMEMBERED I CALL THEE MINE THE OLD TREE AND ITS LESSON VOICES FROM THE SPIRIT LAND THE BEACON LIGHT BEAR UP A WELCOME SONG TO SPRING THE HOPE OF THE FALLEN THOUGHTS THAT COME FROM LONG AGO DETERMINED TO BE RICH THE HEAVEN-SENT, HEAVEN-RETURNED FLOWERS, BRIGHT FLOWERS FORGET ME NOT WHAT IS TRUTH THE HOMESTEAD VISIT THE MARINER'S SONG LOVE'S LAST WORDS LIGHT IN DARKNESS MT. VERNON, AND THE TOMB OF WASHINGTON FREEDOM'S GATHERING SONG OF THE BIRD I CHANGE BUT IN DYING HE IS THY BROTHER THE WINE-DEALER'S CLERK ANGELINA FAREWELL, MY NATIVE LAND UNLEARNED TO LOVE WHAT WAS IT? LETTERS AND LETTER-WRITING A VISION OF REALITY JEWELS OF THE HEART LIGHT FROM A BETTER LAND POOR AND WEARY THE BANDBOX MOVEMENT NEW ENGLAND HOMES LOVE THAT WANES NOT. ONWARD COURAGEOUSLY A FOREST PIC-NIC SONG THE WARRIOR'S BRIDE THE ADVENT OF HOPE CHILD AND SIRE A BROTHER'S WELCOME THE IMMENSITY OF CREATION A VISION OF HEAVEN THERE'S HOPE FOR THEE YET SOLILOQUY OVER THE GRAVE OF A WIFE THE FUGITIVES THE UNIVERSAL JUBILEE THE BATTLE OF THE RED MEN SUNLIGHT ON THE SOUL A SONG FROM THE ABSENT TO THE LOVED ONE AT HOME TWILIGHT FOREST HYMN THE SUMMER SHOWER AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN AUTOMATON TO THE UNKNOWN DONOR OF A BOUQUET TO A SISTER IN HEAVEN I DREAMED OF THEE LAST NIGHT, LOVE THEY TELL OF HAPPY BOWERS MAN CANNOT LIVE AND LOVE NOT BETTER THAN GOLD GONE AWAY LINES TO MY MIFE CHEER UP TRUST THOU IN GOD THE MINISTRATION OF SORROW GIVING PUBLICITY TO BUSINESS THE MISSION OF KINDNESS A PLEA FOR THE FALLEN JOY BEYOND THE SUMMER DAYS ARE COMING THE MAN WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING PRIDE AND POVERTY WORDS THAT TOUCH THE INNER HEART OUR HOME SPECULATION AND ITS CONSEQUENCE RETROSPECTION NATURE'S FAIR DAUGHTER, BEAUTIFUL WATER THE TEST OF FRIENDSHIP WEEP NOT RICH AND POOR THE HOMEWARD BOUND THE POOR OF EARTH IF I DON'T OTHERS WILL NOT MADE FOR AN EDITOR HERE'S TO THE HEART THAT'S EVER BRIGHT MORNING BEAUTY THE RECOMPENSE OF GOODNESS BRIDAL SONGS THE JUG AFLOAT GIVE, AND STAY THEIR MISERY THE SPIRIT OF MAN PAUSE AND THINK LITTLE NELLY WE SHALL ALL BE HAPPY SOON REUNION THE VILLAGE MYSTERY THE WAYSIDE DEATH BEAUTY AND INNOCENCE NIGHT NOT DEAD, BUT CHANGED THE DISINHERITED THE SEASONS ALL ARE BEAUTIFUL SPRING A TEXT FOR A LIFETIME NOW CLOSE THE BOOK

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

SAVED BY KINDNESS.

A kind word is of more value than gold or precious stones.

"THEN you are here!" said a stern, gruff voice, addressing a pale, sickly-looking youth, whose frame trembled and whose lip quivered as he approached one who sat at the side of a low pine table;--it was his master, a man of about forty, of athletic form, and of power sufficient to crush the feeble youth.

"Well," he continued, "if you are sure that you gave it to him, go to bed; but mind you, whisper-breathe not the secret to a living soul, on peril of your life! You may evade my grasp, but like blood I will track you through life, and add a bitter to your every cup of sweet."

The lad had no sooner left the room than a man entered, whose carelessly arranged apparel and excited appearance indicated that something of vast importance-at least, as far as he was concerned-burthened his mind.

"Harry," he said, throwing himself upon a chair, "I fear we are betrayed-discovered--completely used up."

"Discovered!" shouted the person addressed. "How? where? why?"

"It is so, friend Harry. The boy you sent made a sad error."

"Then murder the boy!" and, clutching a dagger, he motioned to leave the room, and would have done so to plunge it in the bosom of the lad, had not his informant interfered, and thus prevented him from executing so rash and cruel an act.

"What!-I will-will do it!" he shouted, endeavoring to release himself from the hands of the other.

"Never!" was the bold, unwavering response. "Move a step, and death shall be thy doom. Seest thou that?" and the speaker drew from his bosom a richly-mounted pistol.

"Doubtless thou art right," said Harry, in a more calm manner; "the excitement of the moment urged me to desperation, and, if any but you had arisen in my path, the glistening steel should have met his heart. But, Bill, how,--I am confused, my eyes swim,--tell me, how are we discovered? Must the last act in the great drama of our fortune-making be crushed in the bud?-and who dare do it?"

"If you will restrain your indignation, I will tell you."

"A hard task, yet I will try."

"That answer will not do; you must say something more positive."

"Then I say, I will."

"Enough,--the boy Sim handed the note to the kitchen-girl."

"But, Bill, think you she suspected its contents?"

"That I cannot say, but she is inquisitive, and has been known to unseal letters committed to her care, by some ingenious way she has invented. She looked uncommonly wise when she handed it to me and said, 'Mr. Bang, that's of no small importance to you.'"

"The deuce she did! I fear she deserves the halter," said Harry.

"What, with the h off?"

"No, there is too much Caudleism in her to make her worthy of that; but this is no time for our jokes. Your suspicions are too true; but how shall we act? what plans shall we adopt?"

"None, Harry, but this;--we must act as though we were the most honest men on earth, and act not as though we suspected any of suspecting us."

"O, yes, I understand you, Bill; we must not suspect anything wrong in her."

"That's it," answered Bill, and, plunging his hand into his pocket, he drew from thence a small scrap of greasy, pocket-worn paper, and read a few words in a low whisper to his friend Harry. A nod from the latter signified his approval. He returned the mysterious memorandum to his pocket, and planting upon his head a poor, very poor apology for a hat, swung his body round a few times on his heel, and leaving the house; pushed open a small wicket-gate, and entered the street. He hurriedly trudged along, heaping silent curses upon the head of Harry's boy, the kitchen-girl, and sundry other feminine and masculine members of the human family not yet introduced to the reader.

Bold Bill gone, Harry sat for some considerable length of time ruminating upon the strange turn affairs had taken, and indulging in vague speculations upon whether the next would be as unfavorable; and at this point of our story we will divulge somewhat of his history.

Henry Lang had been in years past a man well-to-do in the world; he was once a merchant respected for his strict integrity and punctuality in business affairs; but by a false step, a making haste to be rich, he was ruined. The great land speculation of '37 and thereabout was the chief, and in fact the only cause of his misfortune. On one day he could boast of his thousands, and no paper held better credit than that signed or endorsed by him. The next, the bubble broke, his fortune was scattered, his riches took to themselves wings and flew away, his creditors, like vultures, flocked around and speedily devoured what little remained of his once large possessions. He was a man easily affected by such occurrences, and they deeply wounded his sensitive feelings. What should he do? He looked around upon those who once professedly loved him; but no hand was extended, no heart sympathized with him in the hour of trouble. He left his country, and with it a wife and one child, a daughter, lovely, if not in personal appearance, in highly virtuous and intellectual qualities, which, after all, will be admitted to be of more value than that which time withers and sickness destroys.

With a sad heart Mr. Lang left these and the spot of earth around which many fond recollections clustered. After twenty months of tedious wanderings, he returned, but he was a changed man; his ambitious spirit had been crushed, all his hopes: had departed, and he gave himself up to the fanciful freaks of a disordered mind. Defeated in his honest endeavors to obtain a livelihood, he was now seeking out dishonest ways and means to retrieve his fallen fortune. He sought for those of a kindred spirit, nor was he long in finding such; in a short time he became acquainted, and soon after connected, with a gang of adventurous men, about six in number, who by various fraudulent means were each amassing much wealth.

"And he deserted me in this my time of need! Can it be true that he has gone? For him I would willingly have endured any privation. Did he not know that my love was strong? Could he not believe me when I said, that, as I joyed with him in his prosperity, I would mourn with him in its reverse?-that I could ever be near to comfort and console,--one with him at all times, under all circumstances?"

"Comfort yourself, dear mother!" said a calm voice, "Remember that these trials are for our good, and that the sorrows of earth are but to prepare us for the joys of heaven. Cheer up, mother! let those thoughts rejoice thy heart! Despair not, but take courage!"

With such words did the daughter administer consolation to the afflicted, when hearing that her husband had forsaken her and sailed for a foreign port. It was indeed a heavy blow, and she felt it severely. She could have endured the thought of having all her earthly possessions taken from her,--but to be deserted, to be left at such a time dependent upon the charities of the world for a subsistence, such a thought she was not prepared to withstand.

The few words of Julia having been said, a deep silence for some moments pervaded the room. She sat and gazed up into the face of her mother, whose tears bore witness to the deep anguish of her soul. The silence was interrupted by the rising of the latter, who for a few moments paced the room, and then sank helplessly into a chair. The attentive child sprang to her relief, a few neighbors were called in, she was laid upon her bed. That night a severe attack of fever came upon her; for many days her life was despaired of; but at length a ray of hope cheered the solitude of the chamber of the sick, and at the close of six weeks her health was in a great degree restored.

"Time heals all wounds," is a common saying, true in some cases, but not in all. Some wounds there are that sink deep in the heart,--their pain even time cannot remedy, but stretch far into eternity, and find their solace there. Others there are which by time are partially healed;--such was that of Mrs. Lang. During her sickness, many of the little incidents that before had troubled her passed from her mind. She now yielded submissively to her sad allotment, believing, as during her sickness she had often been told, that afflictions come but for our own good, however paradoxical such a statement might seem to be.

The kindness of a neighbor enabled her, with her daughter, to remove their place of residence. This neighbor-a lady of moderate pecuniary circumstances-furnished them with needle-work, the compensation for which enabled them to obtain supplies necessary for a comfortable living.

For some time Mr. Henry Lang sat with his head resting upon his hands, and with them upon the table. Deep silence prevailed, broken only, at lengthy intervals, by the loud laugh following the merry jest of some passer-by, or the dismal creaking of the swing-sign of an adjacent tavern.

How long Mr. Lang might have remained in that position is not for us to determine. But it would have been much longer, had not a loud rap at the outer door awakened him from his drowsy condition.

He started at the sound, and, taking in his hand a dim-burning candle, proceeded to answer the call. Opening the door, a man closely enveloped in a large cloak and seal-skin cap, the last of which hung slouchingly about his head and face, inquired, in a gruff, ill-mannered voice, whether a person unfavorably known to the police as "Bold Bill" had been there. Harry trembled, knowing his interrogator to be one of the city watch; yet he endeavored to conceal his fears and embarrassment by a forced smile, and remarked:

"That is indeed a strange name, and one of which I have never before heard. Tell me what he has been about."

"Why do you think he has been about anything, or why think you I am acquainted with his actions?" inquired the stranger, in a stern voice, as though the supreme majesty of the law represented by him was not to be spoken lightly of. His scrutinizing features relaxed not in the least, but he looked our hero steadfastly in the face.

"You are right," answered the officer. "I am a watchman! The authority invested in me is great. I trust I duly appreciate it. I guard your dwelling when you are slumbering, unconscious of what takes place around you."

"You are very kind," remarked Harry, suddenly interrupting him, and speaking rather ironically than otherwise.

The watchman continued: "Life is to me nothing unless I can employ it in doing good. Do you understand me?"

"Perfectly."

"Will you walk in?" inquired Mr. Lang, as a sudden gust of wind nearly extinguished his light.

"No, I thank you; that would be of no service to my fellow-men; and, as I am in search of the man who committed the robbery, ten minutes ago, upon Mr. Solomon Cash, the broker, I must-"

"Robbery!" exclaimed Harry, appearing perfectly astonished at the thought. "O, the degeneracy of the nineteenth century,--the sinfulness of the age!"

"Amen!" responded the officer; and, pulling his large, loose cloak more closely about him, he made a motion to continue on in the service of his fellow-men.

"But wait, my good man," said Harry. "Am I to suppose, from what you said, that 'Bold Bill' is the perpetrator of this base crime?"

"Precisely so," was the laconic reply; and the man moved on in execution of his benevolent designs.

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