Plymouth Banner, Volume 3, Number 20, Plymouth, Marshall County, 20 July 1854 — Page 1

S3 5r3 a A Family Newspaper Devoted to Education, Asriculture, Comasrce, Markets, General Intelligence, Foreign and Domestic Kew3, VOL. 3. NO. 20.1 PLYMOUTH, INDIANA, THURSDAY, JULY 20, 1854. WHOLE NO. 124.

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MAY MARTIN, Oil, THE HONEY DISSERS.

A GREEN MOUNTAIN TALE. CY D. r. lit MKS. In one of those rough and secluded towns situ tied in tho heart of the lir;tii .Mountains, is a oictu resu tr; little valley.

containing perhaps something over two' the hand ol unrestrained nature, giving a thousand acres of land, formerly known -! free cu 1 gleeful motion, and a step as in that section of the. country by the ap- : lil,t aml a&iie as ll,at OI the )""nS f'ii pellation of The llurirood Stllltv.tnt, so ! üf i,ie mouutains among which she was culled from the Name of the original pro.,' reared. The complexion of her face, prietorof the valley. As if formed by ! ,'owver. V1S to tIark lo bc delicate, o. come giant hand, literal! v scooping out, to ive ful1 eiTi'cL to r1' ' bro.vn tresthe solid Kinuntaiu &m rr .ulding it into.'" that encircled her high forehead and s:i ape and proportion, the whole valley f''11 profusely iti natural ringlets down presents the exact resemblance of an oval ! ,lPr fiy arched neck. Ami her features basin whose sides are composed of a cent- nUü though regular, were remarkable only tiguous ridge of lofiy hills bordering itjf'-1 lhc wonderful vivacity of their exaround, and broken only bv two nurow I 'oai though now she and her com-'

outlet? at its northerly ard'soutrrlv ex-' trP.nitles. The eastern nart of this val-t I cy is covered by one of these transnarcnt .on. Is, which are so beautifully charac- j terislic of Vermont scenery, lyin in the j iura oi k cresceni. a no exienuni'i atouz e l i t beneath the closely encircliir' mountain i , t on the east nearlv the whole lengih ol the interior landscape, forever mirroring ' up from its darkly bright surface, faintly ' nJ vividly, as cloud or sunshine may j tirpr:n I flit taintltr nruin C cnfi. r i forest, where the more slender and soft tinted beech and inaide seem siru2Üiiz tor a place anving the rough an I ihnggv forms of the ster.lv hemlock, scendhi c'.iils of the woody precioice. while here ! and there, at distant intervals, towering, high over all stands the princely pine. 1 waving its majestic head in solitary gran-! tifiir, rx striKing bwt melancholy type ot the original Indian, still occasionally found lui-'erius amona us. the cnlv re 1 " rniinins renreseutatire of a once power-! ful race, which have receded before the innren of civilized men. now destined no juore to llourish the lords of the plain and in'. untr.ii. This pond discbarges itssurlus at us southern extremity in a pure -fitrjjui ot coisiderable size, which here. as if in wild glee at its escape from the embrace of its parent waters, leaps at ' ,nce.- from a stat- of the most unruffled traii.piility. over a ledgy barrier with nuisy reverberations, goes bounding along front cliiF to cliff, in a series of romantic 1 ! ."!! -I ras;a les. uuffu a ucer ravine, iiu u; lessening echoes are lost in the siuuos z:s of tf:i vaiJpy. l r- m t:is western 5r:iore of ibis sheet of water the land rises in gentle u:.du!ati ns, and with a gradual as-;eiit. back to the foot of the mountains, which here, m every side, rear their ever i ur3..ii e it in ii i tri thp r!mi:U Strtndin around t"'is vast fortress of nature as hug? sentinels posting the outworks to battle with the careering hurricane, that burst i.i fary on tn.ir immoveable sides, ' nd arrest au I receive on their own unscathed h.ads tho shafts of tho lightnin--descending for its victims to t.'.e valley below, where they cheerilv bandy from m le to side the voicr echoes' of the thutl-! der pe3lwith th,ir mightv brethren of the opposite rampart Nor is tho beauty of the minor features of the landscape feurpasse l by the bold grandeur, of the main outlines. The irlerior of the valley, for miles in extent, uniformly sloping to the eastward, checkered with beautiful alterations of town and woodland, forever richly clothed in their season with the wavy and lightfr e.rdure of ihe cultivated liel J, or Uk; deep tinted and exuberant foliage of the forest. While a thousand gushing tills com dancing down from the surrounding hi-ights t-j meet the imrniugsuu and giitter iu his tlrst smile, as he looks in over the eastern birrier on his return from his Jiur;iil circuit. At the period of whicti we are about to write, iu rule dwellings of the small band of settlers, who then inhabited the j valley, were scattered at different inter- I vals along the road which enteiiug from i ihs south wound round the westwardl v ! margin of the pond and passed off thro' the interlcapin" mountains towards Can-! adi. Of these dwellings tho largest, and j most respectable in appearance, was the , one situated in the most southerly part of the valley. The old house of the pioneer ! still staudin in the back -round surroun-! ded by weeds and briars, fnd here given place to a new frame house of one story, which, together, with the appara.ico of the out building; and the well cultivated grounds adjoining betokened a considerable degree of thrift nn 1 comfort in the circumstances of the owner. Towards night on a b autiful summer's ! i 'y, t the time we have chosen for the opening of our tale, a young man and maiden might hare been seen leaving the door of the cottage we have described, nod leisurely taking their way across the pasture, in a direction to intersect tho main road at tho termination of the clearing on the south. The first named of the couple, apparently of the age of about twenty-five years, was in the full bloom of vigorous manhood. His hardy, robust, and well foraied frame was graced with an open, frank and highly intelligent countenance, indicative at once of an ingenious disposition, a light heart, and t lie conscientiousness of a strong hand, with mwntal capacity to govern and render it available exhibiting iu his person a fine simple of the early emigrant settlers of Vermont, who were almost universally men of uncommon physical powers, and generally of moral qualities which quailed at no ordinary obstacles, a fact attributable, probably, -neither to chance, nor the invigorating effects of their climate, but to the iialural operation of these very pov ers and qualities themselves, which only could incite them to forsake the easa and

comfort of an old settlement, with the certainty of entering upon the hardships in d new one and eiiJ u i in trials from

! whicfi men of common mould would j shrink with dismay. 1 Iri s fair ompan-, . ion was evidently quite youthful. Her person was rather slightly funned, but of j closely knit and beautifully rounded proportions, which were indebted for their 'almost faultless symmetry to none of the ! crippling arts of fishion, but solely to f -''ion pursued their way from the house s,,,1,e rutls " silence, her mind sremed abstut r abscuiu'ttd by some tare, her t!jrk blue eip seemed sleeping in abstrac- , tn but now her lover spoke, ami a o inousan i variant emotions came liittina c er her countenance a smile of p-cu--'Ini c ti'at f n ort !ofo,l nl f i a 1 i I n (...c, 'i'chec'K3 wore wreathed in dimples, and llcr 7 fairly sparkled with a light at the SL.,,! 1 "Staut to have lokea perch W I I il I H lilin. - i .May, said ue. ".May my g:ri, no you j Know mal j nave mviiea von toll lor luis ,,lue n jU 0:;1.v 10 bl;j )'ÜU aa,al. a,,i l!lat tLO lit a considerable season?" surely! ' replied the girl pmsinS lier slt,P. n.l looking up into the' ,l,d ,,ly features of her lover with an ex-, oi nvei) concern "suffiy you ale not going your journey so soon? "Yes May, 1 have a horse in readiness I I a l a; UlA vilMge below, and thither 1 proPse walking to-night to be prepared for an early start for Massachusetts in the , "And how sooirwill you return?'' j "Perhaps I may btf absent for nearly two mouths." ' So very long?" A!osl probably my business is such , ns I,PI 1,1,1 to delay bat why so con-j aoseuce ana then" Yes, yes, I kno-T what you would say; but why is een this absence necessary?" "k is but right that you should know,; j May, and i will tell you. It is now nearly j -a ear since 1 contracted for the land on ' which 1 made a pitch in this settlement, i The time for payment when lam to receive, a title has nearly arrived; and I am going to gather up the little pittance of property which 1 earned with my own hands, and left invested in my native state, w hen I departed for the wild w oods i of ermont, and which I now need to b lw. ieel ;hls I' ment. , ltl5 resume, tnatjou go, bul Jvi 1 7Tl y?r.hb". I hardly dared to hope that my r'"cnce was as much va.ued, May. Ho;V Vil"! . 1 did not "ieai1,. 1 ,,iave (,,lher reasons for "And what can that be dearest May'" "I have often thought I would never j disturb you fee lings by the story of my ' little troubles." j "Troubles! and not tell me, May you . ?irpri(f and -iiturb me already to whom should you confide them, if not to me?" "True Mr. Ashley, true, if you take the interest in me you profess to you certainly if to any one would I confide them. Au I indeed bhould any thing happen to me in your absence iu consequence of their existence, 1 should wish perhaps I had apprised you of the difficulties which beset me " 0 tell me, tell me. May." "1 will You already know that Mr. "u J,s- -ia"m' w,lu "" TC from a smal1 chi,d- are "ül ,n" falher a,id mother by a relationship, and I am'sorry to lht' are not l,,ure bT ihelt treal' ,m uli ofl, n !,ave hY made me t0 feel lhal 1 arn llie chi,tl of other parents, ;u,ir 6urt,.v Ju nrcr Uinteil su uch a lh!'lS before, and I never suspected any t!u,,8 of lhe kinJ- The' certainly SiaTe rpearedulhcu ntly kind lo you in tny l'seßcs." " ) es, in your presence; ana even when you are in the neighborhood they are more cautious iu their cruelty, but ns soon as you are fairly out of the settlement for any considerable absence, I soon am made nwaro of it by other means than the void in my feelings at the loss of your society. You have been told of a pedlar wl, undertook lo bo 7 suile? l,,e )ear I . C 1 I . i before you came here. That was their work; and I shall never forget their meanness in trying to unite me to that vagabond, to get me out of the country, as 1 have often thought." "But what reason can they have for such treatment, and iu what manner is it usually exercised?" "I am not sensible of ever having given them any cause, and I cannot guess at the reason. As regards the manner, it is no personal violence that I complain of: but is it much less painful to be insulted, despised to see, know, and be made to feel that 1 am bated?' "No. May. no. This ig news to me, but it must not shall not be. I will this moment return and see them, and secure you a kinder treatment, or, as sure as my nam is William Ashley, their house this day eea23 to be your home." "Oh no! not for the world! not a step, not a word If you love me, not a word to them of what I have told you. I would not leave them at ihii late period, I can hear with them a few months longer, and then and then, who knows," she contintied, hesitating and as she dashed aside

the tear that had gathered in her eye at the recital of her wrongs, and looked up archly at her love;, "who knowsjwhether I am then to find a better home?" "Who knows? Ah, May, 1ft the time for prov ing this but arrive; for by all that is true and sacred in honor or in love. I swear" '40 no, no, no," interrupted the girl with returning vivacity, and with that playful tact which women so well know how to quell the storm she has raised in the less versatile bosom of man. "O no, no, don't swear at ine I havo enough of that at home." The lovers having now arrived at the end of their walk, seated themselves amidst a cluster of evergreens on tho brink of a high bulk, to indulge awhile before the final adieu in that luxury of love, the inter-change of the mutual pledges of affection on tho eve of separation. The scenery of the spot was well calculated to enhance the mutual interest of the mo-

ment, and hallow it to their feelings. Some twenty or thirty feet below, an i al tnrtl oiro'lv linger tliirft ffi rru il no. 1 1 . . i j M.... ...v.. i Just emerglig from the woods, wound

along on a scanty Jut. or shelf of the hill- come an organized town, embracing the side, which immediately beyond, formed , palest pariuf thissettleme.it within its a lofty precipice terminating in the stream , boundaries. This man had formerly acthat rushed in stilled murmurs swiftly ; tHli , tu IlSn-u-nnd ih.. , .i"

down its rugged channel, deeply embow - cred in the overhanging forest baneath. The cool spray, stealing through the dark foliage of the lofty fir and spruce whose roots were grasping the rocky margin of the stream a hundred feet below, and whose wavy and att minted tops now se med almost within the grasp of the hand was visibly rising athwart the bright pencils of tho snuggling sunbeams in glittering vibrations lo tho heavens, and wi:h gratoful freshness came milling on

the Scenes with the balmy Odor of the mig!,t be termed. O.lvin made a journey birch and gilt-d. While the seemingly ; to the sea-port iu New Hampshire where low encircling firmament canopied their ( Harwood resided, and returned with the heads w ith that deep and rich cerulean sl0ry that he had bought out the original so peculiar to the woody glens of th e j proprietor, and was now sole owner of the Green Mountains; and all around andjvaMey. lie then immediately set to work above them was breathing a purity, and j j,, searching for purchasers; and by his shedding a tranquil brightness beautiful , unwearied exertions in this respect, and emblematical, aiike of tho innocent and j ;l,e inducements held out bv the firmness the unalloyed nffeetions of their gushing 0f his now reducing prices," he soon suehearts, ami their sunny enticipations ofjteeded in finding purchasers for all the the future. , valley thought capable of improvement. Their enjoyment of these happy mo-! This he had no sooner effected than he merits, however, was soon to be inlenup- suddenly left that part of the country and ted. Their attention wasnow arrested by, was heard of no more. From this time the sounds of clattering hoofs Pi the road the alley made rapid progress in improvebelow; e nd turning their eyes to the spot ) ment; and many of lhe. families there from whence the. noi-o proceeded they ! uu- perm Jiicutly located, among which beheld a single horseman Urging, with j was that of Martin, were at tho period of cruel. application of the whip, his falter jour tale in comparatively easv and coming steed up the hill towards the settle- j fortablc circumstances. "Martin and his ment. When nearly opposite, or rather j wife having no children of their own had uuder the spot w here our lovers sat con- j taken May. the heroine of our story, when cealed frcm view by the boughs of their j young, and adopted her as a daughter. covert, the horse paused, staggered an in- (Jf the girls parentage little or nothiii" stant and fell viih his rider to ;h- ground. , bad ever been ascertained. Her mother" The poor animal after a few convulsive j it appeared, had been tken ill on the road llounderings. grasped feebly, and died on j in a neighborhood on the borders of New the spot. -Damn the luck!" exclaimed Hampshire, nnd gained admittance into a the traveller, giving the dead carenss two j private family lo remain during her Conor three kicks, "damn the luck, the horse; fineiiieiit. Th man who attended her is dead! However," ho continued after was not her husband, but. as he stated, a a short pause occupied in taking a hasty I person employed to convoy her to her glance up and down the road, and then fjiends in Vermont. And nretendin.' to

over the precipice, "however, dead horses I lit-.. .I.. ..I Ill .L- I une urau men, i 1 1 1 eil UU I'll C3 Ulai Is, if well buried. And here's grave enough down this bottomless gul f in all conscience I should think; so now for a speedy funeral. So saying and hastily unlacing a small valise attached to the crupper of the somewhat tattered saddle and filled apparently with clothing, he grappled villi main strength the body of the horse, and rolled it off the precipice.' down the steep side of which it was heard heavily bounding through briars and fallen tree tops, till it struck with a faint splash iu the water below. With another rap'nl glance thrown cautiously around him, he took his valise under his arm, and proceeded leisurely towards the set lie met. "I am so glad he has gone, and without discovering us?" half audibly exclaimed May, the first to rouse from the mute surprise with which they had witnessed the whole transaction that so suddenly came atid terminated, like the detatched scene of some panoramic exhibition passing quickly before them, I can breathe again now. How strangely he talked to himself! Don't ycu think his conduct very singular?" Singular enough!" replied Ashley, "but he really displayed considerable cool philosophy in lhe death and burial of his horse; as ho termed tumbling him down the gulf!" "Who and what can he be?" "I am puzzled to conjecture, lie may te a horse-thief fearful cf pursuit and detection, ns hie words, and his pains to get his dead ho.se out of sight, might seem to imply. Iut I am more inclined to believe him some watched smuggler, who was'riding for life to meet and secrete s me goods he may have coming in this direction. These gentry often take this back road for their excursions, I am told." "It may be so, but I did not like hi3 appearance any better than his actions; how suspiciously he looked round to discover if any one was in sight. And how cruel! ho beat his horse so, and then to kick the poor creature as he wa3 dying." "Nor did I like the. appearance of the fellow at all, nnd I confess I am uot quite satisfied with my own solution of the affair; but I have no further Uisure at present to bestow in useless conjectures perhaps one oi both of us may learn mo'e hereafter that will throw light on the subject. And now May, my dearest May, I must go, leaving you to return to the house alone." O, not yet." "Indeed, and indeed, I must linger no longer 6ee! the sun is nearly to ho mountains. Put onco more, May, do you love me?"

0 too much.'"1 1 "An t will b- truer' I "Forever;" j "Then, dearest girl, may the great One j

above us preierre you farewell, fare-1 well' ' ' Farewell!" sighed the tearful girl in accents soft and broken as the dvin n:urinur of the distant cascade with which : they mingled in the uir. An instant, and ; Ashlev stood in the road below "ivinir the j last lingering look of parting another, ami he had disappeared from the sight of! his sorrowful companion, who slowly and pensively pursue: I her lonely way I back to her now, more than ever, dreary J and joybßs home, 7ft tho cottage we j have already described. j The owner of this cottage, as the read- ' er is already apprised, was a Mr. Martin, j who with a few oihers hid made, many I jeurs ueiorc, me nrsi permanent settlement in the vailey. They had purchased of one 0)1 vi ii a resident of the villas. iu vwiicii auuaion nas ueiore oeen maae. 1 .. I . I I ; I. I r i V i. i ! biiuaieu some six or eigni utiles below, in j Uie southerly corner ol what had now be j prietor of the whole valley, in disposing cf t,e SiUrre lands toothers which hcsub ; ucntly sold to Martin and his compau-1 jOM as principal, the first occupants be-! Cumir,3 sick of their bargains or proving! too poor o Ad thriftless- to pay for their' j fumiSt having a tandoiied and" lef: theni, before receiving any but defeasible titles. ! I u-ivj, t,I,eir few sc intv improvements lo ! : ,nore able and enterpi'isiug successors, ; j About the time of tho desertion of the first ! settlers, or rather souatters. nerhans thev ! give her name and residence-, and leaving , ...... a sum of money with the family amply sufficient for the present support of the mother and her expected infant, he im mediately returned, for tho purpose as he avowed, of apprising the young woman's husband of her approaching illness, for in a few hours she gave birth to a daughter; uot however without the cost of her life; for she was soon seized with" a fever and delerium. which in two or three days put a period to her existence. The infant was handed over to nurse to q married daughter of tho fami'y who resided with them, who kindly received the little stranger to share with her own child the nourishment of which it had been deprived by the untimely death of its mother. After a few weeks had elapsed, no one in tho meantime appearing to claim the child a letter was sent to the address of the supposed father, but without bringing from any one a visit or an answer, Recourse was then had to tho Postmaster of the town which had been given ns the residence of the husband; and iu consoquencc, information was soon received lhat no person or family of that description had resided there. And as no other intelligence was ever after received on the subject, and neither any remarks of the deceased mother during the few hours of her rationality after her arrival, nor any thing found among her effects, affording the least clue for unravelling the mystery, the transaction was very naturally concluded to be one of those frauds often practiced, to palm ofl'as respectable, some frail fair one, and her illegitimate, on strangers. The littlo innocent subject to these suspicions, thus left unknown and unowned among entire strangers, was not however, on that account neglecled. Having been first whimsically termed tho May flower, and finally May, from the circumstances of her having been born on the first day of the month of lhat name, she received the kindest attention from lhe family till near two years of ngc, when becoming a pretty and promising child, she rvas taken by Martin, w ho then, and for gome years afterwards, resided in that neighborhood, from whence he removed to his preseut residence in the valley. During the first year of May's adoption, and till the removal of Martin to 'Vermont, she was allowed summer and winter, the advantages of an excellent common school, in which she wasdislinguished for uncommon proficiency for her age. And the taste fr reading, which 6he here thus early acquired, was ever aftor maintained and improved by means of a choice selection of books which Martin inherited from his father, and preserved out of respect to his memory, rather than

for any plcisre or profit they ever af- ' question was, with a tone and look of forded him, or his still more unaltered I suspicion for which she could readily accompanion. At this period als ) sho was count. The inquiry, however, to her apparently much beloved by both Martin 'great relief was pursued no further, and and hia wife, ond uniformly treated by j the conversation now being directed to

j them w ith parental kindness and utten. lion. Jut as she approached to woman hood, and began to attract the esteem aud admiration of all who became acquainted with her, by her amiable dispo-

sition, her sprightli ness and beauty, this before whom she would have teen mo. t former manifestation oi kindness on the j anxious ;o avoid such an exposure, couppart of Martin and his wife beg-m unac- j led as it !i4d been with her walk, which countably to decline; and instead of re-! had put her iu possession of an unpleasceiving these demonstrations of esteem !' ant secret, as she feared it wa, respecttowards their deserving daughter with ' ing him. How unlucky! she thought. that pride and v gratification which real perhaps ern now she had become the parents would feel, they seemed to sicken object of his suspicion and dislike. She at the praises she received, and view i had intended, before so unexpectedly enthem with increasing uneasiness, giving countering him on her return, to make vent to their feelings at least on the in- j known the transaction she had witnessed, nocent and distressed cause of them, in j But now should sh do it, and the affair such bitterness of manner and expression should be satisfactorily explained, she as to render her often extremely misera- dreaded the ridicule which she probably bin. And this treatment was the more must experience from all parties for actpainful and perplexing as it arose from j ing the spy and eavesdropper and should no avowed or reasonable causes, being , it lead to the detecton ofsonio villainy, founded probably in a sense of growing , perhaps she would have to be called into

inferiority, and a petty jealousy at tue preference with which she was personally regarded, and the greater respect which her intellectual superiority al -

ways commanded, leaving her the most Having come to this determination, and hopelvs? of all tasks, thoeiuleavpr to con- ha Yin succeeded by this time in allay. ciliate those whose conduct aiis: s from Mug her disturbed feeling.?, and in assummotives they are ashamed to acknowl- ! ing. in a great degree, a calm demeanor,

edge, and whose dislike has no other ori gin, than in the baseness of tbiir own hearts. A new era now occurred In the life of May the era of her first love. Williim Ashley, an intelligent and enterprising young man, tTad been employed by u gentleman in Massachusetts, owning wild lands in Vermont, to survey a tract west of the settlement. Making the valley !iis head quarters and the house of Martin his home on hi stated returns from his laborious duties in the woods, he became, interested in May loved her, and w as soon loved in return, with that ferver which a young maiden yields up her virgin affections. The intimacy soon resulted in an engagement of marriage; and determination on his part, to purchase a farm and setlle in the valley; to nil of which, Martin and his wife either seemed coldly indifferent, or mmifested their dislike, though, as before intimated, thej had the year previous, used considerable management to induce May to consent to the hasty proposals of one, a thousand times less worthy. Ashley h iving now contracted for a farm in pursuance of his resolution to settle iu the place, his time Irnd since been spent in alternately improving his new purchase, and re-assufti-ng the avocation which had been the means of introducing him into the settlement. Having now given the reader a brie:' sketch of the situation and characters of the leading personages of our Utile story we will return to the thread of the narrative where we left it for its digression. After parting from her lover, May re mained almost unconsciously some time in the vicinity of lhe romantic spot which had witnessed their adieu; now listlessly stooping to pluck some favor ite llower that peeped from its covert

beneath her devious footsteps, and now During the. course of the evening May . - 1 r tr I ' .i,,,.it.. f. i a v T . .

pausing 10 scratch the initials 01 ner loved one's name 011 the bark of some solitary tree, while her mind wa3 sweet ly occupied with the pleasant reminis cences of th'? past, or indulging in those dreamy and bright imaginings of the future, Which love and hope are fotever uniting to create in the bosom3 of the youthful. And it vvas nearly sunset before she was aroused to lhe necessity of a speedy return to her home. Nowquickening her step, however, she soon arrived at the door, and was timidly entering under the expectation of receiving some reprimand from Martin or his wife as was their want on her being absent from her domestic duties, when with a feeling approaching thoughtfulness, she caught a third person in the room, sitting with his back to her thinking that hh presence would protect her from the anticipated rebuke, till the occasion should be .forgotten. Hut this penalty she would heve gladly suffered the next moment in exchange for the disagreeable surprise she encountered. For sho had scarcely reached the interior of lhe room before lhe person turned round, and in him she at once recognized the man whose singular conduct she and Ashley had lately witnessed with so much surprise and suspicion. Sho instantly recoiled at the unexpected d;scovery, and stood a moment mute and abashed before lhe painful scrutiny of his gaze. "Why! what ails the gir'.l" exclaimed Mrs. Martin. "A body would think she was afraid of strangers." "Perhaps, wife," observed Martin with a malicious smile, "perhaps May's walk has confused her wits a little these love meetings and love partings aro terrible things to fluster one ain't they May? "There!" rejoined the former in a tone of exulting glee, "there! see how the girl blushes! I guess she thinks the gentleman may have seen her and her beau in their loving ramble across the pasture. Maybo, sir," he continued, turning to the stronger, "maybe you witnessed tho partingl" ' " ' No, I saw no one after leaving the woods till 1 rear. id the house," replied tho man w ith evident uneasiness of manner "Did you pass the way I come, Miss?" "I have not been in the road sir," answered May, with as much calmness as she could cCmand, in her fresh alarm at the turn in which the conversation .now threatened to take, accompanied as the

i other and inditlereut subjects, he re-

treated irom the room to hide her blu;!i i 1 es, and shed tenrs of vexation at the sej crets of her heart had been expored to a stranger too, the very one of ail others court usn witness, n consequence which j she no less dreaded. She concluded there- ( fore, to keep the whole transiction care-j . fully locked as a secret in her bosom. she rejoined the company, her repugnance to the stranger being mingled with some curiosity to learn more of his chtr-j acter. and see whether lie would mention the circumstances which hid so unfavorably impressed her and her lover, and if so, in what manner lie would explain if. I' Lit in this she was disappointed, as not the least ullusiou, was then, or ever afterwards made by him to the transaction. t May soon perceived, however, that the stranger, had already made ripid pro ress with his host and hostess towards gaining the footing of a familiar acquaintance, and it was with some surprise that she learned that he was to become for the present, an inmate of the family. He had introduced himself, it appeared, by the nama of Gow. stating that he was traveling with the view of purchasing land?; and having heard th.it the Hur wood settlement presented good induce ments to purchasers, he had now accordingly paid it a visit for that purpose. This avowal had led to a proffered assistance on the part ol Marlin to the further objects of the stranger, and soon to the compliance with the request of the latter to take up his abode with the family while he remained in the place. Such was the osteusive object of the stranger's visit. This information May guth ered from her m ither in the absence of the gentleman, who after supper had taken a long ramble across the firm in the twilight of the account which the mm had given of himself, she felt much disposed to discredit, for though the story was simple and reasonable enough in itself, yet she was wholly unable to reconcile it in her own min i with what she had witnessed; an 1 the more she reflect ed on the subject, tho stronger became her suspicions, that there was something wrong in his character, and something ! that ho was making no eft'oit to conceal . loumi unpicui uiyuuuinma .uiumi ing the personal appearance of clow, I lor by tint name we shall now call him more closely than she had before the means of doing. Though yoc.i.g, be was evidently hackneyed in the wavs of the world, and seemed will versed in tho ordinary modes of fi ittery, and the art of insinuating himself into the good grocer? of strangers. His exterior was good, and his demeanor, with ordinary observers, might have been 1 repossessing. Dc.t those who sciutiniznl him more closely might easily have detected a hol'owness of manner, which showed that the heart was taken but little part in tho wheedling language of the tongue, and a sort of questionable expression in the glances of Iiis restless eye, which like the savage in the woods, seemed to avoid open encounter, and to be continually skulking away and back, under the steady gaze of the beholder, as if guarding hidden motives with a constant appiehensiveness of their dotection. Such ot least were the impressions of May, whose scrutiny instead of lessening had increased the dis'ike'she had concoived towards his person. Resides. sh was not altogether pleased with his manner with herself. It was evident from his remarks that his inquiries concerning her, had been already particular; and he. seemed . to address her with too much of the air of an old acquaintance. In short she felt, she scarce knew, that he had some preconcerted object in iew, some way connected with herself. And she retired to rtst that night with sensations of displeasure and wilh n disquietude of feeling lhat she had never before experienced. While such thoughts and undefined approheusions were agitating the guileless bosom of May, tho disagreeable object of her reflections was occupied in another apartment, to which he had retired for the night, in writing a letter to an associate. Tor the benefit of the reader, wc tako an author's piivclege of looking over his shoulder. , 'Well, Col. here I am snug at Martin's where I remain, at present, gentleman land-looker as I call myself, till I put other business in train. I arrived this afternoon sooner by some days than I expected, having come not slowmost of the way I assure you. Tha honest fact is. I bought a horse at the end of the first days journey, bought. . you will say. Yes of an old white cow I run afoul ot in the stahK , "What mad I

cap!" you will eg'-un exclaim "thus to endanger the success of an honest speculation. T5ti t the fact was Col., I was getting cn tco slow for my disposition, and I could not help it. Uut the animal fell down and died just as I was coi iti into the settlement; and I rolled him oft a ledge itito the brook, w here lie wont er. -

j joy much more society, I am thinking. J but the fishes and fotes till he ii pretty well distributed. So no danger from that I i ill e frolic. Now for the girl the is here, and no common affair neither I as sure vou! Well formt d, handsome and knowing Indeed I fear she knows rather too much atleast, the stfil rending sort '.-f look of hers I plaial) $ee will icquire a pretty thick mask. I3esiJes Martin tell me she is engaged to a young farmer, lately settled here, but who luckily started a journey for two months the uuy I arrived. So you see I have got to push matters rather brukly; and it w ill be a hard case if she doiU find lierftll Mrs. Go-.v before the. fellow returns. Lord! if she but knew her own secret, or mine, I might as well try to catch a lark in the sky by whittling. ''As to the other part of our prOjVctn! scheme, I am suro it will work well. Martin, whom in my rapid way of Join:; things I have sounded in all my shit per. inform me. that it is generally believed here thai precious metals lie hid in these mountains; and I have al ready hinted mv faculties in seeing iu the i n a ii t - j stone the wonders which I hu lares:ill j believed iu among them a:.d iu woihing tho divining rods, lioth of those mar- ' velous implements 1 eIiuII very naturally find iu a day or two, probably; when I shall open the golden prospect? of Martin's greedy eyes; and if it to K 5, es we mny safely swear it will, I shall commence operations immediately. old boy you may come on with your trips as soon ns you recei'thi?; for I shall want you at all events I will look out tha ' old cave you described iu the mountain?. and hive all things in readiness by the time you arrive. Your's in rascality, truly, don. Tho iet day was spent by Martin are his new acquaintance in tho wood, ihn j former acting as guide, ns they ramblol i over the adjriceut trncts of w ild loud, in j furtherance of tho professed object of tho iatier s sojourn in tho vaiioy. i ho i.rt and the next, found them crigngdin ihn samo employment to tho great wonderment of May who knowing from tho course taken by them, and from their returns to their daily meal nt noon, tht thoir excursions were always short ai d in tho samo direction, could not understand the useofeo much exploring for n genernl examination of a few lots of land. She was also led to nolico that a deep intimacy was growing between them, nnd she soon perceived thnt they were engaged in some secret purpose far different from that by which they pretended to bo occupied. Gow affected, iu tho presetn o of the family; a knowing silence cn tho subject of their employment, and frequrntly pretended to check Iiis fiier.das thel nt'or brgm to throw out hints about new hous s improvements r.nd purchases, implying .1 sudden change of circumstances. All this, however, would havo but littlo interested cur heroine, and might have passod unheeded by her, had sho not motives of her own for watching iho conduct of GjW, w ho?e character from thefirst sho had much reason to rcgr.rd with suspicion, and whoe increasing attentions to herself, which ermhi now no longer bo mistnken for ordibiry couitesy, nnd which grew every day moro' and more annoying, furnished her additional reasons for wishing to fathom his dof.. 1 it siirng. J5ut it is time perhaps to nnnrifo the rcador more fully of the project in which Gow had enlisted Martin. At the foot of a lofty mountain in th woods about a mile iiorlhwc.st?r!y of Martin's house, a few day's after Gow'd arrival, theso prsonrgs might he src.i seated on a fallen tree, tho one with hu face protruded into his hat which he held iu his lap, seemingly gating at stmething at the bottom, while tho o:her was attentively listening to the remarks, which now ensued between them will sufficiently explain lhe nature of their employment. "Aro you quito certain Mr. Gow, that you havo nt last found the real genuine sort of stone, w hich you havo this wonderful faculty nf seeing things in?" "O, quite sure. It is tho same thin, oval, yellow speckled kind ol stone I used when I discovered the pot of inrmey on Capo Cod, that they supposed Kidd buried there. How provoking, to get only a hundred dollars for that job, when I might have gone shares with tho man who employed me had I choso it! Hut the fact wa, Martin, I was not at that time entirely certain that I possessed this faculty to to great an extent as I afterwards found." (TO BF. CONTI Nl Tl).) A Baruister Posed. At the Limerick Assizes a witness of the 'lower chases' was cross-examined by Mr. Ienrelt, lhe Uueen's counsel, when lhe following Ui alogi'?. took place: Counsel 'Why do you hesitate ioanswor me? Vou look at me as if 1 were a rogue.' Witness 'To be sure I do. Upon your oath you think me a rogueV Upon my cath I don't think you an honest man.' Continued laughter. You swear to that upon your oalh?' I do, to be sure; and what else could I think?' Now why do you think so?4 Why, because you ate doing your best to make me perjure myself.' The Danville. Advettifcr, speaking of ion) i Imp who got mutually drunk recently, quaint lv 'ny, ' be tok too much plath.rnv."