Weekly Messenger, Volume 1, Number 37, Vevay, Switzerland County, 29 May 1832 — Page 4
Hp-
II wh lit tbe fumfi-pr of the year IS
J.at :i Miarger took lodging? in one of b .ii'jl villages of Rhode Island. He was,
pnrenlh, between thirty and forty years of
ni"; ol a very reserve.! ami taciturn disunsition; his face was handsome, but it bore the impress of deep and habitual dejection. He &cn; l sit for hours on the little, portico in front of the house, buried in pio found melan choly, and the only thing that seemed to !v him any pleasure, was the society of the children ef his landlady, whose prattle would often amuse him, and cause a smile to gild
his chcok, like tho passage of a meteor over
.i dark fid -trmy sky. Manners so smgu k .a. - ... '
iar count ! out excite some ailt nlion in n
country village, a id the report of the gossip
m) K.i.f taVen off m sor. as 1 reached that otr man lugs, tr.y Caroline waa eJit ti ruh J.i.'.e'i.g. V? Lilt ,1 1 -.1 c. it city tie tcei reiiod. 1 left college, for 1 h id no heart to a severe cold- which tctie.inaU-ti in a decline, stood mr.foun.icc -r.und ti-e -Jt r;?: body, e iV
5 ? pnrue mv studies, and I -h;iul,i very likely, a;.d she died within two months. How I sup- otssnflr-r , ho had been employed by the bile jau- have died of the (car of death, had I not fall- ported this event, I kow not. There arc Chancellor, a person remarkable to son.c mgree
n in love. This, by giving new bent to. some strokes of misfortune so everwhe Iming. of oddity fir his h.-ibtts of close and cm ions tn-
my mind. saved me for the present. It t Jthnt the mind Is paralyzed. Mine was oflvesligation , ent cut of the ln.ue, ami Ucwj
aiJ thai 'the course of true love never did (his kind I shed not a tear; the common
nn smooth.1 and mine was not doomed to and ordinary effects of grief were not obser
ved in me, and it was remarked with what
.ad III
aire Shnkesprare the lie.
Caroline Rivers was the daughter of a resignation I hore the calamity. 'Bat 1
poor clergyman , and, as I was the heir ofjthat within which passelh show.' How
all mv father's wealth and grandeur, he tho1!
she was by no means a fit mrttch for me, and forbade me to think of her. I, like most du fiful sons, would have gone and done even as he commanded mc not to do, hut Caroline was too proud to enter any family by stealth he told me I must be content wuh her
? rromise to marrv whenever mv father con-
soon reached the ear of the clergyman of the rented ; nor could all a lover's eloquence, po-
place. Mr. Wilson was a very worthy man, and it wa his pleasure as well as duty foof fer consolation to the afflicted, and he accordingly went to visit Mr. Laughlon, for so the etraujrer railed himself. He was received with cool politeness, and after trying in vain to enter into conversation with the stranger, he went away. He however, repeated hi visit, and, by degrees, Mr.
Haugntou seemed to take pleasure in his society , and once or twice appeared on the point of making ?.ime disclosure. At this time, Mr. Wilson wao obliged to leave the place for a few days, and when he retain-", his new acquaintance was no more. He was told that after his departure, ih'stranger h d relapsed into a state of despondence more dep than ever, and, on the ftcond eveniog, put an end to his existence by shooting himself with a pistol. O.i his tablo was found a letter to his land lord, enclosing money for his debts and funeral expenses, and another addressed to the Rev. Mr. WiUmi. It was as follows! "When this meets jour eye, the hand that
penned it will be cold and powerless, and the mini that dictated it will have passed the
dread barrier which separates the spiritual from the material world. This step is not a hasty one; I have long meditated it, for I have nothing io live for, and death appears to he my best resting place after a weary life . "My little properly, (papers relative to tvbich you will find in my trunk,) 1 leave to fou, thinking ihat you will do more good with ii man any one else. You will find i rny trunk a memoir of my life: after peru
sing whscii, I hope you will think me rather
an object ol pity than abhoreucev On examination of the papers of this onhappy m ti., it wag found that he di-d pos
sessed oi property to the amount of several thousand dollars which, of course, devolved to .Mr. VfiUon, who, by his benevolent use of it, amly fulfilled the cxpee tations of the
donor. L'ho memoir was transcribed by Mr. Wiiso.j; at his death it devolved to the present edit r. S TOllY OF THE STRANGER.
I am the youngest of four sons of an opuot planter in Virginia: I wag s very weak,
! nt as it is said to be, induce her to alter
her determination. I had never, entirely , got rid of my superstitious notions, and I determined to consult an Id Woman, who lived in the neighborhood, and paed for a fortune-teller. Such are the strange, inconsistencies of human nature; upon every otuer point my mind was strong enough, but to superstition it was open.
The old hag informed ine that I was infal
libly doomed to die as my brothers had done,
except I would implicitily f llow hei dvic .
she had a secret which would savt- nte, fou' would not impart it unless 1 would piomi-e to be guided by her, and also, m-tvr to r; veal it. I promised and she then told n. that some families were visited by a kind i demon, who took up his abode in the hor
of a deceased member of it, and preyed upon
the lives ot the rest that the onlv remedy
was to open the body, take out the heart.
burn H t ashes, whih were to be swallow ed by the victim, who yvould then ht rehi-v
ed from furlht r m -letatin. ret.
I was struck nitti horror at ine idea, and
aeclared that I had rather die in sut mit to
urn a ceremony, but the ner-u?ics' oi t!e
old woman, ubo hade wie n nu mber m. pro
mise and the hopes that she held --ut, re; gthen'd by instaare within her knowle-'gc ol
trt experiment hatn.e been made with suc
cess, induced i.e to waver in my re-olntion.
1 resected upon tny l nation; lib nnsi.ew and hope was young; my prospects in life were fair and glorious; heir to a great ttate, epuleuce seemed to court me, engaged to a heautiffll and lovely gii I, happiness seemed to await nie;m,d from these bright vis
ions I was to ke shut out bv th wilh- rin it
hand of death! And whm n waj of escape is opett to me shall I not embrace it, howev
er terrible? surely it is not vUeiriMe as the Mu rr alive had almost mode u m mind to peifoun i but a visit to Caroht.e .tetprmined me. 'Were it leu times as unnatural.'
said I io myself, as I left her, 'I would do it,
rather tha be separated Imm you!' i, .te
lle they knew me! a kind of tullen de.-ui
took possession ot me; I looked upon th event as an act of retribution for rny sacnligious violation of ths dead, and my iu:piou-
attempt to oppose my destiny. I even wish
ed for more calamity; in my despaii I cried.
pour on, I will endure!'
" After some time, I recovered from these
feelings, and thought I had better die. I, therefore, made over my property to my i tla-
latioi.s, ai.d embarked for bouth America,
whore 1 entered the Patriot service in hop s
that I should rhere firid the remedy for a wounded spirit. For 6ome veais ( snueht
death in the field of battle, but he is ept U
fly trom the wretcded. I determined to re
turn to mi native country, there to lay tm bones. I did so, and attracted by the leuty of the situation, 1 6xed my abode in ihi village.
About a week ago, as I was sitting in m
chaudier in the avenu e, oreieedtd bv a
train ot suit ntuiif Caiolie stood before
oie; 6r,e was dressed us a bride, and, with a i n k of inelfable fweetness, bt koned itr- to f.dlew her. I rushed forward t clasp her
i my aruti, when, immediatel), her ioim t'adr d away into the moonbeams which eii-
' red my chambei. twice has the vision
keen repeated, and 1 hnsttn to follow the
blest spirit into that world 'where the wick
d cease from Uoublii g and weary are at
C
THE MORSK AND VIPER.
Before the Royal Institute ol Fratce in iS30, it appears that the great viper called
Fer de lance, is one of the mint dreadfui
scourges ff trip West Indies, but i found only
io Maiiu.iqu", 3 . L'u ie and another snail islat.d. The viper is so savage, that the moment it sees any person, it in. mediately erects itself and sprit gg upon him. In raising itself, it resis upon four t qaal cin les, formed by the lower part of the study ; wkeH it springs, the s curies are suddenly dissolved . Alter the. spring, if it shoald miss its object.
it may be attacked with advantage, but thic
requires considerable courage; for as soon as it er-ots itself again, the assailant runs the
grtater i-k of being bitten. OHeu too, i it so bolii s to follow its en my by le.ips ami bourds, instead of il; eii g firm him, and it docs not ceusa the pursuit till its revenge is glutttd. In its erect piu.n i' is o much the more formidable, tieiause it is as Mgh at a man, and can even bite a man on horsekark. Mr. Morrrau de Jounes was once ridmr
ed to accompany me, but I preferred goiogithr- ugh a wood, when hia hore reared; and
rnui-ell in the line of directum that the shot
nust have taken to ibespot yyhere they lodged,
endeavored to ascertain tu rn that circumstance
lie cx.tct poiti(,n oflhe j ei-on w ho discharged ibe gtin While thus occupied, his eye ya
rmight ly a very small piece of paper on tbo
ground betyvixl himself and the window v. hch ajtpeared on t iktng il up, to b.nt teen part ef the wadding, ami hd on it v. h tt scen.td 'o I?; two of the three strokes c'frpni;g t t.e :;i One oflhe rrowo eicl.iiroed at ih;s Uion.ent, ' I wonder ht-re Shannon is; ha any oiie seen Shannon?1 Shm.tion was the son in lav of ibe deceased and tesided on the opposite shore of the James river; and it was soon ascertained that he had l etn seen in vYilliitrjisttwg that day,
with a gun on hi. shoulder. 'I be gtm, however, had no enck ujon it. ai d a t lackiuiith t
whom he had gri e to hnve it lepMiied. stated that Shannon a left his workshop nh it in tbi conditio! . I he nian w as Lursued, never-
ibcless over the river, and to his own house, towhich he was fosnd r ot to have returned; acd was Iraceii at length to tavern , some thirty milea
off, and caught in bed with all his clothes on sound asleep fie wan seised as he luv , and cn
being searched srO'C duck shot yyas found about biai, and a letter wrih part of it torn off When thi letter was afierwards compuired yvitb the fragment of the wadding, the two yyeie fonrd to fit, and the letter tn, before mentioned
to form part oflhe word my in the letter On these circumstances strengthened bj ihe fact
that the death of bis father in law would hav! put Slannon in possession of hi wife's fortune, be was bro'l to trial. A single jury man stood out1 as the phrase is, for ten days, and the defendant yvas discharged in coeseaenre of this disagreement among his triers. Ifo other circumstances evor threw light on this trausactioa.
rordingly, went to the olo ..ma , and told
her my resolution to utidctttk. it. 8he wish
lent
sickly rhtld, and il was not expected that
should aivivH to manhood. Vfy father had a maidoii siller, one of the kindest nd best iieartd bei'igs th?.t vcr existed. She was stay ing at our house, and, pity ing me, poor
iuue wren n as i was, begged to have the rearing of me. It was granted readily eijigh,a I was likely to prove, a groat source of trouble, and she took me home with her. Sh? cursed me with all a mother's care, a..d ttus rew Hided by seeing me gradually sur-
njounl m infirnsaties, and become a strong, be-lthy child. She never would allow me
to go to school, hot taught me herself, 'An education of this kind is a great die
navai r;(ge io a hoy : ny not mixing with hi
fellow : m the little world oi a public school, he is apt to be timid, and dependant on those
about lnm; and when he really enters the yvorld, he knons not how to s!ift for himwlf
By the lime I was twelve years old. mv hear'
was full of supersiition and romance, for I had read rvry novel and tale of horror that
the cm ulating libmry could afTird, while . Pl'f I t l.-iltl Ili-tinr-K .if lp .. I 1 I
iuU'd!y li'iorii.t.
At t:;i- "i.n. , luckily for me, my father lo.,!
T.e Io. i my iiir l and sent nu? to a ntitlir
School. tli i e 1
aione. one men gave me my instructions.
and I set out on my unhalwd cxiieditioi in
when the rider looked aroutd to disiover the
r ause of the animal's terror, he pirceived a
Ihe grave yaid was in a very retired -tin- Fer de lance viper, standing quite erect in a
atton, about a quarter of a mile fr- m ihelhi'sh f bam'roo; and heard it hiss several
highroad, from whuh it was separated by a.'imes. He would have filed at it with his wood, through which a narrow path woiii.d'pistcl; hut ihe aftlighted horse drew bark
to the place. II was in the month of ffuvrm
bet, a dark gloomv day, the wind l.owltd
leartuil) tl.rotigH the trees, and seemed to
Quack$ry Two men died recently t y tkin an oter dots of the essence of niiitergreeo in a gist of race beer at the nhop of n Indian root doctor in th Sixth avenue : ue died in ten hours and the other in foartren k: vr li is said young mm has died sid i in the turns way. Two PiRiilios, coBtisting of twolvo or 14 peisss are thus deprived of tbttr principal meant oftupport by, to say the lit. gieat car lesr.es. Half an ooc or an ounct of tkis essence was takon by Oich of tbese prisons.
Daily Sintm$l.
The dtvU tmd Dr. mvi The story of tht
devil oud Dr Fot or igrimtod frnsa the folon
lag eircanstanco. Fostus hid printed a t oautifoedition of tbt libit whick wa eitot imitalioB of the best B&aatMri iptt. He toak a namber sad weat to Pans, hers be at hist sold them for six and then for kvo bandied crowns each At last he lowered his price to thirty crowns ench, and all Pan was perplexetl nt the number of copies produced, and their eia ! eoi fornity. They accordingly behoved ihat Fanst had mado a league witk Ike devil, and he wet accused ot being a magician. The following is genuine no fabrication. At a crowded lecture, the other evening-, a
i . r tiA ilat ,
annut tor someooay to noia mm. tie now eshitd at some distance a negro upon the
me like the voices of spirits forbidding me lojground wallowing in his blood, and coltir g proceed. When I arriyd at the tomb, he-'with a blunt krite, the flesh from the wound ing (urnisUed yviih iir.pieiro-oU, I forced the 'occasioned by the bite of the same viper.
ock and entered. I was sarprised to find ooi When the author at quainted him w ith his
unpleasant smell in the vau't, but, or opeti ; intention of killing the serpent, he eat Replying te coffin, I found thf od of my hro ! opposed it , as he w ished to take it alive and
ther, notwithstanding :i,e tim. he foid been'make use of it for his care, according to the
so ungovernably, that he was obliged to look Jonnf ,hH lBdinf at the door of the ci.tirck
wa aanresea nv an nonett ninerman wnv
dead, still as fresh as whci. hi t inhemed; the face had a sort of o o( about it: the eye
were open, and, I lhoug t, glan d intelligence upon roe! I summoiud my resolution, I be
gan to make an incision, when (at this di tan oeriod I can scaicli h,r t
lilt! dead man raised himself up, threw out .n aims, and ottered such a yell as human being could not stand a repetition of. i was enough for me; I had just str riith to et out ol the tomb, when m s.m.sos forsook ine and I did no1 recover my conseiousi.efor several months. I af'arwards learned that came homo quite delirious from which
situation it was llioai'ht I sbonlrt nt-or r,..,.
H it I was miserable er.o'iS i.ilf.r Th.. ...! i. . . ,
-w .. iv.rii.1. . unrtrr. inar I iii.iirun.
tiKi; Ir.at .r ing n,i hj t of the first tonse escaped the family disease, which I so much
!.....,. I 1... . .... . 1
"""i "i-l.iiiio a m'jre crrru-r.
c SCt i when my school lei lows thought it WOlth hiU to toimetit Miss Fanrir. :t t).
a time, got
I wa.
service to me. and
he coutinual attrition u ronohcr soirits .ia-
u,.i.j v r.n.jjj.u i.iv oncrgics. Ti'a; passed on; I left school ami entered
college. In this peii.jd I lo t mv mother and
eld. si brother; they both died of ennsump ?:on, which was an heie.iitary disease in ou J : I a s .
tannic, i naa paed one year in college.
when M.e ame disorder carried oil my so;o!id hrolh. , and, on Ihe next year, my only
f..-.:n m.io 3 one, on attaining the same are. -I'll '
lit a
caueu ne. Maw. ver, alter
over w.i, ihe rouh uage to winch
r-Xpoe.. was o mhiijto
' I low thought that I could nnmber my d ) . pieUx c -iic- lie. I was now nineteen:
fri) hiv .'hers h:u all died in their twenty-sc'-
dreaded, and have enjoyed perfect bodily
lealth ever since. Whether, as tfleu be
lieved, the fiend was pat to flight bv mv at
tack, or yvhether my delirom effected a
change in rny situation, I kow not, but the
I. u l is certain.
A shoit time iifter my recovery mv father died, and as I w as thus rendered opulent, and
all obsiaoles to my irviniage were removed
I should have been completely happy, had
?iot trie reoollectmn of rny lerrihle adventur
in the tomb sometimes obtruded itself upon
me.
But soon an event happened, the dreadful
reality of which drove all the past from my mind, ami hi the fa Jure a blank. About a
fRoiith before the time which was fixed foi U rhtT this as tl.r ' feet lif 8 highly exc U:d
n:e ot nui.u, I fnow iio'j drton it ia, that, true or
sui ' i slitious notion- ot tne ucgroes. He soon rose, tut some -carss, made a
sare o iih them, and then concealing himself
behit-d a bosh, near the viper, he attracted his attention, thiowing a noose ovei the art
imaf. drew it tight and secured his enemy.
Mr, Mo'iHii saw this negro twelve months
uttr 'rd, but he had nol perfectly recover
ed the ii-' of his limbs bitten bv the viper.
The negio'S persecute these vipers with the
greatest aciimony. V hen they have killer!
oie, tliey cut c.H his head, and hnrr it dee'
n. the earlh, th.it no mischief may bt done
l'h their fang, which are dangerous after
ti e do-alb of (t e animal. Men and beasts hu. this formidable reptile; the birds mani
fest the s;tno' antipathy for that, as they do
for owls in curopo, and a sm tll one of tht
HI
was in attendance on the occasion nub lnttad&
Jt Mist I should be glad to give you a tato, but
the empty ones are all full.
A good pun. A witty gentleman in the
citv observing a citizen who had lost an arm
pa-ing, said he piesumed he might be call
ed Man off hand man."
The landlady's conundrum is hardly better: Why is a buckwheat cake like the cat terpillar! Do ye give it op? Because itmakes the butter Jly. Scrupulous Conscience.'-' & gentleman in in the town i f Richmond Indiana, has pat f-rlh the folh -wieg advertisement. Ihe Comet!.'A the great cosset is approaching the earth, and the result of which warns til to settle iheir accounts, it is hop d those indebted to lht undtrsigncd will settle immediately what they owe me, that 1 may be prepared to settle mine yvith my creditors. There is no fun in this, mind I tell you!! Andrpw Hindmau.
Things JuvnJe'! in Reason The idea of supe-
loiia kind, even gives yvarning Sy its cry thatjii. rity fell by a man i a big steamboat over
:t viper is at hand. another in a life steamboat.
I he tlit-hke a person experiences ueainst a
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE. In ihe biographical sketch of !!r. Wirt pre
fixed t" Ilaiper's E lit ion of the Letter cl the! British Spy,' is related ihe following case of circum-tMi.tial evidence: ' .ut alter hi Mr tVirt resigning the chancellorship, he tvfs einpl iy ed, together with Mr. Tazewell and Mr. Semple. afterwaidi Judge Setnple in the defence of'u nian nppie
bended and tried on pome yoints of circarn-tan liat evi(let!'".e so rnnous that tve are temjited to rei tle them. A i-erson n.imed St. Groitzo. ho
resided nertr Williamsburg, was shot dead orle: night through the win.lmv of his own house.
No ti.ore apjieared oflhe assassin, nor any nr
slr.mger tho wears bis hat rather to lease hiaself than any body rise. The contempt th;it a man who i going tbe whole ronte in a ttage lee's for one who gets ia to t irV only a fetv milts The piide of a geidleman in the Lues a the 'beatre over one in the pit. Our neighbor Exfei liuorit ,' tells a good story nbiut cnl hiag hinls with a hook and line.
I Ley catch alligator in the sua wr tiboui ibe gteat river Oroncko A bok und liuf.racdi U'hv omc oflhe little in pities'" in lc Kiver tiiake no bones c jui,.iug u'mio tr.e bank-, 'i'-j)
Ctnd fciti thsrs tvas crcry frcbabilily "tf h bhd upon M e tffccl of UwpCMl t0"
enm-tances that could indicate hir enemy ; cr.ly ligtoiii Mid ridn.g them up uti 'i down l! r rr.f c
tome duck eoot appeard iu the wall tear the with ratlwr..i!u!. !ji