Activate Javascript or update your browser for the full Digital Library experience.
Previous Page
–
Next Page
OCR
“Don't attempt to reason with me, sir!” exclaimed
thesire. “And hark ye, Young man, in after years,
when your protlizgacy shall have involved you in diffi-
eulty aad disgrace, tell1t not that I caused your ruin;
recollect, sir, that I have taken with you all the pains ¢
father coull bestow upon the most obedient child; and
what has been the result—how have you repaid me?”
. “But, father, let me explain——” .
. ' “Don't father ma, sir,’ interrupted the parent,
‘ “you are noson of mine—no son of mine; from hence-
forth I disclaim you--I disown you—I denounce you;
there runs not a drop of my blood in your veins—not a
drop, not one lrop;”” and as he concluded, he sprang
from hischair 1nd commenced pacing the apartment
muttering in204:rent iuvectives at every stri
$ rne the an, tem-
pest of his father’s wrath with composure and meek-
ness; but when the sire, inflamed by passion, rejected
and denied him, his face turned as pale as death, and
ha trembled in every lim» from excessive agitation, his
features twitchéd convulsively, and the big tears
started in his beautiful blue eyes; but with one power-
ful struzgle he mastered his feelings, and though his
countena ice Settled in repose, it wasa dreadfu stil-
that chased away the color from his cheek until
long after that piinful interview.
* The distress of the son was unperceived at first by tho
father, who still continued pacing the apirtment, ant
whose spleen hai by this time well nigh vented itself;
and when he raised his eyes and discovered the emo-
tion which his harsh woi ad aroused in the breast of
his child, hb stopped suddenly, and his features waxed
into a milder but still repulsiveexpression. Whether it
was that ho was softened by an appearance of what ha
thought p2nitence, an appearance which his wayward
boy had never evinzed on any former occasion of the
kind, or whether it was that his heart rebuked him for
. his unnece3siry and unfeelinz violencs, is an enigna
that none but he cold have solved; but certain it was,
that ons or th other ass2rtei a powerful and immedi-
appareat mildaoess.
“How, sir! did [not understand you to say that you
uld clear up the mutter in a satisfactory manner?”
**T could have don3 8», had you permitted me wheal
first proposed it; it would be supererogatory to attempt
it now.* ’
“Why so, sir?” demanded the father, sharply; “if it
was then in your power, is it not equally so now?”
“Ibis, sir,” repiiel the son. .
“Then why not mike the explanation?”
“It is too late now, sir,”
“Do you not draid my anger, young man?”
“Very mach, when it is justly conceived,” replied
Harry.
“Convince m3 then that I have been mistaken.”
“It muttars aot now, sir, I have been reba'xsad fi
the offznz2—it would bs uanecassary at this tim.”
**And you will not undeceive me? ,
“* No, sir.”’
The father hasitated a moment, as if in doubt as to
the prop2r course to be pursuad. At first, ha was dis-
ose 1 to becom again enraged; but whi m
ealm, bold, bias eye of his high-spirited son, he becama
at once convince that such a measure could be pro-
ductive of no good consequence,
“Stubborn boy!” said he, at length, biting his lips
with vexation. which ha in vain endeavored to conce il;
“explain but that matter, and I tender you my sincere
forziveness.”’
. “Forgivensss!” exclaimed the youth, with a cold,
ghastly simile upon his lips; ‘forgiveness, and for what,
sir?” .
The father could not at that moment have replied to
that calm, though withering interrogatory, had his life
se; he was confoun.le
it—twice he strove, but
the words froz3 upoa his lips, and the proud,
haughty. the imperio ts, the iron-hearted parent was
hunled by his own injured son.
Harry saw the anzuish of his sire; he felt his own
triumph too; and, though ft was a proud moment for
him, 43 was too generous to take advantarze of his
mustery. He could not injure the feelings of a father,
thouzh that father had never spared his; he was
touche, and in inercy he resu:n21. -
“After the acknowledgments you have to-day made,
Ican nd longer remiin an inmate of your house, The
obligations fam under to you are inGnite, aad shall
never be forzotcen, though they can never be repaid
Tan not wantirg ia grstitals, sir, though I may hiva
been in rectitule; and that my unfortunate, though
involuntary errors, miy not in future disturb your
equanim:ty, I sal p2rpetrate them fn another sphere,
‘ It ha3 b224 my misfortune to offend you, sir, never my
fault; Ienlsivorel to please you. I would have ulti-
suzeceel; the events of to-day, however, render it un-
nezessiry for me to persist in trying to gratify you. I
can have no further claims upon your affection; every
tie but the simple feeling that binds one man toanother,
"you have dissolved between us, Farewell, sir!’’ and as
e conslui2d he suidenly withdrew from the apart-
nient, lewving his father motionless with amazement.
“ Goms back, my Horry, com> back!" exclaimed the
miserable pirent, when surprise at kength permitted
him to sp21k; but no reply broke the dead silence that
succeeded, Where were now the violent passions of
that proui min? he turned pale, trembled, and 4 tear
moistened his eye: he tottered to the window, rais
ash. 2
of his offended boy, as he descended a knoll on his way
to the city.
Thouzh Harry Sutherland was but a youth in years
and exp srienze, ha w13 a man in feeling and character;
his qualities had all been fully developed, and though
aze mizht, perhaps, confirm them, it could not change
ay character in any piher manner. enlke all
ergons who have a restraint imposed upon them, he
vas mil 4 irregular when freed from the immediate
influences of that thraldom, and had of late indulged
ol
of which gave rise to the scene we have just detailed,
and one, too, of which Harry was entirely innocent.
THE SEA-KING.
Hi .
But these erratic practices were more the momentary
caprice of a sanguine and happy temperament than
the exercise of vitiated and corrupt impulses; and had
he been left unchecked in his mad career, he would
on have hecome tired and satiated with it, and would
in all probability have returned with increased avidity
a@ more exemplary course of life. He had indulged
too freely not to have had an eventual surfeit, which
moust have eff i ii
| revolution. His feelings were ardent, and their im-
pulses consequently quick and powerful; and persons
of this temperament require something more than the
. n rtained by the insipid
|enjoyments that gratified the multitude; his taste
was of a higher and more fastidious cast, and pursuits
or pleasures that were common to all, ceased to be
pleasing to him, In fact, there were so many contra-
dictions in the character of Harry Sutherland, that it
required a long acquaintance and some penetration to
understand him, ‘though often restless in habits
ant isposition, there were times’ when he was
settled, thoughtful, and studious;
| saw o i
the subject was not thrown
part of it was thoroughly aud perfectly understood. It
would naturally be supposed that a youth of irregular
inclinations would be habitually social and cominunica-
tive, but with him it was very reverse; he
avoided companionship with all, indulged in long and
solitary rambles, and was remarkable for taciturnity ;
or was he,as would naturally be inferred from these
cir¢umstances, selfish, vain, or cold-hearted, for there
never existed a more generou;, disinterested, or affe
tionate being, when events transpired to call those vir-
tues into action. If ha associated with none, it was not
that he was wanting ia those feelings of social partial-
ity that endear men to each other, but because he en-
| countered none whose disposition and pursuits harmo-
| nized with his own; if he conversed but little, it was not
| ro: i communion, but rather from a
reference to intercourse with his own thoughts, and if
until every
ese may ba called nice distinctions; but 2
| knows aught of human nature willsay they do not exist?
| In short, sam up this character, h3 was an anomaly
whom non3 understood, and whom none could, at first,
| Pro erly ap reciate,
Thouth Marry Satherland delivered his valedictory
speech with an appearance of cilmnoss, it was an as-
sump‘ion of feeling that ho was far fro:n experiencinz,
Eve then the volcano wag ragiag within, and, in avery
few moments after ho hal quiited the presence of h’3
! father, it burst forth wich additional fury, in conse-
qu32nca of being for a tims restraincd. «
Bat that overwhel:niaz storm of passion, though
{
heart-rending aad violent while it continued, was of
short duration; like the whirlwind, it rose loud, violent,
and prostratinz, but, like the whirlwind, it lasted but a
few brief instan‘s, aa 1 then subsided in calm,
Sad, silent, and sorrowful, he pursucd his way, nor
tirnel h3 ones to 7123 updo 1 his paternal walls until ha
i Schuylxiil;
then, indeel, he paused anl looked back, lonz anl
| wistfully, aad whea hoe again turned to resume his u.-
‘certain course, ha sighed; for, though his home had
been no ho:na to him, he left it wit @ such fecl-
ings, thouzh with far different inclinations, than our
first forefather experienced when ejected from the
bowers of Elen.
Ah! to how miny pleasing reflections does that ona
‘word, Home, give existence! Thouzh it ma;
humble—thouzh grand—it is still connected with th3
; Sweetest associations of our life. It is, indeed, one of
the few things that, amidst the revolutions of life, w3
, still remem er with joy, and one of the onl; x
| whose memory becomes more and more endeared to u3
as tima mereases the separation between it and our-
selves. Tho valley we first roamed in—the tree that
first shad-d us—ths brook we first loved, and tha lanJ-
scape that first greeted u3, all make their impres3
upon us, before our affections become contaminatet
by selfish intercourse with the world, in colors too
bright and pleasing to be ever afterwards eraseil.
Often, often, oh, how often, we pause in the highway
of life, and look back to that blessed place, where we
were innocent, young, and happy! It is the earliest
aff2ction to be received, tho Ary, last to leave us; man.
thouzh he ba atraitor to all the rest, is still faithful
there; aniwhes he has actel his part in the game of
life, though he may hive been successful beyond an-
ticipation, fortunate beyond desire—though he may
: have won the admiration of the world, the applause of
himself, the smiles of beauty—still looks ack, anc
fin 13 no place so like a paradise as his first home, and
no moments so productive of happiness as those he
sp2nt within its sacred walls.
And Harry Sutherland was about to leave that home
forever, to renounce those sweets that flowed Lethe-
like, obliviating its hitterness; to alienate himself from
‘ endearments that he would never find on earth again;
and to shiver asunder one of the most sacred obliga-
tions of the human race—the sympathy between the
father and the child. From all these he was rushing to
| commence: new and a doubtful career, to embark his
| hopes upon that wild sea where man knows nor feels
|
o
no mutual sensibility with his, fellow-man: where all is
uncertainty — where all is selfishness—where all is
leceit. :
But though that strange youth sallied forth alone, he
went not una: } he was determined, persevering,
{and ambitious; and these are qualities that befriend
us to the last, and that often prove far more successful
than personal influence, for the latter hut points out
the road to fame, while the former, like a faithful
guide, accompanies you on to the very goal. He was
proud. too, not of anything he posse: in himself
over the rest of mankind, but proud of their opinions—
Proud that his impulses were all honorable—proud
iv is own resources, and this in
itself inspired him with feelings he h en a stranger
to before. He was gratified that it was e0; he was con-
scious that his abilities were more than adequate to the
task; the broad world was all before him, and he at
liberty to choose his own way through it--to fashion
out his own destiny—to emblazon his own name with
decorations of honor; he was confident in his energies,
and that confidence is the pilot that often guides us
half way into the sea of good fortune. It waslong after
sunset; the pale crescent, and her beautiful attendant,
were bright in the west; but Harry Sutherland stilF
threaded the streets of the city, but it was with the-
manner of one who walks that he may the better com-
mune with his own fancies; he was alone in that crowd.
—solitary amidst a multitude. .
As _ he pursued his course, building fancies of ho}
for the future, a sudden brightness illuminated the
sky in a distant quarter of the city, and then fi llowed.
the startling cry of “Fire!” faint and far off at first,
but gradually swelling and disseminating until the-
alarm had p_netrated the most distant streets and
avenues of the town; presently the wild, solemn peais
of one large bell roused the citizens from their slum-
bers, and warned them that the fierce element was at.
its work of ravage; then the pouderous engines were-
heard rattling over the hard pavements, while those-
who lent their energies to the task of dragging them.
encouraged each other in Jong, loud, and reiterated.
shouts; instantly the streets, before deserted, became
thronged with people, torches flashed in every direc-
tion, and wild excitement prevailed where lassitude-
slept but a few minutes previous. .
Meanwhile the atmosphere, from a deep lurid, be-
came brightly red, and as the conflagration increas
huge misshapen masses of black smoke piled itself up~
wards, studded with sparks that shone like so many~
glittering stars through a storm-cloud; domes,
steeples, and chimney-tops glowed in light, and terror
en seemed to lend some beauty to that wild, that-
haggard scene. The fire first broke forth in the lower
apartments of a dwelling-house, and spread in a very
brief space with such fearful rapidity that the inmates.
1ad scarcely time to save themselves from destruc
tion, The devouring element had raged for some time
undiscovered, and when it at last burst from the lower-
windows of the house, it had taken so great a hold
within that all efforts to preserve the moveables were.
regarded as ineffective. .
‘ ile the multitude were yet preparing to extinguish
the conflag.etion, their attention was Suddenly and
te a shrick, so wild, so powerful,
and so expressive >f excruciating agony, that all voices.
rations suspen
ocean when chafed by the rude blast of the China seas;
again that freezing exclamation rose upoa the startled.
air, and a female voice shricked out,. in accents that
when once heard haunt us ever after, ‘Save, oh, save
my child! save her for the love of God! quick, quick,
or she will erish !"”
An awful pause succeeded this passionate i 7
tion, but it lasted only until men woud collect their
now filled with smoke and flame, and the latter was ob-
served mounting upward and spreading in every direc-
tion, so that in an incredible space from the breaking
out it had extended to every part of tho house, and th>
whole interior, from the roof t> the base, was glowi:¢
like an over-heated oven, the element roaring the
while with a noise that not even the confused hum of
the multitude could drown. T2 ascend to the roo:n.
which the distracted mother poiate lout as tha sles
ing apartment of her child by the stairways was an
utter impossibility, as they wero completely enveloped
in flame. None had the harcihoed t> attempt it; but
when ladders wera broug! aced against the
walls, more than twenty intrepid firemen sprang for-
ward to the rescue of the usfortunate little girl: but
when they had gained ths windows, they found it im-
possible to enter, as the smoke was shing in clouds
so thi¢k, so black, and so suffocating, that they deemed.
it as impossible to exist one momert within the ap.
of determination that seemed to inspire the ec:
new hope, for all eyes were turne: nord rate
shout of encouragement rose simu! taneously around;
in a moment he gained the window,
‘ smoke that
inhaling a mouthful
yet it seem
pain. the suspense, the hopes,
crowded in that brief moment.
clamation of disappointment ran throuch ‘the trowas
the same age and size. sprang upon a
and commenced ascending to the wintow. The wer.
ger was Harry Sutherland; he had just arrived at the
had proved impossible, and that rea
tranght with danger. “ Will you reseus me eetare
he mother: and observing that Harry hesi
she hounded wildly forward, an Seized the wannhy
ied away, another youth, of nearly,
re
i