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hearted wife had suddenly grown young and beau-
tiful, while Edgar had lost his restless, care-worn
look, Nor did they forget their, poor neighbors
below stairs, for Mary shared her bounties with
; them, and Jittle huagry children laughed over full
{© plates that day if they went without a week after.
Christmas day is coming again, and it will find
{ary Clarke in a neat home—Edgar a fine, man-
ly, well-dressed boy, and Tom Clarke a sober, in-
lustrious man. et us
ry
blessed a season as Mary Clarke’s Christmas day.
. A. D.
oy watse -
For the Companton.
“A NIGHT IN A’ VAULT. ~~~
i At was in the dusk of a winter's day that Sam
F Studley,.a.detective in Australia, made his way
: cautiously to an old, yellow, two-story house in
; _ the suburbs of an Australian mining town, in pur-
suit of a nest of burglars,’ )0) 5 ft 30 yp ene
_ He had been active all day, and by means of
‘artful disguises in ‘two or three sorts of dress
had tracked a gang of thieves—desperate fellows
—and' mingled freely with them, and had found
reason to suspect that the old yellow house above
mentioned was used as their headquarters. :
* All the shutters were closed as he approached,
for the honse had the name of being uninhabit-
ed,’ and no ‘marks were visible about it save
the tracks of horned cattle, goats and ducks,
Sam had visited the house by daylight, however,
; and discovered traces of human fect ‘near one of
| the back windows. - There was little reason, he
a
supposed, to expect the burglars till toward mid-
night, when they would probably come together
to divide whatever plunder they might have re-
ceived, and he had come to watch their motions
and get evidence against them. He was to give
a signal to five assistants, who were to be at the
house at a quarter before twelve.’ | 1") -" 8
: After trying cautiously to effect an entrance for
some minutes without success, he managed to
raise one of the windows little and squeeze him-
self into his perilous hiding-place. He had barely
time to get upon his feet and look about him when
he canght a glimpse of 2 man a few feet from him,
and the next instant he was felled heavily to the
(floor, stunned by a blow from a thick stick.
“\_ | When Studley came to his senses he found him-
self in a dark place, having a damp, mouldy smell,
and covered at the bottom with water and stones.
Ifis first thought was that he had been thrown into
an old well, but on exploring the sides, and finding
how large the cavity was, and stumbling in’ his
search over bits of iron and wood, he concluded
that he was in some vault under the house, and
without doubt fastened there to be starved .to
death, i .
THE YOUTHS
skeleton. ‘The design of thrusting him into the
cellar was now certain. , The cold sweat stood on
him, and his head, which had pained him severely
since the first return of consciousness, in conse-
quence of the burglar’s blow, now seemed ready
to burst. - But the love of life was strong, and
forced him to struggle for deliverance, even in the
utmost faintness of his desolation.
He began to pile up the rubbish that lay scat-
tered about, and after much exertion made a heap
which enabled him when standing on it to reach
the’ planks of the door with his hands. Ile felt
the door and ascertained its size, and speculated
on the strength of its fastenings. It was neces-
sary to raise’ his pile higher, and he’ wrenched
stones from the wall of the cellar to swell the heap
till he had built it so near the door that he could
stand and press his bended back against it. He
then gathered all his strength and heaved against
it by straightening the muscles of his knees. It
remained firm as ever!
The blood of poor Sam Studley rolled back to
his heart, and he was nearly hopeless, Ie tried
again. It was the mighty effort of despair, and
as, with a swift, involuntary prayer, he pressed
his brawny shoulders under the trap and lifted
like giant for his life, the staple that held it gave
way, and the prisoner was free!
It was the gray of morning, and the burglars had
evidently surmised that other officers were on their
scent and there was nothing to be seen or heard
of them,
Studley was soon sitting by a warm fire in the
olice office relating his adventures, and rejoicing
to hear that one of the rogues he had been pur-
suing had been caught that night and was safe in
limbo. Qe T.B.
————+9
REBEL BARBARITY IN SOUTHERN
a PRISONS.
:
: Probably all the readers of the Companion bave
eard of the cruel treatment received by United
and about Richmond. There is no doubt that the
most harrowing accounts fall short of the reality,
Stories come to us, authenticated by the bloodless
lips of famished men, portraying the horrors of
rebel ‘dungeons,’ and the cruel malice, born’ and
nurtured of barbaric customs, wreaked upon de-
fenceless prisoners, sufficient to make even the
boldest rebel sympathizer blush with shame and
loathing. : Our noble soldiers have endured in vile
Southern dens the extent of human woe. They
are the real heroes of our nation. pone.
" Our engraving this week pictures the appear-
ance of United States’ prisoners, in hospital, who
fecha he Downe its
y’’ ; Sam had a stout heart, but it made his flesh
; )' ereep to think of the fate that probably awaited
him.. Nevertheless, instead of giving himself up
to despair, he determined to try: his chances of
escape, even against all ordinary hope. ).,The wall
around the cellar was so roughly stoned that he
could climb it by grasping the projections, and his
first effort was to ascertain the depth of his dun-
geon. He raised himself about twice his length,
as near as he could judge, till his head touched a
floor which appeared to be laid on heavy beams. ,
_ Sam now stopped awhile to reflect.. There must
be a trap or hatchway somewhere in this floor, but
} how to get at it! Ie revolved the question for a
y
eee
whee.
few minutes and then set about searching for it,
‘This was difficult work. He must cling to the
-wall with one ‘of his hands, and the utmost he
seould do with the other was to feel out two or
sthree feet along the flooring over him; and, su
f posing the trap to be in the middle, this would not
. bring him within touching distance of it on any
‘_.- side. -On feeling the beams carefully, however,
: Studley found that they were but partially hewn,
and therefore rounded inwards to where the planks
} rested on them above. ~:;;. . be ide
i No sooner did he discover this holding place,
> than he began to swing himself out from the wall,
| till, touching the stones with his feet, he could
i stretch his body horizontally to its full length, and
eyen then examine the floor an arm’s length be-
. , yond him. . tae gece tl
«It seemed an hour before he had finished this
laborious search, and as yet he had discovered no
+ signs of a door. Ie was about to cease his efforts
in ‘despair, when’ suddenly his hand felt a seam
running crosswise in the planks, and after explor-
ing awhile he found-a hinge which he knew must
{belong to g trap-doors es 9 66 A) Lies
dropped to the
1h
$
Exhausted with the toil he now
bottom of the cellar and’ sat wondering’ what his
next move would be, ‘With all his courage he felt
that his prospects of escaping from his: living
| burial were gloomy enough, for though he' had
found the door yet .it was impossible: for him to
reach it,’ Hfe almost resolved to ‘attempt es-
cape by digging through the stone wall, but a seo
have recently been released from Belld island.
With some of them life was nearly extinct; many
were too far gone to understand they were at last
among friends, and died unconscious of the com-
forts surrounding them, exclaiming, “I, am , too
tired, —‘something “to ‘eat, —what torment !”
Others, writhing and moaning in agony, lingered on
afew days, accepting gladly the longed-for food,
offered toolate. Their weakened systems rejected
even the slightest nourishment. The death-seal
was, upon, their brows ere they left the: prison
where for, months they had lingered in slow tor-
ture. .The sand had been their bed in sun and
rain, through cold and heat. It had been their
only protection, almost their, only covering, Of
one hundred and eighty prisoners landed at An-
napolis from Richmond about a month ago, fifty-
three died in less than one week, victims to ill-
treatment and actual starvation endured during
their imprisonment. See
and friends are. slaughtered in’ Southern ‘slave
ens., No false delicacy should prevent the pres-
entation of the whole truth. All the world should
know ‘that boasted rebel civilization is the cruel-
est barbarism, and that the grosest brutality must
be expected of a people educated under the de-
basing influences of slavery, /° | ' , ms
ee
'{, WHATEVER YOU LIKE.
* Robert Brown was the son of & poor man, who
could only send him to school a few months in the
year. Robert often said: “It is of no use for me
to try to be anybody... I have no advantages. .I
shall always be poor and ignorant.”, Now Robert
was mistaken.. He had some y ry great adyan-
tages. . Ile had a well-shaped, handsome head, and
afine full chest, and strong limbs.: He was abright,
healthy boy, and I think he had a fair chance to he-
come whatever he liked, , Ife used to beg his father
to give him a piece of land for his own, where he
could raise vegetables for market. ‘His father was
too poor to give bim a part of the garden, but only
a bit of sandy land in the corner of the lot. Rob-
ert struck his spade into it, and turned up the soil.
“It is of no use planting anything here,” said he;
“only see how: sandy it jothing will grow.”
But there was some strength in this loose’ soil, just
ae
ond thought -gatisfied him.of the folly of such’ an
undertaking.’ Putting out his hand while in the!
midst-of these reflections he struck’ a bone, and
Qe-examining it more’ fully, to his horror he
as there.was strength in Robert’s healthy brain and
stont arms and legs. And the wind sowed some
seeds there, and they came up and grew;. and one
hot day in July, when our little farmer ‘was tired
with raking hay, he went to look ‘at his despised
corner, and there, just where the ground was broken’
thanght he detected the arm.and.hand of a human by his
cee tnt Binnie rant as eine atm tt ft Bane
spade, was a large cluster of strawberries,
h
States’ soldiers in the Libby and other prisons in|
Our readers may thus learn how ‘their brothers !
LC
i=
¥ > to
~ COMPANION...
ripe and delicious. While he was eating them, he |
felt something prick his bare foot, and looking down,
een ES |
‘After the owner of the plantation on which
live ran away, he used to send his son (a doctor)
there was a large, ugly thistle, just going to séed.| snd others to get away thé slaves remaining here,
Now both the thistle and the strawberry grew
from seeds which the wind had sown: ‘but the land
but they, not loving their masters as much as was
was Robert's, and he had a right to say which should | supposed, concealed themselves in the woods, de-
ww. “Get out, you hateful thistle,” said he.
“You are a thief, come to steal your living and pay
me in prick! ‘ you not ashamed to pick my
ragged pocket, which only has a few cents in it, at
the most?” Then he dug up the thistle by the roots,
and as he was too poor to buy manure, he used to
go evenings by moonlight with his wheelbarrow, | s
and get black soil from a hollow in the woods, full
of old leaves and rotten wood; and he mixed it all
thoroughly in with the sandy soil that bore the ber-
ries, and then filled .it full of the best plants he
could find, and the next year he had a great deal
of fruit. Moreover he sowed turnip-seed between
the rows, and the turnips grew large, and round,
and sweet, and he sold them’in November for a
broad piece of silver.
Robert was delighted. “I find,” said he, ‘that
I can raise on my land whatever I like.” And then
the thought came into his mind that he could make
of himself whatever he liked, if he would only set
about it in earnest. And I believe he will, for
2
generally ready to try another.
SCRAPS FOR YOUTH. /
THE SCHOOLMASTER’S MARE.
A smith is no judge of a carpenter's bill, t
A tinker can’t solder your coat;
The miller knows best what to do with his mill,
‘The waterman what with his boat. ~ ft
‘You ne’er set a farmer to choose a fine lace,
Nor an average loss to comput 3
Nor at law set a tailor to argue your case,
Nor a sailor to measure your foot.
The saying is old, but none the less good,
‘Ask counsel from one of the trade.”
But to make myself quickly and well understood,
I'll call a short story in aid.
ag
| usual late hours, and passed
crowded rooms, breathing the . deadly poison of
physical effluvia, gas, i
if
thei
i
Icannot say that I have reached this
in ai and vigorous as I am, without the ass‘
termined not to be caught.
Notwithstanding all the efforts of the planters
to prejudice them against the ‘*Yankees” they
greeted the Union soldiers with delight, knowing
that they could not be worse off than they were in
avery. - . 7 .
They could not find words to express their
joy at. the appearance of the. teachers from the
North. They flocked around them and gave them
presents of eggs and pea-nuts (or “ground-nuts,”
as they call them), and such little things as they
had. Such is the negro’s love of slavery!
: Yours truly,.)) -. 050) Be
ey ee a
WILLIAM HOWITT’S FOUR DOCTORS.
‘Iam temperate because I have.seen the good
policy of it.” Asa literary man, if I had fallen in
where a boy has conquered one difficulty, he is pith ordinary literary habits I should not have
een sitting here to write about temperance. If I
ad lived as the majority of literary men of this
e, as ‘aman about town;” if I had kepf the
my evenings in hot,
and air deprived of its ozone;
had sat over the bottle at late suppers, foolish-
ly called dinners, and ‘jollified,” as my literary
cotemporaries call it; I should have been gone
hirty years ago., I have seen numbers of literary
men, much younger than myself, dying off like rot-
en sheep—some of them in early youth, few of
m becoming old.’ Seeing the victims to “fast
ife” daily falling around me, I have preferred the
enjoyment of a sound mind in a sound body; the
blessings of a quiet life, and a more restricted but
not less enjoyable circle of society...
Tam now fast approaching my seventicth year.
period, active
istance of
‘ dona , | doctors., I.have had the constant attendance of
Tom and Dick took their statio Hi 1 " °. 4
With each one his own jog of hay Haymarket Street, four famous ones—Temperance, Exercise, Good
And while they stood Air and Good Hours, i
waiting, with markets to meet,
‘They rallied and joked in their way.
Says Tom, “I will bet you a good mug of flip
That mine is the best load of. hay.”
| “Done,” says Dick, ‘and we’ll see in the crack of.a
whip, :
Which party the wager shall pay.” | >: crs
“See, yonder,” says Tom, “our old schoolmaster. standg,
ome to town to get rid of his mare; 63: 41)...
He has learning enough, and hard words
‘Let him decide the attair.” .
“No, no,” answered Dick, “though he’s honest, I think,
And can do a hard sum if he tries, .
And can judge of his own sort of victuals and drink,
Yet tell me what that signities Pon : a
mh e etre tas eee (od a
“If you'll listen to me,—I've a judge in my eye,
Like an axle-tree, steady and stitt ="? °° ;
His verdict nor flattery nor money_ran buy, “°*
And beside, he’ll decide in a jitf. ren ie gt
{ : : °
‘A person of sense and of exquisite taste, {1 !.:\
Having dealt all his life in this ware,” t
“Who is he ?” says Tom, “for I’m dry and in haste.”
! Says Dick, “He's the schoolmaster’s mare!” +)
: De bes '
at command,’
Girtawe
THE SLAVES AMONG THE FIRE-EATERS,
. ~ (From a Correspondent in South Carolina, °°!
* Dear Younc. Frienps,—Port Royal is: the
general name for a collection of the “Sea Islands,”
viz,: Port. Royal,” Hilton’ Head,. St: Tlelena,
Ladies’, Paris, Cossaw, and several smaller islands:
The forts’ on: Hilton’ Head Island which cont-
manded the entrance to Port Royal harbor were
held by the rebels until Nov. 7, 1861, when Com:
modore Dupont’arranged his ships of war and| -
, bore down upon ‘the forts in ‘single file.” Each |‘
ship delivered a broadside, and then sailing round
lin a circle came up and delivered another, and s0
on until the forts gave up the contest. : Our troops
at once took possession of them under Gen. Sher-
‘mani? cdlors chen asf sre dart
‘That ‘night,:Nov. 7th, was a memorable one.
All along the sandy roads of these islands could
‘be seen the’ planters abandoning their: houses}
some still driven in their best carriages by colored
coachmen ;' others hastening ‘away in boats; * all
_earrying with them whatever they could, and such} y
of their slaves as could’ be induced or forced in
their haste to go..All'were fleeing: from the
“Yankees” they despised so much; nor did they
stop until they found themselves safe on the main-
land. -! They left their furniture, and cattle, and
some of their poor horses, and most of their slaves.
It must have been a dismal night for them; but
‘it was a happy one for the negroes. | The hope of
freedom was strong inj the hearts’ of the latter.
Their masters had tried to make them believe that
the ‘Yankees” were: enemies, and would’ sell
them in Cuba and treat them with cruelty, °°
' We have’often ‘been told, you know, how mach
the slaves loved their masters, and how contented
they were with their condition. Let us see now
how they manifested that love! i070 vas!
‘| When their masters ‘ran, the negroes were or-
dered.and urged to go with them, but they had
various excuses, when excuses would avail, for not
going, and when’ excuses would not avail, they
mt pao bist
ab sty
concealed themselves,'? (2°: 6) 4
“© The planters on Hilton Head Island suececded
in taking their negroes with them, but in'a short
time the staves all ran froni their masters and came
back again, etsy
a i
only wag a
department
any man living.
assiduously sixteen hours a day,
walking three or four miles, in all weather, ‘I
work hard in my garden, and could tire out a tol-
erable man: at that sort of thing.
when about -sixty, I walked often,
grees at noon, my twenty
sometimes standing in a
low-men abstinence from beer, spirits,
They are all poisoners of the blood, and burnt-
offerings’ unto death; they
the bottom of our pocket, the
the domestic comfort and virtue of women, and the ©
, physical stamina and the very life of chil I
trace the wide-spread pestilence of spirits, beer and
tobacco in almost every outrage and misery.
these inflame the passions,” They strip their dey~
otees of health, clothes, morals and sanity, >
absurd appetite, “set
up over themselves a
and he is 2 fool.
sin often haunts a
fered more shame and regret on account of asin
connitted in my youth than I can express to you.
dread. | How many times I wished
again in the hotel! ee
feel that it was ‘my cane,
‘ Aword on work. Those who imagine that I
goose-quill mistake a little.
have perhaps done as much work as
Often, in early years; I labored
never omit
In Australia,
at under a burn-
g sun of one hundred and twenty or thirty de-
? miles a day; worked at
igging gold, in great heat, my twelve hours a day,”
brook. I waded through
spirituous liquors as I. would the
I think Ihave a claim to recommend to m: fee
and tobacco,
constitutions of men,
dren,
By an
on fire of hell,” millions set
most terrible tyranny, os
:
«j, THE STOLEN cawn. , |.
“Tis the silliest thing in the world to do wrong,”
rd a man in middle life say to his: young
- _ The Bible calls the wicked man a fool,
Sin spoils every thing.” One
man through life. I have suf
Vhen I was about fifteen I wanted a cane.
Some of my acquaintances had canes, but I had
saw the theft, I was full of tremor, and fear, and
the cane back
carried ‘my cane home. Bfy cane? No.
Though I had paid my innocence, uy self-respect,
my Courage, my peace of mind for it, I did not
Thad no right to it. It
It was another's. I carried the cane
and shut up army own room I examined it.
was no fault in it; but Ino longer admired
was stolen:
home,
‘here
it;-I had “paid too Gearly for it. «How I wish I
could make you young people understand as I do,
that there is little, if any, value in that which is ill-
gotten! “When you sin for a thing, you always
pay too dearly for it.’ You sell the best part of
yourself for it; You sell your innocence, your self
respect, that which yon can never buy back again;
even with the wealth of India...”
I wondered how I could have
to covet'a useless cane s0 much.’
self. I thought of God. I felt Tis great eye on
me, and alone as I was, I hung my head. :I
wished myself beyond the. sight of every thing
living, that I confd hide my shame. I put awa;
the cane and took a book, but 1 could not regd.
The cane filled ’all my-mind.’ T could not bear
. vont
been so weak’ as
I despised my-
And how did'Tymanage all this? Simply be. -
cause I avoided i d
~,| poison of an‘asp..>
