Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

13 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

i;rr,F!Ts RESERVED."

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Dyfynnu
Rhannu

i;rr,F!Ts RESERVED." 'TWIXT CUP AND LIP. BY XAXXIE LAMBERT, J.n'hwens of "Spriilg leaves,"Thought* Oil the "Talmud," CHAPTER II. (Con till urd ) We find, besides the ordinary paraphernalia, twelve pounds in gold. No other money—no other of any kin 1, —no wilt, no papers We search diligently, turning everything' carefully out then Jfon-i'eiir Corvicr looks up, and says-" This desk has been tampered with I know it quite as well as he I have felt sure of it yet we are powerless to accuse, and I tell him so. Then, with grave faces and careful lingers, we ex- amine every drawer and hiding-place the house con- tlinll. Our search occupies hours, but nothing comes of it. The nurse rouses 'herself, and aids us languidly the elder servant aids us with all her might. She tells in that there was a large escritoire, wh rh the owner of the house removed shortly after my father's tenancy commenced, at which she had more than once seen him occupied consequently we prepare to seek the owner of the house, who, we are informed, lives at a country place, about four miles distant. We drive there, and see him. He is a gentleman of many acres, and very few worJs. lie says my father objected to the size of the es ritoire, and consequently he removed it, and dis- posed of it for a smaller one. He adds that he believes it to have been perfectly empty, but had made no particular ex nnination^of its interior lit tings. We ask to whom it has been, sold, and he directs us but as it is a t*lrniture-dealer's, we have to wait until the next morning. When we go, the pro- prietor informs us that a man in a lower branchof the trade, has purchased the article from him some weeks before. We seek this individual, whom wo find in a very dilapidated condition, and somewhat the worse for liquor. He acknowledges, sheepishly, that ho has been obliged to pawn the property, and gives us the pawn-broker'faddress. We go at one? and find the place, after many inquiries, and much traversing of narrow streets and by-ways. My heart saddens as we como in sight of it, and I pause instinctively when opposite to it. Taere i", I believe, more of the philosophy of life to be learned at a pawn-broker's window, than in all the libraries in the kingdo:n. The maxims and dog- mas which wise men have chronicle I, disturb the mind for a moment, as the breeze ruffles the surface of the still stream, and pa-ses away; but there is Jinething in the melancholy grouping of a pawn- broker s window, which, like a record of ruin, sinka 'nto the heart. The household goods, cherished relics, the sacred possessions affection bestowed, or eyes now closed in death, once looked upon us their own, are here, as it were, profaned the associations of the dear old times are here violated; the family hearth is here out. raged; the ties of love, kindred, rank, all that the heart clings to, are broken here. It is a sad pioture, for, in spite of all the glittering show, its associations are sombre. There hangs the watch—the oU chased repeater that hung above the heal of a dying parent, when lestowing his trembling blessing upon tho poor out- "st. who had parted with it for bread The we iding ring is there, the last and dearest of all het possessions; the trinket, the pledge of love of one now dead, the only relic of the heart's fondest memo- ries Silver that graced the holiday iV-ast, the gilt- frrtme 1 miniature that hung above quiet mantel. iiielfthe flute; the favourite of a dead son, surrendered by a starving mother to buy food for her remaining offspring the locket that held a parent's hair, or gloomier still, the dress, the very covering 01 tho poor, is there waving like, a t'ag of wretchedness md want. It is a strange sad in the eyes oJ the thoughtful. There are moie touching memorial! to be seen at a pawnbroker's window, than in all the monuments in Westminster Abbcv. Doubtless something of all this is in tho mind of Monsieur Corvicr also, for I an almost fancy that there are tears in his eyes as we step into the shop. The proprietor is most obliging. lie shews us the escritoire, allows us to inspect it, sounds every portion of it. Yv c have gained no information, and return i home—my companion with a depressed countenance, and I with gfCat joy in my heart. IJeel as if a vast weight had been lifted from it in short, I am FREE and as the long imprisoned bird spreads its wing with a rapture which speech cannot convey, so throw off my chains, and prepare to soar, unfetter** out into the world. 1 have done my duty in r~ ing for these papers, but, oh, with what inexpwrvrr x terror have I looked forward to the finding of I have felt certain they will bind me down to r particular plan of action now, I can choose my 0. know that I an poor-that I hava unly twelve founds in the world—scarcely tii m will pay po.-aOri.scd twelve-thousand. ");,) nun, r "¡y, ca;} tell whether he is rich or pon' by turning to his ledger. It is not what he has bu'; what he is that decides the question of his poverty or riches; and j although God knows I have had no religious education, I nev< rtheleas feel that I have that within m; which is the germ of good the desire to do well, both foi myself and for my fellow men. I have an inward consciousness that for somo pur- pose have events thus fallen oat: that my work is before me and I feel, with a joy which floods my very soul, that young as 1 am, I shall bo ready when that work begins. Raphael did well, and Phidias did well, yet it is not painter or sculptor who ennobles himself mu-t truly, but he who making good impressions upon hunun minds, carves frescoes for eternity, that will not shine out till the light of heaven reveals them t do not, however, say this to Monsieur Comer. I fear that he may misunderstand me, and think it egotism, which it is not. I tell him none of my good resolutions on the contr rv, I rather shock him by an account of my own unworthincss. Some persons carry their consciences li.1,e drawn swords, cutting this way and that in the world, but sheath them and keep them very soft and quiet when turned within, thinking that a sword should not be permitted to cut its own scabbard. I am happily not one of thes< miserable pettifoggers in the court of my own con. scienc I know the worst of myself, and I know the best, nor do I prevent others from knowing it also- let them think what they may. The goo 1 clergyman aids me in arranging the few trifling matters which remain to be settled, under- takes to communicate with the American journals; with a view to discovering, if possible, tho where- abouts of Stephen Ashto'i, whose address has nevei transpired, and gives me a world of gentle advice, which I take and treasure and then—within one week from my father's decease,—without money— without friends—I sail for England.

CHAPTER HI.

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A PRAYER FOR THE TIMES.

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CHAPTER IV.

BATHING AT A TYROLESE WATERING-PLACE.

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THE HOUSE-CLEANING EPIDEMIC.

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-------------_._--A VISIT…

CONSTANT INTERRUPTIONS. ---