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282 emptied on the floor. Oh, those biscuits . I shall never forget them! None of your little, thin, flimsy affairs, such as are usually seen upon fashionable tables, but good, solid, fat fellows, each as big as a saucer, and with dark-colored hearts in the centre, where the “shortening” had settled in the process of baking. “ Like Adam’s recollection of his fall,” the looks, and above all the taste, of those biscuits is indelibly impressed upon the tablets of my memory. When the coffee was ready I was in vited to “fall to,” and you may be sure I did not stand upon ceremony and wait for a second invitation. As well as I re collect, I think I was upon my seventh biscuit, when Capt. Duncan mildly sug gested that, in his opinion, I had better “knock off,” for fear of disagreeable con sequences. I made no reply, but seized the eighth, and whilst I was disposing of that, Capt. Duncan expeditiously cleared the board, and deposited the remainder of the eatables in the haversack. We then mounted our horses, the pack horse hav ing been turned over to me, and the next day we safely reached the settlements on the Brazos. Thus ended my adventures for the time in Texas. But I must tell my readers something about my old companions, whom I met with some weeks after my return to the “settlements” east of the Brazos river. It will be remembered that, when the Mexi can discovered B and myself in a clump of bushes, that II was lying “perdue” in another a few paces off, in which he remained hid until night, when he continued his route, and after many hair-breadth escapes from Mexicans and Indians, he finally made his way 7 in to where the Texan army was stationed, east of the Brazos river, some ten days or two weeks after I had arrived. At one time he was so closely pursued by a party of Mexicans that he had to take refuge in a lake, where they fired repeated volleys of musketry at him, but as his head was only visible above the surface of the water, none of their balls took effect upon him. Fortunately, night was near at hand, and the darkness soon concealed him from their view. At another time, whilst in a deserted house searching for provisions, he was captured by two runaway ne groes, who tied him hard and fast to a post, and then went out, as they told him, for the purpose of procuring clubs with which to beat out his brains. In a few moments they returned with a couple of heavy bludgeons in their hands, with the evident intention of carrying their threat into execution, but one of them, at the last moment, relented, and finally persua- BURKE’S WEEKLY. ded the other to spare II ’s life. They then turned him loose, and gave him something to cat and directions how to avoid the Mexican forces on his way to the Texan army. I met with B a short time after ho got to the “ settlements,” and he gave me a full account of his adventures. He told me that, after our separation in the La Yaca bottom, he was captured immediate ly by the pursuing Mexicans, who carried him with them to their camp, and there tied him to a tree, where they left him standing all night. They had plenty of provisions, stolen no doubt from the de serted American settlements in the vicin ity, from which they prepared an ample supper. B , who was in a starving condition, begged them for a mouthful to eat, but they refused to give him any thing, telling him it was no use to do so, as they intended shooting him before they left, in the morning. He then re quested them to shoot him at once, but they only laughed at him, and told him he was “muy bravo” or very brave, but that they couldn’t kill him just then, as they were going to have a “shooting match” in the morning, and that he was to serve for the “ mark.” The next mor ning, as soon as they had eaten their breakfast, they pinned a white rag upon the breast of B , loaded their scopets, stepped back a few paces and presented them at him, as if they intended to fire. During all these preparations for his exe cution, B abused and reviled them to the extent that his limited knowledge of the Mexican language permitted ; telling them that they were cowardly thieves, murderers, etc., and that the Americans would yet pay them back for their treach erous conduct; at all of which the Mexi cans seemed highly amused, and laughed heartily. At length, however, finding that death had no terrors for B , they laid their guns aside, and unbound him from the tree, telling him to go, that he was “ muy valiente ,” and that they would not shoot him. Shortly afterwards they mounted their horses and rode off, leaving D in an exhausted condition for the want of food, and from the fatigue he had undergone in standing up all night bv the tree to which had tied him. Some days afterwards B was again taken prisoner by another party of Mexi cans, but in some way made his escape from them, and eventually, as I have be fore stated, reached the Texan army. He subsequently returned to Georgia, his na tive State, where I understood he died a few years afterwards. Os the truth of this report, however, I am not positive, and it may be that he is still living ; at all events, I never saw him after he left Texas. II remained in Texas, and was ap pointed a captain in the regular army He was with the troops that went out upon the unfortunate “Santa Fe expedi tion,” was taken prisoner and carried to the city of Mexico, and thence to Vera Cruz, where he contracted yellow fever from which he died on his passage home and was buried at sea. I have nothing further to add, except that when I left Texas, some weeks sub sequent to this, finding it impossible, ow ing to the crowded state of the vessel in which I sailed, to take Flacco along with me, I gave him in charge to my friend K , who promised me he should be well taken care of, and in fact he lived to a good old age, and died the respected progenitor of a breed of dogs that are still highly prized in that section for their valuable qualities. THE END. Written for Burke’s Weekly. “ Mamma, Feel my Wings Grow.” BE love little children— love them with a love not merely because of ols, but because we be lieve them to be great blessings— one of the most precious gifts that J % Providence bestows on us. In their purity and innocence we have our best type of Heaven’s inhabi tants. One of these stray sunbeams from Heaven’s own glory blessed our household once. He did not tarry long —but two summers past when his sun set forever— and yet long enough to point the way from whatever was of earth earthy to his own abode amongst the angels. It had been a practice of bis mother, when preparing him for his nightly rest, to sing him a lullaby about “Angels Wings.” One evening he came running to her in great glee, pushing forward one of his little, fat, chubby shoulders, and said : “Mamma, feel my wings grow.” It was but a week afterwards that hi* little eyes closed forever, and he winged his way home, where a loving Savioui * arm was ready to receive him. Years have passed; the moonbeam* play brightly over little Webber s giuW but there are times, even now, when and seems to his parents as if he was vi 1 them, and they could see “his " in n grow.” Thank God for children!