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VOLUME I.
Select Poftrij.
YOU AND ME.
J wish, dear love, we had a world,
A world that’s all our own,
Not large enough for other iolk.*,
But just for us alone.
A fairy island far away
In some bright southern sea,
Where skies should shine, and earth should smile
Only for you and me, dear love,
Only for you and me!
We’d have a pretty little cot,
With swallows in the eaves,
Where humming birds glance in and out
Among the whispering leaves—
A home of music, love and mirth,
With brook, and bird, and bee,
And birds should sing and bees should hum
Ouly for you and me, dear love,
Only for you and me!
A woodbine with its clinging arms,
Should twine about our door,
And sweet wild roses on the air
Their fragrant breath should pour;
; The sun should shine, the streams should sing,
I The flowers bloom gorgeously;
And all should shine and sing and bloom
Only fur you and me, dear love,
Only for you and me!
[A living fountain near our home,
Shun and make us music rare.
I The sparkling of a shining spray
fooling the fragrant air;
We’d listen oft in summer eves
Its singing melody, .
jlvcjoicing that its waters leaped
Only tor you and me dear love,
Only fut y.»:i and me!
Ami when our lives had flowed along
To three score years and ten,
Thr length of days the Father good
Giveili the sons of men, —
V ic* in our death, ns one in life,
Our mingle 1 hearts should be,
Y*»r Death should come, if conic he must,
f At once to you and me, dear love,
At once to you and me!
The bosom thou hast leaned upon
So trustingly in life,
Shall be thy pillow, ev’n in death,
My own beloved wife!
JVWd rest within one peaceful grave
Beside the inuriiiuring sen,
A grave just \> i le and deep enough
Only for you and me, dear love,
Only for you and me!
I KNOW A LITTLE FAIRY.
1 know a little fairy,
With soft black shining hair;
That lookcth so bewitching!}*
As it shades her brow so fair;
Her laugh is so delicious—
So knowing, sweet am! clear—
You’d never dream of thinking
There was danger lurking near.
Her dress is plain and simple,
Giving roundness to her form—
A touch of something gentle—
A witching, winning charm ;
i And when she sits down by you
With a quiet, easy grace,
You’d never dream of thinking
There was danger in her face.
Her voice is soft, melodious—
And lute-’.ike in its tone;
H And it often lingers in our car,
& As we sit and muse alone,
And her smile breuks out so gladly—
So suunv, bright and clear
You’d never dream of thinking
There was danger lurking near.
A Oh! be careful,
’Tis a very dang’rous part;
Her lips distil the nectar
v That doth enslave the heart;
„ That soft mild glance, that sparkling eye,
Sweet sunny smile—take care!
You may never dream of thinking,
But there’s danger lurking there!
Select
LE MAUVAIS PAS.
A TALE OF TERROR.
We lounged about the hotel of Lans
s bourg during the hot hours of a sutn
aer day, while men and horses were
iking their rest; and so far as any
■lovements of animated nature were
Concerned, it might have been midnight,
hi the evening, however, the world seem
ed to come alive, and preparations were
made for our journey over Mount Cenis.
With the additional guides, postillions,
and cattle, we formed a respectable cav
alcade. The moon shone brightly upon
aur path, with a light so clear and soft,
so silvery and so chastened, that it con
trasted most pleasantly with the daz
zling, scorching heat of the past day.—
The atmosphere was as calm as nature’s
rest could be; and the purity of the air
gave and elasticity and freshness to our
spirits that we could scarcely have imag
ined. Fire-flies sported around us like
531 Soxxi ljent WcckUj Cticrmnj xintr f¥tisccUmiCOits Scmvnai, for tlje fjotne Circle,
animated diamonds, and the side of the
road was sometimes bespangled with
glow worms. Under such circumstances,
one feels what is the pleasure of mere
animal life, where there is the height of
corporeal enjoyment, without the aid of
any stimulant but that which heaven’s
pure breath affords. It appeared almost
treason against the majesty of nature to
disturb thesilencc which reigned through
her dominions; and when we spoke, it
was in a subdued tone. Wo walked on
foot the greater part of tho ascent, up
three long windings made in the face of
the mountain. Then the extra horses
were turned adrift, to find their own way
back to the stables, and we entered the
carriage to gallop down the Piedmontese
side of the declivity.
My nearest companion, an elderly
Frenchman, who was usually very gar
rulous, had been on this occasion much
absorbed in thought, and had preserved
silence for an extraordinary length of
time, though the twitchingsof hiscoun
tenancc and the shrugs of his shoulders
plainly told that lie was holding an in
teresting conversation with his own
lieait and memory. At length I asked
the cause of his inusings and frequent
ejaculations. “ Ah, sir ! ” said he “ how j
different arc the circumstances of this '
night from those I experienced thirty :
voars ago, when I traversed this inoiiu- j
tain. It was on a wintry day when the ;
ground was covered with snow, which
lay in some places to the depth of forty
feet, and filled up many of the ravines,
so that we were in constant danger of
going over a precipice. The w ind blew
the snow drift so fiercely as to blind our
eyes, ami the guides were frequently at
a loss to discover the right track. Six
men were obliged to bold up the car
riage with ropes fixed to the top, to pre
vent its being blown over; and the pa
tient horses, -poor brutes often turned
their faces from the dreadful storm. —
Wo were almost frozen with cold, al- |
though we opened our portmanteaus,
and put ou till our watdrobe. Heaven
defend me from such another journey,
and the horrible night that followed in
that murderous inn ! ” Perceiving him
to be much excited, I felt the more anx
ious to know the strange events to which
he alluded, and asked what could have
tempted him to travel in such dismal
weather, and what horrible circum
stances occurred on the way. He then
gave me the following narrative:
1 was then young, an officer in the ar
inv, in the time when Napoleon carried
on his last wars, and all this country was
in a very troubled condition. At the
period referred to, I was sent with an
older officer to bear some despatches of
importance- to Italy. lie was an Italian,
who had once been in the service of
Austria, but had been taken prisoner at
Marengo, and had joined tho army of
the Emperor. He was a clever person,
in whom much confidence seemed to be
placed, but so very wary and suspicious
in his disposition, as sometimes to amuse
and sometimes to frighten me. He
seemed to make every allowance for my
youth, and seldom checked my ardent
spirits, for I was gay and thoughtless;
but I was likewise brave and skilful in
the use of arms, for which reason, I
suppose, the captain took me with him
on that journey. These mountains were
greatly infested by robbers, chiefly dis
banded soldiers of Italy, so that few
persons could travel in safety. In a short
time we shall pass by a place called Le
Mauvais Pas, well known for the mur
ders which have been there committed.
A woody marsh lies cu the left hand of
tho road, and the ruins of some build
ings destroyed in the war on the right
—I shall point them out to you—and
among these the bandits lurked, and
suddenly pounced upon a passer-by, or
shot him before he was aware of his
danger. A little further on, where two
roads meet, you will see some large
houses, which were once inns, and the
, landlord was in communication with the
robbers of Le Mauvais Pas, so that the
j traveller who escaped from Scylla fell ii.-
MADISON, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, MAY 24, 1856
to Charybdis. Well, sir, I have told
you about tho dreadful weather in which
wo were obliged to cross Mount Cenis,
the passage of which occupied the whole
day ; and as our orders were perempto
ry, we pushed forward at all hazards
till nearly midnight, when we reached
tho door of the inn I have mentioned,
where we were to pass the night. I
suppose we escaped all previous dan
gers by the latenoss of tho hour, as no
gentlemen were expected to travel on
these roads after dark.
Glad we were when we arrived at the
hotel; tho very thought of a warm fire
and hot supper gave me life. We knock
ed long and loud before the gate was
opened, and the carriage passed into the
court. The captain told our servant,
who was also a soldier, to bring his little
portmanteau and a small canteen of pro
visions into the room where we were to
sit; the other baggage was left in tho
caleclie. 1 saw the landlord narrowly
eve the portmanteau, but he said no
thing, and hastened to got ready for our
entertainment. A small stove was light
ed at one end of a large room, the oilier
end of which 1 could scarcely see; so
that it was far from being comfortable,
but it was not for us to complain after
what wc had suffered in the cold. A
thin candle was placed on a table, a
cloth was spread, and some bouillon was
soon served up. But the captain could
not eat it, and ordered Giuseppe to bring J
some compote out of the canteen, from
which he made a savory soup. The
host then brought us a fricassee but it
also was rejected, and a cold fowl substi
tuted for it. This rather displeased me,
and I was beginning to intimate that I
should prefer tlie hot dish, when a scowl
of the captain’s made me shrink into
insignificance, and 1 let hint do as he
pleased. As he doggedly refused to eat
anything furnished by the landlord, on
the plea of a weak stomach, which I had
never known him to complain of before,
for lie was a great gourmand, I guess
that he was afraid of poison, and secret
ly execrated his suspicious temper, re
joicing that 1 was not a jealous Italian.
“ Have you any other guests here to
night 2 ” asked tho captain, appearing
to take no notice of the prying curiosity
of the landlord, who in vain tried to as
certain who and what we were.
“ Only a priest on his way to Turin.
Boor man, he has been stopped here for
two days by the storm, as lie travels on
foot.”
“And what may be tbe reverend
father's name?” asked my companion.
“Fra Carlo Benevoluto,” replied the
other.
“Ah! that is a distinguished name.
I think I have met with sonic of the
padres of the name.
“ Very likely,” said the innkeeper.
“ There are others of the family in high
orders: he had a brother killed at the
battle of Marengo, as he went to admin
ister the consolation of religion to some
dying soldiers. They are a devout fam
ily.”
“Ha ! is Padre Carlo gone to bed ?
Perhaps he would do us the honor to
drink wine with us.”
The host replied that he had retired
to say his prayers aud count his rosary,
which he did several times a day, holy
man ! but he might not yet be gone to
sleep.
Presently tbe padre made his appear
ance, with an air of meek devotion,
crossed himself, and blessed us in the
name of the Holy Virgin and his pat
ron saint Carlo. The captain gave him
one searching glance, so piercing as al
most to decompose him ; but it passed
over, and we entered into friendly con
versation. A couple of bottles with
facetious talk warmed us thoroughly,
and we proposed retiring to rest. The
captain was shown into a bed-chamber
which he did not at all fancy. We had
before conversed about the Italian inns,
and he had cautioned me always to lock
and barricade tbe door at night. Now,
he was himself put into a room which
had three doors besides the one by which
wo entered from the stairs, and none of
them could bo locked, as the chamber
was a perfect thorough fare. He looked
much discomposed, and asked which of
the rooms I was to occupy. Tho land
lord apologized for taking me a little
way ott', as the neighboring beds were
already occupied, and it was too late to
make alterations. One of the adjoining
rooms was taken by tho priest; another
belonged to himself, and bis wifo was in
bed ; and the other door led to a pas
sage and small apartment to which his
daughter and maid servant had gone,
giving up their beds to tho company.—
I was then conducted to a room on the
other side of the padre’s, but had scarce
ly got into bed, when the captain came
in, bringing his little portmanteau and
candle. He broke out into a furious in
vective against tho vermin which were
in his bed, which would render it impos
sible for him to sleep there. As this
misfortune was no uncommon tiling in
these countries, it excited in mo no sur
prise save that an old soldier should be
daunted by igicli diminutive enemies.—
Upon my instantly offering to resign my
couch, and try if I could not sleep among
those Lilliputian marauders, he imper
atively declined, and said that he w ould
repose in a chair beside me. He then
examined the door, aud found that it
had no fastening, and as it opened into
the padre's chamber, it could not be bar
ricaded on our side. He was terribly
disconcerted, and walked about in con
siderable emotion ; then setting the
lighted candle cm a marble commode
near the door, ho seated himself near
me and beside a table, on which he
placed two loaded pistols and a carbine,
which he examined and cocked, aud laid
my sword upon my bed.
A number of curious thoughts passed
through my brain, tickled with the idea
of a hero of many fights being dislodg
ed from his encampment by a few in
sects; and my imagination suggested a
glowing picture of this wonderful cam
paign, which would form tho subject of
ail excellent farce. And then his tim
idity—to be afraid of a lonely landlord,
with three women and a holy priest!—
He would make another Don Quixote
fighting with a wind mill or a flock of
sheep. 1 so relished tho thought and
the sight, that I was unwilling to yield
to Morpheus, whose magic influence had
become heavy; but was beginning to
doze, when I thought I heard the screak
ing of the door, and looking through
the curtain I saw, or dreamed I saw, a
faint shadow dimly reflected upon the
wall. Turning to the captain, I perceiv
ed him eyeing the door closely, with a
pistol grasped in his hand, which he
was just raising, when the door quietly
closed, and all was silent. About an
hour afterward, the same was repeated,
and sleep vanished from my eyes. I
dared not speak to the captain, who did
not close his eyes for an instant, but kept
them fixed with sentinel keenness upon
the door, and his hand upon a pistol.—
He called us early, ordered horses to be
put to the carriage, and told Giuseppe to
make coffee in the mode he liked it.—
Giuseppe looked in an inquiring way,
caught his eye, and immediately obeyed.
The padre joined us, and very meek
ly asked permission to occupy a seat in
our caleche, which, to my surprise, was
courteously granted, and he was invited
to partake of our early repast. The
captain kept him in constant conversa
tion, and although he changed his seat
once or twice, always managed to rise
for something and sit opposite to him,
and never to be beyond reach of his
pistols. I was confounded, for they
seemed to be playing a game at move
ments. At length the word was given,
“ Let us go!” and I was curious to see
how the game would now be played,
especially as some additional pieces had
appeared an the board, in the shape of
the landlord’s wife and daughter, and
chambermaid, all big buxom dames,
whose tall figures I much admired, but
of whom my companion seemed as sus
picious as of the holy father. He pass-
ed no compliments, and appeared much
chagrined. Yet ho managed things
most adroitly, his object, as I thought
being to let nobody walk behind us. —
“ Signor, run and tell the postillion to
mount the white horse, for the black one
sometimes kicks. Signor, please take
these clonks, and spread them on the
seats of tho carriage. Girl, take the
candle. Father Benevoluto, bo kind
enough to take charge of this bottle of
eau-de-vie, and put it into the far'pocket
of tho carriage. Giuseppe, bring this
portmanteau. Andiamo! ” said lie,
pushing all of us before him as he fol
lowed with his fire-arms. In a trice we
were all at the carriage door. “Father,
don’t get out again ; pray be seated.—
O, signor, pray hold that black horse i
Up, Giuseppe, and keep this carbine in
your hand, and look about you for rob
bers. It is a bad road. Ladies, addio !
Va! ”
We wero off before we knew where
we were, and the captain urged the pos
tillion forward ; but we had not proceed
ed a quarter of a mile when lie called
out to stop ; and in a hurried tone, ad
dressing Fra Carlo, said :“ Pardon me
Father Benevoluto; I have left somo
papers of importance ou my bed—do,
pray, go and fetch them : wo await your
return ;” and without stopping for his
reply, opened the door and helped him
to descend. I was just beginning to
offer my own seivice, when a grinding
oath, half emitted, silenced me. “Good
father, do bo quick ; for I can trust no
body with those papers on this vile road
but yourself: no thief would rob a
priest.” It was impossible to refuse;
and Fra Carlo set oil at greater speed
than I had deemed him capable of using.
When lie was out of sight, my compan
ion ordered the postillion to drive on
quickly. lie replied that we were to
wait for the padre; but tho captain
thundered out: “Hark you! make no
noise with your whip, but spur your
horses to a gallop, and keep them gal
loping till I bid you go slower. Tho
moment you stop or crack your whip,
f shall send a bullet through your head,
Va ! ” Off we went, slap dash ; how
long I know not, for I was overwhelmed
with surprise, afraid that tho captain had
become deranged, and that I might be
the first victim of his violent temper.—
At length lie called out: “Piano!
piano !” and we instantly passed through
St. Antonin, where we met a military
patrol, to whom the captain showed his
passport, and said that there were suspi
cious characters on the road between this
and Le Mauvais Pas. The officer bow
ed low, and ordered his men to keep a
sharp look out. As wo proceeded, lie
smiled and exclaimed: “Now wo are
safe and can take breath a little—thanks
to the holy Virgin and all tho guardian
saints for our deliverance ! ” I ventur
ed to say, that though some tilings did
look rather suspicious in the inn, 3’et
L could not fix upon any thing really
villainous, and should not have imagin
ed any harm, unless I had perceived
him to be so much on his guard ; that
I did not much like the landlord, yet
the women were haudsome, and I was
much pleased with Fra Carlo; but tho
priest and himself seemed to be playing
a game at seats and places, and he had
certainly checkmated him at last.
“Yes,” said he; “it was a game for
life. So Carlo Benevoluto has assumed
the padre now! methinks lie will not
long wear the cowl. That man was in
my regiment when I was with the Aus
trians, and he was condemned to death
for theft and murder, but escaped through
the artifices of his brother, a priest, who
was shot at Marengo, as he deserved.—
He has forgotten me; but I well re
member him, and that gash on his fore
head, which I gave him when I cut him
down, but missed splitting his skull.—
And yon bed—there has been foul play
there. You are yet a young dog of
war: but I can smell blood any where:
I instantly smelled it, and traced it to
the mattress, which I found all stained
with gore. Had I fallen asleep, wc j
should both have slept there our last
sleep, as many, I fear, have done before;
but we shall hear if Captain Bocci, who
passed last week has arrived safely; if
not, they shall all be broken on the
wheel. Those handsome women ! I will
wager a thousand scudi they were men
in disguise: I never saw such women
in Italy before. In such times as these,
young man, you must be always watch
ing if you value your life and love Mad
emoiselle Fouchette; and remember
that walls have ears and eyes too.” I
intimated that I thought so when I saw
him pointing a pistol at a shadow twice
during the night. “ A shadow ! it was
the shade of Fra Carlo, and such shad
ows play with stilettoes : I saw one when
his cloak was oft' as I passed through
his room to come to you. Ghosts do
not flinch from a leveled pistol as he
did.”
At this momdht tho Frenchman made
me look, for we were approaching the
dreadful spot. There, indeed, stood two
ruinous houses, forming a large mass of
building, with small grated windows and
a high court, all shut up, and going to
decay. He looked and shrugged his
shoulders, and continued : “ The cursed
bandits! they met with a deserved fate.
The manner of their capture I have
hoard only by report, for wo returned to
France by another route. One evening,
at dusk, two horsemen rode up to the
inn ; but when the large gate was open
ed, one of tho beasts became frisky, and
refused to enter. This frightened tho
other, and they capered about to the
groat discomfort of tho landlord and his
people, who could not como into the
gateway or shut the door because of
their antics. As they were becoming
more quiet, a posse of gendarmerie dash
ed in and took possession of the premi
ses. A search was instituted, and the
remains of 200 or 300 human bodies
were found in tbe grounds, besides a
great deal of concealed plunder. I need
scarcely say that Italian justice did dread
ful work with the murderers; and the
inn has been shut up over since. No
one will venture into it—it is haunted;
but the Mauvais Pas is still a dangerous
place for lone travelers.” A carbinier
at this moment rode up, and asked our
party if we had seen any person on the
road, for a robbery had been committed
a few days ago in that place.
“SEEING DOUBLE,”
OR TOO MANY WHISKEY PUNCHES.
One particularly dark, damp, dull driz
zly and disagreeable day in tbe latter
part of November, a tall, gaunt, queer
looking customer, dressed in a blue coat
with yellow buttons, with “yaller’
striped pantaloons, and calf-skin termi
nations, sat “solitary and alone” in a
iittlo room, situated in a certain little
tavern, in street, Philadelphia.
Before him was a little round table
on wboso marble top was “not a little”
pitcher of smoking punch, “screecben
hot,” and a wine glass. The solitary in
dividual was York—notliiu’ elso dear
child — and that was his second pitcher
full—nigh his second empty. One min
ute after, and you couldn’t —fact, you
sec—have squeezed a drop out of either
pitcher or glass, by a forty-two pounder
hydraulic press.
York rang the bell. The waiter pop
ped his head in tho door.
“ Ring, sa 2”
“Os course I did. Is it clearing off?”
“No, sa —damp, sa—fog so thick, sa,
you could ladle it out ’th a spoon, sa.
Have anything, sa 2”
“ More punch, and strong.”
“ Yes, sa—immediately, sa.”
The waiter withdrew, and in a few
seconds returned with a third pitcher of
punch, and York was beginning to feel
glorious, when, on raising tip his eyes,
he saw his own figure in a pier glass, di
rectly opposite. Ho rubbed his eyes
again.
“By thunder!” said he, “here’s some
fellow sitting right before me; I’ll swear
there’s impudence for you ! This is a
priva’e room, sir, for my sole accommo
dation.”
NUMBER 21
He waited a minute, expecting an an
swer, but his reflection only stared at
him and held its peace.
“ I was saying, sir, that this is my pri
vate room—mine, sir?” cried York,
fetching his voice an octave higher than
it was before. No answer was made,'
and ho rung the bell furiously. The
waiter made his appearanoe again.
“Ring, sa?”
“ Yes, I did ring. Didn’t I ask for a
private room ?”
“ Yes, sa, this is a private room, sa."
“Itis ? Why, there’s a fellow sittiug
right opposite me now, on the other side
of the table. Rot his impudence.”
“ Table, sa ? fellow, sa ?”
“ Yes, there is. Well, just never mind.
Bring on some more punch and a couple
of glasses.” In a very short time the
fourth pitcher, with two glasses, made
its appearance.
York filled one of the glasses, and
then shoved it over the table.
“ Will you drink ?” said he, addressing
the figure in the glass.
“Oh, you won’t, eh? Well, I—l
will.’’ and so he did.
“Better drink, old fellow,” continued'
he. “ Your liquor is getting oold, and'
you look as if you was fond of the
thing,"
No answer being returned, York fin
ished the pitcher and rang the bell again.-
In popped the waiter.
“ Ring sa ? ”
“To be sure I did. Didn’t you heart
the b-b-bell ?”
“ I did," replied the waiter.
“ Didn’t I order a p-p-privato room f
Eh?”
“ Yes, sa, this is a private room sa.”
“A pretty private room this is, withja
f f-fellow sitting right opposite that won't
takenglass of punch when it’s offered him,-
and a r r-red nosed man at that. 0,-
well, never mind, bring more punch and
t-t-tumblers. I’ll try him again.”
Presently pitcher number five with'
glasses to match, was borne in with due'
state.
“ Better try some, old boy,” said York,-
coaxingly, to his double. The reflex
merely looked good natured, but said'
nothing.
“ Well,” continued York, with a sigh,-
“if this isn’t the most infamous. Nev
er mind, I’ll drink the punch.”
And so he did, every bit of it. About
five minutes sufficed to end the pitcher.
York rang the bell super-furiously. The'
waiter came again.
“ Ring sa ? ”
“Why certain. Why shouldn’t I?
Where’s the man—who keeps the—
place ? ”
“ Boss, sa ? I’ll see ’irn, sa.”
Shortly after, mine host, a quiet look
ing little man, with a mottled, calico
pattern face and a shining bald head
made his appearance.
“ W-w-what’s to pay ? ” demanded
York, rising and assuming an air of dig
nity.
“ Five punches—five levies, sir.”
“There’s the money, sir,” said York,
forking over the coin. “And now I
want to know why, when I call for a
private room, you should put me in
here with s-s-some-body else ?”
“ There’s nobody here but you and 1,,
sir ? ” said the landlord.
“ Nobody ! Do you s-s-spose I can’t
see? Do you think I’m drunk ? There,
look there! two of ’em, by jingo!”
“ Well, sir, I must confess I can’t see
but us two.”
“ You can’t, eh ? ” And York drag
ged the landlord to the table. “ Look
there, continued he, pointing to tho
glass. “ Th-th there’s the rascals now.
One of ’em’s enough like you to be
your brother, and the other is the most
Lord-forsaken, meanest looking while
man I ever saw.”
An Eastern paper proposes that in
stead of Sharp’s rifles, they send some
sharp Yankee girls to Kansas. Good t
The chap that made the suggestion ban
more hard sense than Parson Beecher.