The sunny South. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1875-1907, August 24, 1878, Image 1
BY GCILLAMO.
I met her in the land of love and roses.
But all unlike a rose was she.—As white,
As delicate as the light cloud that reposes
Or the blue sky, so was she to the sight.
The lirst time that I saw her—here's her pic
ture
Drawn upon canvas—(deeper in my heart.)
"Pis all I have of her—the sea's wild billows
Laugh, as they mutter‘far are ye apart,’
But look at my love's picture—she is kneeling
Where the last lingering beams of dying day
Through storied pane, dim aisle, and fretted ceil
ing
Float in a golden glory : cold and gray
Looms the dark shrine beneath, but clasped
above,
Meeting the mellowed sun-shower, praying hands
And a wild wealtli of tresses; Death and Love,
Brood o'er her—us yon shadows deck the light.
And both aro mighty—but Griefs linger brands
No lines that mar that sweet brow's earnest grace,
Though pain burns there, and weakness wrestles
might.
On snowy neck bent upward to the skies,
On parted lips the bright beams trembling flit,
And o'er her sable vesture lustre stealetli
Ligiit there; but oh, no light of earth e’er lit
The azure glory of those upturned eyes.
The spiritual splendours of that tender face,
Pale as the dying Christ she kneels before.
Bed Sunset on drooped brow and upstrained
arm.
Heaven's gold still tangled with bleak earth's
alloy,
Wild passion shadowed on ethereal calm,
And sorrow trembling into speechless joy. *
Freed From Her Bonds
UNBOOKED Foil RELEASE.
BY MAJOR A. F. GRANT.
Elsie Fenner was ambitious but, as her ambi
tion wes of the hereditary kind, I do not believe
she was to blame. Her father's ambition was to
scale walls called impregnable, at the head of a
body of picked troops, and to receive promotion
■ '■ .. * u
dess befoie his eyes, and when he returned from
the war with Mexico, with an empty sleeve,
many people said that the General’s ambition
had been gratified. Unable to remain in nctive
service, he erected a magnificent home on the
bank of the Potomao, and beautified his estate
nntil it seemed a garden of Paradise.
There, when the dowers of Potomac Side were
in bloom, Elsie, the girl with golden hair and
deep blue eyes, was born. Her earliest years
were spent with the nurse on the banks of the
old river, and when she at last broke from the
apron strings, it was for an expedition to the
beds of wild flowers that stretched to the wa
ter’s edge. Her childhood was lull of petty am
bitions, gratified by indulgent parents, and as
she approached womanhood, these ambitions,
not lost in the past, magnified themselves into
foibles, which threatened to mar the graces of
womanly life.
Elsie Fenner had many acquaintances, and
her life at the Potomac Side was far from being
inane.
Her seminary life had lengthened her list of
friends, many of whom visited her at home, the
hospitalities of which they enjoyed until they
pleased to depart. Their presence at the Poto
mac Side was relished by the General, who de
lighted in young company, especially in the
oompany of these who would listen to his tales
of martial life, in which the egotistical old vet
eran figured the most conspicuous part.
One summer day an old-fashioned carriage
brought two-looked-for visitors to Eisie Fen
ner’s home.
They were two handsome women, one of whom
was the general’s niece, and consequently our
heroin e'a cousin. The other was her friend
whom Elsie now met for the first time—Hermine
Haroourt, of Baltimore. They came to Potomac
Bide, on the urgent solicitation of the general,
who wished to consult with his niece, a literary
woman, on the publication of his memoirs.
Elsie hailed her visitors with delight, and the
trio were enjoying themselves, when there came
a man to Potomac Side.
His name was Ernest Blume, and it was un
derstood that he was Hermine Harcourt’s ac
cepted lover.
The regal belle received him with much con
sideration, and after his first day’s sojourn on
the estate, the general declared that he would
like to see Elsie become Mrs. Blume. But such
an event was out of the qutstion, for all knew
the young gentleman as Hermine’s lover, and be
lieved that the nuptials would soon be an event
in fashionable Baltimore life.
Ernest Blume bore himself like one of nature’s
noblemen. He was refined to a high degree,
and held a prominent clerkship in the custom
honse, from whioh he was enjoying a little rest.
Elsie Fenner admired him from the hour of
their acquaintance, and Hermine Harcourt saw
with ill pleasure that he became mors and more
devoted to the generals daughter, as the long
summer days wore wearily on.
One night two persons might have been seen
walking in the beautiful garden that lay in the
rear of the mansion.
There was a full-orbed moon in the light blue
sky, and a gentle breeze, fragrant with the odors
of fuli-blown flowers, fanned the cheeks of the
twain.
•One would suppose that you were her lover.’
n The speaker was Hermine Harcourt, and her
eyes flashed when with the last words cn her
lips, she looked up into Ernest Blame’s face.
Buoh a supposition is a tenant of your bos
om, then?’ he replied, with a smile that made
the hot blood rush to her tempks. ‘Since when
have I been bound not to admire a beautiful
woman ?’
Hermine Harcourt bit her lips, for, to her, his
tone was taunting, and it hurled a lava current
of jealousy through her heart.
‘You are pledged to me, Ernest Blume !’ she
cried, with a triumphant flashing of her black
Under your promise you dare not make
to General Fenner's daughter, and I advise
you to cease your notice
able attentions to her.’
•And what if I should
refuse to accept your ad
vice?’
‘I need not tell you
what would follow your
stubbornness,’ she an
swered. ‘I have intima
ted the nature of the pen
alty already. ‘Sir, you
must not forget that there
1 is a fraud in your depart
ment of the custom house
1 Eanest Blume, you are in
I my hands. I could send
i you disgraced in the eyes
of the world from the
great house in which you
occupy a desk, to the
State prison. You know
this, and knowing it, I
command you to guard
your footsteps.’
The smile that had
lately made his face more
hand some, gradually van
ished, and when she had
finished, a sorrowful and
cold look had taken its
place.
‘When are you going
to return to the City ?’
Hermine asked, after a
minute’s silence.
‘I do not know. I have
a month’s vacation, and
the general has invited
me to spend the whole of
it here. I am sure that I
could find no more en
gaging place than Poto
mac Side.'
She watched him, as if
to see whether he was try
ing to torture her with
his words, slowly and deliberately spoken, but
she could not decide.
Elsie stood before him gazing vacantly at the ball.
that he was a oriminal.
‘Have I not seen that she loves me?’ the clerk
‘I trust I shall not have to recur to this sub- | had said to himself. ‘Th si. is no woman on
jest again during my sojourn here,’ she said. ! earth whom I would so;- ' *•,.,,[> mine .' But I
•RJ is <V3v-' |.npleasant tq ..inj. Frnwr.t.dr ;fu : "tfin 'a-bicL ’.m-l v-'Lt-C s—'«
r? jw ,iiat‘>t wrings the heart that beats for your ■ forged 1- by Hermine Ha u-V»r. I ht»'e not the
! Oh, Ernest Blume, mv whole life is bound to j strength to bid her do her worst. Oh, if I could
1 your existence, and I long for the hour when J return to the Government the sums I have lost
we shall stand at the alta'r, and seal the promis- j iu wild speculation ! Oh, that I could defy
to his p:
'I have
belong to
■ but
a
ward,’ ‘for the sake
of the love I bear
you, forgive. I specula
ted ! I plunged into a
vortex from which I have
torn myself with the de
termination to be a man!
From my salary I am
paying back that which I
have taken from the cof
fers of the nation, and
the time is not far dis
tant when I will be frte
from the debt I have
brought on myself.’
‘But Hermine Harcourt.
You cannot restore all
before the wedding day!'
‘I can ! I will!’ he cried
‘Say that you love me,
will help me to keep in
the path of true manhood
and I will call this the
brightest hour of my life.'
He stood before her with
outstretohed arms, ask
ing for forgiveness and
love.
Though her face was
bent toward the ground,
she saw him through her
long lashes, and her
heart went out to him
with all the love of her
life.
•i love you, Ernest!’
she said, in a tone that
instantly drew him to
ward her.
‘This day you shall go
to Baltimore,’ she said,
and before the night clos
ed about the earth, Ern
est Blume was in the city.
The next morning he
celled the inspector in
sen ce and said:
peculated with funds that did not
. I could not resist the temptation;
« i in mv man hood, and to-dav
j.i, , ■ ‘ ■ x v#
to
ts that we have mutually made.’
Ernest Blume did not seem to hear her
last
i words, that fell full of passion, from her hot lips.
A footstep had startled him, and he was gaz
ing at Elsie Fenner, who stood in the shadow of
a clump ol hollyhocks, undecided whether to fly
or remain.
It was evident that the general’s daughter had
ccme unexpectedly upon the strangely mated
pair, and the custom house clerk was amused at
the statue of indecision into which she had
suddenly grown.
‘Yes, yes, Hermine,’ he answered hurriedly
‘But let us return to the house, and vanquish
the general in a game cf dominoes.’
He was smiling as he spoke, and pleased with
what she would call a triumph, the belle per
mitted him to lead her toward the mansion.
It was a relief for Ernest Blume to turn his
! back upon Elsie Fenner. He wondered wheth-
* er she had listened to the conversation, rather
I loudly spoken in the garden, and shuddered
when he thought that she might [iave heard.
What would she say to him when next they
met? What kind of a look would she give him,
before he would place his troubled head on the
pillow? Elsie Fenner hurried from the garden
by a by-path, and sought her boudoir.
‘They are engaged, but he does not love her !’
she exclaimed. ‘She seems to hold his hand in
thrall, and his very nature shrinks from her
sight. Ernest Blume, I love you ! and I shall
try to redeem you from that beauty’s thrall.
My whole life is wrapped up in 5 ours, and I
shall win you for myself—l will make you a free
man, with my heart in your keeping.’
The general’s daughter had not intentionally
played the eavesdropper in the garden. She
had come suddenly and unexpectedly upon the
couple and the last words of the haughty belle
' had reached her ears. The twain’s return to the
' house was a great relief, and with her heart still
beating wildly, Else fled from the garden to her
boudoir.
When she joined them in the parlor, a game
was in progress, and she became a watcher in
stead of participant.
At last the general's shout of victory announc
ed the result of the well-contested match, aud
it was decided that the dominoes should be put
away for the night.
Ernest Blume was anxious to know how much
' of the conversation in the garden had reached
Elsie's ears; but he dared not question her,
through fear of betraying himself. Still, be
1 watched her, and tried to satisfy his mind with
the glances which ever and anon she gave him.
But he could not analyze the depths of Elsie’s
1 expressive eyes, and at last gave up the hope
less task with a sigh.
‘I will find out,’ he said, with determination,
1 and despite the warning look which Hermine
Harcourt shot from her eyes, he crossed the
room to Elsie, and invited her into the beauti
ful night.
They passed out upon the porch, and down
into the garden.
Then he questioned her, and learned what
she had heard.
A weight that almost crushed him to the
earth, was lifted from his mind, and he laughed,
: and even sang with the girl in the garden among
the flowers.
I They did not tarry long among the beauties of
the miniature Eden, and when they returned to
the house, they found that Hermine had retir
ed, and the general was alone with his niece.
Ernest Blume put a thankful head on the pil
low that night.
The greater part of his talk with Hermine Har-
cenrt in the gardan, had not reached Elsie’s
ears. The general’s daughter knew nothing
about the custom house frauds, at which Her
mine had more than hinted, and the young man
was rejoiced to know that she did not dream
that woman, and turn to Eisie Fenner a man re
deemed from thraldom—an honest man !’
It was in the agon'y of his heart that Ernest
Blume cried forth in the solitude of his room,
and hours passed away before he found rest in
the sleep he needed.
Hermine Harcourt’s father was an inspector
of accounts in the custom house, and it was du
ring the discharge of his duty, that he discov
ered the condition of Ernest Blume’s books.
More than this—he discovered, too, that the
young clerk had been led into speculation by
men who held positions above him, but that
he had ceased to obey their calls, and was try
ing to replace the peculated sums irom the pro
ceeds ot his labor for the Government. Y’es,
Ernest Blume was trying to redeem himself,
and the inspector saw that in time he would re
place every unjustly used, and be a man again.
He communicated his discovery to his wife,
who in turn repeated it to her daughter Her
mine, who was deeply infatuated with the hand
some clerk.
The events that followed were natural se
quences of the telling of the secret.
Hermine Harcourt soon horrified Ernest
Blume with the tidings t i?.t’she knew of his
peculations, and he found Limself in the belle’s
power.
Now Hermine could lock forward to the suc
cess of her cherished plans, and, liarrassed by
her love-making in the shadow of avenging law,
he promised to lead her to the altar.
Such was the situation in which Ernest Blume
found himself, when he went to Potomac Side,
to pass a few weeks from all the cares of duty,
and the prison life of a great city.
It being bis first visit to tne general’s house,
he of course encourntered Elsie for the first
time.
Then it was that he found the woman whom
he could love; but he cursed the bonds that
held him the prisoner of another, and almost
wished that a hand stronger than his would in
tervene, and save him for his true ind new found
affection. |
A rich summer day was drawing to a close
when Margary Boone, the general s niece, threw
down the croquet mallet, &':d moved an adjourn
ment to the house.
But Ernest Blume, with smiles invited Elsie
to a game, aad Hermine and the niece yielded
them the lawn, and resolved to return to the
mansion.
The clerk was glad of it, and before the twain
had ascended the steps that led up to the high
er ground before tho bouse, he, with one foot
resting on the wooden, sc-ffee, was talking con
fidently to the general’s daughter,
Elsie stood before him with eyes gazing va-
oantly at the ball which she was striking light
ly with the mallet; but her face told that she
heard every word that fell from his lips.
‘Elsie Fenner,’he said. ‘I lore you! but did
you know where I stand, you would not listen
to a word I am saying. My heart went out to
you when first we met, and my love has been
growing more passionate wb.li the waning days.
It has made a man of me; it has strengthened
me until I am now strong enough to break the
bends that bind me. 0, Elsie Fenner, will
you let me love you until I come to you a free
and honest man and ask for the hand whioh I
will try to merit?’
For a long moment she did not answer him,
and he was watohing her with painful interest,
when she almost suddenly raised her eyes.
‘How much do you owe the Government?’
He started from her like a man suddenly con
fronted by the ghost of a victim.
What! Elsie Fenner in possession of the great
secret of his life ?
He oould not believe it, and yet she had just
put to him that fearful question. *
‘Elsie! Elsie Fenner!’ he cried, starting for-
iny accounts, and believe that I will be able
point with pride at the result.’
Before he returned to Potomac side he saw
his books examined, and counted into the hand
of the treasurer, every dollar of the money
that belonged to the Government. Then he
went down again to the General's estate, armed
with a piece of paper that was to him a two-
edged sword.
‘I am free !’ he whispered to Elsie, whom he
encountered on the porch, and passed out into
the garden with Hermine Harcourt.
It was night again, and the twain found them
selves on the spot where an important conver
sation had already occured.
‘Ernest Blume, will you force me to fling you
on the altar of the law?’ she cried, turning sud
denly upon him.
His answer was a laugh that cut the jealous
Hermine to the heart.
T saw you making love to Elsie Fenner, before
I left tho croquet lawn yesterday, she continued.
‘Ernest Blume, beware !’
Then he met her look calmly, and drew a
white paper from his pocket.
‘Do your very worst,’ he cried in triumph.
‘I went to Baltimore yesterday. I saw your
father, and, at my request, he examined my
books. Can you read his chirography in the
light of the moon ? ’
She did not reply, but he thrust the paper
into her hands, and watched her while she read
her father’s bold chirography.
All at once she dashed the certificate of satis
factory inspection to the ground and started
back.
.‘Why, yon owed the government six hundred
dollars !’ she cried. ‘Where did you get all the
money to replace it?'
‘From the hands of the noble woman whose
love is so deep that she forgives my crime, and
who will keep me held fast to tho manhood
which I have snatched from the vortex of specu
lation !’
‘Elsie Fenner ?’
‘Elsie Fenner!’
She gave him a look that, contrary to her
wishes, was powerless to kill, and turniug
quickly, she left him alone among the roses.
The bonds were broken; Ernest Blume was
free.
The next day Hermine Harcourt returned to
the city, discomfitted by Elsie's unexpected vic
tory, and conscious that the prize had slipped
through her fingers.
Not long afterwards, the young clerk married
the General’s daughter aud to-day he blesses the
noble woman whoso love brightens the manhood
that he snatched from the seas of ruin just in
time.
Hermine Harcourt is a favorite belle no lon
ger. Her defeat drove much beauty from her
fu.ee, and she passes Potomac Side sometimes on
her way to the home of Southern relatives.
Elsie confessed to her husband that she over
heard him in his room when ho upbraided him
self for his appropriation of the nation’s money
—when he resolved to pay it back, and then
came to her with an avowal of love.
ghe pitied him, and from that night her love
grew stronger, till it culminated in the greatest
triumph of her eventful life.
Bruce. Ilie Coloml ^(‘iistlur-llr I11-
It'rnules for a Soul firm frilly—
Success Crowns liis Kllorts.
Under date of Washington, July oth, ‘Orra
Langhorne,’ correspondent of the Springfield
(Mass.) Republican, writes as follows;
‘The colored members of Congress did not
impress one as particularly good specimens of
their race except Bruce, the Senator from Mis
sissippi, who is a very fine-looking mulatto, tail,
stout and handsome. He is said to be a Vir
ginian by birth, and was owned in early youth
by the wealthy Bruce family of Halifax county.
He seemed very popular with his colleagues,
and was frequently seen on the avenue walking
with the white brethren and evidently on pleas
ant terms with them. From wnat I could hear
of him he must be a man of uncommon intelli
gence, who has studied diligently since the
emancipation to improve himself and make up
for his early disadvantages. Bruce’s speech in
regard to the legislation, or rather the lack of it,
necessary for the future well-being of the Afri
cans in our country, was admirable in tone and
expression, and presented a pleasing contrast to
the remarks of Air. Conkllng and other gentle-
meu who stiii labor under the tff'eet of the color
prejudice.
A young lady who holds a clerkship in one of
the departments, told me an incident connected
with Senator Bruce, which illustrates both the
wonderful changes wrought by the whirligig of
time and the amiability which is ever the char
acteristic of the long-suffering African. While
the abhorred earpet-Lag government existed in
Mississippi, very heavy municipal taxes were
levied in the towns, and some dispute arose be
tween a gentleman, who had been one of the
wealthy citizens ot Bruce's district,and the ‘Yan
kee Mayor’ of the town in which he lived, in re-
gerd to the collection thereof. The Mississip
pi*!! refused to pay his quota, because the city
had failed to make repairs necessary to the pre
servation of the wall surrounding his grounds.
The corr.rcversy continued for some time, until
at last, iv the absence of the owner cf the prop-
p* - *,, ■! 1 jf _»/ ppoi—ted b.v auu entered
' t.i2 £’-u-<£ isrj ■.iiht.t’t oer»/x*,ny
piano and-other pieces of furniture, wLiol. were
at once sold for taxes. The family had suffered
many losses from the war,and this act, when re
lated te him by his wife, so exasperated tho hot
headed Southerner, that he went at once to the
Mayor’s office and shot him dead. He was tried
by the authorities and being released on bail, at
once left the state by the advice of his bonds
men. The family moved to Baltimore, where
they lived lor awhile, and the unhappy Missis-
sippian sunk under his many carts aud died.
Ail this occurred some years ago, aud the wid-
or had uudergone many trials aud privations,
when she reached Washington some mouths
since, with her two little children, and attempt
ed to get au office under the Government. She
took board at the house where my young friend
was living, and after vainly appealing for aid to
sundry Democratic friends iu high position,
having nearly exhausted her slender means, was
advised by my informant to ask the assistanoe
of the negro senator from her own state.
The high-born Southern lady, who is describ
ed as very handsome and refined in bearing,
at first shrank from the thought. But her board
bill was nearly due, her p irse nearly empty,and
deeming her cup of sorrow full to overflowing,
she accepted the offer of her new friend to ac
company her to the dreaded interview', and the
two specimens of the old noblesse went to the
door of the senate chamber and sent in a card to
Air. Bruce. The negro senator appeared at once,
and my informant assures me that the respect
and courtesy of his manner could not have been
surpassed. In response to the faltering request
of the unhappy lady for aid for herself and her
starving children, Bruce answered quickly in
tonesofinuck feeling; ‘Certainly, madam, I will
do all in my power to aid ybu. AYhen I was a slave
working on my master's plantation, you were
known as the richest and most elegant lady of
the country, and now that times have so greatly
changed for us both, I shall be glad of an oppor
tunity to serve jou.’ The ex-slave went at once
to the departments, and his tff'orts were so suc
cessful ttiat a few bouts later the desolate wid
ow was rejoicing in her appointment to a clerk
ship.
[The lady referred to is the widow of E. M.
Yerger, a member of the celebrated Mississi^ni
family of that name. During his residence in
Jackson, Alississippi, he was known as ‘Prince
Yerger. ’ He was one of the handsomest men in
Mississippi. The Alayor referred to was not
shot and killed iu his office, but was fatall ib-
bed on the streets of Jackson, opposite tL ..ip-
ital grounds. The ‘Yankee Mayor,’ so called, was
not the Mayor, but was Provost Marshal, and
ranked as Major. We think his family name was
1’aull Nor was Col. Yerger released on bail. He
was tried by a jury of his peers and acquitted.
His magnifioent form, leonine head, lustrous
eyes, and luxuriant curly hair are all well re
membered in Baltimore. He died here about
two years since.—Eos. Baxtimorean. ]
To live uprightly and purely in this age is n’o
play. A young man who resolves to do it must
put himself, as a fencsr does when about to be
attacked, on his guard. A mild and dove-like
disposition does not hold a man up to the line
of duty at all times. There are the mild, and
there are also the heroic virtues; and both find
their proper moments of expression. There
are times when a young man must say no, and
a no that has no hint of a possible ‘yes’ in it.
There are times, also, when he must say yes,
and make it ring like the blast of a trumpet.
Never did young men need this quality and
temper more than they do tc-day; never were
there more opportunities for their exercise.
1
There is a great deal of capillary attraction in
love. Girls adore a handsome suit of glossy
hair. It is lovely. And when a lover comes to
woo her, with the top of his head shining like a
greased pumpkin, he is at a disadvantage. Just
as the words that glow and the thoughts that
burn begin to awaken in her bossom a sympa
thetic thrill, she may notice two or three flie3
promenading over his phrenological organs—
and all is over. Girls are so frivolous, fjhe im
mediately becomes more interested in those flies
than in all his lovely language. While he is
ponring out his love and passion she is wonder
ing how the flies manago to hold on to such a
slippery surface.
A self-sufficient fop, at an evening party, after
annoying the company for some time by his at
tempted wit, seeing a lamp half filled, turned
to a young lady, and said: ‘Can you tell me
why that lamp is like me ?’ to which she instant-j
ly replied: ‘Because it is half-fool (half fall.’)