| OCR Text |
Show 2;)0 HJCIIARD HUU.DJR. . tl c one Lcforc us, who would sary, so faithful to Ius tr~:~ ~~~to 1noticc. Before Pickett slept sufrcr ~hose to go unmustteo the condusion that he might as w_ell thnt nlght, he had come . f the mystic confedf'racy, which take hi s share in ~he bl;s:n:~:clo laid so well. promised so ma~nJficent )•o'f J~11 H Ilurclis1 "\Vhat were his But, mean_wlul~, wl~tllflt ni rrht 1 Anything Lut pleasant lhoughts-lns clJcams f P?·l·ctt springing from his povnnd promising: : 'he h~p.es ~~othi:~ ........ to' him. He was rich-a crty and. de_stlfutJOn, ::~~~mce. S'tamling fair in the ;'·orld's man of f:tm•eJklyin ga nthd e sr e,....ar d s ancI the afl'cctions of tllC nrtuous < • • • estcemb:~utiful-wllll~ were his reflections in the position t.n nnI~n cthh eh e n' ow "to nneI In . msc• lf1 His felony brought hoIm e to h.J s ~oors, and only withheld from jlublic cxposurc-~11 :,;~ ;~~~~y f n. band of professed felons-and then, only, ~ \_ . y 0 com' plia' nce wi. th thou• • I a\\. s an d c:x actio. ns -Lyt .I usJ ue. cotom malgl one with them-forced into then· cnmes - OIC.C ~ ~~ r • - their thousand respons.Jb I' l'' t'Ie s• "\Vhat a mesh of d.1ln .g 1C l1s gahtahd ercd about llim! \Yhat a fecund Cl:im? wns tl~at '~ uc I le • tcommitted! The teeth of his mnhgnlty were ahcaUy .s;rou :~;,,;~~~n n~h~v~:;";:~~ ~',~1 ~~~:~d:~!'l~: ~~"';n~ce~t~ll(~~~::c:~~o~!~:: tl c folly not less than the wickedness, of the ~leed wluc \ Jd h~d com:nissioned Pickett to perform . And Pickett, too, .Hl Ueserted him-that was a blow not less sc~crc thnntlt~eo:~:tl: Could he have thrust upon tiLe hands of lu~ agent I so a d t to be done, he had been compnrahvely ensy, not me:ch ~:cause of the service itself, but bccaus/3 he w~uld not then h ave bc cn t au. gh t so tcnibly to feel t.h e aw1fu l s.o ltLl tudfeir sotf- . The desertion of the confederate JS, per _wps, le cnme. I t tl VIC IOUS felt warning which a jnst fate despatc leS o le . . bl llur- " Fool! miserable fool that I was!" raved the I~ J se~;ha~ havo dis when he found himself alone. "'Vhcrc am I · b ~ · ' 1 I done 1 Where do I stand 1 rrhe earth opens_ c ore m;t· Would it hide me? I have labored wildly, nnd WJtho~t ~~:.o~fi~ I am no nearer to Mary Easterby than ever-nay, fn th 1 th~n ever! and the blood of a brother, shed that I mi_gM c ear the way to her, is upon my hands in vain! She reJect\ ~;~~ and I have gained nothing but misery and danger. I am a I • 'l'lH; llEAHT FAILS. 251 mercy of the worst-the most d{'sperate of mankind-with no ties to bind them in my service and to secrecy ! The very wenlth, which I believed capable to do everytl1ing, rejected at my l1 ands! There is but one hOJ1C- but one chance for freedom! It must be done, and-double misery! -my hand alone must do it! I must not shrink-! must not falter now! On the word of this desperado my life hangs! I must risk life that he should not speak tl1at word! lie must be silenced ! Better tlwt I should do so now, than wait till tl1c sl1eriff knocks at the door! It can not be worse-it may save nil!" llis terror did not deprive llim of l1is cautions, nor operate to defeat his deliberate thougl1ts upon the course which he resolved to take. On the contr:uy, it ratl1er contributed to increase !lis acuteness, tmd make his caution more deliberate than ever. Nature, wl1ich denied him conrnge, seemed to have pro. vidcd him, in his strait, with a double shnre pf cunning; and one little incident will sufficiently serve to show !lis own providence in makiug his arrangements. lie lJad to take llis gun from his ciJambcr, after l1c had carefully loaded both banels with Luckshot, and, lest lJC migllt be met while descending the stairs, by a.ny of the family or servants, l1e lowered it from his window by means of a str ing-thus obviating any danger of being seen armed at an unusual hour of the night. Before the dny had dawned, he had made his way to the place designed for his con· cealmen ti and with the patience, if not tl1c indifference, of the professed outlaw, he waited for the appronch of one. lle had to wnit for some hours, for Pickett's hospitality toward his new associate, would not suffer llim to depart till nfter breakfnst. rrbe same COJlsidcration was not sufficient, however, to induce the former to acquaint the emissary with the ambush wl1ich he well-knew had been set for him. His regards lmd not yet been warmed to such a degree. His policy ~may be comprised in a few words. "If," thought he, "John llurdis kills him, well and good Pvc nothing to do with it-I can lose nothing by it, but will most probably escape from a connection, which is decidedly dangerous. But whether I escape from the connection or not, at least I am safe from any charges of l1aving done thil:i deed ; I am certainly untroubled with the consciousness of it. Should |
