Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Colville.
'Twas in the month of September—Nature seemed to have done her best—the hills arrayed in the r . chest vests of verdure , the fields in the highest state of vegetation , rendered tiie appearance of the country a tenestrial paradise . One evening , the Colvilles , busied in the pleasures of domestic life , were alarmed by a sudden ancl tremendous noise : the wind rose with the most excessive violence , the rain descended in torrents from the skies . Colville heard and
shuddered . Experience had taught him knowledge , —had taught him that this was but the fatal prelude of a hurricane . The moon had now withdrawn her beams from the face of the earth , and the stars seemed to shrink at the general convulsion : —peals of thunder rolled tremendous through the skies—flashes of lightning darting their vivid forks , served , at different intervals , to exhibit some hapless wretch in the
agonies of death I The screams of mothers for the loss of their children , of wives for their husbands , and the groans of expiiing slaves , tended to augment the dreadful horror of the scene ! Colville-Hall had as yet stood against the combination of the elements : the sugarhouse , mills , and different works adjacent ,. had been swept away by the violence of the storm . Mr . and Mrs . Colville , with their dear Louisa , had retired to an apartment , which , from the particular
method of its building , they vainly flattered themselves might escape the general dcsolati ; n . Unhappy family ! Some few hours ago , ye were basking in the sunshine of Prosperity ;—ye are now deeply overwhelmed in the storm of Adversity ! Colville experienced the different feelings of a husband , a parent , and a planter : —he saw his family tottering on the verge of destruction ;—his mills , his works , not a trace of them remained . The horror of the scene rendered him
motionless ; the sobbings of his wife and daughter roused him notbut hark 1— 'Good heavens 1 my husband 1 my daughter ! ' Alas ! one convulsive shock had laid Colville-Hall in ruins . Colville , in the agony of despair , seized his wife and daughter . Unfortunate husband I your beloved wife is no more !—the chill y hand if death has put an end to her sufferings and her life !—a fixture from the ceiling
had struck her . — ' Gracious God ! ' ' exclaimed Colville , 'thy will be done : I arraign not thy decrees—whatever is , is best . ' A darling wife lay dead on one side—his daughter sat on the other , covered with dust , among a heap of ruins . The storm still raged with unremitting violence . —What was to be done ? Further to brave the inclemency of the elements were madness . The miserable father sunk beneath the weight of his affliction—it was too much—Nature could not stand the shock ! Louisa
fancied herself an orphan ; but kind Heaven had ordained it otherwise—Her father yet lived . ' Where are you , my Louisa ? ' exclaimed a feeble voice . ' O my father ! my father ! ' was all Louisa could articulate . The slorm had now in a great degree subsided;—returning light did but occasion returning misery . Some faithful slaves approached the spot , anxious for the safety of the family : —their hearts bled within them at the sight—their mistress , the idol of their affection , was no more 1—But this was not a time for sympathy . Colville
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Colville.
'Twas in the month of September—Nature seemed to have done her best—the hills arrayed in the r . chest vests of verdure , the fields in the highest state of vegetation , rendered tiie appearance of the country a tenestrial paradise . One evening , the Colvilles , busied in the pleasures of domestic life , were alarmed by a sudden ancl tremendous noise : the wind rose with the most excessive violence , the rain descended in torrents from the skies . Colville heard and
shuddered . Experience had taught him knowledge , —had taught him that this was but the fatal prelude of a hurricane . The moon had now withdrawn her beams from the face of the earth , and the stars seemed to shrink at the general convulsion : —peals of thunder rolled tremendous through the skies—flashes of lightning darting their vivid forks , served , at different intervals , to exhibit some hapless wretch in the
agonies of death I The screams of mothers for the loss of their children , of wives for their husbands , and the groans of expiiing slaves , tended to augment the dreadful horror of the scene ! Colville-Hall had as yet stood against the combination of the elements : the sugarhouse , mills , and different works adjacent ,. had been swept away by the violence of the storm . Mr . and Mrs . Colville , with their dear Louisa , had retired to an apartment , which , from the particular
method of its building , they vainly flattered themselves might escape the general dcsolati ; n . Unhappy family ! Some few hours ago , ye were basking in the sunshine of Prosperity ;—ye are now deeply overwhelmed in the storm of Adversity ! Colville experienced the different feelings of a husband , a parent , and a planter : —he saw his family tottering on the verge of destruction ;—his mills , his works , not a trace of them remained . The horror of the scene rendered him
motionless ; the sobbings of his wife and daughter roused him notbut hark 1— 'Good heavens 1 my husband 1 my daughter ! ' Alas ! one convulsive shock had laid Colville-Hall in ruins . Colville , in the agony of despair , seized his wife and daughter . Unfortunate husband I your beloved wife is no more !—the chill y hand if death has put an end to her sufferings and her life !—a fixture from the ceiling
had struck her . — ' Gracious God ! ' ' exclaimed Colville , 'thy will be done : I arraign not thy decrees—whatever is , is best . ' A darling wife lay dead on one side—his daughter sat on the other , covered with dust , among a heap of ruins . The storm still raged with unremitting violence . —What was to be done ? Further to brave the inclemency of the elements were madness . The miserable father sunk beneath the weight of his affliction—it was too much—Nature could not stand the shock ! Louisa
fancied herself an orphan ; but kind Heaven had ordained it otherwise—Her father yet lived . ' Where are you , my Louisa ? ' exclaimed a feeble voice . ' O my father ! my father ! ' was all Louisa could articulate . The slorm had now in a great degree subsided;—returning light did but occasion returning misery . Some faithful slaves approached the spot , anxious for the safety of the family : —their hearts bled within them at the sight—their mistress , the idol of their affection , was no more 1—But this was not a time for sympathy . Colville