The Wingham Times, 1885-01-23, Page 6r
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ID WING. HAM ` TV • FRIDAY' JAN ''28 S85.
aware them as I did ItIlletie three die.
Giandfather's Tale,banded soldiers' ' Iow 'was tl M'/'
'On, kit's as welly sa}d Toil►, pretending
When 1 first took my seat as clerk
•in etre back, tl'aestate of 'the Alibalttry
was fax Lass safe Thera itis. tto , Th
roads were:not ou.y uueobscioos c
taaoadam, and fatal in many places t
wheels and spiengs, but daugeroua t
a still more alarming degree from th
.outrages uud robberies to which train
tellers were exposed.
Mems •iniuds were unsettled by th
incidents of the war on which we lead
just entered—eotnmoroe was inter
rupted, credit was at an'eud, and dis
trees began to be discovered among
whole classes of the .papulation who
had hitherto lived in comfort. How
ever harshly the law was administer-
ed it seemed to have no terrors for
•the eviid tor, and, indeed the indis
•eerni..g cruelty of the statute book de
•iae-ated its Own object by,pur-ishing al
c +iinas alike. •1•ut a time of preoun
•iarq pit:sore is not a bad season for
•ao haul;.
',t'hE, hoose flourished,, though the
'Erounery was in great straits. ; and the
'enormous profits. at that tine realized
by baukere—which enabled their to
purchase large estates and outshine
the old tet ritorial aristocracy—made
the profession as Al pop •tr amens,
the higher classes as it had ' become
among the unreasoning masses. By
thein the banker was. looked upon as
a-tlort of licensed forger, who created
large sums of money by merely sigh-
ing sgn'are pieces of flimsley paper•;
and I am persuaded the robbery of
bank would have been considered by
anany people quite as meritorious an
•aetion as the dispersal of a band of
ieoiners.
These, however, were not the senti-
ment, of us banker's clerks. We felt
that we belonged to 11 mighty torpor
oboe; on whore good will depended
.the prosperity of half the farms in the
"eoutitrv, We Considered ottrs..Ives
dthe••etetnttiao government, and -curried,
row the•business of the office with. a
!pride and dignity that would have fit-
ted us for secretaries of state. We••ua-'
.ed even to walk the streets with •a.;
braitgedocia air, as if ou•r;pockets were
loaded with gold ; and if •tw•7•of •ua hir-
ed a gig for a country excursion, we
;pretended tc look under the driving
'.eat to see to the safety of ineonceive•
able amounts of money ; ostentatious-
ly &splaying our pistols to show that
we were determined to defend our
treasure or die. Not seldom these!
ptrecan.tions were required in reality,
tor when a pressure for gold occurred
among our customers, two (A -the most
'courageous of the clerk were despatch-
ed with the required amount in Leath•
ern bags deposited under the scat of.
the gig. which bags they weresto guard
et the. risk. of their lives, Whether
.freta the bodily strength 1. was gifted
with,or•frrom seine idea that I was nut
.given to,boasting, 1 '!night really po•
'cess the necessary amount of bo►dness,
I do not knew, telt 1 was often select.
ed as one of .the Guar is to a va.u,tble
.cargo,of this.diaoription,, and as if to
show, an impartiality, between the
most silent and most talkative
of theit••servants, the partner united
with me in. this se.vice the most blus-
tering, .boastful, good-hearted, and
oddeyeieed young gentlemen I have
•ever known.
You have most of you heard of'the
f;auioes electioneering orator, l'i'on
R;tddie, who•stood at every vacahcy
for ceunty. and' borough, and pasted
his whole lite, brctnvoen. the elections
u canvassing for himself and friends,
Toni Rundle was .iia •fellow-nierk,, end
generally the companion, •of lay. drive
ill eh•erge of tre ur'. 'What w.onld,
emu do ?' I said to Toin, 'in wase we'
•.ere attacked ?' 'Pell! ye what,' said
To:n, with whom that was a favorite
way of beginning' every sentence:
'Tell ye what? .V1I shoot 'em through
the head,'
'Then lo:i expect there will be more
(tit.•tn one ?'
'1 should think so,' said Tom. If
there was only one I'd jump out of
"tt re gig and give hien a preeinus lick-
• ;. Tell ye' what, 'twauld be a prop
-
sr r,unishruent for his. , hinnerten'anoe.'
'And if half a dozen should• try it ?'
'Short 'em all 1' Never was there
'emelt a determined custodian as the gal-
', iit To:n. RRuddl'. ;'t
'Ude c Id Decors itr Ei'.veqin ','wit
q
g
t
rsrz e1FMe►dy sent e Pitt eIiarg .of
'i.ir ee bags of a.'iii to, I delivered
ter eustotners' hands, wit'hin'ten or
t•vetvo milds of t1i towrtl. The ulcer,
f.'t„ty sky was exlitlerating, our cour-
it,n, was excited by the speed of the
tier hien, the digs ty of our responsible
v !fico, and a pair of horse pistols
pleb lay' nprelse the Apron. '`;'r ! v.,
w l, at,' s.,; 1 - t •• r ' ,777 eta '+ t
pia;' �..•t. , n• 1 ,e •. ,, tun •
a.,dkuig it•,` 1 . �.r,.aa i i'.,1,,i' it,..:
adsel,, a few cf diose rwebcr's, ,i', ,!dealt!
to grow very serions,''to>say nothing
so un or rend a acoi Nn
about the f t t 'd ts.
lilus,d is a frightful thing on ,the con-
•soience, and•a bullet •tletough 'atfehow
e• is a frightful •sight ; !rut (_tell ye what
f —I'd do it ,again. Fellows wile •radi
otheir "lives runt !run their chance, my
Eboy,
And here Tem!put his pistol 'on till
• '.cock and looked .auclaotously on both
sides elf therruad,.as•if�daring the lurk.
e ing'mttrderers. to'come forth ►end VA;
ceive the rewa'•d of:their crimes. At
• to the -story of the .soldiers, •and
the fearful insinuations of a bloody
deo:l executed on one 'oriall, it was a
prodigious rhednmoutade—for Tom
was such a tender he rted iiudividual
that if he 'had shot a kitten it would
have made hint unhappy for a week.
But, to hear him talk, you. 'would
have taken hien for a sivic Richard the
Tt;ir�l,'one'who had 'neither laity, love
nor fear.''
1 -lis whiskers were also very • !fero-
cious and suggestive of battle, murder
and ruin. So, he (rent on playing
with his pistol and giving lr%inself out
for an •anpitying executioner of yen- i
genoe on the jurlty until we reached' i
the lietle town where one of our cus-
tomers resided a .d 1 was found ne-
cessary for one of us to carry one of
the bags to its destination. Tom un
dertook this task•
At the village at whieh the remain-
ing parcels were to be deliver.4 only
a mile further '•n, he determined to'
;exoss the (fields and join mo after he
had executed bis commission. He
looked carefully at the printing of his
pistol,stuok it ostentati usly tin the
outside breast. pocket of his greatcoat ;
and, with stately step marched off with
the•heavy money bag in his hand. I
put..the whip to the horse and trotted
on merrily forwarl, thinking nothing
whatever of danger er robbery, in
spite of the mom: ntary .,onvei�sittiorr
of Toni Ruddel Our first cust•,uter
lived on the outskirts of the village—
a farmer who. required a considerable
amount in gold. 1 pulled up at tau
narrow darktentraiice of the lane that
'•led. up to the •,souse ; aura, as my ab-
sence' eouldn,t be but for a few min-
utes, 3. left the gig and,proceeded up`
the lane with rry golden treasure. I
delivered it . into che. bands of the
owuor,,an 1, manfully eesistiug all hi3
hospirabie inyitatious; 1 took my leave
and walked rapidly toward the gig.
As I . drew near t perceived in the
e ear starlight a man mounted on the
strap aio1 groping under the seat. I
ran feeward, and the man, alarmed at
my approach rapidly raised !himself i
from his stooping position, and, pre. s
senting a pistol, fired it so closely to
my eyes. that the.fiaslt blinded me foie 1
a moment; the at.tion was so sudden.
and the surprise rear great, that for a
short time 1 'wits bewildered, and
seerccly knew whether 1 was alive or s
dead: The old horse never started
at the report, and 1 rested my head on
th-e rirn of the wheel, while I endeavor.
lied to gather my scattered thot•gllits,
The first thing I ascertained was that s
the•man had disappeared. T then
hnrridly examined under the seat, and t
to my intense reliie�l`,pei'ceived! tbe'e"
►nainiug moncy.bag'still whertie I 'Marl, t
loft it.
There was a slit- itx it; leo ever -
• near the top, as if made by a uuife—
the robber probably resolved merely
to possess himself of the coin, witjiout a
the dot. geroue accompaniment of the v
leathern sack, by which he ' might r
have been traced.
'Te'l ye what,' saltie a voice close be -
aide me, as I had concluded my scru-
.tiny,,'•1 don't like practical jokes like
that—firing of pistols to frighten
folks. Yost':1. alarm t':ie whole v11-
!ago,' •
Tbm,''I'said, 'uov3 is the time to
bhow your coul'age. A man hits rob-
bed' the gig—or tried, to do so—and
has fired at me within; a yard of my
face,'
Tom grew• percepkibly payic. nt this
information. ''!Vas there only one?;
iThenthe accomplices are near. What's
to be done?. Shall we rouse farther
1/Win's •and get his men; to give its es.
' iletance` t
,'Not ,for the Worlds 1said.. I *mild
rather face a dozen shots than heave
-;ley . carelessness known et. the bank.
: t iwould rain 'roe for life. Let .ti
quilt the money in this bag. quickly
deliver it if it ltd correct, acid then fol-
low the robber's course,' 1t was only
a otle•liuildred•t;uiuoa bag. that one,
bait the c•itintiug was nervous work.
We found three guineas wanting. We
were lut'kily auto to ttapply tbetn from
our ote.1 pockets, having just received
mer quarter's salaries, and 1• left '!tom
are, delivered the bag t" its destinat-
t is+• •tt hand, without a word of
• ' . '(tett b.tek to NM,
1
•.t7 , , , •t,', • ?' tiiLfel i. t7 II
a.i a!t131a1A .L r.r ?:...a, i .•a.r,
clutching hie it;tdl, Gike the dhicF of a 'light proceeded •Evers the next rooms,
horus of banditti m ,w melodrama, which had not been built above the
told flim I had been vo'codfinsed that T height of the ceiling joists, so that the
1►ad not noticed whieli spay lie bad re- roof was common to both chambers--
treatetl, the actloluing one and that in which
Tours was an old haus put poltehiu„ we wore-- the tpartiti'nr wall being on-
•theougli no was a clergyman s eon,' 1y Agin', or ten feet high. We could
and ought to have shown a .better rea• hot •have heard anything that was said
•ample, sc. we listened in vain fot the slightest
'1 have heard a hare stir ata !puri • , Bound,
dred yards,' he said, and'Ire planed his! The light, however, continued to
ear clean to the ground.' torn•; we saw it flickering across f'h
'If he's within a quartet of a 'Mile ikabitation•, and dimly ,playing far up
I can bear hint move,' I ltd}so lie Clown among the .dark thatch of the roof.
.on the ground. We beard nothing' ''Tell ye what!' said Tom, 'If we could
.but oar breathing and the breathing 'get. •nip .on thele old joists, we could
of a !horse. ' •see in the next room. Hold my pistol
'•Illriah,' said Tom at hist. Ile has till get up—tell ye what—then I
esnMe out of his Biding. 1 bear a man's thee 1 can shoot'enn easy.'
stapler away to the weal; brine ,your ''For heaven's sake, nom 1' I said, 'be
pittol•and follow. Careful. Let me see whether it is the
I took 'the pistol and found the diet mem, tOome up then,' said Tom, Who
flo'wn on' the pan. The man had fired now bestrode !onto of the main beams,
at me with my own weapon, and rue and gave me a hand to aid my ascent.
wonder be had fire so suddenly, •for We were both on the level of the wall,
Tom acknowledged to his ioelief that and by!frlsu)ttrg•evtrlt!treads at little for
he had forgotten to uncock it. 'Never ward, 'eon Id -see revery .portion of the
mind,' stud Tont; ";I'll blots his brains neighboring room. A miserable room
out ,with mine, and you can split his it was. There was amen round table.
akin with the batt end of yours. I a couple .of old (hairs, but utter
tell ye what•I ave of no use to spare wri'tchedniess was the olraracteristic of
these malefactors. I'll fire the mo- tl e cheerless and fireless •apartment.
m•'nt d see him. Titer: was as person •apparently re
"Not until I troll youwhetherlie is gardless of the cold, seated at the table
the robber or snot.' reading a book. The IiVte taper which
• a chance Of comfort and .tudfpen
time,'
And peace of nand 1' replie d Matte
' Oh, William, I must tell you what
terrible things have been in my heart,
all this dreary night, during your ab-
sence, r have read, anti prayed anal
turned for comfort to heated,
t Ob,Williarn, give the money back
to your friend --1 say nothing About
. the -loan.-,take it Welt ; I cou't look at
e it. Let us starve—let ns die, if it
must be so—but take the.„mewy away
Tom Ruddle gently put down the
cock of Into ,pistol, and ran the sleeve
of his coat across his eyes..
'Let iib. trust, William,' the woman
wont on, 'and deliverance will be
found. The weather is very cold,' site
added. 'T,tere seems no visible hope
but I cannot altogether despair at this
of the year, This barn 1s not more
huttehlo than the manger in ]3etnlehem
which I have been reading about all
•night.' At this moment a groat clang
of bells pealed forth from the old
church tower; it was so -near true
hook the rafters on which we sat,
and'filled all the room with a sharps
ringing sound. 'bark 1' cried the
man startled tWhats' that?' 'It's
Ohristmas morning,' said the woman
- ' 41), William, William, what a differ.
ent spirit we should welcome it with;
in what a different spirit we have wel-
rorned it, many and many a happy
time 1'
lie listened for a mome .t or two to
the bells. 'then he sank on his. knee
and put his r ead on her lap, and there.
wt s perfect silence except the Ohrist-
inas music.
' Tell ye what i ' said Tom, ' I re-
member we always sung re hymn at.
this hour,, in my father's house,'
" Let us be off—I wouldn't disturb
these people for a thousands guineas
, .Some little noise was made be our
prepara'tidns to descend. The man;
looked,1up while the w man. still con-
tinued absorbed 1n prayer. My head
was just on t'•e level of the wall. They
were the same that had flashed so
wildly when the pistol was tired from
the gig. We continued our descent,
Th r man rose quietly from his knees'
:end put his fingers to his lip When
we got downstairs he.was waiting for
us at the door Not before her," he
said.
'I would spare her the sight if 1.
could. I nut guilty of the robbery,
but I wouldn't Nave harmed you sirs..
the pistol went off the morn�nt I put.
Errs hand upon it. For God's sake tell
her of it gently when you have to taker
me a way.
'Tell ye- wha't,�'haid Tom Ruddle
whose beligerent. feeling had entrely
disappeared='the pistol was . my
mistake, and it's ell a mistake together. ,
'Onme tote joy friend °andpnue, at -.the,
bank, the day after to. -morrow, and—
tell you' what -the sharp wind bring
water to my . eyes, we'll manage to
•lend you some more.' •
So the belts still rang clear 'in the
*ui:1nig1t air ;.and our drives hose
through fhea'frosty - lidos was' •tiler-
pleasanest delve we ever .had in the
whole of one 'lives. -
A Ch,ful P'arewo11,
Texas slf;ings.� i' 1
After a litjl.e • Hbustan�s boy, 'tYbosri
family were to miiSve lne ict day, had
concluded`1ii evening prayer;, he. aaicli
"Good bye, God, tE nuorrbwwe are •
ell g in; off on the railroa+d.""
Atay_On the
'tShouiid.youtknolv:bim-do.you think?' has been lighted withohiit Any noise,
'In tire flash of the powder I saw a pair was only sufficient to throw its allum-
af }niggard and •amazed •eyes which. 1 'nations on the face said figure of the
shall; limn. forget.' ''Ulla, then,' said reader end the table •tint which she -set.
Tom 'we shall have a x.2;000 reward, `There Nero wasted and pallid foatnrres
and seethe •rascal hanged 'besides.' •L -but she was yonue and very pretty 6!
We setoff, noiselessly and slowly in or the; wyrite::y and tire' strangeness of:
the direction 'loin pointed .out. tic the incident threw soots an interest;
e•asionally dye applied his car •tie tilt around her that 1 thought so. herr:
ground, and •saiways muttering, •We dress was very scanty, and -a Shawl
have him ! we •have, him 1' ,proceeded wrapped closely around her shoulders'
in the same manner as befcre. Sud- perhaps displayed, rather- than .ecu•
denier Tom said. 'He's doubling. Tide's waled, the de5ciency of clothing in
been leading us on the wrong scent all. respects. Suddenly we saw at tyle
this time ; he has turned toward the- lir her end of the room a figure emerge
villase.' 'Then .oar plan,' I saki,: from. the darkness. Tour grasped
'shoald be to get there before him. if bum pistol more firmly and put the
we:intereept him in that way he can't 'cock .back, preventing it from
esca,pe;.and I feel sure I•oould identify; •making .any noise with his thumb.
hien if 1 saw him by candle .1ight.'i.T•he man stood in the doorway as if
'Tell ye what—that's our pito ,' re -1 runce$tain whether to enter or not,
marked my companion. 'Welt watch Ile looked fora long tune at the
at the ead of the village, an&arrest paean women, who still continued her
the moment he comes in.' reading, and then silently advanced.
W'e inept through an opening of the She beard a step, a••d lifted up her
hedge, and got once more in the same head, and looked in his face without
Igoe that led. to th$,village. It was saying a word. Sues a face so pale,
Crow very late and lthe •coil was':so in- so agitated, I never in my life saw,
tense that it kept every;person within before.
doors; for we heard no sonnet , in the 'We shall go •to•mor'rovv,' he •-said :
whole harslet, except,. high up in the '1 have got some money,: ask expected.'
clear air, the ticking of the church And w.tth these words he laid three
golden guineas on. the table before
her, Still she said nothing, but
watcheat his countenance with her
lips apart. -
'`fell you what 1' said Tom, 'that's
the money. Is that, the man- ?' '1
don't know -yet till I.•soe your eyes.'
In the wean time the conversation
went on below, .
'I borrowed these pieces from a
friend,' continued the man; as if in
auswer toahe loot sho bent on lithe ;.
a friend,.i tell you. I might have,
had more,•but would take •only three.
They are -enough to °arty us to Liver-
pool, and: once there, we are sure of a
passage to the West.
' Once..in the west, the world.i'e:, be.
fore us..: I can work Mary. -We are
young—a, poor man has no -bhanee
'here, lint we,roan.go to Ainerica with
fresh holes—'
• And. a. good. conscience,' said the
woman„m,•a whisper like Lady Mac
bath's. = The man, was sileitt At last
he seemed to grtaw angry at the steads.
Hess of her. gaze. •-
Why do you look at me in that
manner `?.: I tell you we shall t -u orr--
ow,'
• And ,the money ?: geld the woman.
'1 will .send it back to my friend
from whom 1 borrowed it oat of 'my.
first earnings. I ,took only three in
caseit should lite 7nimode him to lend
iso more,' '
' 1 must see that friend myself;''snid
Mttry, • before 1 touch the money.'
''fell ye wintt 1 is it' the Maul' again
asked Tem. '
•
flush,' I said ; ' let us listed.'
clock, and' the loudeatiele of the quart
ers that seemed like peals of artillery
u the excited state •of our minds rend
eases. Close to the church—which
I to guard, the village, with its
ow buttressed wales and its watch-
tower in the steeple—there was a
wretched, ruined looking octtage which
projected so far into the lane•that the
pace between it and the church was
more than eight or nine feet. It strucx
us both at the same moment that if
we could effect a lodgement here, it
wt,lild be impossible for the man to
lip into the village without our obser
vation. After listening for a while at,
lie windows and doors of the house
we Con;:luded it was uninhabitedi,gen
ly pushing open the ,_door, we climbed
a narrow stone stair case, and were
making• for a.gable-end window ctth t;li
we had observed from the road; and
whieli commanded the whole appro-
ch to the village, when we heard a
Mee whisper as wiereached the gar-
et.we were in searoli of : 'Is that you,
titilliam ?'
We stopped for a :moment or two,
and the speakers expectation was dis-
appointed We now placed ourselves
at the window and listened for the
slightest sound. We rema,ried there.
listening for a long time. Several
quarters have died off into the 'etern-
al melodies,' far up in tliechureh tow.
er, and we were begining to despair of
seeing the object of our search, when
Tom nudged me noiselessly with his
elbow.
''fell ye what,' he whispered, 'there's
a footstep round the corner. See !
There a a roan under the belga luck• ' 1 recognized a friend of, mine in one
ing up at the wthdow. Stop,-beineov- of the clerks of he, Melfield. b,anli,
es. rt•'e must be after him I:Lallo 1 give you my word 'got the collie froth
. There—lie crosses the lane. IIe's cunt- nim.' r ' i
iiig into thieeeerry house.' ' Tell.1:`terrhits. I]'e ci6itesse;,'• stud
Itcertaiuly did see a figure silently Tour, ' Let.us spring on lnni buy. sur-
$ ;Rtealauross the 'road aurd.df$)it'ppear ten !aisle -•4M noes; i ruilirrnrfas• 1 ever salt f';
der the doorway. of the building we ' Aticl'with t►ie%t fund,' be •c;itrt,nued
wereiu, But wrl had no light and `tee what. we tailed , It will relieve
knew nothing; of 'dm. t.rrangernen; of 113 fruau stir distress, which .ins come
the rooms. A1entlaer quarter thrown upon us---liuryy,you khaw 1 speak the
oil fir qui the old t,hurih clock, warned truth hi this --from ho other fault' of
us that the night was rapidly passing n)tite than tun mu.h CoutiuE:iice lid u
away, We lt,id almost resolved ce re• trt•achetous friend. 1 can't see you
trace our steps if possible, and get back starve. I can't see the baby removed
to where wu .earl left our unfortunate from ilor. ec iiiforaable lc sping to lie on
hum, weed, 1 wear again nu,iged by the straw. at Lilo eiid of.a baro like
my eempianloui's (diem "lehl ye•'tvhat,',thiir.. .ti can't do it -1 won`t 1 " hat
;he whiieperud, somt,thit go going; on, ; went ori, getting .Moro: im,Ip;tssauuw.
triol lie panted to a fe.•bio glimmer on! with his words.
t::e :•n':,,rs of aliarc:,": t;,ttove 110, Thu' 'tks. wii.ttever CCS l t wfli.gtor<r• '011
Tlie''dicpositieil.of', many yoiiztg m`ebrt> 11.
;;,
to leave the farm and go to the city
'is not creditable to their' intelligence.
Beery city int 'the,.coantry is over•:•
crorvded with' thiel !;last of helpless
,sailing leen.' - , They grow up on the
fattrus with no, idea of the trials and
tomptrtions.that beset their chess iia'.•
the cities,, They think they can live V
in the ; cities•, •without• the toil, enol
deaggery't*et arty ilkPA it =of `tbe�'fitr'is .
life, 'T'here are many. ways ut, tav,ftRw,
in a city., but there: id bttt ono ttohuri•
able nay, and that is surmounted wider
as many trials and hardships as• earn'•
iug one's living on the farm, and thee.
is to earn. it honestly. A, young mins
,without to tigdr iwil find' .he has to -
work• harder, teem 0,ke,ktoth ends. glee ti
in t1 ia,city.'thah on t1.4.farm.
i',T'he young malt who thinks gee -
World owes him a living and that. thw••
obligation will bo cancelled in thee•
itties,�^ Ot •a? listako that is- oftetl.
learned 'tE1 ut3a'' There is no glome.: •
roots for 6611011 in the city than on
the farm. the' oriminul Blass recelvee
serine of the moat vic�ou4 recruits front
young mein !lin'thought they , were
too smart to fie farnhers, wont to
the city, found _ - they had made a:
nlietake, dropped into bad °company,
arid fowled their lives en the sc:tffitld
or hi the pt"nitentary, NO, y sung
man you are not too slnnrt f' r the
ftirtn. The smartest'1udit that ever'
lived hadn't aceta enough tt- l'a,Zelt.
per'ftctiotl iia, $ir6aii: ,
1 I error 111
1;
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