The North-Carolina standard., 1843-05-10
ITINERARY NOTES -SNoW-INTEMPE
A NC : :

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late snow, the discussion Of the, Temperance
question, all conspire to recall the following, 10
which / refer literally, to scattered journal o
events, taken down at the time, for any thlns
but publicity, yetfor its bearing the short extrac
! I give YOU, may not be deemed unreasonable.
January 25th, 1S37.-Left home, with my
husband, for his appointed circuit, the presen
year. NV first trial of Itinerary-a dull, heavy
morning-proceeded as far, that day, as the Vii
laee of -; that night heavy fall of snow
Next morning, aware of my husbands anxiety
to reach his Sabbath-aPpointment,l urged him
/ to proceed, although it was trying to the flesh
/ to encounter the weather and roads in prospect
but, the spirit of our work kept us from despon-
dency.
The morning was beautiful, though intensely
cold. Nature had arrayed herself in the most
picturesque and graceful frost work. AS in ori-
entail romance, each tree and shrub, seemed
laden with gems and Jewels, of every hue, and
the long, hanging, crystalized moss was brilliant
and beautiful beyond any thing ever described
by the Imaginative poets of the East, as if the
trees even in their pride, had put on plumes way
ing and glittering with diamonds. The dazzled
eye was not unfrequenty fain TO close itself to
such bewildering brightness; but the pinching
cold and pitiless road, at length, combined to
dissolve this fairy-like enchantment, and our
awakened senses were soon all alive to the stern
reality of the scene. Sometimes, embedded in
thick ribbed ice'' or, anon, sunk in some swampy
"slough of despond.' Our barouche bilging
water, and, our horse in seeming momentary
danger of having his legs cut off by too violent
collision with some of the disparted masses of
ice, that were floating thick around.
But, to continue our Journey on-for, we did
10 mr.
our way towards evening, rather better
ground, or rather better SnO1c, than we had yet
found, VIC discovered a man side of the
road, fast asleep in the snow. Though apprehen-
sivc of some trouble, from him, yet for humani-
tvs sake, my husband dismounted in order to
raise him up. He had some difficulty in effect
ing this. The man was, we had supposed, in a
state ofintoxicaton, but, contrary to our expecta-
ton, i'm quite fine htmor. He very politely,
half asleep half awake, invited my husband to
take part of his bed in the snow, moving, at the
same time, as if to make room for him. This,
the latter, to humor the joke, politely declin-
ed, begging him, at the same time, to rise,
mount his horse, (the poor animal, though un-
confined, had stood patiently in waiting,) and
proceed homcward, as night was coming on,
and he certainly, remaining there all night would
be frozen to death. After some dcmurrng, he
consented, and finally, eer ourselves started off
in different fork of the road, we him of, in
full gallop, though considerably TO alarm,
veering on either side, in contempt of the per-
pendicular, as far could see him. Where his
home was, or what was his name we could not
get from him. Whether he reached home safe |
ly that night, or at all. we have never been able
to find out-his sleep had so far sobered him that
we hoped he would be able to stick to the saddle
tP1 tO Of al
for keeping in the right road--but, poor wretch,
we dread to think of his fate that night, had not
a passing traveller awoke him up from what
would have been assuredly his sleep of DEATH
Night was now coming on apace-we had
been directed to stop for the night Gf we could
DO no better) at the widow Us. When we reach
ed there, things didn't look very inviting, but it
was no time to be fastidious. My husband inqui-
red of the old lady, who hobblcd herselfto the
loor, if we might stay all night-a gruff reply
tive never take in travellers" He said. we Ii
latf been recommended there ny - who for
neriy rode that circuit. The old lady brighten
I'd up at this, propounded various queries, and
1t length, to her CONSERVATION, found out that it
was Methodist Preacher, to whom she was re-
using shelter for the night. Then, there was
10 getting off from her, even if we had been so
lisposed which we were not at that late hour
The old lady. in kind of half soliloGuy, went
WE'LL now just to think Of my want
ngto turn Methodist Preacher off! All, once up
N time, they couldn't have cheated, even a
lalf blind old woman like me, so, when they
lsed to wear the good old inglc breasted coats %
Poor old lady! On after conversation with her
We found out one reason of her apparent lack c
# hospitality, was, the unhappy state of her
amiy. Soon after we had taken our seats on c
ench by the fire, one of her sons came in, quite
ntoxicated-and, ''you see, honeys,'' said she,
it does mortify me, to hear him insult the u 4
tranger, under our roof, with his wicked and
ulgar talk" .
She told us, the little grandchildren about her
nd dependent on her slender means for support,
Tere the orphans of her eldest son, who about e
nree weeks before, coming home in liquor, one II
light, from neighboting Grog-shop, was frozen ii
D death, by the way. He was discovered next t
lorning, quite stiff and dead in recumbent q
osture, on log of wood, not many yards from
lie house. s'There are two Whiskey shops set
quite near,'' said the old lady, ''that reckon
re to be the ruin of all my family. NY poor n
On, that you saw last night SO overcome with h
quor, used to, its true, take drop too much al
ow and then, but now, since these shops have