Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1852-07-15

when it hangs at the remote end .
a lever. Accordingly doffing hi
hat, which he resolved TO carry hom
in his hand. and, having applied hi
handkerchief 20 his brow, he clappeC
the. pot in inverted fashion upon hi
head, where, as the reader may sup
pose, il figured much like Mambrino'
helmet upon the crazed capital o
Don Quixote, only great deal NOR,
magnificent in shape and dimensions
There was at first much relief anC
much comfort in this new mode o
carrying the pot; but mark the re.
suit. The unfortunate minister
having taksu a by-path to escapr
observation, found himself, when stil
good way from home, under tbs
necessity Of lsaping oyer ditch
which intercepted him in passing
from one field 10 another. He
jumped; but surely no jump wa:
ever taken so completely in or al
least into, the dark as this. The
conclusion given to his person in de.
scending caused the helmet to be-
come hood; The pot slipped down
over his face, and, resting with the
rim upon his neck, stuck fast there,
enclosing his whole head as complete
ly as ever that OF a newborn child
was enclosed by the filmy bag with
which Nature, as an indication OF
future good fortune, sometimes in
vests the noodles of her faYorite Off
spring. What was worst Of all,
the nose, which had permitted the
po, 10 slip down over il, withstood
every desperate attempt, on the part
Of its proprietor, 10 make il slip
back again; the contracted part, or
neck OF the patera, being Of such a
peculiar formation as TO cling fast TO
the base OF the nose, although it had
found no difficulty in gliding along
its hypothenuse. Was ever a minis.
ter in worse plight Was there
ever cORtretempS, so unluckyl Did
ever any man-did ever any minis
ter, so effeclualIy hoodwink him
sell, or so thoroughly shut his eyes
TO The plain light OF Naturel What
was to be donel The place was
lonely; the way difficult and danger
Gus; human relief was remote, al.
most beyond reach. 1t was impos-
sible even TO cry for help; or ii a cry
could be uttered, il might reach, in
deaiening reverberation, the ears .ol
the utterer, but it would not travel
l2 inches farther in any direction.
To add 10 the distresses OF the case,
ihe sufferer found great difficulty in
breathing. What with the heat
occasioned by the beating OF the sun
o. the metal, and what with the
frequent return OF the same heated
air TO his lungs, he was in the utmost
danger Of suffocstion. Everything
considered, it seemed likely that, il
he did not chance TO be relieved by
some accidental wayfarer, there
would soon be death ia the pot.
The instructive love of life, how
ever, is omni- prevalent; and even
very stupid people have been found,
when pat to the push by strong and
imminent peril, to exhibit a degree
If presence Of mind, and exert
degree Of energy, far above what
might have been expected from
ihem, or what they were ever known
10 exhibit or exert under ordinary
So it was with the
Dot>ensconced minister. Pressed
by the urgency Of his distresses, he
recollected that there
was a smiths shop at the distance Of
about a mile across the fields, where,
( he could reach it before the period
ol suffocalion, he might possibly find
relief.
Deprived Of his eyesight, he acted
only as a man of feeling, and went
On as cautiously as he could, with
MS hat in his hand. Half crawling,
lalf sliding over ridge and furrow,
fitch and hedge, somewhat like Satan
laundering over chaos, the unhappy
travelled with all possible
speed, as nearly as he could guess,
in the direction OF the place OF
refuge. | leave il to the reader 10
The surprise, the mirth, the
infinite amusement Of the smith and
all the hangers-on OF the s1iddy,
when at length, torn and worn, faint
and exhausted, blind and brealhless,
he unfortunate man arrived at the
place, and let them know, rather by |
,igns than by words, the circum
stances Of his case. In the words
II an old Scottish song:-
Out cam the gudeman, and high he shouted,
Dot cam the gudewife. and low she louted.
Ind a. the town neighbours were gatheredabout
it,
And there was be, trUw."
The merriment OF the company,
soon gave way to con-
of humanity. Ludicrous
IS was the minister, with such an
,biect where his head should have
,een. and with the Ieet OF the pot