Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1854-08-04


Dsoctable drink considerably surprising the nectar of
the gods.
From the Knickerbocker for July.
4 Midnight Ride O IA tIle Locomotive.
| You must remember at least all OF you that read
the newspapers that last gubernatorial election
unusually exciting | belonged 10 one
of the State general committees, and the returns
on election day came in by express We began to
grow fairly wild We had beforehand made all the
necessary arrangements to have the earliest authen
tic news of the result posted off TO the New York
papers, and had agreed 10 that certain budget
OF returns which we expected TO receive during the
! evening should be sent 10 the town OF B,
some thirty miles distant, by the railway as soon
as it arrived, and had chartered the engine, which
was be in readiness eleven o'clock that night.
| Well the budget came promptly al the time, and
| the news was quite as favorable desired and
much more SO than we expected. suppose It was
this fact suddenly determined me to carry the
| intelligence ON any self At any rate hastily re-
solved to go on the locomotive, and, seiZing the re-
turns ran down TO The depot, where the engine was
fred up and whstling lis readiness for start. 1t
was but The work of q moment to persuade the eng-
neer to take NE with him, for the fireman, who was
to accompany him no where 10 be found, aud
| The engineer mad resolved to run the track
alone. volunteered at once 10 assist him as we'll
us | could, anu Immediately mounted the engiuf,
| 1t thirty miles, | said. TO B, What
lime you m,ke it in :! said to the engineer as
the a in three quarters of an hour with an
| zine replied he Make il halt hour this time
cled !, ana | will give you twenty dollars. Every
minute as q futune' | must have been insane. | he
flush Of victory after weeks OF euh usla>tic
truggie, had almost ii not quite turned my BRAIN -
Just this The engineer discovered that the
! light In font OF he engine was burning 4iny, and
| threatened to expire. Win an anathema urOn The
negligent fireman, he leaped down to examine it -
The lamp hal not been I'll ed. For Gods sake
>hrieked |, when learned The fact, don't stop for
| that 1rt1 ; travel in the dark if You can, Won
are nc, afraid 2 continued, tauniingIy, as the en-
sineer sui hesitated | can ride the devil as
cooly as you can he rejuned cheerily and resuming
his post, started the machine
As emerged from the station house, remem-
| her thinking | had never blacker sight The
first motion Of the engine had eXnguished our light
| not a star 10 be in the heavens, and the
| lew lighted windows which dotted the landscape
here there. only added 10 the general gloom Of
the scene Flushed and wild as | was, experienced
d thrill Of horror the engine madiy dashed into
the darkness | strained my eyes until they ached ;
! held my breath, and contracted my muscles, if
falling feartully rapid seemed the rate at which
we flying.
But !. new and pleasanter sensation soon took the
place of this terror. None but those who have actu
ally experienced it can imagine the maldening de-
light which excessively rapid motion produces. We
were under ful headway, and with load to retard
our speed. Now and then lighted window by the
side of the track flew past us like a meteor while
farther Oft in the gloom solitary taper would
times seem mady striving to emulate our pace-soon
distanced, however, and lost In less time than
| have been talking had arrived at little village,
where the street lamps were burning, and which I
knew was just ten miles from W. i stopped
down and examined my watch by the light of the
engine fire. We had travelled by the ten miles in
| less than ten minutes 'Fasterr shouted madly to
The engineer, crammed another pine stick under
the boiler. But ii was hardly possible to accelerate
our speed. The wheels actually leaped along the
rails The few drops of rain which occasionally fell,
struck against my face like fine shot The steam
whistle kept up endless shrek, if the engine
were some mOnstrous goblin tortured beyond endur-
rance by an inhuman fend, while the deep bass of
the increasing thunder mingled with the wild rattle of
our wheels, and formed chorus which the Furies
might have envIed AS my ears were gradually stun
ned by these complicated noises and my eyes wearied
bv the unnatural exerton, fancied that heard other
noises and saw other sights, which could have been
only the product of bewldered train. As we dash.
ed into some gloomy gorge, seemed to hear angry
voices warning and upbrading as flew over
some lofty embankment saw dark spirits in the air
who waved me on with wild gestures. or struck al
me with airy blades The lightnings became more
vivid and frequent Now they showed us the threat
ening crags that oyer-hung our path, and now they
lighted up raging torrent lar beneath NV
companion however calm and composed al
though his cradle had been rocked by tempests The
flashes by which occasionally caught glimpse o.
him gave, it is true unnatural ghastlness TO his
face but his cool and collected as
had always known it, could feel him managing
the engine as quietly and carefully as if it was
summers day, and he had the lives OF a hundred
passengers 10 answer for, besides his own
A few minutes-ten or twelve, perhaps-had clap
sed since looked at my watch, and had begun 10
think that oar journeys end was near. We were
passing, as could judge by the sound anc
he wind over. level, open tract of country when
fancied elta monenary Jar so slight however, ant
nnmportant, that it would have passed from my re
collection at once, had ii not been for what followed
lust at that moment. a larger and brighter flash O
lightning than had before seen, attended, not fol
owed by an awful crash OF thunder, lit up agail
, he surrounding scenery, Bu: high above the deaf
-ning peal, above the lesser thunder of The wheels
tbOve the raving of the wind | heard shrek.
shout OF horror, wild. awful like the utter
of lost soul. that it vexrs my dreams to ,hi
1onr. 1t was sound which ph hysical pain coul
elected from human being, which han
but supernatural fear could have produced. ami ic
40 who once he ard it could ever Danish from hi
recollection.
Involuntary felt foe rsy companion He IRA
tione! gropet hastily about lhc confined spac
which we had been standing, and at once realise
he awful nature of my position alone apo
~ engine winch was tearing mady forward at tn
ate o sixty or seventy niles an hour RAPIDLY ar
,roaching my destination, abou, 10 dash heahong 1
ull speed. into the m DIST of an eager and excite
crowd, anl with no more knowledge Of The manage
; neDt government ot the crazy thing than an -
ant. For an instant ! was thoroughly paralyzed b
far. Cid drops of perspration stood upon m
q nrow. and fairly screamed in mpoent agony. Bt
; IN moment more | recovered ny-elf. | ha u som
Il ndlstinc notion that the speed of engine was
i, rerated or checked ny operating the levers whc
,tood by ny side, and forthwith commenced a serit
| # experiments wi h them. But my unskillfulness
2 ,gitation prevented my employing the proper mean
q md fancied had only Increased the speed Al
nt pther resource flashed upon me. | might pull o,