The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1855-08-15

roadside not fifty yards from us, and the
crash of the thunder shook the founda-
tions of the hills.
"For moment all was dazzling, burn
ing, blazing bright; then sight was gone,
and a momentary darkness settled on our
eyes. The horses crouched to the ground
in terror. and Sarah bowed her head as if
in the presence of God.
"All this was the work of an instant,
and the next Toms horse sprang by us on
a furious gallop, dragging Tom by the
stirrup. He had been in the act of mount
ing when the flash came, and his horse
swerved and jumped SO that his foot
caught, and he was dragged with his head
on the ground.
There was point in the road, about
fifty yards ahead, where it divided into two.
The one was the carriage-track, which
wound down the mountain by easy de-
scents; the other was a footpath, which
! was short, precipitous cut to point on
/ the carriage-road nearly quarter of a
mile below.
: calling to Sarah to keep back and
wait, drove the spurs into my horse and
went down the steep path. Looking back,
saw her following, her horse making
5 tremendous speed. She kept the carriage
road following on after Tom, and pressed
on, thinking to intercept his horse below.
"My pace was terrible. 1 could hear
them laundering down the track above.
7 l looked up and caught sight of them
through the trees. I looked down, and
S saw gully before me full eighteen feet
e wide, and as many deep.
"a great horse was that black horse
t Caesar, and he took the gully at flying
t leap that landed us far over it, and mo-
ment later was at the point where the
. roads again met, but only in time to see
the other two horses go by at furious
pace, Sarah's abreast of the gray, and she
]. reaching her hand out bravely trying te
grasp the flying rein, as her horse went
leap for leap with him
d :" To ride close behind them was worse
o than useless in such a case. 1t would bu
i serve to increase their speed; so I fel
back dozen rods and followed, watching
: the end
s cat the foot of the mountain the rive
ran, broad and deep, spanned by the bridg
e at the narrowest point. To reach tn
d bridge, the road took short turn VI
d stream, directly on the bank.
"On swept the gray and the blacl
1 horse, side by side, down the hillside, no
:! fifty leaps along the level ground, an
t. then came the turn.
"She was on the off-side. At the shar
: turn she pressed ahead half length ant
e reined her horse across the gray's shoul
: der, if possible, to run him up toward tn
!. bridge.
e 1t was all over in an instant Th
gray was the heavier horse. He presses
= her close; the black horse yielded, CAV
way toward the fence, stumbled, and tn
n fence, a light rail, broke with crash, an
t. they went over, all together into the dee
d black stream.
"Still, still the sound of that crash an
plunge is in my ears. Still can see ther
IN go headlong down that bank together int
the black water!
t. II never knew exactly what I did then
e When | was conscious, found myse
1t swimming around in circle, diving occa
r. sionally to find them but in vain. TIL
IS gray horse swan ashore and stood on tn
l. bank by my black, with distended nostril
1 and trembling limbs, shaking from hea
to foot with terror. The other black hors
h was floating down the surface of the stream
drowned. His mistress was nowhere Wis
ible, and Tom was gone also.
is II found her at last n
Eyes, she was dead! @
sr "Restore her? No. A glance at he
* face showed how vain all such hope was
Never was human face SO angelic. Sh
h was already one of the saint ly-one c
IF the immortals-and the beauty and glor
,r of her new life had left some faint Likeness
1T of itself on her dead form and face.
}? "Philip, said had never grown
le day older since that time You know no,
why. / have never ceased to think of he
le as on that day. I have never lost tn
d blessing of those eyes as they looked o.
1T me in the forest on the mountain road.
Is have never left her, never grown ava
from her. If, in the resurrection, we ar
h to resume the bodies most exactly fttte,
}. to represent our whole lives; if as hav
Sc sometimes thought, we shall rise in tn
J. forms we wore when some great event
g stamped our souls forever, then l am Ger
II tain that shall awake in form and fea
le ture as was that day, and no record vii
it remain of an hour Of my life after he
n burial. e M
RI 1--WE buried her in the old vault clos
j. by the house, among the solemn oaks
stI Beautiful, angel-like, to the very last.
t, "My voice is broken. cannot sa.
more, Philip. You have the story. Tha
lis the whole of it. God bless you, Phil
II my boy. You have listened-patiently-
7 to-my-talk.
II "Good-night, boy. Go to bed. II
:. stay here in the old chair awhile. dom
! Exactly -like-sleeping-yet.p
! I left him sitting there; his head bowed
, - IL. l,raoot his avaS Plospi his hrao : h