Freeman's champion., 1857-08-27
A Good Joke.

cumstance happened some time ago
but will lose nothing by It's age. 1t
was told to us by one who knew, and
said it was all true.
A certain young man in search of
a wife, being out on q courting espe-
'ditio@, as is customary with young
men, came late on Sunday evening,
and in order to keep his secret from
his young acquaintances, determined
to be at home on Monday morning
bright and early, so that his absence
would not be noticed. But his afli-
anced resided several miles from the
town in which he sojourned; and SO,
to overcome the distance required
the use Of a horse. Mounted on his
horse, dressed in his fine white sum
mer pants, and other fxcns in pro-
portion, he arrives at tho residence
OF his inamorats, where he is kindly
received, hishorsc properly taken care
of, by being turned into the pasture
for the night. The evening, yea, the
night passed away, but how to the
young man is nobody's business
Three o'clock in the morning arrived.
Our hero was awake-may be he had
been SO all night-but it matters not;
three o'clock was the time for him TO
depart, SO that he might arrive at
home before his comrades were SIR
ring. Not wishing to disturb the
family of his lady love, who wero
then wrapped in tho arms of Nor
pheus, he sailed to the pasture to
catch his horse but here was a diff
culty--thc grass was high, and load
cd with dew. 10 venture in with his
white pantaloons would rather take
the starch out of them, and lead to
his detection. 1t would not do to 20
in with his white unmentionables, so
he quickly made his resolve. It was
. o'clock in the morning, and nobody
stirring, SO he carefully disrobes
himsellof his valuable "whites" and
places them in safety on the fence,
while no gives chase with unscreened
pedals through the grass after his
horse. But tho Steed was fond OF
clover, and had no notion of leaving
it. But our hero was not to be thwart-
cd, although ho began to realize tho
truth of the old adage about tho
course of true love &C., and finally
the horse was captured.
Returning to the fence where he
had safely suspended his lily.white
unmentionables- o! MimJile DictuiI
what horrible sight met his eyes
The field into which his horse had
been turned was not only horse
pasture, but "calf pasture" too, and
the naughty calves, attracted by tho
@hitegag on the fence, had botakcn
themselves to it, and, caLfHke, had
almost eat Mem i-only a few we'll
chowed fragments Of this once valu-
able article of his wardrobe now re-
mained--only q few shreds-just sui
ticicnt to indicate what they once had
been! What a pickle this was for
nice Young man to be in
1t was now daylight, and the in
dustHous farmers were up and about,
and our hero far from home, with no
covering for his travelling apparatus
1t would not do to 60 back to the
house Of his lady-love, as they were
up, and how could he get in
without exhibiting himself to his fair
one, which might ruin the match
No., no, that wouldn't do, Neither
could, he so to town in that plight.
There was only one resource lott him,
and that was, to secrete himself in the
bushes till the next night, and then
get home under cover Of tho dark
ness. This he resolved to do, and
accordingly hid himself under thick
growth Of bushes.
Safely hid, he remained under the
protection Of tho bushes for somo
time; and it may bc imagined that
his feelings towards the calf kind were
not of the most friendly character
but ere long his seclusion was dos
tined, to be intruded upon, The fam
lily of his fair one, seeing his horse
still remaining in tho pasture, en-
quired of the lady what sho had done
with her lover. She was non-pluSsed.
Sho only knew ho had left there about
thrcc o'clock in the morning. Things
didn't look right; if he had gone,
why did he leave his horse /? SuS-
picions werc awakened. BY and bye,
tho boys who had boon out TO feed
Ihe calves returned with tho remn ants
oftho identical white garments which
tho lower limbs of her late
visitor, They were manglcd and
torn to shreds An inquest was inn
mediatoly held over them. Some
nwful fate had bofallen tho unfortu-