Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1858-10-06
An Awkward Archdeacon.


Some little time since, small boy, of
ten or eleven years ofage, might have been
seen driving donkey before him in one
of the wild lanes in midland county
On the back of the donkey was sack Of
Goals on its way 10 a neighboring village
in which the lads parents lived. For a
while all went on happily and smoothly
The donkey logged along justas a respecta-
BILE and well conducted donkey ought to
do, and the boy, running by his side, ci-
ther "whistled as he went from want of
thought" or neither whistled nor thought
But this fair state of things was presently
disturbed. The donkey took fright at
something or nothing, and the bag fell to
the ground. Here WaS a dilcmma The
donkey was still there, and the boy was
there, and the Goals were there; but then
the weight Of the latter was beyond the
strength of the lad. He could not lift the
bag to replace it in its original position
There was no help for it but to wait until
some other traveller should arrive and as
sist him out of his difficulties This might
not happen for hours in that desoate part
of the country, a by-lane little travelled
but it was the only chance
AT last, however, a hOrscman loomed in
the distance, and approached the spot 1t
was the venerable Dr. Bigwigs, Archdea-
con of Grandairs, who, mounted on his
sleek and well-groomed cob, was taking an
appetizing ride. The boy did not know the
church dignitary. Ills only feeling, there
fore, was one of JOY, unmiXed with a single
particle of ave. a six foot of man coming,
who, to his unsophisticated eyes, looked,
from a full measure of Drawn and sincw, to
lift up his bag of Goals and replace it On his
donkey's back.
Neither was our young gentleman re-
nlaraIable for politeness ofmanner or cour-
tesy of speech. When, therefore, the
venerable archdeacon reached the SPOT, he
was utterly astonished and electrified ut
being thus hailed by the distressed donkey
boy:
"Holloa, thee big fellow, wish thee'dst
get off thy 'oss and give us lift with this
ere bag of Goals"
Here was a salutation even from fellow
creature in distress. The Archdeacon had
been accustomed for years TO give the longs
est of charges to his brother clergy. But
he never had SO short and abrupt a charge
addressed to himself before. How would
he take it? What would he do! Would
he play the priest or the Levite and pass
on No by the milk of human kindness
the lingering in his breast, the spirit orthe
good Samaritan rises within him, and he.
DR.. Bigwigs, the venerable Archdeacon OF
Grandairs, dismountS from his sloeI and
well-groomed cob 10 render the required
help and aid. Then to do it they went
hammer and tongs, the boy and the Arch
deacon, and after much tuging and pulling
and tumbling it about, at length, both OF
them fairly out of breath, they succeed in
replacing the sack on the donkey's back.
Uf the Archdeacon had been astonished by
his juvenile friends application to him in
its original form for help, he was doomed
to be moreso by the outpouring of his graf
itude when the work was done.
"Well," exclaimed the young hopeful,
in the warmth of his heart, "for such big
chap, as thee art, thees the awkwardest
at bag O. Goals ever seed in my life"
And so they parted. And so the Arch
deacon told the tale himself, adding, with
a laugh, my white tie was soied, and
my lavender-colored kid gloves were dyed
black but then | made acquaintance
with another feature of human nature
and what is somthing, got good appetite
for assaulting good dinner, AMI, what is
most of all had the shine taken out of my
.eonceit, by learning that was the awk-
wardest chap at a bag of Goals that was
ever seen. Well well, Poeta naScity, non
nj, and so of the coal-heavers. But did
my best as an amateur and volunteer al
though am the awkwardest of all awk-
ward chaps at such work. The boys crit
icism was as good as sermon or as one of
my own charges to me-" And so ends our
story of an awkward archdeacon and it is
true to the very er,-LUapod Albion,