The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1863-06-17

look or the "OlQ GarQener, the candle,
the flint and steel, and the great heap of
powder, absolutely froze our blood, and
made towards Of us all. The gardener
say the impression he had made on US.
@What, do You want to rob and mur-
der?" exclaimed he. "You had better
join with me in prayer, miserable sinners
that you all are! Repent, and you may
be saved. You will soon be in another
world r.
Ryder first recovered his speech.
"Please to hear me, Mr.. Gardener. I
feel that we have been wrong, and if we
may depart, we will make reparation, and
give you all the money we have in our
pockets"
We laid our purses on the table before
him.
"The Lord has delivered you into my
hands. It was so revealed to me in a
dream. We shall all soon be in another
world. Pray, "let US pray" And down
he fell upon his knees, close to the table,
with the candle burning, and the ugly
flint and steel in his hand, he prayed and
prayed. I thought his prayer would
never end. At last he appeared exhaust
ed. He stopped, and eyed the purses, and
then emptied one of them out on the ta-
BILE. He appeared surprised, and, I
thought, gratifed, at the largeness of its
contents. We now thought we should
have leave to retire; but to our dismay,
the Old Gardener said:
"Now we will praise God by singing
the Hundredth Psalm"
This was agony to us all. After the
psalm, the old man took up the second
purse; and while he was examining its con-
tents, Ryder, who was close behind Tom
and myself, whispered softly
II have unfastened the door, when you
hear me move, make rush"
The Old Gardener then, pouring out the
contents of the second purse, exclaimed -
"Wby, there is almost enough to build
our new house of Godl Let me see what
the third contains"
He took up third purse.
"Nowi" whispered Ryder, "make a
rush."
We did so, and at the same moment
heard the old fellow hammering away
with his flint and steel. We expected to
be instantly blown into fragments. The
front door few open before US; the next
step we found ourselves in the garden.
The night was pitchy dark. We rushed
blindly through the nursery ground,
scrambled through brambles and prickly
shrubs. ran our heads against trees, then
forced ourselves througha a thick set hedge.
At last, with scratched faces, torn hands
and tattered clothes, we tumbled over a
bank into the high road. This was, but
the work of few minutes. If our faces
could have been seen, it would have been
thought, from our horror stricken coun-
tenances, that, instead of having risen
from prayer, We had been pursued by old
Nick himself.
We fell upon a bank by the side of the
road. There we laid without speaking a
word: one of us groaned with the fall. A
night-gang of miners, who were returning
from their work carrying, as is usual with
them on dark nights, lanterns in their
hands, perceiving three persons fall from
the edge on to the bank, and thinking
that an accident had happened, ran to our
assistance. They raised their lighted
lanterns to our blackened and scratched
faces. The sight we presented was more
than sufficient to frighten any person OF
strong mind. 1t was too much for the
poor superstitious miners, who immediate
| ly scampered off-some towards the mine
others towards the town-as fast as feal
and their legs would carry them. Each
of us left portion of his skin and clothes
sticking on the thorns and branches
through which we had scrambled. Oul
horses were soon found, and we galloped
to Ryderis residence. Lights were pro
cured, and we sat down. We were black
ragged and dirty. We looked at each
other, and in spite of our miserable ad
venture, roared with laughter.
1--WE may laugh" exclaimed Tom, "bu
|if this adventure is blown, and we art
found out, Cornwall will be too hot for u:
i for the next seven years. We have mad,
la pretty sight of it. Here we are, a
\ black as three Intervals; we have los
our money; been obliged to pretend t.
pray for two long hours before a grea
heap of gunpowder, with lighted can
die splitting and 6zzing close to the pow
der, while that iron-faced, wild-looking
ugly, red-capped brute, with his horribl
flint and steel, threatened us all with al
immediate passage into eternity! Oh
how I wish some tiger or bear had takel
. fancy to him when he lay wounded OF
the field of battlel but nothing in natur
could stomach such an ugly monster; eve
J shark would have been disgusted wit
} such meal. And our money, forsooth
must go to build Methodist meetin
) houses! Bah! it is truly horrible. TIL
3 fellow has played the old soldier on u
/ with a vengeance, and we shall be tn
Laughing stock OF the whole country"
D We washed ourselves, and sat down
q good supper. Good cheer and goo
E wine gave us a better sight than We coul
: reasonably have expected. Young spirit
b soon recover their elasticity.
4 The affair, however, was not yet endet
: Reports were spread that three men, di:
a guised as black demons, with horns an
tails, had entered the cottage of the Oh
: Gardener, who had not only terrified the
i but had frightened them out of goo
8 sum of money, which he intended to d.
: vote to the building of new Methodi
+ meeting,house. It was given out that o
| IL