Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1864-01-23

"Yoa'rs.a gOodlad, Ben" said he "shake
| seized his land and pressed It warmly.
I'm goodfor anything, George," an
swered with all my heart, ait's YOU who have
made me so. God bless yol for it =
"AmelIw said he, in a troubled voice put
4 ting his hand to has hat 49,
And so we parted.
In general, 1 went to bed by day when
was attending to the firing By night but this
morning had already slept longer than usual,
and wanted exercise more than rest. So
ran home, put bit of bread and meat in my
pocket, snatched up my big thorn stick, and
started off for long day in the country
When came home, it was quite dark and be-
ginning to rain, justas it had begun to rain
at about the same time that wretched Sunday
evening; so l changed my wet boots, had an
early supper and a nap in the chimney-cor-
ner, and went down to the works few min
utes before half-past nine.sr Arriving at the
factory gate, / found it ajar, and so walked III
and closed il after me. Remember thinking
at the time that it was unlike Georges usual
caution to leave it so but it passed from my
mind the next moment. Having slipped in
the bolt, went straight over to Georges lit
tie counting-house, where the gas was shining
scheerfully in the window. Here also. some
what TO my surprise, / found the door open
and the room empty. j went in. The thres-
hold and part of the floor was wetted by the
driving rain. The wages-book was open on
the desk, Georges pen stood in the ink, and
his hat hung nits usual peg in the corner.
concluded, of course, that he had gone round
to the ovens !; so, following him, | took down
his hat and carried it with me, for it was now
raining very fast &
| The hakinr-hOusa Law inst orlr1oeita on the
other side of the yard. There were three of
{ them, opening one out of the other; and in
i each, the great furnace filed all the middle
of the room. These furnaces are, in fact
large kilns built of brick, with an oven closed
in by an iron door in the centre of each, and
a chimney going up through roof. The pot
terry, enclosed in seggars, stands round inside
on shelves, and has to be turned from time TO
time while the firing is going on. To turn
these seggars, test the heat, and keep
the fires up was my work at the period of
which | am now telling you, Major.
Well, went through the baking houses
one after another, and found allempty alike
Then strange vague, uneasy feeling came
over me- and began to wonder what could
have become of George. 1t was possible that
he might be in one of the work shops; so |
ran over to the counting house, lighted a
lantern, and made thorough survey of the
yards. | tried the doors they were all lock-
ed as usual. peeped into the sheds; they,
were all vacant. called George George :"
in every part of the outer premises; but the
wind and rain drove back my voice, and no
other voice replied to it. Forced at last to
believe that he was really gone, took his
hat back to the counting house, put away the
wages book, extinguished the gas, and pre-
pared for my solitary watch. 1 tssA .
The night was mild, and the heat in the
, | baking-rooms intense. | knew, by experience,
that the ovens had been oyerheated, and that
none of the porcelain must go at least for
the next two hours so L carried my stool to
the door, settled myself IN sheltered corner
where the air could reach me, but not the
rain, and fell to wondering where George
could have gone, and whyrhe should not have
waited till time appointed. That he had left
| in haste was clear-nOt because his hat re .
manned behind, for he might have had cap
with him :, but because he had left the book
open, and the gas lighted. Perhaps one of
| the workmen had met with some accident,
: and he had been summoned away so urgently
that he had no time to think of anything /;
perhaps he would even now come back pres
emily to see that all was right before he went
home to his lodgings. Turning these things
over in my mind, | grewdrowsy, my thoughts
wandered. and fell asleep.
cannot tell how long my nap lasted. !
had walked u great distance that day, and |
slept heavily; but | awOke all in a moment,
with a sort of terror upon me, and, looking
up, saw George Barnard sitting on a stool.be-
, fore the oven door, with the freight full up
on his face. 81 ~ sAf- rs Z
Ashamed to be found sleeping, l Started to
nv feet. At the same instant, he rose, turn
: ed away without even looking towards me,
| and went out into the next room.
Don't be angry, George" cried, follow
lowing him. "None of the seggars are in.
knew the fires were too strong, an,
5 The words died on my lips. | had followed
him from the first rooOm to the second, from
the second to the third and in the third
, lost him.
( could not believe my eyes. | opened the
, end door leading into the yard, and looked
4 out; but he was nowhere in sight l went
round 60 the back of the baking houses,
looked behind the furnaces, ran over to the
counting-ho called him by his name over
I and over; but all was dark, silent, lonely as
ever. ses eefe, =. Il.
a Then remembered how / had bolted the
9 outer gate, and how impossible it was that he
T should have come in without ringing. Then,
e too, began again to doubt the evidence of
S my own senses, and to think must have been
| dreaming r.a.ra - "a s.e-
o r / went back TO my old post by the door OF
{ the first baking house, and sat down for a
moment to collect my thoughts -s' 4
!, Sin the first place." said | to myself,
I; "there is but one outer gate. That outer
r gate | bolted on the inside, and it is bolted
still. In the next placeI searched the prem
p ises, and found all the sheds empty, and the
workshop doors padlocked, as usual, on the
y outside. proved that George was nowhere
{ about whenI came, and knew he could not
e have come in since without my knowledge.
y | Therefore it is dream. 1t is certainly a
, dream, and there's an end of it," esq.
And with this trimmed my lantern and
proceeded to test the temperature of the fur
/; naces. We used to do this, / should tell you,
e by the introduction of little roughly moulded
n Jumps of common fre-clay. If the heat is
too great they crack; if too little they remain
damp and moist; if just right they become
2 firm and smooth all over, and pass into the
E biscuit stage. Well L took my three little
t humps of clay, put one in each oven, waited
? until counted five hundred, and then went
q round again to see the results. The two first
were in capital condition. the third had flown
n into a dozen pieces. This proved that the
e seggars might go at once into ovens One and
/, Two, but that number Three had been over
heated, and must be allowed to go on cooling
: for an hour or two longer b3.es tag 4
I. l therefore stocked One and Two with nine
: rows of seggars, three deep on each shelf
MI