The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1865-08-10

PA~SSo Cat properly dppIctLtic my A0SA
ings at that time What to do could
not possibly conceive. Every moment
/ expected to see Charley and some OF
his female cousins and probably Mary
too, issue from the house in search of
me, as l had been absent long enough
to excite their surprise. Well, l finally
came to the conclusion to put on what
portion of my apparel the thieving dog
had left me. This portion, as said be-
fore, consisted of coat, shirt, pair OF
boots and hat, a very scant supply, GER
tainly, for modest man, as l was, to ap-
pear before bevy of females, as l mo-
mentarily expected, for / was positive
that my absence would soon be inquired
into.
i first drew on my boots, then my linen,
and next my coat. 1t was dress coat.
too, made in the height of fashion with
narrow tails, which, on the occasion
served only to hide very small portion
of my nudity. Thus ludicrously attired
l awaited patiently, but anxiously, the
appearance of some person from the
house to whom l could make known my
misfortune, and thus get relieved from
my very unpleasant predicament- l
waited and waited. and waited. and be
gan to tire of waiting, and still nobody
came. Voices I distinctly heard in the
distance merry voices and ringing
laughter greeted me, as sat desponding-
ly contemplating the probable denoue-
ment of my contreteinps. The sound of
the voices gradually drew nearer and
nearer; the laughter became more audi
BILE; now l heard the sweet musical voice
of Mary; then Frank joyous and hearty
laugh broke in, interspersed with the
more witching and dulcet laughter of
females. How longed to be with them
What fear and anxiety | suffered, as
nearer and nearer the voices came, again
| looked in the direction of the house,
with the hope that | might see some of
the male members. But such was not my
luck. l looked again. standing on tip
toe, and straining my eyes till they
seemed to be fairly bursting fl ON their
sockets Hope this time davned in the
distance Charley, my friend Charley. |
saw emerge from the garden
into the road / laughed aloud and
danced with JOY. l saw speedy release
from my awkward predicament. and
blessed the fate that sent it. But disap-
pointment-and such a disappointment
soon stared me in the face, for looking
a second time, l saw half dozen girls
Mary, her sisters and cousins--follow-
ng like Young fawns in the walk of
Charley footsteps
Down the road they bounded. like a
lrove of frightened deer, crying out in
'hrill tones, my name.
Where is the runaway 2
Where can he be p
Frank. Frank" - sang out several
'weet voices among whom l recognized
Nary's. All of a sudden. however,
hese joyous shouts were changed to
iitferent tones.
..We-e-e-e. We-e-e-e.' screeched a
lalf dozen feminines.
':He's drowned he's drowned :" cried
some, a conclusion they all seemed to
arrive at, when they discovered por-
ion of my clothes.
Two or three tainted, and one Or two
Ponto-the dog-for what they
leemed his sagacity in making my fate
known.
The whole household were speedily
alarmed, and all came rushing towards
and directly to the spot where
had partially secreted myself behind
small clump of trees Here was another
dilemma. My position was every mo-
nent becoming more critical. If 1 re
NAMED where l was, was certain to be
,ome exposed.
looked around for place of con.
,ealment. Oh l felt as if l would have
given kingdom, if possessed one, for
some friendly tree wherein 1 might take
shelter. looked again, and thank heav-
m. l discovered one. 1t was but
short distance from me, and unobserv-
ID. and with the agility of a squirrel 1
mounted it and just as had seated my
self on an outstretching branch in man
Ter that perfectly screened me, half
lozen girls-Mary among the number
arrived on the spot and halted directly
inder the tree.
Can he be drowned - sympathizingly
lsked Mary. And l thought heard her
lob. Delighted at this evidence. as l
ook 1t, of an attachment to me on her
,art, my curiosity was excited. and anx-
Gus to catch every word spoken by her.
carefully and noislessly stretched my
,ody forward on the limb on which |
vas reposing Treacherous limb, Tn
ucky movement just as l did so. with
report like a pistol. the limb broke.
Town l went headlong in the midst of
ny sympathetic female faiends
'.wha, fall was there, M countrvmenr'
The sudden and unexpected catastro-
1hc hewlidered me for 4 moment. and it
vas some seconds before l fairly recov-
red from the shock The first recoIlec-
ion | had was being surrounded bv a
group of astonished maidens. having
'ach one the appearance of a marble
tatue. Mary was nearest to me
"And half in wonder half in fear
She ga1ed with bushes warm.
But she gazed for only moment: then
ltterlng scream equal in shrillness and
ondness to locomo i've whistle. she
'arted OF like lightning. followed By the
est OF the astonished crowd Such a
luttering Of muslin. such a screechine.
nd such a general stampede. 1 never
learo or witnessed. Away they went
Ike young colts with unlimited pastur-
ge, and soon they were all out of sight.
looked around TO see if had been en-
lrely deserted. and discovered Charley.
oiiing On the ground. in paroxysm of
aughter. With him the thing was a
apItal Joke and he op;ava3 !, ~I.