Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1865-12-28
A RICH STORY.

| the facts occurred few years since Of which
the following is true narration:
! An honest farmer and his family prcpar-
| ing to celebrate Thanksgiving at his wife s
| fathers, in an adjacent town, were hurried
aud confused extremely on the day preccd
! ing that festival, by the multiplicity oithings
which must be done before they could leave
home with safety The house was to be
banked up" aud the glcanings of the
! harvest cabbage, turnips and so forth, put
| into fhe cellar, that the external entrance
thereto might be closed for the scason -
Having carried in the vegetables, the boys
were dispatched to the barn for straw to fill
the passage with, while the good man him
self was busted on the opposite side of the
house.
An old ram, the honorcd patriarch Of a
large flock Of sheep kept on the farm, hav-
ing got taste of the scattered cabbage
leaves unobserved entered the cellar and
silently continued his feast The avenue
through which he had entered was immc-
diately closed up, and all the necessary work
and arrangements being completed, the
larger boys and girls set out on foot in high
gcc, the dog running and barking before
them.
Soon after, the parents and their little
ones, having put out the fire and fastened
the doors and windows to keep out thieves,
started on the same destination
On the afternoon of the day following the
festival, the family returned home. accom-
panied by some young cousins. Some of
their youthful ncghbors ofboth sexes, were
invited in, and a merry Thanksgiving ca.
rousal was in full tide Of successful operatin,
when one of the boys, who had been sent
into the cellar with a little two-wick candle
which gave just enough light to make dark
ness visible, to draw cider, ran back into
the room, with eyes garing wildly, uttering
the half sutfncating exclamation:
The devil is in the cellar
"Pooh," said the father, 'you have only
been frightened by your own shadow; give
me the light"
Saying this, he seized the candlc--leav-
ing the candlestick fast in the hand of the
boy--and boldly rushed to the cellar stairs,
but before he had descended half the steps,
the large saucer eyes and enormous horns
of the ram caused him to retreat as much
terrified as his son, cxclaming
Sure enough, the devil is in the cellar.'
The good man seized the great bible, and
attempted to read, but the candle sputtercd,
burned blue, and threw such feeble light
on the sacred pages. and the book trcmbled
so much in the hands of the reader. that he
could not distinguish one word from another
The little children cried and clung 10 their
mother; the girls nestled close to theirlavor-
ite swains, and the whole house was shaken
with the agitation of its half demrntcd in
habitants. One bright thought, however,
occurrcd--and messenger was sent for the
minister to come and 'lay the dcvil"
The parsnn, II man more celebrated for
good nature, pety, and credulitv. than for
talent and hcroi,m slipped small bible in
to his pocket, put on his band and Surplicc,
that he might appear as formidable to his
great antagonist rs possible, and haStened to
the relief of his distressed parshoners
On coming to the house, the reverend
man was hailed as dcivcrcr, and implored
by at least n dozen voices ut the same mo-
ment, to drive the devil away. But few
.. moments were lost masking questions which
no one could answer, before the parson
pushed forward as leader, with the same
penurious light, into the cellar, the most
courageous OF the company keeping close
behind him. He reached the foot of the
stairs, the eyes of fire, the shadowy outline
Of the enormous horns, magntied ten-fold
Mt least, by the terror of those that beheld
them, removed all doubt if any had existed
, in his mind as to the Internal nature of the
being with whom he had to contend.
The divine instantly fell on his knees, and
with uplifted hands, began to pray in his
most tcrvent manner. The ram not under
standing the pious mans motives, but sup
posing by the motion of his hands that he
was daring him to butting contest, made "A
, pass with all his might, at his supposed ad-
versary, bnt deceived by his swelling dimen-
sions of his drapery, missed the slender
body of the priest, and, drawing hastily back
to renew the assault, hooked one of his
, horns into the belt of the surplce and pulled
; l,n, ,-,il Il ,,,tD ., III,
, While thus in the power ofhis victorious
foe, he lost hope as it regarded himself, and
, the natural hcnevolcnce of his disposition
burst forth in the exclamation
{ "Brcthren, take care of yourselves the
{ devil has got me.
i This exhortation was better obeyed than
q any he had delivered from the pupit--his
y friends all fled and left him to his fate.
Among the company was Il shrewd young
farmer, who had, from the first, supposed
the iend to be some domestic animal, but
being lover Of fun-and, willing to see a
, comedy, kept his thoughts to himself and
a pretendedto sympathize with Others in THEN
fears He thought it time to interfere, and
: snatching a pitch pine knot from the blaz
, ing fire, expressed hisdetcrmnation to rescue
: the preacher or perish in the attempt.
. Don't, don'tl" shouted several.
q Nv hat does the devil care for fire ~
Take along the bible if you will go -
suggested another.
/ But, unhecding the suggestion and the
: manifestations of concern for his safety he
; pushed into the cellar, seized the animal by
,, one Of his horns and dragged the struggling
ram up stairs, calling to the astonished par
! son, Follow me - The honorea dcvilwas
i led in triumph, followed by the Ecccsiastic,
! in the midst of the company. A momen-
tary silence and hanging down of heads en-
sued, but the past scene was too ludicriOuS
- to admit of sober reflection, and loud pealS
, of laughter burst forth from every side,
!, during which the ram was turned out at
the door, the parSon absented himself with
out ceremony, and the sports Of the evening
, were resumed with better spirits than be-
a fore.
L M 1T In 81 a