The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1866-06-30

Ie6l Gld6 VIC nave UOnc WIOUS. anu IL
we may depart, we will make repara-
ton, and give you all the money we
have in our pockets. s
We laid our purses. on the table
before him.
1.-The Lord has delivered you into
my hands. 1t was so revealed to me
in dream We shall 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
still in his hand. He prayed and
prayed. AT last he appeared exhaust
ed. He stopped, and eyed the purses,
and then emptied one of them out on
the table. He appeared surprised,
and thought gratifed, at the large,
ness of its contents. baa IS 81,
. We now thought we should have
leave to retire; but, to our dismay, the
Old Gardener said. sol ro7
80 Now we viii praise God by sing
ing the Qundreth Psalm.
"fThis was agony to us all. After
the psalm, the old man took up the
second purse, and while he was sex-
aiming its contents, Ryder, who was
close behind Tom and myself, whis-
pered softly
" | have unfastened the door; when
you hear me move make rush.
The Old Gardener, then, pour
ing out the contents of the second
purse, exclaimed;
:" Why, there is almost enough to
build our new house of God Let me
see what the third contains
= Now! whispered Ryder, make
We did so, and at the same mo-
ment heard the old fellow hammering
away with his flint and steel. We ex-
pected to be instantly blown into
Fragments The front door, however,
flew 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 through a
thicket hedge. At last, with scratched
faces, torn hands, and tattered clothes,
we tumbled over bank into the high
road.
Our horses were soon found, and
we galloped to Ryder's residence.
Lights were procured and we sat down.
We were black, ragged and dirty We
looked at each other, and, in spite of
our miserable adventure, roared with
laughter.
- We MAJ laugh, exclaimed Tom,
but if this adventure is blown, and
we are found out, Cornwall will be
too hot for US the next seven years,
We have had pretty night of it. We
have lost our money; been obliged to
pretend TO pray for two long hours be-
fore great heap of gunpoWder; while
that iron-faced, ugly, red-capped
brute threatened us all with an i'm
mediate passage into eternity And
our money, forsooth, must go to
build a Methodist meeting housed
BAIL 1t is truly horrible. The fell
low has played the old soldier on US
with vengeance, and we shall be the
laughing stock of the whole country
" The affair was not yet ended. Re-
ports we're spread that three men, dis
guised as demons, with horns and
tails, had entered the cottage of the
old Gardner, who had not only terri
fed them, but had frightened them
out of a good sum of money, which
he intended to devote to the building
of new Methodist meeting house.
1t was given out that ON the following
Sunday the " Old Gardener intend
ed to preacha sermon, and afterwards
solicit subscriptions for the meeting
house, when he would relate the re-
markable manner In which he had
been providentially assisted with
funds for the building. Our mortif-
cation was complete. Tom, whose
hatred of Methodism was intense, de
clared that he would blow up the
meeting house as soon as it was
built. Our curl y, however,
was excited, and we all three
determined to hear our adventure of
the night eddy the Old Garden
er, if we could eontrive to be present
being suspected. Sunday
evening arrived. The meeting house
was crammed to suffocation, and with
the dim lights then burning in the
chapel, we had no difficulty in con-
cealing ourselves. The sermon was
short, but the statement of our ad-
ventures was related most infinitely
and circumstantially in the old mans
quaint, homely and humorous phrase
ology. This evening he seemed to
excel himself. and was exulfingly hu-
morous The old fellows face glowed |
with delight and satisfaction. i
never, said he, saw black faces pray
with greater devotion. | have some
doubt, however. he slyly observed, |
if their prayers were quite heaven |
ward They sometimes turned their |
faces toward the door, but lifting of |
the flint and steel kept them quiet.
He then added, with a knowing /