The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-02-05
An Unf0rfuuate Lar Know Two |
| Young Men Saw "Some life I'm the |
C1uufryss

~ 4
Young Men Saw "sorne life I'm the
Country 49,. rr..,,f =,
From Cincinnati Paper.
A short time ago two young men Of this
city, whose parents belong to the class de-.
bignated as the :" vell-to-do,"' wishing to
see some Of the ac!ualities of life in the
country, left home surreptitiousiy and
started forth on their travels. They thought
it would be cunning thing to disguise
themselves as farm hands and hire ont on
some farm to work, forgetting that at this
season of the year there is little to do on
farm beyond foddering the stock, chopping
wood, going to mill, and sitting around the
fire. They msde several applications for o
place before they were successful in finding
one, but at length heard of farmer who
desired help in clearing up a piece CT
woodland, to whom they applied. 1t
being dark when they reached the farm
house, the farmer did not notice the dis.
parity between the wilderness of their
hands aud the kind of work they protested
to be familiar with, and he engaged them.
The farmer had a couple of rosy-cheeked
daughters, and the young scsmps felicitated
themselves on the prospect of good time
beauing the girls to singing school, sitting
up at nights with them, and enjoying them
selves in various delightful ways, which, in
their unsophisticated city greenness, they
supposed belonged peculiarly to the coun
try. They sat down to plain farmers
supper that evening, which their long tramp
on foot had well adapted them to enjoy.
They used their best endeaVors to repre-
sent the character they had assumed, tried
to talk very knowingly about the crops and
things, and thought they were getting along
swimmiDgly. 70 be sure, one of them
rather put his foot in it asking the
farmer if he had planted his corn yet,
and another wanted to know what kind of
a moving machine he used to dig up pota-
toes with but these things were either not
noticed, or taken as a piece of Righteousness
on the part of their new "hired men,"
The daughters eyed them with blushing
interest from the opposite side Of the table,
and often did their eyes droop upon their
plates as they met the gaze of the strangers,
who were far from possessing the bashful
ways Of farm hands generally. But there
was one pair of eyes watching them with
suspicious intensity, and they belonged to
the farmers wife. AS the old lady was
bustling about, pouring out the tea and at
tending to the table, she was scrutiniziDg
them closely. Tea being over, one Of the
young men engaged the old farmer in CON
yersation, while the other devoted his tact
and energy to getting acquainted with the
girls. The old lady hunted up the last
newspaper, and sat down to it's perusal
in o corner. She would read for time,
and then, elevating her spectacles upon her
forehead, stealthily study the strangers
over the top of the newspaper. Finally,
with sudden start and exclamation, as
though an idea had seized her, she started
to her feet and exclaimed, "Father, l want
to see you in t'other ROOM" They were in
"t'other room" some time, and the young
scapegraces would have been just as well
satisfied if they had stayed there all night.
At length the old man came out, picked up
the paper and fell to reading it; and he,
too, closely studied the strangers at inter
walls over the top Of the newspaper. 81
swow, the old woman is right" he NUT
tered, and then, hurriedly putting on his
great-coat with the remark that he had
4" got to see to the stock" he went out.
The time passed pleasantly enough;
the old woman remained, accommo-
datingly, away, the girls had got over
their coyness, and the young men were
congratulating themselves on having struck
o good thing. In the midst of their de-
lightful pastimes by the farmers ireside
the door opened and the old farmer entered.
with six or eight of his neighbors following
close at his heels, who quickly surrounded
the astonished youngsters, presenting guns
and pistols at their heads 3: the farmer,
pointing pitchfork at their breasts, shout
ing, Surrender, you scoundrels, or I'll
blow you through" The girls screamed,
and would have tainted if they had known
how; the young men treubled and dropped
upon their knees in terror, while the old
woman, who seemed to understand the stu
alton perfectly, stood calmly by, surveying
the scene through her spectacles.
"What g the meaning of this ?" at length
gasped one of the affrighted youths.
Meaning " Numbered the farmer; I" it
means that you are couple of scoundrels,
and robbers, and seducers (renewed screams
from the young women, who hastily re-
treated behind the old LADY,, and villains
and garroters Here's your description
(picking up piece of paper, here it is.
my old woman found you out-she saw
through your disguise"
And then the old man read to his neigh
bors and the petrifed youths an account Of
o bank robbery recently committed in a
neighboring State by two accomplished vii
lains, whose descriptions were minutely
given.
'"There, now" shouted the farmer, ex-
ultingly, "you're the villains-my old
woman made you out-fool that didn't see.
it myself-one thousand dollars reward.
l'll sec that you don't escape-march you
off to Jail tonight" .-....- -.--..
And 30, in spite of rem onstrance and
protestation, these two hapless young ad :.
venturers, who wanted to play farmer,
were securely bound and marched, on that
wintry night, through the snow, FIVE miles
away to the county Jail, where they we're.
incarcerated as bold and desperate robbers.
The old farmer, believing that he had done
q great service to the community In captu-
ring the two young men, and securing to him
self and the old woman the thousand dollars
reward, returned home in great joy. Of
course the young mems story wasn't be-
lieyed, and Of course they had to write to
Cincinnati for friends to corroborate it be-
fore they could be released. They came
home very much broken in spirit. The
farmers wife is firm in the belief that she
was right the old man says if they amt
robbers and swindlers he believes they
soon will be; but the girls think it q
q pleggy shame the way they were
abused-they were such nice young men,
and talked real "store talk"
Salt Lake city is now but three days and
8 half from Chicago. Bad for Salt Lake
city. .-.-sr-.- ..y.
Th;rtv-two mi1es Of water-pipe are to be