The Hickman courier., 1869-03-06

Lay some poor words between him and
Father, forgivei ace kno,o not srhat ,ee do r
CoLERfDGE's CHRIsTABEL.
I have devout and holy reverence
for sacred things. / never Knocked for
, the fun of mockery, indeed, L never
moeked at ALL Never reviled, nor did
aught in sacriligion to bring into con
tempt and ridicule, religion or any of its
teachings. And | have often prayed
miserable is the wretch who never has |
prayed, earnestly and seriously
yearning souls voiceless utterings borne
{ Like fumes OF. sacred inscensee Ger the
And waited thence on angels wings thro'
ways
OF light to the bright Source of arr'
But never prayed in public" but
! once, or in other words, l never held
Family Prayer" but once Then, hol0
and where?
ALL most inquisitiye reader, thereby
5 hangs tale.
1t was in the fall of 63-a time that
: "tried mems souls" aud stable doors as
well-that | had occasion to leave my
then temporary home near Union City,
aud go 10 Middle Tennessee, on urgent
business. What that business was is
none Of the readers business So early
one morning iu the early part of Sep
tember-it was a sultry, dusty day,
know-I started on my perilous way
aud never before nor since did | com
mence journey with more misgivings
and uneasiness than | did this one, not
that my uneasihess arose altogether from
concern for my own personal safety, as
for that of getting through with my
horse, splendid bay stallion of faultless
form, and superb, magnificent carriage.
Ali Drenon, little dreamed thee what 4
budget of uneasiness and apprehensive
nerves thy proud back bore that sultry.
dusty September day l had gone but
a few miles on the Hickman aud Dres-
den road, when L met man who in
formed me that the whole country be
tween Dresden and Paris-through both
Of " hlch places lay my most direct route
(.s:'>kers. / was tA,nd to 20 to Mid.
1nessee, let the risk be what it
- the only alternative left me
these thievcs-and that was
ecertainty-was, to strike
ssry, and up through South
-atucky and across the Ten
!16sDsa at at Egner's Ferry, forty
sstifouss ro.,.aadu dueah. 1t was a long
6d yx5tsn-s...,a r:S5s ~. cue =
q n fb q " III would that some mel
lid decreed that weary, ~
W. and the sacrifice of time hei
nd been all that were re- . p
eDrenon Reader, if you my
horse, or wife, don you tina
s'ize one or the other, for in all ha'
ffty you will hRe to pass through VIII
satiou aud s,eeoA to keep them. the
l.jat section ever produces solicitude tro
dsolicitude sometimes produces fear Dir
Id Fear may produce an occasion to for
.ay achen yOu dont feel like IL. Aud ing
ross the country l went-out into my
entucky, and up the State road-on, col
llting, and full of fear at every crook ing
I'd turn, lest | should come upon kn
Iuad of 'blue coats" when, hotter no
,on of that hot September day of fear in,
i aud uneasy travel found me well and i'm
fe tcith Drenon-for a wonder-at old ne;
an Mays, where I fed aud rested. Two his
clock came, and [ was again on the ho
'ad making for Murray, the county seat civ
Galloway. On l went, fearful, yet gu
eeping straig ightahead-on, on, up on that has
Isty country road, when | met negro mi
turning from mill From this negro | ly
armed that / was eight miles from Muir get
"; and that, he heard ut the mill, there wit
ere Yankees scounting in the country L
ito the South of town, aud for what sle no
new. they might be in the "town itself" TIN
thanked him aud road on. The houses to
ong the road now were thicker, and ,ch
liled at nearly every gate, but no one tar
new anything about the Yankees being air
the country. They mought and they er
oughn't be for what they knowed . pie
ne big red headed gal washing at a we'll tht
the yard, said ''she didn't know and ru
he didn't care neitherl Is you one Of lin
m that makes Jou so consarned bout IN
m ?" / told her was "consarned" otl
II my horse,' and bidding that rustic A
leopatra at the wash tub ''good eve an
ing, | rode on-on, to learn more or no
othing, when, as the sun was beginning pa
drop percepubly low in his Western he
p, and the trees were lengthening their aw
ladows eastward, met a man. He rel
as just from Murray it was three miles loo
stant there were no Yankees in town an
hen he left, but they were looking for lie
lem in every minute; the Yankees were he
nown to be in the vicinity, down on ale
loody. 1t would be dangerous, ne aoe
iought, for me to stop in town all night, rel
,r if the Yankees, he said, were in the
ieinity, they would be very apt to come
, town that night, or very early in the mi
iorning; and if they should lay eyes on fol
~ horse, they would be id apt to de
Ike him. I had been thinking that 81
cry same thing all day. | then asked WI
he could tell me where could stay wa
,me good house this side of Murray tn
Ie knew of several good houses but po
ad better go to one off the public road. po
thought so too, and asked him for q S
lch one. He told me-'just ahead | be
ouk turn to the left-it was a plain
pad, but considerably DINNER than the bo
lain road-that left hand road would So
,on bring me to little corn field | acc
ould keep to the right of this, and go tie
~ little further, would see off lit ed
e piece from the road, hog pen-pay no
o attention to this hog pen, but keep ed
raight on, bearinga little to the right, up
nd going down a slant | would see sal
here large tree-he believed it was
q r3ar. Of an oak, he didn't know which co
fallen across le road sorter
z<,istaIk - hound this fallen 81
s q mo the main road again, MI
Szso. and about hundred di'