Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-12-01

there's no way out"
| aft there's a way in there's wg out,
and for Heavens sake let me out ofshls.
| But the dreadful figure made no frther
answer. and glided backwards by his houl-
der to the rear and others appeared in
view. each with faint red halo rnnd 1t,
staring on him with frghtful eyes, Images,
all in hideous variety, of eternal fury,r de-
rision. He was growing mad, it semed,
under the stare of so many eyes, increasing
| in number and growing closer ever mo.
ment. and at the same time myriads and
myriads of voices were calling him b his
| name, some far away, some near, some rom
i one point, some from another, some rom
behind. close TO his ears. These cries we're
| increased in rapidity and multitude, and
mingled with laughter, with hitting nIas-
| phemics, with broken insults and mocker-
| les. succeeded and obliterated by others,
before he could half catch their meaning
! All this time, in proportion to the rapid
| ity and urgency Of these dreadful slghts
and sounds, the epilepsy OF terror was
creeping up TO his brain, and win long
| and dreadful scream he lost consciousness.
| When he recovered his senses, he found
! himself in a small stone chamber, vauited
| above, and with ponderous door. "A SIN
/ gle point Of light In the wall, with strange
| brilliancy Illuminated this cell.
Seated opposite to him was venerable
| man with snowy beard ofimmense length ;
an image of awful purity and severity lie
was dressed in a coarse robe, With three
large KEYS suspended from his girdle. de
might have flied ones idea OF an ancien'
porter of city gate--such spiritual cities,
/ | should say, as John Bunyan loved TO DIT
scribe. go,
This old mans eyes were brilliant ana
awful. and. fixed on him as they were, Tom
Chuf' felt himself helplessly in his power.
At length he spoke
"The command is given TO let you birth
| for one trial more. But If you are FUND
again drinking with the drunken and
! beating your fellow servants, you shall re-
turn through the door by which you came,
and go out no more.
| With these words the old man tool him
by the wrist and led him through the first
! door. and then unlocking one that stood in
| the cavern outside, he struck Tom Chuff
sharply on the shoulder, and the door shut
behind him with sound that doomed peal
after peal Of thunder near and far away, and
| all round and above, till it rolled off gradu-
ally into silence II was totally dark, but
there was a tanning of fresh cool air that
oyerpowered him. He felt that he was in
the upper world again.
! In few minutes he began to hear voices
which he knew, and first faint point OF
| light appeared before his eyes, and grad,i-
aljy he saw the fame of the candle, and,
after that. the familiar faces of his wife and
children. and he heard them family when
| they spoke to him, although he was as yet
unable to answer.
lie also saw the doctor, like an Isolated
! figure in the dark, and heard him say:
"Thcre now, you have him back. He'll
do, think"
His first words, when he could speak
and saw clearly all about him, and felt the
blood on his neck and shirt. were
"Wife, forgie me, I'm q changed man.
Send for I sir"
Which last phrase means, Send for the
clergyman"
| When the vicar came and entered the
! little bedroom where the scared poacher,
whose soul had died within him, was iy-
| ing, still sick and weak, in his bed, and
with spirit that was PROSTATE with ter
ror, Tom Chuff fecbly beckoned the rest
from the room, and the door being closed,
| the good parson heard the strange con
fession, and with equal amazement the
mans earnest and agitated VOWS of amend
ment and his helpless appeals TO him for
support and counsel.
| These, of course, were kindly met, and
| the visits of the rector, for some time, we're
| frequent.
One day when he took Tom Chuffs
| hand on bidding him goodbye, the sick
man held it still, and said:
eyer vicar o Shackleton, sir, and If /
sud dee, yell promise me a'e thing, AS a
promised ye many. La said I'll never
| gle wife nor barn, nor folk o no sort,
! skep nor szZup more, and yen know O
me no more among the Slippers. Nor
never will Tom draw trigger, nor SET
snare again, but in an honest way, and
after that yell no make it bootless bene
for me, but bein' as say, vicar O. Shackle-
ton, and able to do as We list, yell no let
them bury me within twenty good yerd-
wands measure O the a'd beech trees
that's round the churchyard OF Shackle-
ton"
II see, you would have your grave, when
your time really comes, a good way from
! the place where lay the grave yon dreamed
Of"
"Thot's Jest it. id lie ut the bottom o
u GiarlpN Iiclef! Anu L u DC lAiu III abi'iioi
church-yard just to be shut o my fear o
that, but that a my kinsfolk is buried be-
yond in Shackleton, and yell gle me yer
prone and no break yer word.
Il do promise, certainly. I'm not likely
TO ou,live you; but If l should and still be
vicar of Shackleton, you shall be buried
somewhere as near the middle OF the
churchyard as we cam find space"
"Thatll do"
And so content, they parted.
The effect of the vision upon Tom Chuff
was powerful and promised to be lasting.
With sore effort he exchanged his life of
desultory adventure and comparative idle
ness for one OF regular industry. He gave
up drinking; he was as kind as an origin
ally sury nature would allow to his wife
and family; he went to church in fine
weather they crossed abe moor to Shackle.
ton Church; the vicar said he came there
to look at the scenery of his vision, and to
fortify his good resolutions by the re-
minder
Impressions upon the Imagination, how
ever, are but transitory, and bad man
acting under fear is not free agent; his
real character does not appear. But as the