Daily Kennebec journal., 1870-08-26
NO. 2o3.
Miseellanu.
A PERILOUS ADVENTURE.


The Newark Advertiser tells this start
ling story Of an adventure in that place:
''St. Patrick's Cathedral has Il steeple
surmounted by a ball, on which is cross.
The top of the cross is two hundred and
fifteen feet above the surface ofthe ground,
the height being but five feet short of that
of Bunker Hill Monument. The steeple
is OF wood, square at the base and taper
ing toa point. Along each angle, from
the base to the point, are nailed, at the
distance of four feet apart, ornamental
knobs of wood
..AH this wood work, being weather
beaten, in the course of time rots; especi-
ally the nobs and the cross. which present
many small angles; so that it becomes
necessary to attend now and then to the
repairing Of these parts. To erect stag
ing for the purpose when a man OF suf-
ficent daring and GOODNESS might climb
and do the work, would not be the most
economical method Such men are rare,
but they are to be found. The price charg-
ed for each ascent is usually about twenty
five dollars The risk does not consist
merely in the danger of becoming giddy
and demoraized while clinging in mid-air
to the outside of steeple, and while the
ueighbors and the passers-by are collect
ing in growps below and gazing upwards.
with bated breath and trembling knees, at
The climber. He must go up by clinging
foot and hand to what he finds; and what
be must cling TO are these very knobs,
rotting and weakening in the weather,
and finally to the cross, already decayed
and almost ready to drop. The man who
does this sort of work i'll Newark is MIR.
Frank Jacobus.
One day last month he was engaged to
make an ascent Of the cathedral steeple
for the purpose of removing the old cross
and replacing it with new one. Going
up inside the steeple to the highest admis-
sible point he reached out from the mar
row window and felt one of the knobs to
test lis strength. Judging it to be strong
enough he swung himself out by it, and
scrambing up caught hold of the next
| higher knob and rested his feet upon the
lower one So far all right. He glanced
around him and then looked up along the
line OF knobs that reached far up to the
ball and the cross, making his hazardous
way. 1t was something OF an experiment.
Were the other knobs, too. strong enoughs
Carefully and quickly he scrambled up and
felt of the knob next higher. 1t seemed
TO have sufficient strength, He pulled up
ON it,. 1t bore his weight, and up he went.
Gathering confidence. he made his tests
and drew his conclusions rapidly. He
went up more and more quickly, at last
scarcely caring to try the strength of the
knobs before trusting his weight to them.
| Already two-thirds of the steeple were
climbed A few more efforts and his hand
would be clinging to the cross. f
He reached forth to raise himself. A
slight scraping sound reaching his keen
! II, nolx
about his ears. The knob had moved un-
der his pull-was giving way. mist
spread before his eyes He felt himself
falling backward. With convulsive effort
that lamed his back he clutched at some
thing and brought himself forward again,
and down he slid His presence of mind
had not one left him. He even tested the
knobs rs he slid over them, to see where
he might trust to stop himself with the mo-
mentHm of his falling. Gradually he even
lessened the momentum. Then he iasten-
ed his grip upon Il knob. 1t held him.. and
he was safe The sigh that went up from
the observers in the street below almost
reached his quickened ears, and it grew
into a shout. He was not demoraliZed.-
He might have come down and given up
the job Not so. His purpose to go up to
the cross was not changed. But he could
no longer trust himself to the knobs on
that angle of the steeple. He must get
across to the next angle He tried to
reach. but the knob was just beyond his
utmost stretch of foot or hand.
The observers below were looking on
in breathless suspense. They saw him go
up higher, almost to the very spot whence
he had fallen, aud then at last reach out
and swing himself across. He was now
on another angle, chnging to an untried
place and looking up the long line of m
tested knobs. He went up more carefully,
less rapiely than before, trying every
knob well before trusting his weight to it.
Soon he was at the ball. Grasping that,
he Slid himself up over it and sat himself
down on it. with his feet on either side of
the cross. There he waited awhile, though
he seemed still to be busy Then raising
himself to his feet, he stood beside the
cross. With his hand he broke it piece
meal and threw the pieces down, and
they fell into fragments as they touched
the stone walk Then he descended, and in
few minutes was on the ground again,
10 be surrounded by some OF the observers.