Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1872-04-11
A Wine On Fire.
A CoLLIER's LOVE STORY.

| was twenty-five years old, and was
working as regular pitman on the day
and night shaft, when fell in love with
Mary Andrews, the daughter of our head
pitman.
Not that dared to have told her 50,
thought, but somehow the influence of
Mary used to lift me up more and more
till | should no more have thought Of
going to join the other pitmen in n pub
lie house than of trying to fly.
About this time | got talking to a
young fellow about my age, who worked
in my shaft. John Kelsey his name was
and ! used to think it pity that fine
clever fellow like he s-handsomc.
stout and strong-should he so fond Of
the low habits, dog-fghting and wrcst-
ling, SO popular among our men.
| was going one evening past old An
dreWs' house, when the door opened for
moment, as if some one was coming
out, but, as if had been seen, it was
closed directly In that short moment.
though, had heard a laugh, and that
laugh | was sure was John kelsev's.
Time slipped on and | could plainly
see one thing that troubled me sorely--
John was evidently making an outward
show of being a hard working fellow
striving hard for Improvement, 50 a. to
stand well in old Andrews eyes. while
knew for fact that he was as drunken
and dissipated as any young fellow that
worked in the pit.
could not tell Andrews of this nor
could tell Mary. If she loved him. il
would grieve her terribly, and be dis
honorable as well, and perhaps he might
improve can tell him, though,
thought, and made up my mind that |
would; and meeting him one night, Cv-
identity hot and excited with liquor,
spoke to him about it,
IF you truly love that girl, John, -
| said, you will give up this sort of i
thing"
He called me meddling fool; said
he had watched me that he knew had
a hankering after her myself, but she
only laughed at me, and one way and
another so CALLED me that we fought.
went home that night bruised, sore, and
ashamed of my passion, while he went
to the Andrews and said he had to
thrash me for speaking insultingly about
Mary.
heard this afterwards, and [ don't
know how it was, but | wrote to her,
telling her it was false, and that
loved her too we'll to have acted so.
Six months passed over my head-siX
weary, wretched mOnths-till Christ
mas came on cold and bitter, but not so
cold and bitter as was my heart.
1t was Christmas eve, and in dreamy
listless way was sitting over my break
fast, before starting for work, when |
heard sound, and knew what it
meant before there were shrieks in the
village, and women running out and
making for the pits mouth quarter of
a mile away. | tell you | turned sick
with horror, for | knew that at heart
twenty men wonld be down on the night
shift; and though it was close on to
their leaving time they could not have
come up yet.
The pits fired" l heard people
shrieking, not that there was need, for
there wasn't soul that didn't know it,
for th. pit had spoken for itself. And
as I hurried out | thought, all in flash
like, of what a Christmas it would be
for some families there, and | seemed
to see a long procession of rough COT
fins going to the church yard and to
hear the wailings of the widow and the
fatherless.
| didn't lose any time, as You may
suppose, in running to the pits mouth,
but those who lived nearer were there
long time before me and by the time |
got there, | found that the cage had
brought up part of the men, three of
whom were insensible, and that it was
just going down again.
Z 1O1y7r1 6iraatlu an1 inst aG If
disappeared who should come running
up, pale and scared, but Mary Andrews.
There's no one down belonging to
you, is there ?" | asked her
"Oh, yes-yes my father was down,
and John Kelsey"
Now, then, who's going DOWN." l
shouted.
"You can't go down." shouted half a
dozen voices; ''the choke got most the
better of us.
but there are still two men down ~
I cried, sayagely. .'You are not all
towards, are you?''
Two meu stepped forward and we got
in the cage
s'Who knows where Andrews was 2"
| cried, and faint voice from one of
the injured men told me. Then | gave
the warning and we were lowered down,
it having been understood that at the
first signal we made we We're to be
drawn up sharply.
We reached the bottom, and L found
no difficulty in breathing and shouting
to the men to come on, | ran in the dl-
rection where ] had been told we should
find Andrews but it was terrible work,
for | pypppta6 aanh ynomapt tn pncOun-