American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-02-24
Miscellany.
UNDER GROUND.

UNDER GROUND.
YES, that's my house under the hill
side there, facing the south, where the
lights are; you saw it as YOU came uD.
Pretty? Well, as pretty as we can make
it. Looks like an oasis in black desert;
and hard work it is to keep it decent with
SO many pits about, each belching out its
cloud of villainOus smoke, black as the
coal which makes it; for you see, we have
not only the fires for the pumping and
cage engine, but those at the bottom of
the ventilating shafts, and the SCOT they
send floating out into the air is some
thing startling, without counting the
sulphurous vapOrs which ruin vegetation;
not that there's much this Christmas
time.
Of course, if you like to go down you
can 60. I'll GO with you. Oh, yes; I've
often been down. l should think have
hundreds of times. Why, I've handled
the pick myself in the two-foot seam as
an ordinary pitman, though I'm manager
now. l don't see any cause to be ashamed
Of it. And, after all, it's nothing new
here in Yorkshire. l could point out q
score of men who have been at work in
the factories, now holding great works of
their own.
Accidents Well, yes; we do have ac-
cidents, in spite of all precautions and in
spection. Now you, stranger, COMING
down to see a coal-pit, look upon it as a
dangerous place. Without being coward
ly, you'll shudder when we go down the
great black shaft a couple of hundred yards,
and you'll then walk rs if you were going
through a powder magazine. But you
know what you used to write in your copy
book at school, Familiarity breeds CON
tempt" Truer words were never written,
and see it proved every week. It's dam
gerous work going up and down our pit,
and yet the men will laugh and talk, and
do things that will almost make your
blood run cold. 1t is like throwing a
spark amongst gunpOwder to open
lamp in some parts of our mine; but our
men, for the sake of pipe, will run all
risks, even to lighting matches on the
wall, and taking naked candles to stick
up, that they may see better to work.
Yes, we've had some bad accidents
here, but l shall never forget one that
happened fve-and-twenty years ago this
Christmas. Tell you about it? Good;
but it shall be after tea, by the warm
freside, and then If you like to go
down the pit in the morning, why, go
you shall.
Hank! That's the new piano-Christ-
mas present my girls coaXcd out of me,
with the old lady to back them up. Sew
enty pounds, bang. Collard and Collard,
those tunes to please me, because don't
like your new-fanglcd fantasies and ar
rangementS. There you are you see set
as duets-our two old favorite Yorkshire
pieces, "Christians, Awake" and Vital
Spark" You may hear them played by
every brass band in the country Well
have 'em sung after tea.
There, that's cosy. This is the time
always enjoy-after tea, with the curtains
drawn; the wind driving the snow in
great pats against the window-panc as
it bowls down the hillside, and makes
the fire roar up the chimney. Not par
ticular over a scuttle of Goals here, YOU
see. One of your London friends was
down here once, and he declared that
if he lived down here he should amuse
himself all day long with poker and
shovel
And now, about this story of the acct
dent promised-only to hear this YOU
must have a little more beside You
needn't go out of the room, my dear.
Well, as told you, it was five-and-
twenty years ago, and l was just five-and-
twenty years old then, working as regu-
lar pitman on the day or night shift.
Dirty work, of course, but there was
soap in the land even in those days; and
when l came up, after good wash and
change, could always enjoy a read such
times as didn't 60 to the night-school,
where, always having been sort of
reading fellow, used to help teach the
boys; and on Sundays used to go to the
school and help there.
OF course it was all done in a rough
way, for hands that had been busy with
coalpick ali day were not, Won will say,
much fit for using pen at night. How
ever, l used to go, and it was there
found out that teaching was a thing that
paid you back hundred per cent inter
est, for you could not teach others with
1ut teaching yourself
Butt may as well own to tit was
the teaching at the Sunday school / used
to look forward to, for it was there used
to see Mary Andrews, the daughter of
one of our head pitmen. He was not so
very high up, only at the pit village he
lived in enc of the best houses, and had
men.
Consequently, Mary Andrews was a
little better dressed ard better educated
than the general run of girls about there
and there was something about her face
that used, in its quiet earnestness, to set
me anxiously watching her all the time
she was teaching, till / used to wake up
OF a sudden to the fact that the bows in
my class were all at play, when flushing
red all over my face, / used to leave off
staring over to the girls part of the big
schoOlroom, and try to make up for lost
time.
can't tell you when it began, but at
that time / used somehow to associate
Mary Andrews pale, innocent face with
every thing 1 did Every blow drove
into coal-seam with my sharp pick used
to be industry for Mary's sake OF an
evening when l washed off the black and
tidied up my hair, it used to be so that she
might not be ashamed of me if we met
and even every time made my head ache
with some calculation out of nv arith-
metic-ten times as difficult because had
no one to help mel used to strive and
try on till conquered, because it was all
for Mary's sake.
Not that / dared to have told her so.
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 he other pitmcn in public
house than try rg to fly.
II was about tuis time got talking TO a
young fellow about my age who worked
in my shift. John Kelsey his name was,
and I used to think it a pity that fine,
clever fellow like he was, handsome,
stout and strong. should be so fond Of the
low habits, dog fighting and wrestling, so
popular amongst our men, who enjoyed