The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1873-02-18
On Top of a Chimney
A THRILLING SKETCH,

London in order to get better wages, /
was called into the office by the fore
man.
Whats your present job, Lindsayp"
he asked, and told him
"Humph! that can stand over for a
day or two. can't it? Stubbs has fallen
i'll again, and you must take his place.
/ didn't care to he shifted before Id
finished what was about,bu jouri5ey-
man brick-layer, with a wife and children
looking to bim tor bread. eannet. afford
10 be too particular, and SO held my
tongue.
You must go to Coots brewery to-
morrow morning and finish that Chin
ney," the foreman told me He gave me
! few more directions besides, and then
went his way, while l went mine, not
very well pleased at the prospect before
me-
suppose ! never ought to have fol-
lowed the trade, for though I'd gained
myself good character as steady
workman, had never been abe to over
come horror at being perched at any
grea, height. In the country, where the
buildings were low, managed well
enough, but in this great city there were
roofs on which could not stand with
out this dread expressing me, nor look
down without feeling as though some
thing below was tempting me to fin :
myself over and end at once the misera-
BILE sensation which no effort of mine
could shake off.
This huge chimney the fore man had
ordered me to finish was reckoned one
Of the highest and best built shafts in
London. We were all proud of the job,
which had been carried on so far with
out single mishap; but had been ear
nes,ly hoping that might not be sent to
it.and it wasn't till the workmen had got
almost to the top that begar to breathe
bit more freely, and trust that it would
be finished without any help of mine.
Once at home with the youngsters
merry prattle in my ears, l forgot the
uneasy feelings about the morrow's job; i;
but the moment l dozed eff to sleep it
came back upon me in hideous dream,
I thought l was falling down, down!
and just as the crash of my body strik
ing the earth seemed inevitable, I woke
up with a start to find myself bathed in
a cold perspiration and trembling in
every limb.
No more settled sleep visited nv pill.
low that night, and it was a relief when
the booming Of the clocks dispelled my
frightened visions, and warned me that
it was time to face reality
The morning was bitterly colS.and
boisterous scarcely soul was to he
seen in the deserted streets at that early
hour, and the duh thud, thud, OF nv
footsteps sounded mournfuIly in the
stiffness reignine around At last the
great chimney doomed in sight. and gaz
ing up at its immense height, shivered
at the thought of being on top of it,and
forced to look down on the sickening
depth below. i2 3teifl @
If it had not been for the name OF the
thing | should have gone back, but the
thought Of Bessie and the children
spurred me on; so, 5uttoning my jacket
tightly around mel began to ascend the
staging. In my journey upward passed
many costly curtained windows, and re-
member thinking, rather enviously, how
i1ice it must be to be rich and sheltered
on such morning from the biting cold
in q warmly furnished bedroom.
Some fellows wouldn't mind the least
bit if they were perehed on the top of
st. Paul 5 on the coldest ofsdiornings,
provided you supplied them well with
beer; but / wasn't overstrong limbed,
any more than ! could pretend to be
strong-minded; so what to them was
nothing, to me was almost death itself
: The higher ] went the more INTENSE
the cold appeared to be, and my fingers
became quite numbed by the hoar frost
that was clinging to the sides and spokes
of the ladders After while / stood or
tine few boards forming the stage Oh the
summit sof the shalt, and, giving one
glance downward, my blood turned
colder than it was already. as | realized
the immense depth to the yard beneath
Giving myself shake to get rid ot
the dizzy sensation that came over me
and unlocking from the pulley the tut
hof mortar which my mate, waiting be-
Elow, had sent up, | at once began my
solitary work
Il had been hard at it for more than ar
hour, and was getting bit more recon
,ciled to my position, cheering myself as
II whistled and worked, with the thoug
that each brick laid was bringing m.
nearer, to finish, when all at once {
tiercer and colderblast than before cam,
Ishrieking and tearing around the chin
ney / was nearly overthrown, and il
the endeaver to recover myself, / tilted
the board Of mortar from off the edge o
!. the shaft on to my frail standing place.
: In a second, to my intense horror,
felt the boards and all that were on then
gliding away with me from the chimney
and in few moments should hav,
/ been lying mangled corpse below, if
had not succeeded in finging my arm
over and into the hollow of the shaft
where, as the scaffold and its load o
bricks Crushed downward, / was lef
hanging, with certain death awaiting m,
; the moment | loosened my hold.
My first impulse was to throw m,
other hand o'e' and draw my body up
so that could lie partially across, tn
top of the shaft. In this was success
ful, and continued to balance myself
half in the chimney ani half out y
There for some time could only elm,
with frenzied desperation, praying ear
nestly to be saved from the horrible dealt
, threatening me- but al last summone,
courage to peer cautiously over the Out
side Of the shaft Haua
Not bit of scaffolding remained
within many yards of me--and that bu
the poles, with few boards clinging t
them-and there was nothing, 80 brea
my fall should / quit my hold.
Shudderingly | drew my head owe
the shaft, for there the darkness hid m
danger, while to gaze on the scene with
t out brought the Old feeling of bein,
+ dragged down back to me in full force.
/, Then began to think of the wife an
tkttr l.. : 4 u