The Republican journal., 1873-12-11

vault, and Just above my head | saw-my
eyes being now accustomed to this half
hght--l saw, say, rope hanging down
from the vast height above.
Then | remembered the spider-wcbs
had seen outside about the ball and cross.
And as stood, and looked and listened
| heard faint sounds of hammering and
knocking. Men were at work hundreds
of feet above; Il light shown here and
there, twinkling like Il star
In years gone by used to be famous
gymnast, and the sight of the rope hang
ing Just above my head put me in mind of
my ancient prowess. | was heavier now,
my muscles less elastic; still, there was
some salt of youth in me How many
times, | wondered, could |, hanging to
that rope. draw my chin up to my
knuckles ?
The rope was Just out Of reach, but |
leapt up and caught it-once, twice.
thrice. | felt a kind of emulation with
lay old self; | wanted to persuade myself
that | had not lost much of my former
prowess; and so | went TO drawing my
self up and letting myself down, not
touching the ground, till / grew tired.
and stretched myself out, expecting lust
| couldn't reach it. Casting a glance be-
low me, l saw with horror that the floor
ing had vanished from under me | was
swinging suspended by my hands high up
in he dome.
Perhaps, if | had dropped at that mo-
ment, | might have escaped with only Il
serious shaking; but hesitated, and was
lost Slowly and steadily, the rope was
hai I cb,t I,
lhis was q hideous delusion that another
cd down the floor below was almost lost
to my sight There | swung, tiny hu-
man speck, half was between heaven and
earth. / couldn't hope TO hang on much
longer My muscles were wearied with
the task had given them. | made des-
perate effort to raise myself hand over
hand, SO that might grasp the rope with
my feet also; but it was impossible;
could not do it. Even the desperate en-
ergy Of selt-preservation could extract no
| more force from my muscles; | could only
| hold on.
| was now on 4 level with the plinth that
surmounts the great arches OF the dome
| The gilded groundwork Of q new trescC
| in the spandrel cast glow 1pon me; the
! colossal figures seemed to mock my agony
i must De ilaiI WAY up now allu iui ily
moment a ray Of hope shone in upon me
that ! could hold on to the end But, tc
my despair, | now saw that the seeming
dome was but q false one, above which
rose the veritable conical roof, another
hundred feet or more, and that through
q vast round orlice in the sham dome tht
| rope was to ascend to the uppermost peal
of the root In that moment of torture
recognized my fate as inevitable. | Nigh
| prolong my agony for few seconds; my
muscles We're involUntarily relaxing; my
grasp would fail in another minute a
furthest | must fall, to be dashed to piece
on the adamantine floor below.
A thousand confused thoughts whirle(
through my brain, like the smoke an'
sparks of an approaching contlagration
but especially clear in my minds eye,
saw did not think but saw this vision
the picture Of my tar-off home, the rollin!
plains of grass, the herds and tlocks,
galloping horseman--thert was my home
My wife stood in the portico, shading he
eyes with her hand; the children 'wer
clustering about her; there was news O
daddy coming perhaps daddy himseli
1t was bitter to die thus.
NV limbs relaxed my senses almost lie
serted me; a mcrciful oblivion, the intoX
! lca9lon Oh uespLlr, etole ON er me voices,
thought, Were calling-perhaps u delusio
Of failing sense-l was slipping, slipping
and fell
GLOW Do you feel now, Sir" heard
voice say close TO my ear. Was it possible
was | still alive? Yes my brain wa ye
conscious. But the frame Shattered, n
doubt, 4 mere human wreck, to which lil
would be one Of mockery. only dare
to use my eyes Any other muscular cXel
ton might bring on torments to which
was then lnsensible and vet had no feel
ing of pain; perhaps some merctu par
alysis had cut me off from torture
An old man was bending over me, TIL
same who had admitted me he had Il wine
glass in his hands with some liquor in it
Il candle burned by his Side, forming a lii
tie chamber Of light about us
Am | Knocked all to pieces" ! whi~
pered
II don't think 50, sir; don't think your
hurt bit. Bless you YOU didn't fall NOR
than three feet
| stretched out my arms-they wer
whole my legs-they We're sound and lm
hurt. What Il happiness to be alive. atte
seeing death inevitable
''How is this?" | cried, sitting up, an,
looking about me Il though | was ear
ried up into the dome
''And 50 you were You'd have beel
q dead man by this, but Just in the nick o
time came back don't suppose | shout
have noticed you, for the light was pretty
nearly done; but [ caught sight Of yot
against the gliding, and then YOU gave .
sort of moan, and says | : There's deatI
! here, if | can't think of something in
minute And then | recollected that l.,
heard the workmen chaps whistle three
| times, like this, when they wanted the rope
lowered, and i pped away, and then tho
rope stopped, and began to come down
| shouted to YOU to hold on and keep youl
| heart ups but | don't think you heard me
for when your face came in sight it wa,
white like death, and your eyes closed
but still holding on--till, as | say, you
came within three feet of the floor, anC
then you gave Il quiver and fell, and
caught you in my arms, for you We're in {
dead faint But what were YOU about Il
let them draw you up like that? ~
Then | told him Of my gymnastic teats
"oh, tnen, .uSpecJ you SHOOK the rope
That's the signal to pull up, ;,ud up they
pulled, and they never knew what sort OF
load they We're hauling up. The men
are working double shifts now and in a
hurry to get finished
When | left St. Paul's | felt weak and
nerveless, as if I had just passed through a
long illness. couldn't start next morning
| was so upset, and have written this ac-
count of what happened to me as a sort OF
outlet for my feelings, for [ don't think
shall talk much about St Pauls when Get
home.
A CRASH. A Farmngson correspondent
Of the Portland Advertiser says:
few evenings ago a storehouse in this
village occupied by S, b. Bonney X Co.
fcaa tlo 6 tl,., ~