The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1875-03-26

5 conspiracy for : teupsst uous dehaach.
..My poor old Jack Fad been Washed
and shaven, his last toilet rendered with
oil the care that his, old friend and school
fellow could bestows upon 4 melancholy
labor Of love : . few hot tears burst from
my burning eyes, and fsll upon that
strange and unfamiliar face, and, finding
it become lers and less recognizable Is /
gazed upon it, I covered it reversntly with
my handkerchief, and at silent and
alone with it and the darkness, waiting
for the old man with tho coffin. e.sz,
"As the day waned and twilight gath.
cred, wall broke forth from the rocks
and the waves few bolated gulls aop-
ped their wings heavily over the water
that began toaiaah furiously tho low,
sandy shore. Pr4Sently = few drops fell,
the precursors Of one Of those furious
storms that riot on that desert coast.
IAN agony Of impotence seized me. I
got upon my feet, and pseed to and fro
the loose boards of the hut. -.
"Was !, then, condemned to stay here,
powerless to saye my poor Jack from be.
ing the pupp3t Of yonder malignant
fiends of the shore and the sea !! knew
Fit the coffin were delayed until the storm
increased in fury, the road to the old
wrecker's home would be impossible,
flooded, and without clew.,
"Was it, then, destined that he should
be thrown into the greedy nav Of ths
sea, after all, and his place in tho dear
little churchya ard at home know him no
more! There were prayers even then
offered up for him in that dear little vii
lage in the valley, not only by the thin
and withered lips Of his mother, but
sweet and roseate ones were trembling in
his behalf that late had chung to his own
in rapture, and gentle young fingers
would gather flowers for his grave, and
murmur benisons there for many q year.
Oh, Was it, then, impossible to give this
Joy to my poor old Jack
II started up with malediction upon
the storm and its surroundings, and with
an impulse of desperation wrapped my.
self in the old tarpaulin, and ventured
forth.
IL suppose my nerves were pretty we'll
unstrung, for the dead face Of my lost
comrado followed me with = gretesque
and horrible persistsncy. I struggled
against the feeling, but it seemed to me
the murky air was full Of shapcless fends
and bodiless spirits Of devilish propin.
quities.
''Stumbling along, tho wind beating
mercilessly down, making the rocky path
perilously smooth, made my way slowly
in the direction Of the old wrecker' 9
abode.
"Fceling the path step by step in this
wilderness of darkness and storm, it must
have taken me many hours to accomplish
. mile, for had scarcely gene halfway
when, l found by my watch it was nearly
midnight. The same lurid CLEAN of light
ming that showed me the face of my
watch, gave me alse feet glimpse OF
something lying in the road before me,
almost at my feet.
II looked, and started back in horror
a peculiar sensation came to my scalp;
felt my hair, 50 to speak, rising on end
for there, in defile of the road, hall
wedged in the shelter of = rock, was 4
coffin. The peculiar shape oft was only
dimly discernible, and either exaggerated
by this dimness or else the coffin was Of
gigantic size. How did it get there
Did the fiends about me contrive this
shape to deceive my half. delirious senses
looked again, and slowly I saw the pom.
derous lid rise, skeleton hand come
forth, then IN arm. At last half the
form emerged from this terrible resting.
place, and. wrapped about with winding.
sheet, seemed struggling to leave the
coffin altogether.
II seized my pistol with = trembling
hand. I cooked it.
"tDon't shoot, young man! !" cried the
spectre. "Ye'll spile the polish eff yer
| do. This cussed rain has cen Almost
done for it already. It was pious and
peart spell back. but it's pretty well
spilled now, I'm afeard.'
ut was my old wrecker, carpenter, and
cothn-lnaker. He explained to me that
he'd started on time with tho coffin, and
kept up till the storm had come upon
him, and he was forced to rest awhile un.
der the overhanging rock. He thought,
very properly, that no better shelter
should be found than tho coffin itself;
and he Was right. We ght both have
crept inside, and there would still have
been room for more.
"'Why on earth did you make it SO
big : I said. 4 don't want my poor
Jack to lie around loose in this way.
"'Well, where's the odds 2 said the
accommodating artisan. You didn't
seem to spare the expense; so thought
I'd leave plenty Of elbow-room. We can
find suthin or other for ballast, reckon,
down below
"Poor Jack lies to this day in the SIM
gular coffin thus provided for him, and
over him the avbutus blooms, and tender
violets, and oil the dainty flowers dear to
: young girls fancy or An old woman's
love.--Ha,Pers Weekly.
Russian Houses In Winter.
The windows areinvariably double, and
the space between the sashes invariably
covered with layer of fine sand, design
ed to absorb moisture and prevent the
frost from silvsring the panes. Twisted
horns Of paper containing salt are set in
and some times the sand is concealed BY
bed Of moss. There are no outside
shutters or blinds, for they would be use.
less, since the windows remain closed all