The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1880-09-16
A Drive and What Came of It,

When two women will, they will, you ma!
depend on't
And when they won't, they won't, and that
an end ont.
Adele and began our offenses by sen
arating from our respective families a.
the very beginning of the season, anC
hunting cut tor ourselves a retreat in
remote country farmhouse, where, " fa
from the madding crowd" we elected t,
spend the entire summer in sublime indif
terence to chaperons, toilets and men
chiefly the latter.
Our plan did not meet the approval o
ou' maternal relatives, for certain rei.
sons pertaining to our future speedy es.
tablishment in life which the summer
had been expected to further, and that
our insubordination reduced to despair.
We had, however, the ears of the
pat'rs. VINO were not nearly so anxious
to transfer our small claims for mainte-
nance to other than the fatherly should
ers, and 50 we carried the day, and found
ourselves right speedily established at
the farmhouse of Squire Brown, in n
certain particular nook adjacent to q
nameless river. near a place which we
elected to call Sleepy Hollow.
For fortnight we did nothing material
save sleep, read, drink milk and eat
Strawberries; then there came what the
natives call "a spell of weather." and
we awakened to consciousness of the
LONELINESS about us, running wild to ex-
plore the hills that lay around us, all
day inwrapped in golden haze; to
penetrate to the heart of the dim, cool
wildwood, where strange flowers were
blossoming, and delicate ferns bowed to
the vagrant breezes over fairy carpets
Ot soft onH tn fnl1nrry
their vagabond course the countless
laughing brooks that tumbled down the
hillside or Murmured under the willows,
where, in the deep pools, the speckled
trout lay in wait for the unwary fly, in
blissful ignorance of hook and rod.
One day, while the rambling spirit
was still unappeased, yet had boots and
limbs put in their protest, an inspiration
came to us most happy in its promise.
We would drive to the falls in the
squire's one-horse chaise. Neither of us
had ever drawn rein over the back of
living steed; but we were persuaded
That driving in the country was verv
SIMPLE, matter, and then Roxy, the
farmers ancient horse, was q steady
piece of flesh, not likely to bring us to
grief, If her owners statement was to be
trusted--viz., that Roxy would dra " the
old chaise safely to the falls and back
with the lines lying over the DASH
board!
Accordingly Roxy was harnessed in,
our basket packed with comfortable
luncheon, and we, mounting to our
seats, started of.
In the matter of driving there had
been division of labor in this wise:
Adele held the reins, while carried the
whip. For the first mile the road was
level and smooth, and Roxy, persever-
ing in the steady trot with which she
had started of, permitted us to attain a
serenity that our unusual situation NAV
not have warranted; but just as was
beginning to get the better of any little |
tremors that had hitherto interfered
with my entire enjoyment of the affair. |
Adele suddenly leaned forward, and, |
taking the whip from my hand, dealt |!
Roxy a sounding thwack upon her
quarters.
This was more than the most amiable |
beast could be expected to bear with |
eq uanlmity, and certainly Roxy resented |
1T, for she made Jump which fairly |
threw me from the seat, and started at .
tearing pace down the road.
A horses memory for this kind of an |
atfront seemed not long, however. and |
when, by dint of shouting, coaxing and
saving on the lines our Bucephalus was
gotten down to her ordinary gait, /
turned to visit upon Adele something
like remonstrance. At a glance, /
saw that she was triumphant in the
opinion that Roxy and herself had come
to thorough understanding of relative
positions, and therefore only meekly
asked:
What was the matterszwith her.
Adelep'
Why, did you not see her switch
her tail over the reins in the most i'm
pertinent mannerP A horse never does
that when it knows it has master. and
L determined to settle that question at
once"
Only one more little irregularity dis
turbed my entire confidence in the supe-
rior horsemanship of Adele, and as that |
only came when we were in sight of the |
falls, our journey was the most delight |
ful and novel imaginable.
1t was at the top of a steep hill that |
the white, tumbling waters of the cas-
cade came to us--a vision of beauty set |
in emerald banks. sparkling and throw.