The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-04-19

| With these and such-like speeches Joe
enlivened his patient, Introducing par
enthetically such hearty bursts of laugh
ter that my uncle speedily recovered
himself; but his increasing strength in
tensi6ed my uncle's desire to get cleal
away before the miller and his wife re-
turned. As first step in this direction
he emerged from the blankets in which,
barring his head, he had been enveloped
and with the assistance Of Joe as his
valet, he dressed in the garments which
that worthy supplied. There was moth
ing remarkable about these, with the ex.
ception OF a smock-frock of snowy white
ness which extended to my uncle's feet
But here arose difficulty. Joe being
left in charge of the premises, could not
leave until his masters return. Every
argument which his ingenuity supplied
to detain his patient, and every protest
against my uncle's injustice in believing
the miller's wife capable of aught but
sympathy, fell upon my uncle's ears
"like water on dack's back" Finding
that he could place the pot in position
which enabled him to see his feet, and
consequently the path bit by bit along
which he had to travel, besides being
able to raise the plaguy apparatus suffi,
ciehtly to enable him to breathe land see
ing that Joe could not accompany him
as guide and a protector, he deter
mined to make the attempt to reach the
village alone. Being naturally anxious
to avoid, as far as possible, the public
gaze, all thought Of taking the turnpike
road was abandoned, though he need not
have been under such apprehension, for
who among the many returning from the
fair would be likely to recognize in that
strange figure Farmer Bloomfield or
Stanley Court?
Indeed his objection to this route
might have been overcome but for Ills
dread of meeting the miller and his wife,
whose he thought-might possibly re-
cognize the garb which enveloped him,
and would naturally feel unpleasantly
linguistic about the individual wiJhin it..
Yet walk of three miles through mea-
dows and across common after seven
o'clock on a September evening, under
such circumstances, appeared wellnigh
as possible for blind man. Anything,
however. appeared preferable to the dis
closure he so much dreaded; and so,
trusting to the circumscribed vision, he
departed with slow and steady steps
along the old familiar path, determined
by happy thought, to make his way to
the village blacksmith, whose ingenuity
he had no doubt would speedily remove
the incumbrance.
For some time all went well, and the
antiquary's progress, though slow, was
sure. But what with the sultriness of the
evening, the defective ventilation inside
the pot, and the weight of thai at other
times useful article. my uncle was COM
pelle to sink to the ground in faint,
just as he had reached shallow brook,
over which he had to pass; and there he
lay until consciousness returned. How
long he had been in this position he did
hot know; but he soon became painfully
aware of the fact that the shades of
night had closed round him. Nor was
his anxiety diminished as a thunder
storm burst over his head. Heavy clouds
overspread the sky, and deepened the
darkness; so that when my uncle rose to
his feet, he found the path completely
from his view.
In 50 helpless condition, what Won
der that he wondered from the familiar
track? To add to his discomfort, the
rain came down in torrents; while the
lightning, flashing around him, filled him
with new terror. Still he continued to
trudge along the weary way, and at
length, to his intense delight, he heard
the faint but welcome sounds which
came from the anvil OF the village black
smith. Swecter music he had never
heard. He listened to the sound as it
was waited across the gloomy common,
and with his ears as Il pilot, walked on,
cheered by the fact that every step
brought him nearer to the man who
would remove the load from his head
and heart.
The smithy was reached, and consul
tation took place as to the best means of
efecting release; and nothing appeared
so practicable as to place the pot On the
anvil, and with sharp blow from the
hammer, to shatter it into fragments. A
hazardous proceeding, but desperate ills
require desperate remedies. 1t was
therefore not without forebodings of
evil that my uncle placed the pot as di-
rected. Down came the blow; and my
uncle stood erect happier and wiser
man. The kind-hearted and faithful
Joe lived long in my uncle's service as
farm bailiff, and never wanted friend
as long as the old gentleman lived; and
in repeating these extraordinary pro-
eeedings to eager listeners, he would
assure them che never zeed sich nut
afore, nor sich kernel"
Eight months ago a Boston capitalist
threw package into his sons lap, say.
ing: "1here is package of railroad
bonds, worth on their face $4,000. As
they will never be worth anything in my
day, you may keep them for your chill
dren." The son put them in his safe
and forgot all about them; but three
weeks ago something recalled them to
him, and on inquiry he found them now