The daily gazette., 1880-04-15
!TIIH OLD Pon
nv WIN. LONG.

moHJn OI september Wnen my uncle
bent his steps across common and
through meadows to visit neighbor-
farmer friend. On the occasion of this
visit, and just as he was leaving, after
having partaken of the usual hospi-
talities of the place, he espied in a cor
ner of the farmyard an old iron pot,
nearly spherical in shape, which had
formerly stood on three legs, but could
now only boast of two. Owing to its
unsafe condition, it had long since
been disused, and had been consigned
to it's resting place on the principle
that for all the ills of life prevent ion is
better than cure. A somewhat min
ute inspection of it's exterior revealed
the figures 16, followed by something
which could not readily he deciphered I;
and instead of concluding that these
marks probably represented nothing
more than the size of the article in
question, my uncle, who prided him
self on being somewhat of an antigua
ry, concluded that the 18 with
the obliterated marks represented
nothing short of the date of its manu-
facture. A pot whose early existence
was probable contemporary with
Cromwell, could not be permitted to
remain in such place. Accordingly
my uncle determined to transfer it to
Stanley Court, there to keep company
with the many relics of days long ago.
But his burden proved more incon-
venient than he anticipated. After
taxing his ingenuity to the utmost to
discover means of carrying it with a
maximum amount of ease, it finally
occurred to him, that, inverted, it
might rest on his head. Accordingly
it was SO placed, and my uncle pro-
ceeded with the queerest helmet that
ever pressed the brow of human be-
ing. His path lay along the bank of a
small river, and so down to the mill.
Here, it may be mentioned in paren-
thesis, lived an old sweetheart, who,
out of patience, suppose, in waiting
for the question" from my uncle, had
accepted his rival, the miller, fully
twenty years before. Across the
stream dam had been constructed for
the purpose of diverting the water to
the mill, and thus pond was formed
at least five feet deep. The water of
ten flowed over the dam, forming a
beautiful cascade from six to eight
feet in hight /; and when the water
was low, people frequently passed over
the wooden platform of the dam to
save the walk to the bridge, which
stood more than a hundred yards be.
low the mill. But doubtless my uncle
had another reason for selecting this
route, a reason which received addi-
tional force from the strange appear
anco which he now presented.
As may be readily supposed, the ac-
ton Of the water had rendered the plat
form very smooth and slippery. Along
this dangerous path, however, my uncle
proceeded; bnt whether from the effect
of the aforesaid hospltalities, o from the
weight of the pot on he became unsteady
in his gait, and suddenly slipped. A
fall of eight feet to the bed of the river
was no joke; besides, such fall could
only end in the destruction of the pot.
Now, divided attention is always to be
avoided, where the possible issues are
serious, as under even ordinary crcum-
stances slip in such a place was no
trifling matter; but the OBJECT of his sol
icitude firmly fixed on his head, what
wonder that his safely douttly jeopar-
died. Be that as it may, the fact re-
mains that he stumbled upon the slip
perry platform, and the pot Slipping over
his nose, enveloped his entire head !!
Practically blind, he was now less capa
BILE than ever of recovering his footing !;
and his attempts to do SO ended IN my
worthy relative tumbling head first into
the mill-pond. Thus was he brought
literally face to face with an igIominious
death, no better than that of the widest
cur which leaves the world with stone
tied to its neck. But the darkest hour
is not nnfrequently the hour of deliver
ance. 1t proved so here. The attention
Of Joe, the miller's man, had been at
tracted to nay uncle before he reached
the dandy the strange head-gear worn
by my relative. The unsteady gait, the
slip, the fall, the plunge, were all o.
served and having reached the pond as
quickly as possible, Joe succeeded, after
considerable difficulty, in extricating my
uncle from his perllous position.
Having rescued my uncle, Joe car
RED him to the house of the miller,
where he removed the wet garments,
placed him in bed between the blankets,
and applied thosse means for his res
toTation generally resOrted to in cases
of suspended animation. It was fortn-
nate that Joe was familiar with the
treatment, as he was the only person on
the premises, and the nearest house was
fully half a mile distant. He persevered
In his efforts, and, ere long, was re-
lnI hxr raat linn
But the pot-the terrible pot, still cano-
pied my uncle's head, in spite of every
endeavor to remove it. "fhe nose was
the cause, you see," the old gentleman
would say, playfully tapping that pro-
tuberant organ with his finger, "and ap-
peared to be little short of blot, which
defied the removal of that ungraceful
head-gear." III.
Now, of all places, the mill was per-
haps the last witch my uncle would
have cared 10 visit under the circum-
stances. He could not endure the
thought that the miller's wife, his old
sweet heart, should witness such specta-
Gle, and was really distressed at the idea
that her eyes might even now be resting
on his misfortune. The old pot refused
that assurance to him which his eyes
would have supplied, and so he had to
rest content with the repeated avowal of
his benafactor
"Keep yer mind aisy the master and
his wife and the whole lot of 'em be
gone to the fair. But don't ye be
afeared on the misses. She be mighty
kind and nd help heaps If she was here.
Aud now ye be safe and a-coming'
round bit, can't help you a-laughin'