The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1882-04-14
HOW WE, FOUND MR.. LEE.
THE JOURNEY TO MARAsH.

A LECTURE DELIVERED BY REA. L. B.
PLATT, AT THE CONGREGATIONAL
CHURCH, JAN'Y 20, 1882.
1t was not without great deal of
interest and considerable anxiety that,
after our night with the mosquito, we
waited to see how many survivors,
and in what condition would respond
to the breakfast bell next morning.
For myself thought that that morn
ing would never come, and if it did it
would come too late for me to derive
any benefit from it in this present life.
And / noticed that the roosters around
town seemed to have the same opinion
about it too. They kept on Growing
from about midnight and once in a
while they would all seem 10 take hold
and lift together in one grand crow
and then settle back disappointed,
there was hitch about it somewhere,
the sun wouldn't come up. And in
the meantime, l am not going to har-
row up your feelings with descrip-
tion of our suferings, only this, that
after / had exhausted every strategem
I could think of to outwit the enemy
and all to no avail, 1 simply threw
back the bed clothes in the madness
of despair and said, "Well then, come
on, if you want to-" And, they came.
They came in ranks and squadrons,
in solid phalanx wing touching wing,
those behind treading upon the heels
of those before, it was a scene like
that of Milton's fallen angels when
they went down with whirr and rus
tie and clatter of stumpy wings and
broken trumpets into the pit. And as
fast as they came l lifted my hand
and slaughtered them-or thought 1
did. Then it occurred to me in my
half asleep condition that l would
gather up those dead mosquitoes and
pile them up into a monument so that
if was devoured alive there would
be at least something to mark the
spot. But before l could find
mosquitoes enough to lay the corner
stone fell asleep and dreamed. l
thought was lifted upon wings bodi-
ly and borne through the air, passed
over island and ocean and continent
and ocean again and just as came in
sight Of my home and thought I
could see my mother standing on the
doorstep--there was an awful crash
then groan and then somebody said
"great Cesar!' / walked up to see
Mr.. Lee sitting up in bed, he seemed
to be listening with head bent forward
as if his life depended on his hearing
something. i could see the white
rims of his great eyes in the moon
light; his hands were uplifted and
spread wide-then there was the
feeble first notes of song in the air,
and the hands came. together with
another clash, and thought. well
that mosquito has sung his doxology
anyway. But there was no more
sleep that night. And when the
morning came--we were sorry COM
pany to think of starting on a long
pilgrimage that day, but we did. All
the morning Mr.. Lee was about town
making preparations for our march.
There were horses to get, and don
keys and saddles and provisions and
servants, so that it was the middle of
the afternoon before we were ready
to start.
Now, if man has never seen
caravan get under way, he has got
something in this world still to live
for. In the first place when the
horses and donkeys were all brought
together as they were in this case into
the narrow court yard of the house,
to be loaded it seems to occur to all
of them at once that tho only proper
thing for them to do under such cir
cumstances is TO Kick. And they seem
to think that what is worth doing at
all is worth doing well, and whatever
their heels find to do they do it with
their might. l left my horse standing
a moment to run up stairs, and when
l returned, which was at the Mr.. Lees