Morris tribune., 1883-02-10
A WELL-TOLD STORY,
The Sleigh Ride, or Two Ways ofTell.
Ing & Story,

from thoughtlessnesS than from intent
TO do wrong; and want Of reflection
leads children astray much ottener than
want of principle. Indifference to the
feelings of the aged, proneness to
make light Opportunities, are, however,
occasionally indu.ged in by the young,
and in the excitement of the moment
AIRY qualification which such merrlment
may prcdu e, all thought of tie wrong
and all sense Of theright are equally for
gotten. The proverb of the wisest man
saith. The glory Of the young men is
their strength; and the beauty of the old
men is the gray head" The strength
of the young should protect and defend
the beauty OF the old. The hoary head
shou Il ever be respected, whatever
may be the outward condition of its pos
sesSor; and neither sport nor ridicule
should be thrown upon him whose
enfeebled strength scarce suffices to
bear the weight OF the many Years with
which time has burdened him.
= The following narrative, which is
- strictly true. illustrates what has been
S0bServed, and prove that the just rec
ompense OF a tHouGhtless fmlt may be
much more speedily repaid to those who
eApptIeu
or desired by them. The common saying
of waking up the wrong passenger" is
peculiarly applicable to the case.
In one of the most popular cities of
New England, a few years since, party
of lads, all members Of the same school,
got up sleigh ride. There were about
twenty-five or thirty boys engaged in
the froic. The slei gil was very large,
and splendid establishment, drawn by
six gray horses. The afternoon was as
beautiful rs anybody could desire, and
the merry group enjoyed themselves in
the highest degree. 1t WAS common
: custom cfthe school to which they be-
longed, and on previous occasions the
teacher had accompanied them. Some
engagement upon important business
however, occupying him, he was not at
this Time with them. 1t 5 quite likely,
had it bee Il otherwise, that the restrain
ing influence OF his presence wculd have
prevented the scene which is the main
feature Of the present story.
On the day following the ride. as he
entered the schoOlrOOm, he found his
pupils grouped about the stove, and in
high nleFriment, as they chatted about
the fun and frolic of their excursion.
He stopped awhile and listened, and in
answer 10 some inquiries which he made
about the matter, enc of the lads, a fine,
frank and manly boy, whose heart was
sport sometimes led him astray, volun-
!. teered TO give narrative of their trip
and its various Incidents. AS ne drew
near the end Of his story he exclaimed,
oh, sir, there was one little circum-
stance which I had almost forgotten to
tell you. Toward the latter part of the
afternoon, as we were coming HON e,
We saw at some distance ahead of
us, a Queer-lOoking affair in the road.
We coul! not exactly make out what
it was. It seemed to be a sort of half
and-half monstriosity. AS we APP
preached it, it proved to be
rusty old sleigh, fastened
behind a covered wagon proceeding at
a slow rate and taking no the whole
road. Finding that the owner was not
disposed to turn out, we determined up
: on yolley of snow balls and a good
. hurrah. These We gave with relish,
and they produced the right effect and
a little more, for the crazy machine
turned out into deep snow by the side
the road and the skinny old pony
started or a full trot. AS we passed
some one who had the whip gave the
old tilt of a horse a good crack, which
made him run faster than he ever did
before. I'll warrant. And SO with an
other volley of snOwhalls, pitched into
the front of the wagon, and three times
three cheers, we rushed by. With that
an old fellow i'll the wagon, who was
buried up under an Old hat and beneath
Il rusty cloak, and who had dropped the
reins, bawled out, why did YOU fright
en- my horSe?' ''Why don't you turn
out, then?" says the driver. So we gave
him three TOusing cheers more; his
horse was frightened again, ami ran up
against loaded team, and, | believe,
almost capslzed the old creature-and so
we left him"
"WeIl, boys" replied the instructor,
"that is quite an incident But take
YOUR seats. and, after our morning service
is ended, | will take my turn and tell
you story, and all about a sleigh ride,
too"
Having finished the reading of chap
. ter in the Brble, and after all had
Joined in the Lords prayer, he COM
Inenced as follows:
yesterday afternoon a very venera-
bic and respectable Old man, and clergy
man by profession, was on his way from
Boston to Salem, to pass the residue of
the winter at the house of his son.
That he might be prepared for journey
ing. as he proposed to do in the spring,
he took with him his sleigh which he
fastened behind the was on. He was. as
I have told you, very old and infrm; his
temples were covered with Trimmed locks,
which the frOsts of eighty years had
whitehead; his sght aud hearing, too
were somewhat blunted by age, as yours
will be should you live to be as old. lie
was proceeding very slowly and quietly,
for his horse was old and feeble like
his owner. His thoughts reverted to
the scenes Of his youth, when he had
periled his life in fighting for the liber
ties of his country; to the scenes of his
manhood, when he had preached the
gospel of his divine Master to the heath
en- Of the remote wilderness; and to the
scenes of ripper years, when the hard
hand % penury had lain heavily upon
him. While thus occupied, almost for
getting iimsel in the multitude of his
thoughts he was suddenly disturbed
and { ven terrified by loud hurrdhs from
behind, and by furious pelting and
altering of balls of snow ami ice upon
the top of his wagon. In his trepida-
ton e dropped the reins, and as his
aged and feeble hands were quite be-
numbed with cold he found it impossi-
BILE to gather them up, and his horse be-
gan to run away"
SIN the midst ofthe old mans trouble |
there rushed by him, with loud shouts,
large party of boys ina sleigh drawn |
by six horses. Turn out, turn out, old |
fellowp Give us the road, old boy |
'Whatl you take for your pony, old |
daddy?-'Go il frozen nose, -"W What's |
the price of oats! were the various cries |
that met bis ear. Pray do not frighten |
my horse,' exclaimed the infirm driver. |
Turn out, then! turn outE was the |
answer which was followed by repeated |
cracks and blows from the long whip of !
the grand Sleigh" with showers of
snow 5als and three tremendous huzzas |
from the boys who were mi /!