The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-10-29
BY JEAN RIcHKplN.

sEtatOn'S Story Teller.
He passed his first ten years Of imprisol
ment without doing anything; Just time
turn himself round, settle down and 6
into the ways Of the place.
Then, as he had still twenty years 1
serve out, he said to himself one fine morl
ing that 1t was shameful to lead so lazy
life, and that he must find some occupl
ton worthy-not Of q freeman, for he We
a prisoner-but simply Of q man.
He devoted a year to rejecting, to weigh
ing the different ideas which passe
through his head, and examining VIII
should be the definite object Of his life.
Totrain spider? That was very OLE
well known! Copy P~ellison, peuEh fs
plagiary!
To count on his fingers the wrinkles o
the wall? What that was a ridiculou
and useless amusement; nothing wort
while.
He said to himself, II must find some
thing which would be at once curious
profitable and gratifying to my desire 10
vengeance. l must invent o task which
will make the time pass, which will pro
duce some benefit and which will have thl
value OF a protest"
A fresh year was spent on this discovery
and finally success rewarded 80 much per
severance
The prisoner lived in q veritable dun
geoA, where the sun entered only for hal
an hour a day, and then only by a thir
line like a single hair OF light. The
wretched pallet on which the unfortunate
man rested his cramped limbs was liter
ally nothing but q heap Of damp straw.
Nov then" he cried with energy, 81
shall bother my jailo,s and bluff the law,
| tVal dry myStraw!"
He first OF all counted the stalks which
formed his bundle. There were one thou.
sand three hundred and seven. A poor
bundle.
He next made an experiment to find out
how much time 1t needed to dry one OF the
straws. It needed three-quartets Of an
hour.
This made then altogether, for one thou.
sand three hundred and seven straws, a
sum Of nine hundred and eighty hours and
fifteen miau.et; ~or-takiDg 1t at half an
hour sunlight q day-nineteen hundred
and sixty-one days.
Assuming that the sun shone, on an ay-
erage, only one day in three, he arrived at
a total Of sixteen years, one month, one
week and six days.
AT the end Of six months this was what
remained for him to do.
He set 10 work then.
Every time that the sun shone the pris.
oner held ono Of the straws in the ray and
thus utilized all his sunlight. The rest o!
the time he kept warm beneath his clothes
what he had been able to dry.
Ten years passed away. The prisoner
had now only a third OF his damp bundle
to sleep on, and had his chest stuffed with
the two other thirds which had gradually
been dried.
Fifteen yearS passed. Oh, joy only one
hundred and thirty six stalks Of dampstra
left! Four hundred and eight days more
and the prisoner would be finally able to
stand erect, proud Of his work, victor over
society and cry with the vepgeiul voice
and satanic laughter Of insurgents:
"Ha! ha! You condemned me to damp
straw In your dungeon! Then weep with
rage! l lie on dry straw!'
Alas! Cruel fate was waiting in ambush
for its prey!
One night when the prisoner was dream.
ing Of his future happiness, in bis ecstasy
he made furious gestures, knocked over his
pitcher and the water fell on his chest.
All the STRAW was wetted.
Whatwas to be done now? Begin again
the SiByphns task? Pass another fifteen
years in getting bits Of sun into bits OF
straw?
And his encouragement! You, the
lucky les OF the world, who give up q
pleasure If you have to take twenty-five
STEPS to get 1t, dare you throw the first
STONE at him2
But, you will say, he had only a year and
a half to wait!
And do you reckon for nothing bis
wounded pride, his aboftive hopes? What,
this mar shall have worked fifteen years in
order to sleep on a bundle OF dry straw,
and then consent to leave his prison with
bits OF damp straw on his hair! Never
There is nothing between self respect and
lying down in the gutter.
Eight days and eight nights he debated
in anguish, struggling with despair, trying
to finda footing again in the annihilation
which overwhelmed him.
He ended by snrrendering and confess.
ing himself vanquished. He had lost the
battle.
One evening he fell on his knees, crush.
ed, despairing.
"My God,S no said with iears, II oak
Thy forgiveness for being without courage
to-day. have suffered for thirty years; ]
have felt my limbs decay, my skin wither,
my eyes wear away, my blood become
pale, my hair and teeth fall out; I have
fought against hunger, cold, solitude. ]
had ore desire which sustained my efforts
Il had n object in my life. Now my
desire can not possibly be satisfied. Now
my object has fled forever. Now I an
dishonored. Pardon me for deserving my
post, for leaving the battle, for running
away like a coward. l can no more"
Then, in q fit Of indignation, he re
sumes:
NO" he cried, "no, a thousand times
NO It shall not be said that l have los
my life Tor nothing. No; l am not con
quered! No; | shall not DESERT No;
am not a coward! No; l will not lie
minute longer on the damp straw OF tn,
dungeons. No; society shall not get tn
better Of mel"
And the prisoner died during the night
vanquished like Brutus, grand as Cato.
He died Of an heroic indigestion. a.
had eaten ell his straw.
Autumn i,oad.Making.
The MuSbandMdn.
With the press OF farm work over, as |
will be coon, We may expect road.makinI
10 engage attention in a great MANY dis