The Republican journal., 1883-01-11

THE sLEIGHBInE. OR TwowAYs OF TELLING 4
STORY.

GOung people commit more faults from
thoughtes9ness than from intent to: do
wrong; and want Of reflection reads emil
dren .astray much o1tener than want OF
principle. Indifference to the feelings OF
the aged, a proneness to make light OF
pecularities. are, however. occasionally
indulged in by the Young. and in the eX-
citement OF the momentary qualification
which such merriment may produce, all
thought Of the wrong and all sense Of the
right are equally forgotten. The prov
erb Of the wisest man saith, ''The glory
Of Young men is their strength; and the
| beauty Of old men is the gray head The
strength of the young should protect and
! defend the beauty of the old. The hOary
/ bead should ever be respected, whatever
may be the outward condition Of its pos
SCISSOR and neither sport nor ridicule
should he thrown upon him whose entee
bled strength scarce suttices 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
observed, and proves that the just rec
ompense of thoughtless fault may be
much more speedily repaid to those who
commit it than may he either expected
or desired 10y them. The common say
ing of 'waking up the wrong passenger"
is peculiarly applicable to the case.
Iii one Of the most populous cities Of
New England. a few years since, a party
OF lads, all members Of the same school,
got up a grand sleighride. There were
about twenty five or thirty boys engaged
IN the frolic. The sleigh was a very
large and splendid establishment, drawn
by six gray horses. The afternoon was
as beautiful as anybody could desire, and
the merry group enjoyed themselves in
the highest degree 1t was d common
custom of the school to which they be
longed, and on previous occasions their
teacher had accompanied them. Some
engagement upon important business,
however, occupying him, he was not at
this time with them. 1t is quite likely,
had it been otherwise. that the restrain
ing influence of his presence would have
prevented the scene which is the main
feature Of the present story.
On the day following the ride as lie
entered the schoolrouln, he found his pu-
pills grouped about the stove, and III high
merrimcnt, as ther chatted about the lun
and frolc OF their excursion. He stopped
awhile and listened, and in answer to
some inquiries which ne made about the
matter, one of the lads, a fine, frank and
manly boy, whose heart was in the right
| place, though his love of sport sometimes
led him astray, volunteered to give Il
narrative Of their trip and lis various in
cidents. As he drew near the end OF his
story, he exclaimed. '0h, sir. there was
one little circumstance which had al
most forgotten to tell YOU. Toward the
latter part ot the afternoon, as we were
coming Aont, we saw, at some distance
ahead Of Us, a Queer-loOking affair in the
road. We could not exactly make out
what it was. 1t seemed to he sort ct
halt andh monstrosity. As We APP
preached it, it proved to be q rusty Old
sleigh fastened behind a covered wagon
| proceeding at a slow rate, ana taking up
the whole road. Finding that the owner
Was not disposed to turn ont, we deter
mined upon a VOlley OF snow balls and a
| good hurrah. These we gave with a rel
lsh, and they produced the right effect
and a little more, IOr the crazy machine
turned out into the deep snow 10y the side
Of the road, and the skinny old pony
some one Who had the whip gave the old
.jilt Of a horse good crack, which made
him run faster than ne ever did before,
/ I'll warrant. And so. with another vol
| ley OF snowballs, pitched into the front OF
the wagon, and three times three cheers.
we rushed by. With that, an old .teil0W
il the wagon, who was buried up under
an old hat and beneath a rusty cloak,
and who had dropped the reins, bawled
out, Why do you trighten my horse z
why don't YOU turn out, then :? says the
driver. SO we gave him three rousing
| cheers more; his horse was frightened
| again, and ran up against loaded team,
and, | believe, almost capslZed the old
creature-and so we left him."
'Well, boys" replied the instructor,
"that is quite an incident. But take
your seats, and, after cur morning ser
vice is ended, | will take my turn and
tell you story, and all about sleigh
ride, too"
Having finished the reading of chap
| ter in the Bible, and after all had joined
in the Lords Prayer, he commenced as
follows:
"1 esterday afternoon a very venera-
bic and respectable old man, and a cler-
gyman by profession, was on his way
from Boston to Salem, to pass the resi-
due Of the winter at the house Of his son.
| That lie 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 wagon. He was as
! have told you, very old and intirm his
| temples were covered with thinned locks,
which the frosts of eighty years had whit
ened his sight and hearing, too, were
somewhat bunted by age, as yours will
! be should you live to be as old. He was
proceeding very slowly and quietly, for
his horse was old and feeble like his own
er. His thoughts reverted to the scenes
OF his youth, when he had perilled bis
life in fighting for the liberties of his
country 20 the scenes of his manhood,
when he had preached the gospel of his
divine Master to the heather of the re-
mote wilderness; and to the scenes OF
ripper years, when the hard band of pen
ury had lain heavily upon him. While
thus occupied, almost forgetting himsel
III thc llullltuut Vi HIS llougulS, llo was
suddenly disturbed and even terrified by
loud hurrahs from behind, and by d turi-
Gus peltlng and clattering of balls of snow
and ice upon the top of his wagon. Ir
his trepidation he dropped his reins, an(
as bis aged and feeble hands were quite
benumbed with cold, he found it inlDos-
sible to gather them up, and his horse
began to run away.
''In the midst or the old mans trouble
there rushed by him, with loud shouts, 3
large party oi boys in "a sleigh drawn by
six horses. Turn out, turn out, old tel-
low,' Give us the road, old boy
'What'n you take for your pony, old dad
dy ?'-'Go it frozen nose, Whats the
price OF oats p were the various cries that
met his ear. "'Pray, do not frightel
my horse exclaimed the intirm driver
Turn out, them turn out y was The
answer which was followed by repeated
cracks and blows from the long whip OF
the grand Sleigh with showers Of snow
balls, and three tremendous huzzas from
the boys who were in it.
"The terror of the old man and his
horse was increased. and the latter ran