Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1884-08-15
Almost Broke the Sabbath.


sportsman's association, and every
year, in August or September, they
have a grand excursion to a favored
pond, days journey of, and some
twelve miles into the forest, away
from any habitation, and spend
some two or three weeks.
One of the number who had been
brought up in the good old puri.
tanic way to reverence the Sab
BATH, told the writer how near he
came to fishing Sunday. Some of
the party spent Saturday evening
fishing, so as to have a supply for
Sunday. Sunday morning, my in
formant says, he arose at break of
day. All were in their bunks,
sound asleep and snoring as tired
sportsmen can. Pulling on his
pants and slippers he went to the
boat to see what success the eve.
ming fisherman had. There were
eels and bullheads lying in the
bottom Of the boat in abundance.
In the stern of the boat was a fish
ing Dole with the line in the water.
Thinking it was very careless to
leave it in that way, began pull.
ing in the line, when something
struck the bait and ran out with
the line at a rapid rate.
'What was to do? You know l
never fish Sunday: but there was a
pole aud line going overheard un.
less l pulled them in. | thought it
was right to save property and
landed three pound pickerel. AS
the bait was on the hook l conclu.
ded to throw it in the water and
leave it as l found it and say moth.
ing about it. But the bait had no
sooner struck the water than there
was splash, and whirr went the
reel again. Graciousl What next?
You know nothing would tempt
me to fish on Sunday; but l must
save property and in so doing
landed another pickerel as large as
the first.
Il always like to leave borrowed
property where l find it, and the
line was thrown in again, and l
started for the shore, when, to my
surprise the whizzing sound Of reel
painfully greeted my ear. / hast.
ened back just in time to catch the
pole as it was being drawn over.
board. My conscience rebuked me
for going near the boat, for you
know it is strictly against my
principles to fish on Sunday; but L
must save pole, fish or no fish, and
in comes another large pickerel.-
This time the bait was taken, and l
was right glad of it, for l now could
leave the pole aud line where |
found them without any danger of
them being lost. o -,.f
hastened back to the camp and
luckily found all asleep and as
musical as when | left. Hastily
undressing myself, Jumped into
my bunk undiscovered. After a
time the cook got up went to the
boat and came back with the
pickereI, exclaiming; See here,
boys, how is it you catch pickerel
in the nightT This aroused the
sleepy fishermen, and they declared
that there were no pickerel when
they left. They accused the cook
of catching them OH Sunday. lie
firmly protested his innocence and
said: i had just taken them they
would now have been alive.
All this time | was apparently
sleeping soundly. When | got up
they where shown to me as the
three largest pickerel that had
been taken during the week; but
how they came to be in the boat
was a mystery. The final conclu-
sion was that the greedy fish must
have jumped into the boat to get
something to eat, and forgot to
Jump back again. That to my
mind was a very satisfactory ex-
planation.
They were cooked for our break
fast, but had no appetite for the
dainty repast. All Sunday my
conscience was ill at ease, and |
read my bible by the hour, and L
don't believe l could tell whether |
was reading in Genesis or Reve-
lations- the latter, | think, because
visions of pickerel were before me
all the time. Not a chapter could
Tread without hearing the whizzing
of that reel, or seeing those yellow
bellies turn up. Now, l tell you,
that is the nearest | ever come to
fishing on Sunday, and | don't
think anything would tempt me to
go in a boat again Sunday, except
to save some one from drowning
'What do you suppose makes so
many worms get on meY asked a
young man at a Sunday-schOol
picnic. Il don't know replied the