The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1884-12-04
BUGDE1rES Bl'GGY.RlDF.
ehaLY EXPERIENCE Leoruaiso.
4 TWsi,e uiles' Drive thfauah iliiasis
uud and uprtneas ~ Ilsirn a. tn
ufainiy OF schuyler Cpifas,
Twenty Years Ago.

II
--.
In tho earlier days, when I druw my
! lecture uum iis scnbhnrd aud swept like
a bosom of holocaust acrnss the land, !
l,cturod one night In Macomb, Illinois.
/ IA p,s,od through bushnell was told
that must drive up from Maromb that
lIght after the lecture, because schuyler
! CulfaN would pass through Bushnell the
GLOWING mornlug at o'olocki he would
nave an hour or twn u wait for a con
meeting train; the leading citizens had
arranged little surprise breakfast
paIty for him; there wuuld he much Ia
,ay, something 20 eat and nothing to
drink, aud | had been appointed Que al
the speakers. There wero no trains, but
tho distance Was only twelve miles ANA
/ could drive.
Drive? / would walk. Ia those
younger days, 20 meet great man were
greater than 10 bo Roman, hnd To
make a speech At a great mans focep-
liun--rcuembcr brethren, | was young
then, ] was mo- snnrllng, tOothless old
cynlc, with ash, 'oi disappointment on
INV head aud tho clndcr ~ onvions dis
trust in my eye. 81 | went willingly,
| believe, 10 meet the same man, l
would do IL again.
| left Macomb at midnight. The
roads were n OF the good, guody; thcy
were of the bad, badly; they were prairie
roads. IL had been raining on thom
twenty-five years oil and on, princi-
pally ON. The night was dar ker than
theological controversy. IL was raining
ike n house aiire. II seemed rs though
ola Auqarious had got mad, pulled hor
wide open, threw her clear ever, and
WAS running Wild for the nest deluse.
II numbered hard euuugh 10 sour a
mans temper. When " !ightningcd,
which WAS nearly all the time,
you couldn't see anything for
the binding glare. When It was
dark, which was most oi the time, you
could reach ont and feel the darkness
like n fog bank, Splash, splash, splash,
splash went the horses through the
mud. Where they couldn't wade they
couli SWIM. BY and By .hore was a
scramhling sound in the darkness. The
driver would have disappeared ii he had
been apparent. As IL was, without miss
ing any body particularly, felt that |
from the darkess.
~ mere are NouW
recognized the voice of my driver. |
had not seen him since we lelt Macomb,
but he had been swearing all the way
aud his voice had been familiar 10 me.
| said that was right where belonged,
ON the seat in the buggy, and asked
where he was. lie informed me that
the horses had stepped upon fallen
bridge, under our end of which there
had been washout. The forward !
wheels were resting on the sunken
bridge, while the hind ones Were
perched on the great round earth, which |
is the planet we inhabi'. This accounted
for the peculiar sensation experienced |
OF sitting on the ROOT OF house or the |
side OF u mountain.
The driver further told me that he had
fallen over the dashboard and was now |
sitting down between the horses. He !
had the dashboard with him but did not |
know what To do with 1t. lie concluded |
by asking mo if1 was hurt.
I told him that 1t first l felt little
piqued at not receivingan invitation TO |
the bridge opening, but since his eXpla-
nation / forgave everything-chershe |
no feeling OF re sentiment. He then sug-
gested that get out and walk across the /
bridge while he held the horses, and l |
could see If the other end was all right.
rel piled with much feeling, that while
| could not do tnat, | would remain
where | was at until daylight. when l
could look across and tell MIN how it
was.
Finally he led the horses safely across
and we resumed our pleasant lettering
along the darkened way. AT the merryS
hour uf $50 q. IN. we reached Bushnell.
was mud to the eyes. | was wet TO |
the bone. My eyes burned for sleep. ] |
had smoked $50 cigars on the way and
was little nervous.
crawled into bed just in time to hear
the porter say il was time 10 get up.
/ sat up on the side Of the bed, and be-
ut my neck counted 300 distinct
aud definite aches, and stopped 1T the
lloating ribs discouraged. / sprayed my
self in my wet and muddy raiment and
danced merrily off TO the banquet hall.
| sat at the festive board with smiles
Oh my pale, false face, and MUIR
der in my wicken heart. When the fes-
live board did not groan, did. | was
among good, kind, loving friends, but
their word of cheer fell upon an icy
heart, for | wanted to crawl under the
able and 20 to sleep. | loved and adj
nired Mr.. ColiaX with genuine affection.
meant all the true ana beautiful things
! said about him that morning, and he
" ii forgive me when he knows tuat |
wanted to hit him with stove leg.
[ went back TO the hotel and went to
sleep leaning up against the wall of my
-ooin, before could get close enough 10
yhe bed to fall upon it. | dreamed that
vas a man with 100 heads and only
me eye to sleep for all of them that
hadn't been asleep for hundred years,
md had just crawled into a steamboat
boiler to catch little nap when Schuy-
or Colfax, wearing walters whlteiacket
with napkin on his arm, sat down at
he manilole and read me Benton,s
Thirty Years in the United States
clear through, while two men
cold rivets i'll the boiler to
ieep me awake.
Somehow, my meetings with great
nen are always attended with certain
eatures Of pomp and circumstance with
which man OF my retired habits would
Observation-Disclosures, in Brook