Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1885-11-07

under q hedge aOOuta hundred yardS Oh
and returned to his post of observation.
The church clock chimed half past
nine: the vicar in the wafer heard it and
and struck for the bank. His amaze
ment and horror may be imagined when
he saw that his clothes had disappeared
and that nothing but the towel and the
boots remained. For a moment he
stood as if thunderstruck. Then, grid
| ing the towel around his loins, he rushed
about in all directions in state of most
unecclesiastical excitement and search
ed bushes, peered under hedges, looked
I'D into trees, all the time hurting a
complete combination service on the
head ofthe unprincipled scoundrels who
had made way with his wardrobe. A
quarter to ten struck. The church, the
distracted vicar thought, would be now
fIlinc; the carriages of the. country gen.
try woul be dsshing through the village
streets; his right reverence the Lord
Bishop of Virginia Water would have
arrived, and here was he, the most
important man in the place after the
squire, shivering on the banks ofa river
in towel and pair of boots!
The position was terrible one. But
no ship wrecked mariner ever deserted
sail, no desert traveller ever saw water
with more genuine joy than did the
vicar hear the sounds of approaching
footsteps. Quickly he Invested himself
of his towel and boots, sprang back into
the stream and waited TO see who was
coming. The steps we're those of some
one evidently not pressed for time and
VINO. from the nature Ofthe song he was
caroling, had certainly no intention of
attending the ceremony at the village
church, but they were tho footsteps of
man, and at that moment the vicar fel,
that he could have hailed the prese gce
CT the most irreclaimable member of his
parish with delight.
The seconds whiah elapsed between
his first hearing the footsteps and the |
appearance of the figure seemed to tie |
vicar like hours, but at length Mr.. |
Gerald Maldon emerged from the shrub |
berry with pipe in his fingers and a
ballad on his tongue concentrating |
the duplicity of a certain Duke of Seven
Disls.
"Hi! Mr.. Maldonl Mr.. Maldon ~
shouted the vicar. The young man |
stopped short in the middle of the Choir |
us, looked up in the troes, away over
he fields, behind him and straight ahead /
of him in fact. everywhere but in the |
right direction.
The vicar renewed his cries.
"Hi! Mr.. Maldon Herel 1t is ], the /
vicar. Pm in the river! Some thief's
gone off with all my clothes and I've got
to lie at the church at ten to assist at the
confirmat on! What on earth am | to
DOR
The young man gazed with admirably |
feigDed astoni.hment at the bald head |
and the sgonized red face of the half. |
submerged vicar and giving vent to
prolonged whistle said:
"By Jove, sir if you've to be at the
church at ten you'll have to hurry up,
for it only wants five minutes now. The
bishop has already arrived, for he was
EARNING TO the governor about quarter
of an h ur back
This was not strictly true, but it had
the desired effect of intensifying the
wears agony.
But say, Mr.. Maldon," said the
wretched vicar, what am / to do? ii
ha, emit time to get any fresh things
from the vicarage. | can't 60 10 the
church as 1 am no, no, / don't mean
that. But really don't believe any
man was ever IN such predicament be-
foreP What can | dor"
"Well," said Gerald, there's only one
way out of the difficulty that can sug.
eest. My suit is not, perhaps, of par
ticularly clerical cut and color, hut il
wouldn't show much under a surplice.
and you could run over to the church ia
it without anybody noticing you. Why
shouldn't you put it on?"
"But what are you to do?" gasped the
vicar.
"Oh. il doesn't matter about me-" re-
piled Gerald; "Pve nothing TO do and
Eve lots of tobacco and shall enjoy my
sal, all right here"
"But how can ] assist at col firma-
ton in Ain a kind of seaside shooting
suit? Still, suppose there's nothing
else to be DONE" said the poor vicar.
waddling out Of the water and drying
himself as fast as he could. "I'm sure,
Mr.. Maldou, I'm indebted to you-that
/ am. But don't you trouble. thanks
that's il; little long in the legs. perhaps
oh! thanks mo; never mind the
necktie. There, that will Go, and now
III make rush for it."
So saying the vicar doubled across the
field as fast as his unframed condition
would allow him, leaving Gerald with
The towel and the boots and exploding
with laughter at The ridiculous figure tic
parson cut, ambling and Stumbling along
in the much maligned suit of dittoes.
The vicar arrived at the church Just
as the clock was striking half past ter.
To his horror the first person he met
WIS tie bishop, who fairly staggered at
the spectacle presented by he most
precise and pompous minister in his
diocese.
Extremely sorry. my lord painted the
exhausted vicar. Had an accident
explain all afterwards" The bishop
said nothing, but his look spoke volumes
although, being prelate OF an eminent
ly humorous disposition, he of course
saw that some contretemps bad happen
ed.
What the poor vicar underwent during
that interminable service nobody but
himself knew. The surplice he wore
was short. Gerald Maldon's trousers
we're long. The sur streamed down full
upon him as he stood within the chancci
rails, and he felt that the ewes of the
whole congregation, from the county,
FOLK IN the high news 10 Tho coupt,,, !