Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1885-03-12
Almost Broke the Sabbath.

In city net a thousand miles from Hart
ford, Conn, is a private sportsman's associ-
alton, and every year, in August or Septem-
Der, they have grand excursion to favor
ed 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 Puritanic way to reye-
renee the Sabbath, told the writer how near
he came to fishing on Sunday. Some OF the
party spent Saturday evening fishing, so as
to have supply for Sunday. Sunday
morning, my informant says, he arose at
break of day. All were in their hunks,
sound asleep and snoring as tired sportsmen
can. Pulling on his pants aud slippers he
went to the boat to see what success the
evening fishermen had. There were eeis
and bullheads lying in the bottom of the
boat in abundance In the stern of the
boat was fishing pole with the line in the
water Thinking it was very careless TO
leave it in that way, began pulling in the
line when something struck the bait and
ran ont with il at a rapid rate
"What was to do? You know ! never
fish Sunday: but there was a pole and line
going overheard unless | pulled them in.
thought it WAS right to save property and
landed a three pound pickere. rs the bait
was on the hook concluded to throw II IN
the water and leave it as found it and say
nothing about it, But the bait had no soon
er struck the water than there was a splash,
and whrr went the reel again. Gracious
what next? You know nothing would tempt
me TO fish sunday but must save prop
erty and ia so doing landed another pickle
raj a- large As the first.
- always like To leave borrowed proper
ty where find it, and the line was thrown
in again, and started for the shore, when,
to my surprise, the whizzing sound Of the
reel painfully greeted my ear. FASTENED
back in time to catch the pole as il was be-
ing drawn overheard Ny conscience re-
buked ne for going near the boat, for you
know it i, strictly against my principles to
fish on Sunday; but | must save the pole,
fish or no fish, and in comes another large
pickcrcl. This time the bait was taken, and
| was right glad of it, for could now leave
the pole aud line where found them with
out any danger of them being lost.
Mastered 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 and went to the boat and
came back with the pickerel cXclaim-
ing: Sec here. boys, how is it you catch
pickerel in the nightT This aroused the
sleepy fishermen aud they declared that
there were no pickerel when they left. They
accused the cook of catching them on sun
day. He firmly protested his innocence
and said: III had just taken them they
would now have been alive"
All this time was apparently sleeping
soundly. When got up they were 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 conclusion was that thu greedy fish
must have jumped into the boat to get some
thing to eat, and fo,got to jump back again.
This to my mind vas q very satisfactory ex'
PLANTATION.
They were cooked fof our breakfast, but
/ had no oappetite for the dainty repast. All
Sunday my conscience was i'll at ease, and
] read my bible by the hour, and | don't
believe could tell whether was
reading in Genesis or Revelations
the latter, think, because visions
of pickerel were before me all the time.
Not a chapter could read without hearing
the whizzins Of That reel, or seeing those
yellow bellies turn up. Now, I tell YOU
that is the nearest ever came to fishing on
Sunday and don't think anything would
tempt me to 20 in a boat again ON Sunday
except to save some one from drowning
Every mother should keep Ayers Cherry
Pectoral for immediate use, in case fCroup
and sudden Colds.