News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-08-26

What do you want TO rob and
murder?' exclaimed he. you had bet
ter join us in prayer, miserable sinners
that you are. Repent and you may be
saved. You will soon be in another
world
''Ryder first recovered his speech
'Please to hear me, Mr.. Gardener;
l feel that we have been wrong, and if
we may depart we will make reparation,
and give you all the money we have IN
our pockets
''We laid our purses on the table be-
fore him.
g. The Lord has delivered you into
my hands. 1t was revealed to me in
dream. We shall all be soon in another
world. Pray! let us pray
"And down he fell upon his knees
close to the table, with the candle burn
ing, and the ugly flint steel in his hand.
He prayed and prayed. At last he ap-
peared exhausted. He stopped, and
eyed the purses, and then emptied one
of them out on the table. He appeared
surprised, and .tEa9.~l5ssssgEatissysas. at
wsofss - :. 3. & ,r
1--WE now thoaagHs shodfd havs g
leave to retire; but, to our dismay the
sold gardener said:
"Now we will praise God by sing
ing the HSndredth Psalm
This was agony to us ALL After>the
Psalm the aaaAskan took up the second
purse, and Mts'rhe wassspxamining its
contents 9S y hasgas close behind
1om ATsfszE - stspered softly:
'IsaaS6 uh<n 3e6ed the door. When
you hear ME move, make rush.
Tha Gnll
out the contents of the second purse,
exclaimed:
why, there is almost enough to
build our new house of Godl Let me
see what the third contains
He took up the third purse.
"'Now,' whispered Ryder, make
rush.
"We did 50, and at the same moment
heard the old fellow hammering away
with his flint and steel. We expected
to be instantly blown to fragments.
The front door, however, flew open be-
fore us. The next step we found our
selves in the garden. The night was
pltchy dark. We rushed blindly
through the nursery grounds, scrambled
through brambles and prickly shrubs,
ran our heads against trees, then forced
ourselves through thicket hedge. At
last, with scratched faces and torn
hands and tattered clothes, we tumbled
over bank into the high road
"Our horses were soon found, and we
galloped to Ryder's residence. Lights
were procured, and we sat down. We
were black, ragged, and dirty We
looked at each other, and IN spite of
our miserable adventure, roared with
laughter.
1--we may laugh exclaimed Tom,
but if this adventure is blown, and we
are found out, Cornwall will be too hot |
for Us for the next seven years. We |
have made a pretty night of it. We |
have lost our money, been obliged to
pretend to pray for two long hours be-
fore great heap of gunpowder, while
that iron faced, ugly, redcapped brute |
threatened us all with an immediate |
passage into eternity. And our money, |
forsooth, must go to build Methodist |
Westinghouse! Bah! 1t is truly hor-
rible! The fellow has played the old
soldier on US with vengeance, and we
shall be the laughing stock of the
whole country
THE affair was not yet ended Re.
ports were spread that three men, dis
guised as black demons with horns and
tails, had entered the cottage of the 'old
gardener who not only terrified them,
but had frightened them out of a good
sum of money, which he intended to de-
vote to the building of a new Methodist
meeting house. 1t was given out that
on the following Sunday the 'old gard
ener' intended to preach sermon, and
afterwald solicit subscriptions for the
meeting house, when he would relate
the remarkable manner in which he had
been prOvidentially assisted with funds
for the building. Our modification was
Tom. whose hatred of Metho-
dlsm was intense, declared that he
would blow up the meeting house as
soon as it was bu 1t. Our curiosity,
however, was excited, and we all three
determined to hear our adventure of
the night related by the old gardener
II we could contrive to be present with
out being suspected. Sunday evening
arrived. The meeting house was
crammed to suffocation, and with the
dim lights then burning in the chapel
we had no difficulty in concealing our
selves. The sermon was short, but the
statement of our adventure was related
most minutely and circumstantiallv in
the old mans quaint, homely and hu-
morous phraseology. This evening he
seemed to excel himself and was ex-
ultingly humorous. The old fellows
face glowed with delight and satisfac-
ton. 4 never said he, saw black
faces pray with greater devotion. I
have some doubt, however, he slyly OBJ
served, if their prayers were quite
heavenward. They sometimes turned
their faces toward the door, but a
lifting of the flint and steel kept them
quiet
"Hc then added, with a knowing
shake of the head. and an exultant
laugh, But they had not smelt powder
like the old soldier whom they came to
rob. No, no; it was a large heap-ay,
large enough to frighten old General
Give himself. The candle was lighted,
the flint and steel were ready. Youmay
ask, my friends, if | myself was not
afraid. No, no, my dear friends, shouted
he. this large heap of apparent gun
powder vast was my stock, my whole
years stock of leek seed p
'"The whole congregation somewhat
laughed; even the saints
almost shouted; many clapped their
hands. l was for moment stupeied
by the announcement, but at last could
hardly suppress my own laughter.
"We subscribed to the fund to avoid
and left the meeting. After
the sermon we joined each other, but
could not speak, We could barely
chuckle Heek seedr and then roared
with laughter.
at was good joke, though not ex-
actly to our taste. 1t has, however,
more than once served for subsequent
''The chapel was built with the money
by the gardener. Time and
now induce me TO think
that there has been no detriment to
modify our religion by the erection of
the meeting house, which the High
Church party named The Leek Seed
Chapel. ~ 50. James Magazine.
Invited Guests.