, 1889-04-28
BURIED IN A MINE.

Was / ever down in n coal miner Yes,
once. l will tell you the story.
! had some friends living in the coal
mining region of Pennsylvania, and /
was induced to pay them n visit. While
there | was asked 10 descend into one of
the most famous mines and see how the
hard, black fuel which affords us such
grateful sensations on n cold winter night
is procured from the bowels of the earth.
Now have n strong natural desire to
sec everything new and strange; but her
am also very cautious, and do not care
TO put my life in peril merely to crafty
my curiosity, so | hcsitated and reflected
q little before | answercd:
II should like to see the miners at
work, if it could be lone without risk of
life"
A pretty, bright blue eyed young lady
who vas present, and to whom l had
taken n great fancy, burst out with n
ringing laugh.
Surely you are not afraid, Mr.. Ma
plesy' she exclaimed, with n mischievous
twinkle of her blue eyes that did more TO
urge me on than tho arguments of all
her relations could nave done in n month,
for no man likes to be thought n coward
in the presence of beauty.
81 certainly would not like to DO con
sidered afraid, Miss Stuart, merely be
cause ! have n repelling sense of dan
gerl' | replied surely you do not think
it necessary for n man to be foolhardy in
order to prove that he is not n poltroon?
! believe every ono is in some degree
afraid when he secs danger, but some
people are gifted with the faculty of sec
ing danger where others do not"
"And sometimes where it docs not
exist"
at may be"
And you possess that gift largely"
she laughed.
NAY. Miss Stuart; you hardly do me
Justice. | mt least claim to he reason
able. In the case OF mining coal. neither
you nor any one else who is familiar
with past occurrences in the mines can
%truthfully declare that there is not all
the time danger down in those dark and
awful depths, and that every one who
descends thither, be it for a minute or a
month, carries his life in his hands"
"Well, / ut least am not afraid" she
rejoined, somewhat boastingly; land !
have been down there as many times rs
] am years old"
"A matter of nineteen?" | Observed.
Exactly nineteen" she smiled.
well, then, make it twenty, and l
will accompany you" | said.
Agreed. was her proud response.
The instant she said this | experienced
a strange sensation, like a presentimcnt
of evil, and l would gladly have h;.d my
promise unspJkcn. But it was too lato
for me TO think of changing my declara-
ton, ever had tho danger beer n thou
sand times more apparent, for | am n
of those s~tubbornly firm individuals who
always live up to my given word, let the
consequences be what they may; and SC
we prepared ~ou-aelves, and went down
into the mine-a party of four of US
two gentlemen besides myself, n the
lady | have mentioned.
Tho descent for the first two hundred
foet was in n large bucket, lowered by u
~windlass; and | do not think that any
one for the first time ever yet took that
plunge into the awful abyss of darkness
and mystery without an inward shrink
ing akin to horror, however careless and
indifferent may have been his outward
assumption.
One of our party, who was connected
with the mines and was to act as our
guide on the present occasion, carried n
Davy lamp fastened to his cap, and by
this feeble light we could dimly see each
others faces and the black, damp walls
which surrounded US as down, down,
ever down, we kept sinking deeper and
deeper into the bowels Of the black pit,
well knowing that the slightest accident
might land us suddenly on tho shores Of
eternity.
The two gentlemen and myself looked
grave, as became the place and tho &C.
c~asion; but pretty Sibyl Stuart was full
of talk and animation, rafting on from
one thing to another, never seeming to
care for a reply, but apparently satisfied
TO hear the sound of her own voice. Was
she really needless of any possible dan
ger, or was this light chatter done to
cover serious fancies and misgivings? 3.
could not believe the words came from n
heart as light and free as they seemed 10
represent.
Reaching our first landing, we began
our exploration through long, dark gal
leries, where every here and there q
heavy prop supported the rocky roof,
with the thin layer of foundation sup
ported il turn in the same manner, still
below us, tier on tier, so that the yield
ing of any weak spot far down in those
awful depths might precipitate thousands
of square feet into one shapeless mass
and bury US forever from human sight.
Still as there was no more danger ap-
parently of this occurring now han at
any time within tho past twenty years,
there was no good reason for my taking