The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-17

lOuS changes that sometimes SHIFT the
power Of & sovereign in the twinkling
Of an eye strife, if could, but what IS
the strife Of one close kept
within rock bound cell, So in my
solitude | sat for hours, breeding upon
my condition. Then came the desire to
know my surroundings more int mately.
how well know each stone, each line
and tissUre
| could press my hands upon bed Of
yielding clay and reproduce the walls OF
my cell so accurately that q mould Of
one would fit the O,her so closely a
stream of water could not trickle through
between them. Each stone | hate, save
those | moved aside and broke against
caon other to use as implements Of toll.
My cell was nine feet high, five feet
broad and ten feet deep. Two bars Of
iron inserted in the solid rock supported
four boards six inches wide and two
inches ia thickness, which, with coarse
blanket and a sack Of straw composed
my bed. Along the outer edge of the
pianks was fastened another one, extend
ing one and haf inches above the edge,
a tn: ee-leggcd stool aud billet Of wood.
to place beneath the sack Of straw for a
pillow, completed the equipment of the
cell.
Through an opening IN the heavy door
| could see damp walls and heavy doors.
Through this opening, at irregular in
tcrvals, was thrust a loaf Of bread and a
jag of water and at times piece of
meat would be left, without a word,
upon the shelf at the opening. Many
time have | raised the Jug to dash it
against the stones and with the ragged
edge sever an artery, but each time the
faint spark of hope has stayed my hand.
During the first few days thoughts of
the IN Justice that had been done to me
and the strangenes8 of my surroundings
gave food for reflection, and mOtionle~s |
sat upon my bed with my head bnried
in my hands, hours, days, perhaps weeks,
fer | could no longer measure time.
Then came the TeyuisiOn of feeling,
the desire to be up and doing, the thirst
for compan:onship l would cry aloud,
shrek. aye. even curse to drive away the
madness that seemed to haunt the tlaCe,
but all in vain; my own 70 ce was not the
one | logged to hear, a. back would
come that indefnable dread, that told
me | must save myself from despair or
reason would desert me.
Oh, you who wander forth into the
blessed woodlands and say you have
been alone; you who drift out from
the shore in an open boat, with your
eyes fixed upon the skies above you aud
say you are alone, what can you know
Of such solitude as mine, where not
even the gnawing of a rat breaks the I'M
ending Silence. Hour alter hour toyed
with the broken pieces of the lantern.
+ ach one had its name; each to me was
living thing with personality.
The little pin that held its door in
place | would throw away and then
search for it. Again and again | would
throw it, hoping it would lodge in some
crevice and bring new sensation when
| failed to find it.
Wcaried with This I would count the
hairs Of my beard, separating one from
another and then eginning over again,
assuming that the count had been in
correct.
One day my food was thrust through
the opening to me and in the meat a
bone of peculiar shape, not unlike a la
bOrer's pick, gave rise to thoughts
which, for some strange reason, had
never visited me before. | kept it, and
sharpening it against the stone, began to
dig away the wood on the edge of my
bed. l struck something hard.
JOY. The pinions were of iron. Here
was a hope, here was an occupation,
here were the tools to labor with. Oh.
how | worked, and ere long held in my
hands six spikes, four inches long. Day
after day with these picked and scraped
and dug at the stone wall Of my cell uu-
til at last lOosened a stone, then another
and then another, and then came to the
moist earth. Again and again I kissed
that soil, calling it by enQearing names,
as a mother would call child that had
been lost and restored. Using the frag-
ments Of stone to save nv hands,
loOsened the soil, filled the broken
lantern and brought 1t back into my
cell, filing the corners, slowing it away
under the bed and spreading it on the
planks where ] slept. But my eel would
not hold all the dirt l must move before
could hope TO make an exit. must have
place for it or all my labors would be
in vain. Hoping against hope, I began
to dig at the wall opposite the door,
The spikes were almost worn away be
fore the oiening was made, but my eff
forts were not unavaiIing, for beyond
the wall there had been at some distant
tine, four cells like my own. These had
DGSu Throw IubO ONO. L nc W is udl
been walled up with solid masonry, and
it remained, suppose, only as support
to the structure above.
Into this walled enclosure | packed
away the earth az fast as I could loosen
it and bring it back.
I had proceeded but twenty or thirty
feet when | found treasure of ines ii ma
bic value to me, q broken sword, rusty
and crumb ing at the end and edges, but
still substantial enough to serve i'll place
of the worn out spikes.
The hilt had once been richly jeweled,
but most Of the gems were gone. Tho
few remaining | removed with piece o.
broken stone, and wrapping them in q
fragment of my clothing, treasured care
fully in the fond hope that some day
should see the streets of London again
/ With this new implement my work pro
cecded more favorably, and using my
own length as a measure, | estimated
that 1 had pushed along two hundred
feet.
then began TO incline my course up
ward, and ere many days had passed
knew by the quantity of earth in the
cells that must be nearing the surface.
Onward and upward 1 crept, and yet nc
sounds to tell me that | was nearing M
goal. l had slowed away all that
could. | would now dig straight VI
and press the waste against the sides OF
my tunnel by placing my back against
one side.
Then came the thought, MAY l no
l,a under the Thampsl VIII the swift