The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1889-05-25
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SKATING FOR LIFE
Remarkable Escape OF Confederate
Psi~oneF.

Prisoner.
The snow. ahich had been coming down
for hours. gradually ceased, the soft fakes
changing iato an icy >lcci, stinglug the
faces of PEDESTRIANS, and converting the
fsaihcTy covering or the streets into a shcct
Of glass. over which iocoasoiion vas be
coming more aud more impFaciloahle The
leaaoss branches Of the trees along the
sidewalks swayed in the rising wiad, drop
ping fragments of ice uPoo the beads Of
the Tassers-by, aud occasionally no longer
able to sustain their icy burden, coming
down with sharp crash on the pavement
below
The oifsce of MesSrs. S.mmes 4 Har-
court, Attorneys Law, prsssaicd a cheer.
faI contrast 70 the drcary scene without,
4 huge bed uf ooals glowci In the opcn
crate, aud Il, up still more brightly the
crimson rug aud cariaiDs The two gen
slcmeu. themselves the only occupSazs Ut
,he room. seemed TO faily appreciate their
agreeable situation, as seated before tae
6rc. they allowed newspapers aud chat TO
supcrsedc, for the noaec. briefs aud laW
bnoks
Skating at ,he Park. said Mr.
SHINES. the junior partner, As street car
h.sariur the announcement IN large letters
rolled by within sight Of the window
That Iiitle asg sill bring joy to tbs hearts
oi The skaters
Il csufess, said MF Hascuar', f0ldias
no his newspaper, that ] still eujoy the
sport a. much a. The yoaas people IL
pats young blood ia the veins--skimmiag
over an icy aoor. through an icy asmcs-
phere. New this roller skating i miser-
abb substitute | suppose that = the only
kind you ever ynjoyed, SHINES, in yoar
henishlcd sesshln, where you caa hardly
sAvo leo enough 20 eool yoGr summer
drinks
,sYon are very much mistaken, my dear
fellow, rejoiucd his companion, returning
from the window where he bad been view
ing the arctic scene below ''ln nag Sec
ton. as you eaIl il, have fcls as c1id
weather a. here--perhaps iii accept the
present blizzard. You remember came
from Kentucky. We bad splendid skasiag
almost every year,
aIndeel You indalge ia il here, then,
I suppose.
aNo, said Mr.. SHINES, never. |
have not skatei. he continued, reflective
II, Tor twenty years, and then skated
Coz ay life !"
What exclaimed his friend were the
wolves after you
aMr Simmcs smiled. ..Yes." he said,
sthc wolves were after me; aud nearly got
me, too
"My dear fellow cried his companion,
slspping him upou the shoulder, rs itpos-
sible I've known you 80 long, and you've
never told me such an aayeptufe Here,
sit down We have nothing specially inn
portant on hand this afternoon, so suppose
we devote it TO the recital.
"Well. if You are willing TO run the
risk Of being bored Rut perhaps your
sympalhies viii he on the side Of the pur-
suers
~What the wolves =
Simmos laughed. They were not
beasts" he rejoined, they were human
wolves; or perhaps that is too harsh term
to apply to them. They were simply doing
their duty in trying to catch me.
"You are growing mysterious, Slmmes;
| guess the sheriff and his posse were after
YOU. Was 1t arson or murder that you
had committed 2
"Neither. In fact | had committed a
crime. that | was aware Of. and yet | was
escaping for my life and my pursuers were
perfectly right in endeavoring to capture
me
well, no more riddles, if you please.
Ny curiosity is sufficiently whetted, so
proceed" aud Mr. Harcourt settled himself
comfortably back in his chair in the atti-
tude of a listener,
His partner sat meditatiug for several
moments. Twenty years age he said;
'that is a long time, HareOurt. 1t makes
me feel quite elderly to think that | was
twenty-four years old then
"Well, | was nearly thirty then Mr..
Harcourt vouchsafed this comforting piece
of information, and his companion con-
| tinued.
III was III tue WlulSI vi oJi NhSu tuS
whole country was involved in war. The
fortunes of the Confederacy were looking
pretty gloomy-at least it seemed so to US
poor fellows, who were spending the winter
at Johnson's Island"
"Johnson's Island p His listener leaned
forward attentively.
''Yes, in prison on Lake Erie. Once
the lake was frozen over, and our guards
and the prison employees amused themselves
by skating; and as we were taken out fol
our daily exercises we were allowed the
privilege of watching them l don't think
there was man among the prisoners, be-
sides myself, who had ever had on skates
and the guards urged, and even insisted OIL