The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-03-23
TRIAL BY WATER.

The True Story of How Farmer Thorley
Was Convinced That the Earth Does
Turn Around.
A positive old fellow was Farmer
Thorley, of Ditcham End, and not at
all an easy sort of man Gas you would
have seen by one look at his red face
and hard mouth) either to persuade or
convince. He farmed his own land,
brewed his own beer, and thought Eng
land the finest country in the world,
and himself one of the finest fellows
in it.
Whenever Farmer Thorley was told
any thing that he had not heard before,
which happened pretty often, for he
had never been twenty miles from his
native village in his life, he generally
cut short all arguments by saying
gruffly that he didn't believe word
of it," and any one who contradicted
him after that was sure to have pretty
hard time of it.
Railways were the old farmers es-
pecial horror, not only because they
were a new invention, but because the
only journey by railroad that he had
ever made (Which was to town about
fifteen miles Off had commenced with
q very puzzling and disagreeable ad-
venture which he had never been able
to understand. His own version of the
story was that he had got into the train
and fallen asleep just as it started, and
found when he awoke again that he
had been all the way to Darleston and
back without knowing any thing about
it, 30 that he had all his journey to do
over again. But the real fact OF the
matter was that the old fellow had got
into carriage that was not coupled to
the train, and had gone to sleep there
quite comfortably.
1t happened that one summer there
came to lodge at the farm a young man
who had Travelled and had read good
deal. too. When he first came he had
been studying very hard. and looked so
pale and thin beside the burly, red-fac-
ed, broad-skirted farmer, in his great
top-boots. that old Thorley was rather
'disposed to set him down as milk
sop" But the young fellows stories of
what he had read and what had seen in
foreign lands were so entertaining that
Farmer Thorley (who never read any
thing but the county newspapers) soon
began to think better of him; and al
though he always expressed great sur
prise at any one caring to wander about
in ''the publishing foreign countries"
instead of staying comfortably at home
in Old England. he never failed to lis
ten with all his ears when his lodger
began to talk.
At last it happened that the student
was sitting one evening on the bench
in front of the door, trying to explain
to little Dolly Thorley (the farmers
youngest child) how it was that the
earth turned round, when up came the
old man himself, just in time to catch
the last words of Fred Mason's expo
sition.
Hey! what be that thou'rt tellin
the little wench, rneaster?" cried he.
did thee say as the earth turned
round? Whoy, now, what be the good
o film her head wi all that nom
sense?" ,"...
But it's not nonsense" said Mason;
''it's quite true"
''Well," cried the farmer, II always
thought thee was an idiot and now
be sure on It! Don't thee see chat if
the earth, did turn round we'd be turn
In head-over-heels half our timer"
BE that as it may" answered the
student, quietly, sit does turn around
all the same"
The farmers broad face turned red
deT than ever, as it always did when