The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-08-27

how hard 1t was to find pinhole in a
rubber tire by watching for the place
where the mean temperature is escaping.
AS night came on and the children had
to separate and go their several ways to-
ward home 1 gave up the idea of repairs,
carefully concealed the machine in q
swamp and rode home on the running
gear of n farmers wagon, on which
sadly pinched myself several times,
which hurt me exceedingly.
Did you ever ride on the reach" or
the "bolster," or the "hounds" of lum-
Der wagon seven or eight miles in the
noontide heat with your feet hanging
down and gouging large holes in the
road? 1t is equal to n straw ride among
asylum acquaintance.
Referring to rides and vehicles, am
reminded of the chariot race in Ben
Hur." Everybody remembers his Won
derful picture and wishes that he had
been first to write it. Every one calls to
mind the speech of Ben-Hur to his steeds
rs they flew around the course; how he
kept his temper even when Messiah gave
the Jews beautiful horses n cut as he
passed them, with his Down, Eros! Up,
Mars" But when the moment, the su-
preme moment, arrived, Ben-Hur, when
all else was silent, addressed his horses:
"On, Atari! On, Rigel! What, An
tares, dost thou linger now, good horse?
Ohio, Aldebaran! 1 hear them singing in
the tents. l hear the children singing
and the women sing of the stars, of Atari,
Antares, Rigel. Aldebaran. Victory, and
the song will never end. Well done!
Home tomorrow under the black tent
home. On, Antares! The tribe is wait
ing for US, and the master is waiting!
IT'S done! IT'S done! Ha, ha. Steady.
The work is done. Soho. Steady"
Rev. Myron w. Reed and James Whit
comb Riley one afternoon about the
time of the publication of 'Ben-H ur"
went out to dine with George Hit of The
Journal at Indianapolis and came home
in the evening full of ''Ben-Hur." They
took a surface car drawn by pair of
moth eaten mules. 1t was quite ride
from Hits chateau to the Dennison
House, and So as the car was unoccupied
except by two colored ladies named
Trask, who lived across the track-Eloise
and Pearl Trask-they talked freely.
Shortly after these two gentlemen got
on the car stopped, and the driver went
back to set a switch or recover his whip,
but soon it moved on in the darkness,
gaining speed as the grade seemed gently
descending, till directly the Misses Trasl1
began to giggle and look sort of appre-
hensively toward the front of the car.
Mr.. Reed looked, too, and discovered that
there was no driver. Moreover, the
mules were running away.
The pastor made about two strides of
eight feet each and found himself at the
dashboard of the car, the lines dragging
along the track and the driver a milo
back looking for his whip.
The Misses Trask screamed rs the car
now and then returned to the track with
cruel shock, and Mr.. Riley, extending
his head through ventilator at the top
of the car, exclaimed "Help! help. twice
i'll rapid succession.
Mr.. Reed, holding his hat on with one
hand, reached twice for the lines beneath
the car, and twice the off mule most
put the pastors eye ont with its impress
sionist tail. AT last Mr.. Reed succeeded
and scorning the brake he slapped the
nigh mule across the person with the
lines, and waving his broad hat in the air
he cried:
"On, Atari! On, Rigel What, An
tares, dost thou linger now, good mule?
Ohio, -Aldebaran! hear them singing in
the tents. hear the children. singing
and the women singing of the stars. of
Atari, Antares, Rigel, Aldebaran, vic
tory, and the song will never end"
AS the car passed the corner near
where The Journal office was Mr.. Riley
again extended his head through Il new
place in the roof which he had made
with his silk hat and calculated hur-
riedly; Help! Help! Help! Will no one
derail the car and save u.s."
But his cry was drowned by the roar
of the car and the remarks of Mr. Reed
as he slapped the off mule with his
SLOUGH hat and cxclaimcd:
''Well done. Home tomorrow under
the black tent-homc! On, Antaresl
On, Aldebaran!"
1t was IL grand sight.