Birmingham age-herald., 1894-08-02
THE TRICK DIDN'T WORK.
A Preachers Son Who Tried to "Work the
 Rabbit Foot on the Old Man."

Rabbit Foot on the Old Man."
 A good story is told of tho son of Bap. tist preacher residing in a southern state. The preacher rises to his highest flights of eloquence when inveighing against the sin of dancing He likewise indorses the prov erb, Spare the rod and spoil the child, just as much as if it were in fact an utter anco of Solomon instead of the New Eng land almanac. The son was, after the tradition of preachers sons, the worst boy in tho country He would swear and fight and fish on Sunday and go to hpedown dances when the elite of the neighborhood by no means predominated. The preacher rcligiously whipped him from to IA times week for various infractions of parental authority. For his last attend ance at hoedown he had been given a dose of the buggy whip, with the advice that it would be doubled in case he repeat ed the offense. A big candy pulling and dance was set for night in the near fu- ture. He swore he would go but just how to escape the whip was problem of Archi- mcdean proportions. He had heard the Responsibility of sleep walkers discussed, and he hit on the bright scheme of work ing that racket in the event of discovery On the night of the candy pulling and hoe down he retired early and listened till ho heard his father snoring. Feeling that all was quiet along the Potomac, he crawled out on top of the portico and slid down post and hurried to the hoedown, where he did valiant service to make up for the lateness of his arrival When the dance was over, he hied himself homeward and was soon shining up the post of the DOT tico, exulting in the hope of having worked the rabbit foot on the old man and avoided the buggy whip His heart sank within him when he heard the stern ''Come here, Louis, but he climbed on, as though he did not hear. A second stern command fell from parental lips unheed- ed. He was ruthlessly yanked down and savagely shaken and asked if he was deaf. He seemed to come to himself, shake him self together, as it were, and asked in mild surprise: "Where am I? Why, I must have como out here in my sleep"
 'You think you've been sleep walking, do you?" asked his father as he grasped the buggy whip little moro firmly
 "Why, yes, 1 reckon SO. I don't know how else I got here"
 You've not been over to Bill Aliens candy pulling tonight?" asked his father.
 Mot that I know of ," was tho reply, with fair stimulation of surprise.
 This was too much for the preacher who had heard him leave his room and crawl out and who had followed him to the dance and heard him making merry with tho revelers, and on his way back had heard him relating to some of his chums how he had worked the rabbit foot on the old man n' All this the parson explained and emphasized with the rapidly descend ing lash of the whip on the boy, who sig nified his understanding by vigorous howls and the execution of dance that beat the hoedown out of sight The promised dou- ble dose was administered, with an extra for the lies. It is reported on the best of authority that he has never attempted to simulate somnambulism since.-Washing ton Star