The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-07-24
THE TRICK DIDN'T WORK.
A Preachers Son Who Tried to ''Work the
Rabbit Foot on the Old Man."

a Preachers Son Who Tried to 'Work the
Rabbit Foot on the Old Man."
A good story is told of the son of Bap-
list preacher residing in southern state
The preacher rises to his highest flights of
eloquence when inveighing against the sin
OF dancing. He likewise Endorses the prov
erb, Spare the rod and spoil the child, J"
just as much as if it were in fact an utter
ance OF Solomon instead of the New Eng
land almanac. The son was, after the
tradition OF preachers sons, the worst boy
in the country. He would swear and fight
and fish on Sunday and go to hoedown
dances when the elite of the neighborhood
by no means predominated. Tho preacher
religiously whipped him from to IA
times week for various attractions 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 q night in the near fu-
ture. He swore he would go, but just how
to escape the whip was problem of Archi-
medean proportions, He had heard the
responsibility Of sleep walkers discussed,
and he hit on Che bright scheme of work
ing that racket in the event of discovery.
On the night,bf the candy pulling and hoe
down he retired early and listened till he
heard his father snoring. Feeling that all
was quiet along the Potomac, he crawled
out on top of the portico and slid down a
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 por-
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 /? Why, must
have come out here in my Sleep
You think you've been sleep walking,
do you?" asked his father as he grasped
the buggy whip little more firmly.
''Why, yes,I reckon So I don't know
how else got here. ,"
u 'You've notI been over to ez Aliens
candy pullingtonight2'i asked his father,
mot that Iidknewsof," was the 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
the jewellers, 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. 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-
BILE dose was administered, with an extra
for the lies. 1t is reported on the best Of
authority that he has never attempted to
simulate somnambulism since. Washing
ton Star.