The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1894-06-22

to have such beautiful things -
"They are for you, Nancy" said
Miss Blifkins softly, looking away into
| the distance, even beyond the walls
that bounded the ordinary vision.
For me ? For me 20 and the girl
drew a long breath. 1t seemed as il
she could not believe it. Her fingers
trembled as Miss Blifkins forced the
pretty little Bible into her hand, and
the needle case, and the box.
"Oh oh oh ~ and her eyes, filled
with delight, flashed back and forth
from the humble little seamstress to
the treasures that seemed so precious
to her beauty starved soul. And then
she flung both arms about the wo-
mans neck, and sobbed and laughed
together and promised-ah me, many
more things than in all likelihood she
would ever be able to perform.
But then, Miss Blifkins believed in
her, and of the two human souls in
the presence of God and the angels |
dare not undertake to say which was
the happiest.
LOST IN 4 CAVE.
'"The sensations of man lost in a
cave are Understandable" said Ten
nessean. Il was once in Il cave under
Lookout Mountain for four days and
three nights, and it was an experience
that can never be forgotten. Five of
us started in to explore the cave, which
at its entrance looks like little more
than a huge hole in the ground. We
thought that in its innermost recesses
we would probably find the capacious
rooms with glistening stalactites COM
mon to the caves throughout that
section. We took lanterns for light,
and chalk with which to mark the
walls as we went, in order to be GER
tain that we could retrace our steps
without difficulty. The cave was
disappointment to US. We climbed
over huge rocks, squeezed through
narrow passages, and found several
springs from which little streams flow
ed through the cavern, but no hand
some rooms or overhanging stalacti-
ties. So far as we could judge we had
advanced about five miles when we
concluded to explore one more passage
and return. Suddenly our lights went
out, evidently on account of some nox
ious gas, and we were in total darkness.
We climbed back out of the place
where the disaster had occurred in or
der to relight our lanterns, when to
our horror we discovered that there
was not match to be had. There
were several passageways and not a
chance in thousand of our ever find
ing the way back to the outside world
again.
''To leave the place we were in was
to leave the chalk marks which con-
stituted the only guide. In our lone
illness it seemed as if the walls were
closing in upon us and would crush us.
The only hope was that our friends
would remember where we had start
ed and would organize a searching
party which might be guided by the
chalk marks All day and all night
we waited without food or sleep, and
the long dark hours dragged their
weary time along until it seemed to us
that we would go crazy. We could
not tell whether it was day or night
telling all the stories we knew and try
ing to keep each other cheerful until
every topic of conversation was eX
hausted-and the silence was only
broken by the monotonous dripping
of water in the adjoining chamber of
the cavern. Exhausted by fear and
hunger, my mind was given up to the
most fantastic imaginings, and at
length came numbness in which |
felt no longer, until the sound of
horn reverberated among the rocks
and we knew that we were saved;
rescuing party was following the
chalk marks. We danced, we
shouted, we Rugged each other in a
delirium of joy, and Il few minutes
later we were found. Despite our
weakness we made good time getting
out of the cave, and when we reached
daylight once more we found that we
had occupied the cave for four days
and three nightS.n