The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1896-09-19

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the aeronaut from above, land I'll haul
you up if the knot holds tight
Lemuel's gyrations ceased. The aero
naut braced himself in some manner
among the ropes and then began to haul
away until he had Lemuel astraddle of the
trapeze and holding himself frantically to
the side lines. The balloon had now risen
to an appalling height and was apparently
stationary. As Lemuel began family to
realize his awful situation, cold chills ran
over him and his hair defying the laws Of
gravitation stood straight up towards the
realms of boundless space.
Far below was all the country, spread
out as though man in relief, with it's
rivers, hills, forests, roads and town. A
grand sight, but far beyond the luckless
spectators appreciation.
''Young man, again spoke the aeronaut,
eff you ever get out of this alive you can
thank the Lord on your knees the balance
of your life. All you can do is to holp
tight and trust to Him to save you. You
may drop easy and you may come down
hard. Pray for the easy drop. I've got to
leave you"
So saying he loosened the ropes that held
the parachute, bound his wrists to one of
them by heavy leather bands, so as to pre-
vent his hold breaking in the descent. As
Lemuel saw these preparations the thought
OF being left alone enabled him to find his
voice.
"For Gods sake" he gasped "dont
leave me-"
But prayer and protest were unavaiing
and the aeronaut jumped. Up shot the
balloon, relieved of the weight, and down
shot the parachute until it spread out and
leisurely dropped to the ground.
1t was cold up in those regions of the
higher, but Lemuel dared not let 90 even
with one hand, to button his coat about
him. A great bird, an eagle or hawk,
came at him screeching viciously.
'Shoo"' yelled Lemuel, and the as
tonished bird "shooed"
For a long time Lemuel never dared to
look below and when he did he noticed
the earth he had left coming rapidly up to-
wards him. Then he knew the balloon
was falling and at such rate as fortold
disaster.
Nearer and nearer came the woods and
the fields Lemuel shut his eyes and
prayed Just before the ground was
| reached a breath struck the balloon,
careened it and carried it along nearly
parallel to the surface. Lemuel hit the
ground with thud. Fortunately it was
ploughed ground and soft. He was drag
ged along some twenty yards before he
could let 20 and then he lay for some time
before he sat up and looked around He
was dazed, but he was in someone's cotton
field. Over a short distance lay the col
lapsed balloon in haze OF ascending
smoke. Then he arose, stood moment
nnsteadily, braced himself and took his
bearings. Things looked familiar. At
his feet lay hoe and all about radiated the
ledge of where he was came to him like a
flash. That hoe was his hoe: that field was
his fathers, none other in that country was
so badly kept.
With this knowledge another idea came
bursting into his brain. Here was evil
IDENTIFY message direct from the Almighty
made emphatic by the accompaniment of
hdeous DANCE. He had been torn from
the scene of his idlenesss and folly and put
face to face with his neglected duty. The
awful warning was too plain to be passed
UNDECIDED; divine displeasure too powerful
to be crossed another time.
Then and there Lemuel took off his coat,
took up that hoe and went to hoeing. He
stuck to it till shutdown in spite of his dizzi-
ness, his aches and his bruises. Next morn
ing he was out at sunrise and has never
STAGE quit working. Now this is the true
story of the remarkable regeneration of
Lemuel Simmerlow.- Philadelphia Times