Barre evening enterprise. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-1898, 1898-04-14

which | could hold communion.
81 turned upon my breast and struck
out almost frantically once more. The
stars were forgotten. Tho moon, the
very world CT which MS yet formed a
part, ns poor Mary herself, was forget
ten. | thought only of the strong man
there perishing; of me in my lusty
manhood, IN the sharp visor Of my
dawning prime, with faculties illimita.
BILE, with senses all alert, battling there
with physical obstacles which men like
myself had brought together for my un-
doing. The Eternal could never have
willed this thing. / could not and l
would not perish thus. And I grow
strong in insolence of self trust, and 1
laughed aloud as dashed the sluggish
water from side to side.
"Then came an emotion of pity for
myself-of wild, wild regret; of sor-
row, oh, infuite, for a fate SO desOlate,
doom so dreary, so heart sickening.
You may laugh at the contradiction If
you will, sir, hut / felt that ! could
sacrifice my own life Oh the instant to
redeem another fellow creature from
such place of horror, from all end so
piteous. My soul and my vital spirit
seemed in that desperate moment to be
separating, while one in parting grieved
over the deplorable fate of the other.
"And then l prayed. | prayed, why
or wherefore know not. 1t was not
from fear. 1t could not have been in
hope. The days of miracles are passed,
and there was no natural law by whose
providential interpolation | could Be
saved. | did not pray. 1t prayed Of
itself, my soul within NE.
"Was the calmncss that | now felt
torpidity, the torpidity that praccAes
dissolution, to the strong swimmer who,
sinking from exhaustion, must at last
add bubble to the Wavo as lie sutf1-
Gates beneath the element which now
denied his mastery? If it were so, how
fort innate was it that ny floating rOd at
that moment attracted ny attention ai
it dashed through the water ~ me.
saw on the instant that Il fish lad e.
.lnglcd himself in the wire moose, IAo
rod quivercd, plunged, came again to
the surface and Iirplod the water rs it
shot in a,roWy flight from side to side
of the tank. at last, driven toward the
southeast corner Of the reservoir, the
small end seemed to have got foul some
where. The brazcn butt which every
time the fish sounded was thrown up tO
the Moon, now sank BY its own weight,
showing that the other end mast be
fast But the c0rncrod fish, evidently
anchored sOmQW here by that short Wire,
11oundcrcd several times to the surface
before l Thought Of striking out to the
spot.
"The water is low now, and toleraLly
clear. You nay see the very ledge there,
sir, in yCndCr corner, Oh which the
small end Of NY rod rested When | &C.
cured that pike with NY hands | did
not take him from the slip Moose, hU"
ever, but standing upon the ledge Ian
died the red in Il workmanliku manner,
as flung that pound pieEorel over the
iron railing upon he top If the Earultt,
The rod, as | have told you, bar is
reached from the railing to the Wa \.
1t was heavy, StlCnG biSa rCa, ana
when | discovered that the fish at the
end Of the wire mado strong enough
knot to prevent me from drawing my
tackle away from the railing around
which it tNinsd itself as | threw, why,
us you can at once ste, had bat little
difficulty in making my way up the
face Of the wall with such assistance.
"Tho ladder which attracted yo.z
notice :, Is you see, dashed to The itpn
railing il the identical spot where
thus made my escape, and fer fear ii
similar accidents they have placed an
other one il the corresponding colaeI
Of the othe" compartment OF the tail;
ever since my remarkable night j I'd
venture il the Reservoir. -Clarles
Eenno Hoffman,