Year: 1860

ally hoodwink himself. or so thoroughly
shut his eyes to the plain light OF ma
ture What was to be done The
place was lonely the way difficult and
dangerous human relief was remote,
almost beyond reach 1t was impossi-
bic even to cry for help orrif a cry
could be uttered, il might reach in dea
fening reverberation the ear Of the Ut
terer, but it would not travel inches
further in any direction. To add to the
distress of the case, the unhappy suffer
er soon found great difficulty in breath
ing. What with the heat occasione1
by the beating of the sun on the metal,
and what with the frequent return of the
same heated air to his lungs, he was in
the utmost danger of suffo cation =
Everything considered, il seemed likely
that, ii he did not chance 10 be relieved
by some accidental wayfarer, there
would soon be death IN III pat.


The instructive love of life, however,
is omniprevalent and even very stup-
pid people have been found, when put
to the push by strong and imminent per
il. to exhibit a degree Of presence Of
mind and exert a degree of energy, far
above what might have been expected
from them, or what they were ever
known To exhibit or extraordinary
circum- stances. So it was with the poi
ensconced minister Pressed by the
urgency Of his distresses, he fortuna
tely recollected that there was smiths
a. Of oh nj IL
across the. fields, where, if he could
reach it before the period of suffocation
he might possibly find relief. Deprived
Of his eyesight he acted only as 1 man
Of feeling, and went on as cautiously as
he could, with his hat in his hand -
Half crawling. half sliding over ridgs
and furrow, ditch and hedge, somewhat
like Satan ffoundering over chaos, the
unhappy minister Travelled "a NJ ~
as he could guess, in the direction
Of the pace o. refuge. leave
it to the reader to conceive the surprise
the mirth, the infinite amusement Cf the
smith and all the hangers-on Of the smid-
dy, when at lenght, torn and worn, faint
and exhausted, blind and breathless
the unfortunate man arrived at the
place, and let them know, rather by
signs than by words, the circumstances
| Of his case IN the words of an oil
| Scottish song


"Out cam the gudeman, and high he shouted
Out cam the guide wife and low she loued,


And "a the town cighbours were gathered about il
And .here was he. trow.''


The merrient of the campany, how
ever, soon gave way to considerations
Of humanity Ludcrous as was the
minister, with such an object where his
head should have been, and with the feet
of the pot pointing upwards. like the
horns of the Great Enemy, it was new
ertheless, necessary that he should be
speedily restored to his ordinary cnndi-
ton, if it were for no other reason than
that he might continue TO live. He was
accordingly al his own request, led into
the smithy, multitudes focking around
to tender him their kindest Offices, or
to witness the process of release and
having laid down his head upon the an
vii, the smith lost no time in seizing and
poising his goodly forehammer.


Will come sair on minister :" ex-
claimed the considerate man OF iron, in
at the brink of the pot


"Assalr as ye like" was the minis
ter's answer {" better chap i the
chafts than die for want of breath. J"


Thus permitted, tie man let fall Il
blow, which fortunately broke the pot in
pieces. without hurting the head which
it enclosed as the cookmaid breaks the
shell of the lobster, without brusing the
food within A few minutes ofthe clear
air, and glass from the gudewi(e's 3
bottle, restored the unfortunate man of
prayer; but, assuredly, the incident is
one which will long live in the memory
Of the parishioners of c..