Year: 1871

hundred stars danced before my eyes
there was strange dizziness in my head
all grew dark, and knew no more.


How long l lay before coming to myself
cannot tell nor could | recollect for
considerable time after my senses returned,
what it was that had happened. Numbed
with the intense cold, was lying on my
back, with the wind shrieking around me
but where was the horse? And what
meant the awful yell heard after taking
the leap?


found that 1 was lying on slope, and
turning over on my right side l reached
out my hand, intending to lean upon it
and raise myself To my horror grasped
nothing, for--it makes me shudder to
think of it--I turned over into the mouth
OF partly disused pit. Already l was
hanging half within it; while struggling
tore gain my balance, could feel myself
slowly but surely slipping further into the
hideous gulf yawning TO receive me.
gave one cry for mercy, and then grasped
wildly about till / succeeded in grasping
one of the boards with which the shaft
was lined. In another second my body
had slid down with jerk that nearly
wrenchtd my hands from their hold but
the strength of desperation was in that
clutch, and l held ON. Then deathly
fsintness came over me as l thought OF
the depth below, and imagined myself
falling helplessly into them. The strain
upon my arms became intolerable, and to
ease them l tried to insert my toes be-
tween the crevices of the boards, crying
frantically but family for help the while,
though the sound of my own voice
startled me, it was so strangely hollow.
As 1 raised myself little piece of the
rotten wood broke off, and for a dreadful
moment was hanging by one hand; but,
ere my qusiliDg heart could give another
fluttering throb, | had regained nay
grip, and found foothoid, too. More
than this dared not venture in that pro-
found darkness, but told myself that l
was comparatively safe as long ss my
aching limbs would sustain me. When
tley failed 1 knew that should go down
until lay, a mangled corpse, by the
side of the poor horse whose dying cry
still rings in my ears


Those were minutes of horror, and
believe l must have gone eff my head o
| little bit, for fancied that fearful sounds
came up from the pit, and that some invis-
| ible power was trying to drag me into it.
| Then a temptation assailed me to let go,
to end at once the anxieties of my lie, and
the pain and terror [ was enduring. But
the poor, pale face of Mary-Mary. who
was watching for me at home-rose up be-
fore my eyes, and with renewed strength
l held on, and prayed to Heaven to help
me.


AS if in answer to the prayer, a CLEAN
of the moons light broee through the
murky clouds-vanished- then shone
out again so clearly that was able to per-
ceive ths ladder not many feet away. As
cautiously as my cramped limbs would
permit, worked my way towards it, and,
before the clouds gathered again was
kneeling on the bank above the pit
saved.


Cold, weary and sad, made my way
home without interruption, and told Mary
what had happened. AS she clung about
my neck, shivering and sobbing, she made
me promise that l would never again be
drawn into anything which my conscience
told me wasn't just right: and, thank God /!
am able to say-come fair weather or
FOUL have been faithful to my word.