A FROSTY SATURDAY NIGHT.

Evening Star, Issue 4175, 14 July 1876, Page 4

A FROSTY SATURDAY NIGHT.

The ■weather suddenly turned into a freezing rain, Saturday evening. While, the"' change was progressing several people were in the library selecting mental pabulum for over Sunday. The rain fell silently and froze thoroughly, and in a very short time the walk which leads down from the library building?.to the street wa,s a glare of ice. !'The first person who appeared at the door was a young lady with a. volume of Tennyson hugged up to her. She tripped lightly down froin the step, saying,' audibly, “Even a wild moor with love my heart—.” Then she got up, recovered her muff and book, looked apprehensively about to see ;who was in view, and then hastened home, Without quoting another line/’ She had.fbarcely cleared the t walk when a tall man, with a work on botany, emerged from the door. The instant he stepped on .the, walk he said £ cryptogamous!and crawled off into, the snow on his,hands and knees, and recovered the volume, which remained' on the walk, by the aid of his cane. Following him were two largd men. One of them had the autobiography of John B. Gough# They both stepped on the walk together. The Gough man was just saying “I am l confident that the downfall of men is to be attributed to rum Two conspicuous exceptions to his belief were immediately made manifest. The Gough man in going down had sufficient presence of mind to catch hold of his fellow, and both being heavy men they went the whole length of the walk clawing and kicking each other all the distance. The Gough man got .bn his feet and put off in one direction, and ,the other man got on his feet ,and sloped at once in an opposite direction. And while they were doing this a tall spare man, with a book descriptive of I :the Holy Land, put his foot on the walk, then shook it at the heavens, and met the pavement with the simple ejaculation, “0, Jerusalem ! ” Thedobrisof this wreck was no more than cleared away when a very stout man, with a florid countenance, and a copy of Tyndall in his hand, came. out. He was saying to l.itnself—“ VYe have now got down tc the ...base—Gosh— : whoop !” And Avas ; down there. It was a terrible j bu( brief struggle. There was a shooting ; of legs, a waving of arms, and v ; spasmodic wriggle of the body; and th( . base was reached. And for two minutes ■ he sat there, feeling around for ar under set of false teeth, and swearing like a ylirate. The next morning was ; the Sabbath, a bright, quiet, sunshiny morn, and the sonof the librarian went out on the walk, and in a very few minutes had accumulated a book-cover i a set of false teeth, three gloves,; i \ handkerchief, and a* good-sized handfii of hairpins. These articles are now ai the library ; awaiting identification.— ‘ Danbury News/