DOWN IN A WELL.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4645, 23 November 1883, Page 2

DOWN IN A WELL.

For twenty years an old man of oar country, whom we will call Jack Baldwin, has cultivated Ike soil and drawa there* from a support for himself and wife; lie is childless. Not long since Jack left bis I house in search of a missing cow. His route led him through an old worn out piece of clay land, of about six acres in extent, in the centre of which was a well, about twenty or thirty feet deep, that at some time had probably furnished the inmates of a dilapidated house near by with water. In passing the spot an ill wind drifted Jack's hat from his head and maliciously wafted it to the edge of the well, and it tumbled in. Now Jack had always practiced the virtue of economy, and he immediately set about recovering his hat. He ran to the well, and finding it was dry at the bottom, he unrolled the rope which he had brought for the purpose of capturing the cow, and after several attempts to catch the hat with a noose, he concluded to save time by going down into the well himself. To accomplish this be made fast one end of the rope to a stump.hard by, and was soon on his way down into the well. It was a fact of which Jack was less obvious than the reader hereof—that a mischevous fel* low whom we will call Neal was in the old building, and saw Jack go down into the well, and it so happened that Jack's old blind horse was near by with a bell on its neck. The devil himself, or some other wicked spirit, but *it into Neal's head to have a little fun ; so he slipped up to the old horse, unbuckled the strap, and approached the well with the-bell in his hand tinga-ling. Jack thought the old horse was coming, and said in an audible tone: " Hang the old blind horse,' he's comin' this way, sure, and he ain't got no more sense than to fall in here on me—whoa, Ball!" But the sound of the bell came closer, and Jack was resting at' the bottom of the well. " Great Jerusalem !" said Jack, "the old blind fool will be right on top of me in a minit—whoa, ball, whoa, haw, Ball!" Just then Neal got close to the well and kicked a little dirt on Jack's head. Jack thought Ball was about to come, got close to the side of the well and began to pray: "Oh, Lord, have m,ercy on—whoa, Ball,—a poor sinner—l'm gone now, whoa, Ball— Our Father, who art in—whoa Ballheaven, hallowed be Thy—jee, Ball, jee !--■■ what'll I do ?—name. Now I lay me down to si—jee, Ball, out of your livers ! ( (just then in fell more dirt). Back, Ball.' Oh, Lord, if you ever intend. to do anything for me—back, Ball, whoa, ho I Thy king* dom come—jee, Bali." " Oh, Lord, you know I was baptized in Smith's mill dam—whoa, Ball, hoi' up !, murder ! whoa—farewell worked." Neal could hold in no longer, and showed himself afc the top of the well, with a big hoarse laugh, which might have been heard two miles. This was more than Jack could bear, and he started.. up the rope like a monkey. " Blast your picture, I'll give you fits ; I'll make your ears ring worse 'an that bell." Neal took to his heels, and ran like a quarter horse, and the last that was seen of him he was half a mile from the well, with two big dogs grabbing at his coat, and Jack close behind him, yelling at the dogs. -,-;-"t