Sundry blocks
of wood and short pieces of plank were first passed, with care, up to the
hands of Dudley, who cast them, like useless lumber, among the other ruins
of the building. He then descended from his perch, and made room for
others to follow.
The stranger next arose. After him came Content, the Puritan, Reuben Ring,
and, in short, all the youths, with the exception of those who had
unhappily fallen in the contest. After these had mounted, and each in turn
had leaped to the ground, a very brief preparation served for the
liberation of the more feeble of body. The readiness of border skill soon
sufficed to arrange the necessary means. By the aid of chains and buckets,
Ruth and the little Martha, Faith and all of the handmaidens, without even
one exception, were successively drawn from the bowels of the earth, and
restored to the light of day. It is scarcely necessary to say to those
whom experience has best fitted to judge of such an achievement, that no
great time or labor was necessary for its accomplishment.
It is not our intention to harass the feelings of the reader, further than
is required by a simple narrative of the incidents of the legend.
Pages:
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356