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Article ROB MOORSON. ← Page 5 of 9 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Rob Moorson.
that he should be driven to the foot of the hills . Even this , the innkeeper said , was a dangerous undertaking ; and he strongly urged his guest not to leave the shelter of his roof that evening , telling him that he little knew what he was about to undertake , as it would be almost certain death for anyone to attempt to go up the hills on such a fearful night . But all his reasoning was in vain . Rob was determined to go ; so , according to the promise given , a close carriage , with a pair of the landlord ' s most
powerful post-horses , was brought out , and Rob started on his perilous adventure ; for his ' was an iron will , not easily to be bent or broken . The storm still raged furiously ; and at the foot of the first hill they came to , the driver said that he could not possibly go any -further ; and he tried hard to persuade his passenger to return with him to the town , telling him that he would be frozen to death if he attempted to finish the journey ; but all was of no avail . Rob was determined , if possible , to return home that Christmas Eve . Having dismissed the driver with a handsome present , Rob set off alone , to do battle with the storm , which seemed to increase its fury every step he took .
They who have never encountered a strong north-easter on the Yorkshire hills , with the snow driving in drifts about them , filling up the deepest ditches and watercourses , burying even the dry stone walls that take the place of hedges , and rendering every tracrffof roads indiscernible , can have no idea-of the dangerous task ho had - undertaken . The wind and snow , and frost combined , were too great for human strength to bear againstSlow slow the he made the first
up . , very , was progress up hill , and many times " he was on the point of sinking down ; but he fought manfully to keep upon his feet , knowing that if ever he sat down , sleep would overpower him , aud all would soon be over with him as a living man . He managed to descend on the other side ; but , alas ! another hill , steeper than the one he had surmounted , remained to be climbed before he could reach his destination .
His clothes were now all frozen upon him , and his hair and beard were filled with a mass of icy snow . Wearily he tried to ascend , but a strange feeling had come over him . He seemed to have lost all interest in life , and the only thing he wished for was —rest ! At last he saw a bright light in the distance , and , for a moment , hope revived within him , for he knew that it came from his mother ' s house . " Ah ! " he thought , " they are keeping their merry Christmas ! and I , who hoped
to have been with them , must . perish here alone . Oh ! mother , mother ! my life ' s journey is finished !" He partly ascended the eminence on which the house stood , but could do no more ; and , sinking down upon the ground , he was speedily covered up with a mantle of snow , but for which he must have perished by the intense frost in a single hour . Mrs . Moorson and Lucy , as usual , were keeping their watch on Christmas Eve for Rob ' s return ; and almost wishing that this night , of all others that they had watchedfor him , they might be disappointed , as they knew the perils of the mountain road on such a night as that .
As soon as Christmas morning dawned , Rob's elder brother , and one of the menservants , accompanied by their faithful old dog , went forth to look for some sheep , which , they were afraid , might have perished , or otherwise be drifted up prisoners , during the night . The storm had now somewhat abated ; and , about half-way clown the hill , Rover came to a stand , and began snuffing about a large snowdrift at the side of the road . Thinking that some of the poor sheep miht be buried in itthey set about removing the
g , snow very carefully with a shovel they had taken with them , fully expecting that they would require it in searching for the sheep . It is scarcely possible to say how greatly they were alarmed , on removing a portion of the snowdrift , to find a human being , instead of the sheep they were seeking for . They raised him up gently ; and , although he was quite unconscious , they felt that there was still some little warmth about the region of the heart ; and , wrapping him
up carefully in their own top-coats , they carried him , in all haste , to the farm . In the indistinct light they had not recognised his features ; but , in laying him down on the "long settle " by the kitchen fire , bis brother called out , in a frantic voice , —
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Rob Moorson.
that he should be driven to the foot of the hills . Even this , the innkeeper said , was a dangerous undertaking ; and he strongly urged his guest not to leave the shelter of his roof that evening , telling him that he little knew what he was about to undertake , as it would be almost certain death for anyone to attempt to go up the hills on such a fearful night . But all his reasoning was in vain . Rob was determined to go ; so , according to the promise given , a close carriage , with a pair of the landlord ' s most
powerful post-horses , was brought out , and Rob started on his perilous adventure ; for his ' was an iron will , not easily to be bent or broken . The storm still raged furiously ; and at the foot of the first hill they came to , the driver said that he could not possibly go any -further ; and he tried hard to persuade his passenger to return with him to the town , telling him that he would be frozen to death if he attempted to finish the journey ; but all was of no avail . Rob was determined , if possible , to return home that Christmas Eve . Having dismissed the driver with a handsome present , Rob set off alone , to do battle with the storm , which seemed to increase its fury every step he took .
They who have never encountered a strong north-easter on the Yorkshire hills , with the snow driving in drifts about them , filling up the deepest ditches and watercourses , burying even the dry stone walls that take the place of hedges , and rendering every tracrffof roads indiscernible , can have no idea-of the dangerous task ho had - undertaken . The wind and snow , and frost combined , were too great for human strength to bear againstSlow slow the he made the first
up . , very , was progress up hill , and many times " he was on the point of sinking down ; but he fought manfully to keep upon his feet , knowing that if ever he sat down , sleep would overpower him , aud all would soon be over with him as a living man . He managed to descend on the other side ; but , alas ! another hill , steeper than the one he had surmounted , remained to be climbed before he could reach his destination .
His clothes were now all frozen upon him , and his hair and beard were filled with a mass of icy snow . Wearily he tried to ascend , but a strange feeling had come over him . He seemed to have lost all interest in life , and the only thing he wished for was —rest ! At last he saw a bright light in the distance , and , for a moment , hope revived within him , for he knew that it came from his mother ' s house . " Ah ! " he thought , " they are keeping their merry Christmas ! and I , who hoped
to have been with them , must . perish here alone . Oh ! mother , mother ! my life ' s journey is finished !" He partly ascended the eminence on which the house stood , but could do no more ; and , sinking down upon the ground , he was speedily covered up with a mantle of snow , but for which he must have perished by the intense frost in a single hour . Mrs . Moorson and Lucy , as usual , were keeping their watch on Christmas Eve for Rob ' s return ; and almost wishing that this night , of all others that they had watchedfor him , they might be disappointed , as they knew the perils of the mountain road on such a night as that .
As soon as Christmas morning dawned , Rob's elder brother , and one of the menservants , accompanied by their faithful old dog , went forth to look for some sheep , which , they were afraid , might have perished , or otherwise be drifted up prisoners , during the night . The storm had now somewhat abated ; and , about half-way clown the hill , Rover came to a stand , and began snuffing about a large snowdrift at the side of the road . Thinking that some of the poor sheep miht be buried in itthey set about removing the
g , snow very carefully with a shovel they had taken with them , fully expecting that they would require it in searching for the sheep . It is scarcely possible to say how greatly they were alarmed , on removing a portion of the snowdrift , to find a human being , instead of the sheep they were seeking for . They raised him up gently ; and , although he was quite unconscious , they felt that there was still some little warmth about the region of the heart ; and , wrapping him
up carefully in their own top-coats , they carried him , in all haste , to the farm . In the indistinct light they had not recognised his features ; but , in laying him down on the "long settle " by the kitchen fire , bis brother called out , in a frantic voice , —