New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1856-02-04
THE HAUNTED BED.
War was declared!

THE HAUNTED BED.
War was declared
The boys in number six vowed they would no
longer bear the insolence OF number eight. These
were the largest sleeping rooms In the schoolhonse
where boarded in the days when my face was not
bronzed by travel when my legs were considerably
shorter, and my exlriant beard as yet an invisible
dream. was thirteen and the oldest boy in the
room except Slokins, who was sixteen, though you
would never have thought it to look at him, for he
was the shortest hoy in class and the stupdest
However he was very good teuOW, ana ready enough
for anything but fighting.
Our room was on the top floor of the house, so we
resolved to have grandbolsterlng campaign, and as
preliminary measure proposed that somebody
should creep all tours into No s, and phil Clinton
seniors toe, then utter a war-whoop, and we would
all rush in, pell nell, and give No 8 hts-in word
come down on them like bricks.
But who is to do the creeping? said Boxer, who
was SO clumsy that he could never catch cricket
ball in his life and was the poorest shot at marbles
| ever saw.
Not YOU said Stockleson junior, small, red
haired boy, who, like little terrier would fight any
thing however big, and never leave Off under any
circumstances. " Not you, Boxer, you always STUN
BILE or knock something over"
who then 2" said Twigsy, the boy who was so
delicate that he was orereda glass of portwne every
day to keep up his stamina and who was always
kissing little Lucy, the masters daughter, in the
sllrubbery, and who used to buy brandy and bring
it up into the bed room at night, in soda water
bottle, and gave it us to drink out of the shell Of
cocOanut
why slolins, of course, because he's the Oldest"
shouted Tom Crisp.
Yes, Slokins forever.' cried the whole room in
chorus.
But Slokns would not Co. so /, as leader of the ex
petition finally volunteered to undertake the hazar
dous enterprise, and off started marching nois-
lessly in Indian file, holding night shirts tightly
round us to prevent them from rlstling, and each
with his bolster his shoulder prepared for the
| direSt eXtremitieS.
| halted within n yard of the open door of No. s,
| last IF tIin
! celebrated serpent who tempted Eve, on my belly
contrived to reach the foot of Clinton seniors bed
insert nv dexter hand under the bedclothes and give
his toe jerk which reused him like gavanic shock
| from the embrace of an ncipient sumber
"A-c-o-ny!" squealed Clinton who is that ~
and he sprang out of bed, but only to be knocked
down. instanter, by Twigsy's bolster
| Immediately an immense slaughter took place. At
the foot of every bed in No. s was hero of No. 6,
/ whacking away like steam engine at the PROSTATE
form of his victim. 1t was decided case of surprise
and some minutes elapsed before the enemy rallied
No sooner however, did they recover the first shock
of our insidous attack than out they tumbed, and
fought with the wilder eXaspention from their pre-
lilnnary drubbing
Slokins, I am sorry to say, beat an ingorious re-
treat and shortly afterwards Clinton put the main
body Of our army to flight, by meanly cutting at
their legs with his suspenders. But in the corridor,
and on neutral ground, the fight yet ragged with Ho-
merle fury, and was at the point OF excitement, when
q sudden fash of light from the well known staircase
warned us of the approach OF third and yet more
powerful force It was in fact the master, who was
already on the last turn Of the stairs and would in
evitably be upon us before we could return to our
dormitories.
having been the last to retreat from the camp of
the hostile forces, now behind all the rest of my
party who had mutely taken to their heels, and fed
madly up the passage towards No. s. Seeing, there
fore, that escape impossible, resolved, like a
second Horatins to defend the staircase and COM
menced by launching my bolster over the banisters
Falling plump on the head of the ascending master
ful operation. was snug in bed like the rest by the
time he had obtained fresh candestick and returned
to the attack.
toned voice of Doctor Whackam.
Silence.
II say who thrcw that bolster reiterated the doc
tor. " Why don't you speak?'
Nobody spoke Or gave any reason for not doing so
an soon find out,7 said the angry pedagouglle-
Twigsy, where's your bolster!'
Here, SIR
9" And yours 2"
20 Here, sir"
"And yours"
I" Here, SIR
He had at length satisfied himself of the presence
of every boys bolster but mine, and all clearly fore
saw that the exposure of the cuprt at hand,
that if virtue were not Immediately rewarded, vice
stood an admirable chance OF being summarily pun
ished.
=" 3Ir. Franklin Lafayette Hopscotch where is YOU
bolster, if You please said Whackham sardOnicaly
, bringing his candle to bear upon my devoted bed
" Here, sir, said checrfully, to the utter amaze
ment Of every boy in the ROOM
For an instant the doctor was staggered Sever
boys and eight holsters! He would readily hav
believed in seven boys and eight heads But his con
= = sternaton was brief he suddenly observed tina
there was spare bed in the He hastened tt
inspect it. Ihe bolster aras absent
q Who threw that bolster 2; repeated Docto
l. Whackham.
The ghost of the boy who died in the spare bed =
:, said sepuchlal voice.
1t the voice of slokns and so artfuly disguised
v that everybody started and the smaller boys were
t thrown into cold perspration.
e Who spoke ~ said the doctor.
Silence.
= '' | shall cane you all tomorrow morning. sale
II Whackham, unless the offender be now given up
L Dead silence.
Il Next morning the doctor forgot to cane MS. new
d boy had arrived, and Whackham in good l!rl
NOR consequently. But at night we had an awfu
= story to tell the new tenant Of the Haunted Bed
c may as well add. though it has properly speaking
II nothing to do with the story, that we let down TIN
), new boys panaloons by string to the floor below
where they took them in and cut the cord for us
y that Furthermore filed his boots with nutshells
e and put small frog in his milk and water at break
fast. He turned out firstrae bosterer, and whel
}, we got up amateur theatricals, nearly snothere'
Stockleson as Dcsdemona, in the fcrocors charlcte
of 0thellD