North Branch democrat. [volume] (Tunkhannock, Pa.) 1854-1867, 1866-04-25
gelert gtary.
FRYING DISPOSITION.

| jeremiah Walpole was born "peeper."
His bump of curiosity-see Fowlor for
the technical name-was most powerfully
developed; indeed, so great and extraor,
binary was the protuberance, that the
symmetry and poetry of form was COM
pletely destroyed. Jerry would have been
rather handsome man if his head had
been well formed, but as it was, it looked
very much like pumpkin with a large
wart on it. The resemblance was the
more striking from the color of his hair
bright and golden as the beams of day,
and considerable more glossy!
Naturally of an investigating turn, his
propensity for prying into things was fos-
tered by his parents, who regarded it as a
certain indication of genius, and felt as
sured, in. their own minds, that their boy
would make his mark on the age.
When no more than eight years old,
Jerry began playing the spy on the good
people of Hllsboro' and as be grew old
er, he followed his avocation with zeal and
perseverance. lie could not have slept
easy in his bed, had he known that any
thing had been done in town of which he
was not cognizant
He could report with mathematical ex-
actness the exact number of times a week
that the Jackson's had fish, the Davies
fresh meat, the Stones greens, the brakes
custards. The Widow Granger never
carried home a spool of cotton, or new
apron, without Jerry's knowledge-and old
Mrs. Blakely never bought a quarter of
tea, but Jerry could have told the kind
and the price.
1t really seemed, sometimes, as if the
fellow was omnipotent.
AS for the affairs Of the young people,
Jerry knew them all by heart Not a
young man in the place had turned an
oblique glance at any particular girl, with
out Jerry's notice. He knew all about
the hand squeezings during the moonlight
walks-the soft nothings repeated at the
gate-and the clandestinc interviews,
when papa was opposed to "dear William.
In fact, Jerry knew all about the doings
in Hlllsboro' and some things came to
his knowledge that never came to the
knowledge ofany one else.
He might have made his everlasting for
tune and fame as detective officer, if he
had only turned his talents that way. No
criminal, however shrewd, could have es-
capped the unvarying watchfulness of our
hero. Hilsboro' was noted, far and near,
for the extra morality of its inhabitants,
and the reason was found in the fact that
Jerry Walpole was constantly with them.
They could not commit an indiscretion, il
they wanted to.
Jerry's chamber was in wing Of the
house, and had windows on three sides ;
these windows were hung with buff cur
tains, kept always drawn; but through
.curtains was circular hole about the size
of a dime legitimate peep holes; and
through these Jerry took his observations
1t must not be expected that the Hills
bcrites took this constant surveillance
'coolly; on the contrary, they were impa-
tient under the restraint, but it was no
use to "kick over the tIaces,'
Once, old Crptain Bodge undertook to
swap horses, and get the new animal home
without Jerry's knowledge, and in order
to make assurance doubly sure, he did not
not boing his horse home until midnight.
When he reached thu barnyard gate to
take his new acquisition to the barn, Jer-
~ was sitting on the gate post, and hailed
| the captain with
"Hello, Captain ! Got fine nagthere
Paid twenty dollars boot tween him and
old White foot, understand ?"
The captain gave up beat, and confded
to Jerry the full particulars of the trade,
all of which the indefatigable Jerry had
known before.
One summer a new "happening" dis
turbed the equaninity of Hillsboro' -
Miss Sylvania Croker, the most perverse
old maid in the place, had beau! Eve
rybody was surprised, for Sylvania had,
time and again, been heard to declare that
she would scald the first man that came
in her house for the purpose of courting
her! But two months had passed since
Daniel Clay, the carpenter, had first walk
ed home with ber from evening meeting,
and as he still went about with a whole
skin, it is to be concluded that Sylvania
did not perform her VOW.
Naturally enough. Jerry took a great
interest in the courtship of Mr.. Clay. A
fine fellow Clay was-only one falling
he was so superstitious that he was afraid
of his own shadow, if he saw it within a
mile of graveyard. We all have our
weaknesses, you know.
There wss one serious obstacle in the
way of Jerry's finding out all that he de-
sired about the doings of Daniel and Syl-
| vania, and that was-Sylvania's sitting
room windows had shutters, instead OF
curtains, and these shutters were always
drawn when Daniel was present. Jerry
was not tall enough to look over the tops
of them, and he hardly dared to bring the
ladder from the wood-shed, lest he should
arouse the confding pair, and bring down
vengeance upon his own head.
Daniels visitinglnights were Thursdays
and SUNDAYS, and Jerry always lay prone
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