St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1868-02-28
Jim WOJe's -4dCeHture.
By MARK TWAIN.

By MARK TWAIN.
knew by the sympathetic glow upon
his bald head knew by the thought
tul look upon his iace-I knew by the
emotional flush upon the strawberry on
the end of the old free lver'S nose, that
Simon Whecler's memory was busy with
the olden time. And 50 | prepared to
leave, because all these were symptoms
of reminiscence->ignst that ne was 90
ing TO be delivered of another of his tire
some personal experiences-bu l was
too slow; he got the start of me. As
nearly as | can recollect, the inficlion
was couched in the following terms:
"Wc was all boys then, and didn't
care for nothin' only how to >hirk school
and keep up Il revivin' state of devimcnt
talkin' about WAS the prentice, and he
was the best-hcartcd fellow, he was, and
the most forgivin and o.sclii>h ever
see-well, there couldn't be more bull
lier boy than what he was, take him
how you would, and sorry enough was
when | see him for the last time.
Me and Henry was always Fostering
him and plaStering hand-bills upon his
back and putting bumbebcc- in his bed,
and so on, and sometimes we'd crowd i'll
and bunk with him, notwithstanding his
growing. and then we'd let on To get
mad and fight across him 50 Il, to keep
him stirred up like. He was nineteen.
he was, and long and lank, and ba>i.tul.
and I'VE was fifteen AMI sixteen. and
tolerablv lazy and worthless.
$50 that night, you know, that my
sister Mary gave the candy puliin', they
started US off to bed early, go the compa-
ny could have full swing, and we run in
on Jim to have some fun
''Our window looked out onto the
roof of the ell, and about ten o'clock 4
couple of old tom cats got to rarin round
on 10 it and carryin' on like sin. There
was four inches of snow on the ruol, and
it was froze 50 that there WAS q right
smart crust of ice on it, and the moon
was shinin' bright. and we could see
them cats like daylight First they'd
stand off and e-yow-yow, Just the same as
it they was cus>in' one another. Won
know, bow up their backs, and swell
around and spit, and then all OF a sudden
the GRAY cat, he'd snatch handful Of
fur of, the yaller cats ham. and spin him
around like the button on barn door
But the waller cat was game. AMI he'd
come and clinch, and the way they ii
scratch and bite and howl, and the WAY
they'd make the fur fly was powerful
"Well, Jim he got di>gustel with the
row, and lowed he'd climb out there
and shake 'em otf'n that roof. He had
MT no notion of dom it, likely, but we
everlastingly doGged him and bullyraggcd
; him, and lowed how he ALWAYS Dragged
how he wouldn't take dare, and 80 on,
till bimeby he histed up the winder, and
10, and behold, out he wcnt-wcnt Just
as he was-nothin' on but Il shirt, and
; that was short l'ou ought to Il seen
him cre-e-pin' over that ice, and diggin'
his toe-nails and his tinger-nails in for to
; keep him from slippin'; and above all.
you ought to a seen that shirt a tappn'
in the wind, and them long ridiculous
shanks of his'n glistening in the moon
light.
'Them company folks was down there
under that 'ornery shed of dead Wash
l ington Bower vines-all settin' round
about two dozen sassers of hot candy.
which they sot in the snow to cool And
they was laughin' and talkin' lively, but
bless you, they didn't know nothin' about
the panorama that was goin' on over their
t heads. Well, Jim, he went sneakin'
up, unbeknownst to them tom cats-thev
i was 4 swishin' their tails and yow-yowin'
and threatenin TO clinch, YOU knew. and
not payin' any attention, he went Il
sne-akin' and sne-akin right up to the
Il comb of the roof, till he was i'll foot
D and half of 'em, and then all of a sud
den he made grab for the yallcr cat
But, by gosh, he missed fire and Slipped
his holt, and his heels flew up. and lie
L Topped on his back and shot oh'n that
, roof like 4 dart went a smashin down
= thro them old rusty vines, and headed
right in the dead centre of all them COM
y pany people ,-sot down like yeart
d quake in them two d zen sassers of red
i hot candy, and let off a howl that wa:
hark from the tomb. The girls-well,
a they left, you know. They see he warn'r
dressed for company, and SO they left,
y And done in second; it was just one
little war whoop, and a whisk of their
/ dresses, and blame the wench of 'em was
: in sight anywhere.
y "Jim, he was in sight. He was gorm.
> ed with the bilin' hot molasses, candy
clean down to his heels, and had more
/, busted sassers hangin' to him than if ht
u was Japan Princess-and he came /;
Is prancing up stairs just whcopin' and ;
n cussin, and every jump he give he shed
S some china, and every squirm he fetched
"a he dripped some candy.
sAnd blstered! Why, bless you
: soul! that poor creature couldn't reely
u set down comfortably for as much as fou
y weeks"
At The President has nominated Charlie
is Robinson of Vermont to be Consul a