St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1871-10-20

wake up lcr uutllul son on so interesting
4 theme as her treatment Of Hannah.
Ralph felt glad that he was this evening
TO go 10 another boarding place lie
should not hear the rest of the contro-
vcrSy.
Ralph walked to the school-housc with
Bill. They were friends again. For
when Hank Banta's ducking and his
dogged obstinacy in sitting in his wet
clothes had brought on a serious fever,
Ralph had called together the big boys,
and had said "We must take care OF
one another, boys. Who will volunteer
TO take turns sitting up with Henry ?''
lie put his own name down and all the
rest followed.
William Means and myself will sit
up tonight" said Ralph. And poor
Bill had been from that moment the
teachers friend. lie was chosen to be
the teachers companion. He was Pup
py Means no longer! Hank could not
be conquered by kindness, and the teach
er was made TO feel the bitterness OF his
resentment long after, as we shall find.
placated, and lie and Ralph went to
spelling school together.
Every family furnished candle
There were yellow dips and white dips,
burning, smoking, and tlaring. There
was laughing, and talking, and giggling,
;,nd simpering, and ogling, and flirting,
and counting. What dress party is TO
Fifth avenue, spelling school is 10
lloopole County. 1t is an occasion
which is metaphoricaly inscribed with
this legend, Choose your partners. ="
Spelling is only blind in Ioopolc
County, as is dancing OH Fifth Avenue.
But rs there are some i'll society who
dance for It's own sake, So in Flat Creek
district there were those who loved TO
spell tOr lis own sake, and who, smelling
the battle from aiar, had come to try
their hands in this tournament, hoping
10 trcshen the laurclS they had won in
their school-days.
" low" said MIR. Means, speaking
as the principal school trustee, II low,
our friend the Squire is jest the man to
boss tins ere consarn Tonight. Ef no
body Objects, I'll appint him. Come,
Square, don't be bahslul. Walk up to
the trough, fodder or no fodder, as the
man sald 10 his donkey
There WAS Il general giYgle at this,
and many OF the young SWANS took
occasion 10 nudge the girls alongside
them, o>ten>Ibly for the purpose OF max
Ing them see the Joke, but really Tor the
pure pIca>ur. Of nudgina. The Greeks
figured Cupid as naked, probably because
hc wears 50 many di-gul>e~ that lh
could not select a costume for him
The Squire came t. the front. Ralph
made an inventory OF the a""lomrratron
which bore the name # SI"Irc IlIm kins,
as follows:
l. \ swallow-tail coat OF Indefinite
aye, WON only on state occasions when
lis owner was called to figure i'll his pub
lie capacity. Either the Squire had
crown too large or the coat too small
,. y pair of black gloves, the most
phenomenal. abnormal, and unexpected
apparition conceivable in Flat Creek
district, where the preachers wore no
coats in the summer, and where a black
nlovc was never seen except on the hands
of the Squire.
;. y wiz Of that dirty, waNy color 50
common TO wigs. This one showed 4
continual inclination TO slip off the own
cr's smooth, lald pate, ard the Squire
had frequently TO adjust it. As his hair
had been red, the wig did not accord
with his face, and the hair ungraycd was
sadly di>ycrLant with face shrirclcd hy
| aye.
/ /. \ scmicircular row of whiskcrs
hedging the edge Of the jaw and chin.
These We're dyed Il iriahtiul dead black,
such as no natural hair or beard ever
had. At the roots there was quarter
of an inch Of white. giving the whlSkcrS
the appearance of being stuck on.
>. y pair of spectaclc:, ''with tor
toi>c shell rim" ILcIincd to slip off.
&. A glass eye, purchased of Il ped
dlcr. and differing i'll color from its nat
ural mate, perpctually inclined 10 get
out of focus by turning in or out.
:. \ set OF false teeth, badly fitted,
and given TO bobbing up and down.
9. Inc Squire proper, to whom these
patches were loosely attached.
1t is an old story that Toy wrote
home TO his father begging him to come
West, because "mighty mean men got
i'll office out here" But Ralph concud-
ed that some Yankees had taught school
in lloopole County who would not have
held il high place in the educational in
stitutions Of Massachusetts,. Hawkins
had some New England idioms. but they
were well overlaid 10y a Western pro-
nunciaiion.
''Ladies and gentlemen" he began,
showing up his spectaclcs, and sucking
his lips over his white teeth to keep
them in place, ''ladics and gentlemen,
young men and maidens, ralcy, I'm
oblec2ed to Mr.. Means fer this honor
and the Squire took both hands and
turned the top of his head round several
inches. Then he adjusted his spcctacles.
Whether he was obliged TO Mr.. Means
for the honor Of being compared 10 a
donkey, was not clear. Il feel in the
inmost compartments of my animal
spirits a most happilying sense of the
success and futility of all my endeavors
10 sarvc the people of Flat Crick dee
strlck, and the people Of Tomklns town
ship, in my weak way and manner -
This burst of eloquencc WIS delivered
with constrained and an apparent
sense of IL danger that he, Squire Hawk
ins, might fall to pieces III his weak way
and manner, and of the success and fu-
tility (cspecially the latter) of all at