Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1871-08-11
Our Boy.

Willie has had eleven years experience of
life. and has been allowed 10 develop accord
inr 10 nature This good dame is said to be
b1unuful in her law of compensation, and
will probably bring to our boy some great
good later in life to compensate for the num-
herle-s ill- to which all boy flesh IS heir.
have adhered to the idea that much govern
mcut of youngsters is hurtful, unless they
happen 10 come of bad stock, and have
been content to lay no other burden upon
Willie than the prohibition Of lying, which
Is understood 10 be intlexible and eternal. Of
course. have 10 expostulatc ever and anon.
as some new and startling development Of
Lrusture is smanilested, but never had to
ulict punishment, and do not often adminis-
ter rerroof. paid him fifty cents in silver
some years ago, for his promise " not to shoot
o1 matches IN the house, and keep my pow
dcr-h8rn locked up. ! think he gr1aus IN
wardly under the sense Of the disability he
bought with that hall-d1lar. but nc adheres
To- the contract maniully. The powder-horn
was locked up because | found him on the
last national anniversary, behind the kitchen,
trying pyrotechnical experiments. lie had
distracted a cOal from the range, and was
pouring a steady stream of powder upon it.
The experiment failed because the coal was
extinct. There Is certainly special PrOyi-
dence hedging about a boys life. whatever
may be the truth Of the doctriae beyond the
aiolescent period.
spcntan entire day at home, recently,
and il being Saturday, Willie was at home
also. Ii occurred to me that a good oppor-
tunity was here presented to investigate tie
manners and customs OF the animal boy in
bis native state. lie had conquered HE
lesson on Friday night. / overheard him
reciting to himself his geographical studies,
which appeared TO be list of provinces in
llndostan lie covered the page with his
hand, while he sung ont his biography in
this fashion: " Scindc, Agimeer, Delhi,
Agra, AlIahahad, Dieksloo, All goslum,
lIulker, Pulker. Peelersgum, Francis.
In looking over the book aiterward, could
not find all those provinces set down. He
was equally accurate in his task on syntax,
making strange confusion with the rule and
the example. lie ratified the grammar lesson
Oh glibly, thus: "A word Is a verb, which
signifies to be. or to do OF To sufier-as
(cxampc) woman, duck, hen ?"
However, he went TO bed satisfied, and slept
the sleepof the just.
At breakfast, on Saturday, the young
gentleman appeared with his ordinary shin
ing morning face. | an not entirely salts
fed that the right adherence to our rule Of
matutinal ablutions is according to nature.
Willie goes through the ceremony every day.
but he has once or twice Vlaintiyely wished
that he were a horse, SO that he could be
q. cleaned of with a curry-comb, ike pony
Perhaps there is in BOYS a latent hydrophObia,
which, is checked and controlled by those
diurnal infections. Anyhow, the custom Is
time-honorcd, and DO not like to introduce
innovations, So Willie has to submit to the
daily securing. With carefully arranged
bair. POLISHED face. clean attire, our boy is
pretty well disguised when he appears at the
morning meal, but he grows into his normal
condition before the day Is old.
He commenced the days regular operations
by falling head foremost, down the main
staircase, starting with a pitcher Of water,
and reaching the bottom with the pitcher,
handle in hls grasp. lie turned over twice
OF thrice during the transit, striking his head
against the wall and balustradcs, with yio-
lence sufficient to brain half dozen men;
and when he got to the bottom howled dis
mally. lie was dried and c0mlorted q gave
him grccn-hack dollar, and promised him
new four-bladed knile), and think he was
good deal refreshed by the exercise. lie felt
that the day was begun. The fragments Of
the shattered crockery were gathered up, and
the innocent little darling WAS once more
turned loose upon the world. There were
two or three chronological developments On
the surface Of his cIanium, but no new mani
fcstations Of character. The organ Of benevO-
lence was very materially enlarged by the con-
tact with thick oaken balustcr, for | saw
him ten minutes later twisting the cats tail
till she sreezed and yelled hideously. She
escaped at last and took refuge in the cherry
tree. OF course, this could only be a tempo
rarv relief In half an hour she was stoned
ont, and fed across the yard and over the
fence, with her ordinary tail multiplied by
three, in diameter, and with Il back that
surpassed TIE most as founding Grecian bend
ever saw on Broad way.
From the window of my library is visible
the larger part Of Nillie's usual habitat, and
during tie day be furnished me many Oppor
tunties for investigating his habits. lie is
proprietor of the most extraordinary " dog
thar | have Yet encountered, and, in the
present condition Of the quadrupad, it would
be difficult to assign him his proper place in
the canine family. His cars have been seal
lopcd on one side, and cut into points on the
other. His caudal appendage has been
shortened to an inch Th.s curtailment was
Effected under Willie's directions, when
Sneek, that is, the dorg, was caught in the
act of egg-sucking Thus shorn Of his fair
Proportions, Sneek is still dog parts.
His master has taught him to 70 lame in one
leg, 70 sit up on one end and "beg, and to
haul his wagon about the yard. So, when |
heard the clatter Of Wilie's wagon under my
window, and bis stentorian orders to his
team, l pccpol through the blind to study
ms c.qupage. To my astonishment he was
ufNing double. Sneek was on the Off-side Of
~ T,e lole' and Pc. berkshire pig on the other.
lhey were harnessed with twine, eked out by
bi's ol Old brides for traces. 1t was evident,
III the Inst glance that the porker was not
wen broken. lie WAS halky a nd obstinate
anu liiie had his hands full The dorg-
morse was kind and gentle and wagged his
absurd stump Of tail vigorously. even while
sorely Ierpexed by the erratic course of his
match. | f0rosaw the catastrophe. which
came IN due time. Piggy boltod, threw him
sell and the vehicle clear Of Sneak, and gal
loped Oh to the stable, scattering the frag-
menu OF the wagon to the right and left. 1t
was regular srnashup.
At noon Willie came into luncheon The
regulations at this reIast only require clean
hands and face, and large liberty in the
matter of attire is granted. Our boys
habillments were somewhat the worse for
wear and tear, but his digestive powers were
unimpaiIed. The quantity Of bread and
butter, cold beef, and cake that he put out of
sight would have kept small family of adults
week. inquired into the results of the
runaway" expecting dolelul complaint
Of loss ; but Willie assured me that the dam
abe was ineonsiderable. ~ | got that wagon
last Christmas, pa he observed, land it
Was most broke anyhow" | then asked if
he was satisfied with the result of his attempt
to train piggy, and received reply in the
negative very promptly. ''lll fix piggy"
he remarked, after lunch" The young
gentleman did not seem at all Disconnected,
and felt that he might be safely left to his
own Resources.