The Portland daily press., 1873-02-24
,ERMs $500 PER ANNUM IN ADVANCE.
ssMelOns.,' y

In Bret Harte's last volume entitled "Mrs.
Skaggs's Husbands, and Other Sketches b
clever description of youth called Melons
From it we make brief extract: . q,
His age was about seven. III looked older,
rom the venerable whiteness OF his head,
and it was impossible to conjecture his size,
as ne always wore clothes apparently belong
ing 10 some shapely youth of nineteen. A
par OF pantaloons, that, when sustained by
single suspender, completely equipped him,
formed his everyday suit. How, with this
lavish supertluity OF clothing, he managed to
perform the surprising gymnastic feats it has
been my privilege to witnes have never
been able to tell His "turning the crab"
attended with success. 1t was not an unusu-
al sight at any hour of the day to find Melons
suspended on line, or to see his venerable
head appearing above the roofs OF the out
houses. Melons knew the exact h9ight OF ev-
cry fence in the vicinity, its facilities Tor seal
ing, and the possibility OF seizure on tue otn-
er side. His more peaceful and qplete.
amusements consisted in dragging disused
boiler by large string, Win Mucous ou.yIles' ,
Gus in his habits. A few youths OF his ago
sometimes called upon him, but they eventu-
ally became abusive, and their visits were
more strictly predatory incursions for old bot
tIes and iunk. which formed the staple OF NC
Ginnis's Court Overcome BY loneliness one
day, Melons invegled blind harper into the
Court. For two hours did tnat wretcned
man prosecute his unhallowed caiiinS, unIe-
compeused, and going round and round tne
court, apparently under the impression that
it was some other place, while Melons
surveyed him from an adloiEIng
fence with calm satisfaction. N was
TINS absence of conscientious b motives
that brought Melons into disrepute with his
aristocratIc neighbors. Orders were issued
that no child OF wealthy and pious parent
| age should play with him. This mandate, as
matter of course, invested Melons with
fascinating interest to them. Admiring
glanees were cast at Melons from nursery
| windows. Baby fingers beckoned to him.
Invitations to tea ION wood and pewter)
were lisped to him from aristocratic back
| yards. IL was evident he was looked upon
as pure and noble being, untrimmelled by
| the conventionalites of parentage, and ply
sically as well as mentally exalted above
| them. One afternoon an unusual commo-
| tion prevailed in the vicinity of McGinnis's
| Court. Looking from my window, saw
Melons perched on the roof of stable, pull
| ing up rope by which one 'Tommy," an
| infant scion Of an adjacent and wealthy
house, was suspended in mid-air. In vain
the female relatives of Tommy, congregated
III tnc DstCh ytIus tApootuidtcu Will 4AOiVfASs 3
| in vain tue unhappy father shook his fist at
him. Secure in his position, Melons re-
doubled his exertions, and at last landed
Tommy on the roof Then it was that the
humiiating fac was disclosed that Tommy
had been acting in collision with Melons.
he grinned delightfully."- back at his parents,
as if''by merit yaised to that bad eminence:"
Long before the l,dder arrived that was To-
succor him, he became the swoila W ;al1El ok2l-s
aulacious boy, ''chafed' his own flesh and
blood below him. He was subsequently taken
though-of ccurse-Meluns escaped But
Tommy was restricted to the window after
that, and tie eompanionship was Limited to
Hi, MelonsI' aud 'sYou, Tommyr' and
Melons, to all practical purposes, lost him for
ever. / looked atterward to see some signs
of sorrow on Melons part, but in vain he
buried his grief, If he had any, somewhere in
his one voluminous garment. 1i-afs .