The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1873-05-14
4 View saSabianra-

New saSabianra-
The man looked at his boy proud
". sternlv, sorrowfully. The lad
looked into his fathers face sadly. ex-
ultingly, heroically. II was living
tableau no artist could reproduce
Billy" said the father, graveIv. Il
took your mother and sister to church
Yesterday" Yes, sir" And left
you TO see to the things" Yes, sir, ="
replied the boy. gazing out through
the window at the flicker as it hitch
ed down the gatepost, and finally
dropped into the grass with shriIl
chirp. And YOU didn't water the
pigs ," 600, Oh, sir, Geeroodv /,
Oh, me Lawsy, lawsy me p The
slender scion of an apple tree rose
and fell in the hand of Mr.. Coulter,
and up from the jacket of the lad,
Ike incense from an alter, rose q cloud
Of dust, mingled with the nap of
jeans Down in the young clover Of
the meadow the lark and sparrows
sang cheerily, the gnats and flies
danced up and down In the sunshine.
the fresh soft winds of the vines rus
tied, and all was merry indeed. Bill
ly's eyes turned up towards the face
Of h father in appealing agony, but
still with sharp hiss the switch cut
the q failing steadily and mercilessly
on his shoulders.
And along the green banks of the
river the willows shook their shiny
fingers at the lifting fog, and the
voices Of children going by TO school
smote the sweet Nav wind. "Oh,
pap, III not forget tie pigs no more J"
"'SPect YOU won't, neither The
wind, by sudden puff, lifted into
the room a shower of white bloom
petals from a sweet apple tree, letting
them fall gracefully upon the patch
work carpet, the while a ploughman
whistled plaintively in distant field.
Dutch Crackee," oh. pap, pap
Shut your mouth, RI I'll split YOU TO
the backbone" How many delight
ful places in the woods. how many
cool spots beside the murmuring riv-
er, would have been more pleasant
to Billy than the place he then occu-
pied ~Oh, me! oh, me :" yelled the
lad Still the dust rose and danced
in the slanting jet Of sunlight that fell
across the room, and the hens out at
the barn cackled and sang for joy
over new eggs laid in choice places.
At one time during the falling of
the rod the girl quit washing, and
thrusting her head into the kitchen,
said in a subdued tone, NY land,
amt Bill getting an awful one ?"
You're mighty right" replied the
mother. solemnlv. Along towards
the last Mr.. Coulter tiptoed at every
stroke. The switch actually screamed
through the air as it fell Billy dane
ed Now 90. SIR" cried the man,
tossing the frizzled stump of the CAD
out of the window. Go now. and
the next time YOU water them pigs"
And, while the finch poured out a
cataract of melody from the locust,
he went. Poor boy, that was a ter
rible thrashing, and, to make it worse.
it had been promised to him the even
ing before, 50 that he had been dread
ing it aud shivering over it all night
Now. as he walked through the
breakfast-room, his sister looked at
him in a commisserating way, button
passing through the kitchen, he could
not catch the eve Of his mother. FL
nally he stood in the free, open air, in
front OF the saddle closet Il was
just then a speckled rooster on the
barn-yard fence Topped his wings and
crowed vociferously.
4 turkey-eock was strutting upon
the grass by the old cherry tree. Bill
" opened the door of the closets. a
BOYS viii is the winds will, and the
thoughts of youth are long. long
thoughts Billy peeped into the
closet, and then east glance about
him, as if to see if anything was
near. At length, during pleasant
lull in the morning wind, and while
the low, tenderly mellow flow Of the
river was distinctly audible, and the
song of the fnchincreased in volume,
aud the bleating of new lambs in the
meadow died in futtering echoes un-
der the barn, and while the fragrance
of apple-blooms grew fainter and
while the sun, now flaming just above
the eastern tree-tops, launched a
shower over him from head to foot,
he took from under his jacket behind
a double sheep-skin, which, with an
inelfable smile he tossed into the clos
ct. Then, as the yellow flicker rose
radidlv from the grass, Billy walked
of, whistling the air of that once pop
ular ballad: