Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1873-08-21
Misftllantous.
Taylor's Boy.
DOWN THE WELL.

DOWN The WELL.
Taylor's boy is a white boy. He is
rather large for his age, which numbers
the best part of ten summers and nine
winters, for he stands on his two naked
feet amid the briars and rocks Of Penn
sylvania nigh unto five feet high. And
rather old for his age is Taylor's boy,
for he knows how to unhang gates,
iasten tin kettles to dogs tails and
suck eggs better, more securely and
more expedItiously than any bov in
thls-thc stump-speakcrs' broad land
Taylor's boys figure is like unto
long stick split at one end and thrust
into short pair of trousers. Taylor's
boy > father says the cotton factories
running on short time can't make cloth
fast enough 10 keep his boy ia trousers
The truth Of which assertion Is plainly
apparent 10 any one from even eur
sorry inspection Of Taylor's boys trous-
ers. which, on week days, reach ius,
below his knees and If he hath sun
day trousers Of longer pattern, Tay-
lors boy never wears them. Taylors !
boy 5 entire wardrobe seems To consist
OF one pair of trousers, one pair Of
leather suspenders and one straw hat.
Iaylor's boy wears the crown Of his
straw hat on the back OF his heal the
front part Of the brim, which is de-
tached from the rest Of his hat, usual
iy rests on Taylor's bows nose. Tay-
lor's boy takes his observations through
the opening between the crown and
the brim. Taylor's boys head i
shaped like the heads Of the Aztec
children, who used TO exhibit in the
side shows OF the moral circus-it runs
rather conspicuously in the rear Pete
Johnslng. as his mother calls him, Is 4
colored boy. Pete is rather small for
MS age, which is all the way from one
year 70 five. just as Mrs Johnsing hap
pens to reco!lect it. Pete is lust about
the size Of q hand-organ monkey.
fete IS rather young for his years, IN
sophisticated, and innocent like. Pete
spends most of his time catching at
the hind part Of wagons, PLAYING in
sand puddles in the road, and ia climb
ing spouts. The agility with which
Pete Will mount the smoothest spout
makes me think of Darwin. Like
Iaylor's boy, Pete runs great dea! to
trousers but Pete's trousers are as
much too large as Taylor's BOYS trou-
sers are too small. The average of
trousers between them is all right, but
the individual fit is awful. Pete's trou.
sers reach up to his neck, and trail ten
or twelve inches in the rear. pete's
mother is economical in hat Pete has
no hat excepting his hair. A few DAYS
since, while | was drowning out the
dyspepsia with the sweat of my brow
IN my fathers garden, Taylor's boy
leaped over the wall like a Young
giraffe, and wished to know if | would
allow him to pick some of the raspber-
ries. As Taylor's boy looked as if
rAspberries would help him some, |
consented. Soon after, Pete Johnsing
came over and made the same request
and, as | am not the man to make any
invidious distinctions on account of
color as to another mans raspberres,
| consented to Pete's picking. In my
fathers garden there is large cistern,
used to catch rain-water for carriage
washing and vegetable invigoration.
Near the opening in the top of the els
tern-said aperture being about four
feet square-a box is usually kept,
ostensibly to cover the opening, but
really to enable any night trespasser
to trip over the same, with lively
chance of pitching into the cistern
and there have been for two years past
lying near the cisteTn the relics of
pump-one Of these patent pumps
which won't pump and never would,
such as lunatics invent and disingenu-
GUS pump-pedlers beguile honest folk
with. When they had eaten their fill
of raspberries, Taylor's boy suggest
ed that they have circus. And, with
out consulting me, Taylor's boy select
ed the top Of the cistern, near the box
and patent pump, as suitable place
for his gymnastic performances. 1t is
proper for me to state in this connec-
ton that, knowing something of Tay-
lors boys idiosyncrasy for getting kit
tens and colored boys into trouble,
should have selected some other place
had l been consulted. But, as | have
remarked, was not consulted. Nor
had any idea there was circus ex-
hibiting in the neighborhood until l
was startled by the loud shouting Of
Taylors boy-"Nigger in the we'll
nigger in the WELL" TaylOr's boys
presence Of mind did not desert him.