Connecticut western news., 1873-05-02
MO-. 42.
A New Casabianca.

| The man looked at hls boy proudly sternly, sorrowfully. The lad looked into his fathers face sadly, exultingly, heroically. It was living tableau nc artist could reproduce. "Billy," said the father, gravely, "I took your moth CT 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 hitched down the gate post, and finally dropped into the grass with shrill chirp. "And you didn't water the pigs ?'' "O-o-ol Oh, sir Geeroody Oh, me Lawsy, lawsy me P The slender scion of an apple tree rose and fell in the hand of MT. Coulter, and up from the jacket of the lad, like incense from an altar, rose a 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 leaves of the vines rustled, and all was merry indeed. Billy's eyes turned up towards the face of his father in appeal ing agony, but still with sharp hiss the switch cut the air, falling steadily and mercilessly on his shoulders.
 And along the green banks of the river the willows shook their shiny fin gers at the lifting fog, and the voices of children going by to school smote the sweet May wind. ooh, pap, I'll not forget the pigs no more p '"Spect you won't, heather" The wind, by a sud den puff, lifted into the room a shower of white bloom petals from a sweet ap- pie tree, letting them fall gracefully upon the patchwork carpet, the while a ploughman whistled plaintively in 0 distant field. C Dutch Crackee! Oh, pap, pap p "Shut your mouth, IT I'll split you to the backbone" How many delightful places in the woods, how many cool spots beside the murmuring river, would have been more pleasant to Billy than the place he then occupied. "Oh, me oh, me P 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 Q gittin' an awful one?" "Youre mighty right" replied the mother, solemnly. Along towards the last MT. Coulter tip toed at every stroke. The switch ac- tually screamed through the air as it fell. Billy danced. "Now go, sir [" cried the man, tossing the frizzled stump of the gad out of the window. '" Go now, and the next time you water them pigs" And, while the finch poured out cataract of melody from the locust, he went. Poor boy that was terrible thrashing, and, to make 1t worse, 1t had been promised to him the evening before, so that he had been dreading it and shivering over it all night. Now, as he walked through the breakfast-room, his sister looked at him in a commisserating way, but, on pass ing through the kitchen, he could not catch the eye of his mother. Finally he stood in the free, open air, in front of the saddle closet. It was just then a speckled rooster on the barn-yard fence Topped his wings and crowed vociferously.
 A turkey-cock was strutting upon the grass by the old cherry tree. Billy opened the door of the closets. "A boys will is the winds will, and the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts" Billypeeped into the closet, and then cast glance about him, as if to see if anything was near. At length, during pleasant Hull in the morning wind, and while the low, tenderly mellow flow of the river was distinctly audible, and the song of the finch increased in volume, and the bleating of new lambs in the meadow died in futtering echoes under 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 doub le sheep-skin, which, with an inefable smile, he tossed into the closet. Then, as the yellow flicker rose rapidly from the grass, Billy walked off, whistling the air of that once popular ballad:
 "Oh, give me back my fifteen cents"