The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1873-09-04
TAYLOR'S BOY.
Down the ell.

Taylor's boy is white boy. lie 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 brims 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, fas-
ten tin kettles to dogs tails and suck
eggs better, more securely and more eX-
peditiously than any boy in this-the
stump-speakers broad land. Taylors
BOYS figure is like unto long stick split
at one end and thrust into short pair OF
trousers. Taylors boys father says the
cotton factories running on short time
can't make cloth fast enough to kecphls
boy in trousers. The truth Of which as
sertion is plainly apparent to any one
from even cursory inspection OF lay
lor's boys trousers, which, ON week days,
reach lust below hisknees andif hehoth
Sunday trousers Of longer pattern,
Tavlor's boy never wears them. Tay-
lor's boys entire wardrobe seems to con
sist of one pair of trousers, one par OF
leather suspendcrs and one straw hat.
Taylor's boy wears the crownof his straw
hat on the back of his head; the front
part of the brim, which is detached from
the rest of his hat, usually rests on lay
lor'a boys nose. Taylor's boy takes his
observations through the opening be-
tween the crown and the brim. lay
lors boys head is shaped like the heads
of the Aztec children, who used to eX-
hibit in the side shows of the moral CIR
Gus, it runs rather conspicuously IN the
rear Pete Johnsing, as his mother calls
him, is a colored boy. Pete is rather
small for his age, which is all the way
from one year to five, just as Mrs. John
sing happens to recollect it. Pete lsjuSC
about the size of hand-Organ monkey.
Pete is rather young for his years, I'M
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 III climbing
spouts. The agility with which Pete
will mount the smOothest spout makes
me think of Darwin. Like TayIor's boy,
Pete runs great deal to trousers; but
Pete's trousers are as much too large as
Taylor's boys trousers are too small.
The average OF trousers between them IS
nil right. but the individual fit is awful
Pete's trousers 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 dyspepsia with the sweat of my brow
in nv fathers garden, Taylor'sboy lopcd
over the wall like a young giraffe, and
wished to know if 1 would allow him to
pick some of the raspberries. AS lay
lor's boy looked as if raspbcrries would
help him some, / consented. Soon al
ter. 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
raspberries, consented to Pete's pick
ing. In my fathers garden there is a
large cistern, used to catch rain-wator
for carriage washing and vegetable in
yigoration. Near the opening intho top
OF the oistern, said aperture being about
four feet square, a box is usually Kept
ostensibly TO cover the opening, but real
ly to enable any night trespasser to trip
over the same, with lively chance OF
pitchino into the cistern and there have
been for two years past lying near the
cistern the relics Of a pump, one OF those
patent pumps which won't pump and
never would, such as lunatics III
vent and disingcnuous pulnp-peuulerS
beguile honest folk with. When they
had eaten their fill of raspberries, Tay-
lors boy suggested that they haye a cir
Gus. And, without consulting Inc, Tay-
lor's boy selected the top of the clstern,
near the box and patentpump, as suit
able place for his gymnastic perfor-
mances. It is proper for me to state IN
This connection that, knowing something
nf T""i--'