Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1874-03-20

s,restWrone to his reward 1t was in that
scbool-house | used to sit upon the low
seat and look up with such reverent, not 10
saw adoring, regard to the big girls Zone
Sarah Daniels in PARTICULAR who sat upon
the back seat. 1t was there-shall whls-
per it ?-the growing boy first learned TO
copiugate the verb 'Tc Love" in some OF
its, simpler forms and EARLIER infections.
Hasn't every school-boy his sweetheart
and didn't this one, "all unbeknown to
any," set down her name in his copy-book;.
and carefully marx the number OF
times she as well as himself had stood
stood at 1.-THE head of her class? How
beautiful, tender, innocent, holy, the senti-
ment of childhood And woe to that man
who has passed through that period ana
hasnever known what De Quincy called tine
''ecstacy incident to the dawning OF woman
hood, in all her total pomp OF loneliness,
like some vast Aurora, on the mlna.
And then there were the school-ma ans.
In bright array they all stand Il always
seemed to be sort of iayorite with them) IN
memory's holy shrine. There was the beau,
tiful Amanda L., the eccentric ana
romping Della C., and the motherly ana
sanity Esther c., who subsequently De-
came the wife of one Of the leading citizens
of Sheburne. | had the pleasure oil meet
ing her but few wears ago, and oil deuicat-
ing to her, as the one who taught me 10
read, and who presented to me the irst copy
of the New Testament Il remember now
lust how it looked) ! ever owned, my
first considerable or elaborate literary per
formonce. Low tenderly she cherished her
i;.tic as Was one tired or sick, he might
lo, III. lead IN her lap. Did thunder
I'm, r,,,,.e mr. She suffered us to flock
.,r.,,t.d Ter a. the mother hen takes her
i.-,,,,J under her wings Noble and Chris
tiau t.,,,Lerl And then there were the
school masters MIR. SandbOrn, who taught
me- ru\ first defamation, Mr.. Forbes. long
oC lliu--hurgh, hut now almost a neighbor
ni H.. wriUr. of birmingham, Mass, who
first laugh; ne English grammar, Mr.
Ouin-,,y. " hn first taught me the logic OF
natlr,natir-. Mr. Lsur4worthy. who was
quite ghuye paying any attention TO US
liulc t,.k,, and Mr. JoI I. Benedict, one of
the n,,~t Imperial Of men and rigorous OF
di-cirI iuariau-. Aud then there were those
ialnra~ ~prIiIus-~rloul-
Tuu. would iai ne 10 mention all the
rr.uirci.t or representative characters OF
Da~..i 4 Get ut the past generation. Old
F,t,cr ~as.dun. tiirrc Of whose sons, llar-
pi.r. Nn,uuu-a most noble-looking young
llan-aud Edgar, eedate and piOus
,nuth. - h,-, Nri.l voice used to
lead ll., ~in.lr1 III tause prayermeetings
of -t,. a'tcu tine. preceded him to the other
world. leaving besides two worthy sisters,
cu.urtd Aii-.u. the sturdy George, and
the r.l:r recently departed Cornelius Asa
>lnrum vr..-r SOUS George. Asa and Noble
tt'-c fist alone surN Ning) were truly as
Noble and cxein plary Young men as BurlinC-
ton ever produced. LOYAL : S,rague. whose
son Ira in was the iir>, c,.iil ever saw bap-
tied. the same cerapclN taking place in
the le-try oi tie White Street CongrcGa-
ti0nal Church ard uud r whose auspices,
l. With otlc-~. went ul NV first Sunday
School excursion, Tie same being steam
boat riue un the Old Nv irOnski, to Plat;s-
hureh and lack: Alh,fJ ChitteLden. who
had one Il tl.r mo-i dcGje and intelligent
minds. and hose huu4r vas as genial. as
his il,-i~ were bright. ari hi- virtue ster-
ling pc!ciah liul6U,'G. whose son VIII
liam was most acco'rl .5-htd school Ste-
and whose son Luciu- has 5nne a. mary
honest harl days work a~ sly other living
man: Joseph osnh1rn, IT, kird and accom-
moiating a ucighher a. crc need ever have,
whose children were my constant play
mates. and whose death cast d deep shadow
DNtl NY AAA4l ttAN VISA " 90 \ A'f 10y tlai
nativr-hoTn gentleman. au! whose wide
awake boys. and radiant, roilieking sing
ing daughters (hi~ Wis notably a singing
familN). made up glorious company :;
Mason Gresham the ruurtly. the urbane !:
JOHN Bar~tov. bluff, hearty, kind, strong
minded. Whu-c sop George. uow a resident
OF the " ct, Is - nan of fine culture and Of
great b,auty sd character. Lafayette j.
every inch a man, and lleman, now
gone, was one ol the most generous, guile
less and onioyahc of my playmateS the
clerical or Qaaker-lile looking Eleazer
Stewart and the rauiaTchal Elisha Drew.
These men, rrmaIkAr.c flr the most part
for their virtue. pltrist.~m, Intelligence and
Puritanical strength d character, can, in
this connection, only be- named. But |
seriously question, hc-lcr before or since.
that, or. in iac;. ANY other district in town.
ever afforded - grand an array of strong
and Influential families Let this he stated
and remembered - the eternal honor of
the Dorset street that was: During all the
years Of my childhood and youth. scarce
ever heard. either among SchoOl-boys or
Others, q prQtdEe or a rulydr ic0rd. or
what other ncighbarhacd can anything like
this well be said? TO leave our district, as
sometimes temporarily used to DO, for the
sake of attending some noighboring school
for few weeks, and 20 into some adjacent
one. sometimes seemed. | remember, like
passing from the pale of Christian ciyiliza-
ton into the region of the shadow of death
into a district of goddess heathenism.
As golden as were the apples of the orchard
opposite the dear old red house that was my
boyhood's home, (riling through the street
a few years since in the aatumn, | stopped.
jumped over the stone wall Just where |
used to, and from the very bough where |
gathered them when boy, picked apples
that, for all the world, looked and tasted
just precisely as they did thirty-Gve years
ago), as green as grew the sod on my
father meadows. as mellow as was the sun
shine, and as genial as were the skies when
| was young. 50 golden, 50 green, 50 genial
are my memories OF those grand men and
women, those royal boys and girls, who con-
stituted my neighbors and pay-fellows in
the long ago, but the most OF whom have
long since taken Up their chambers in the
silent halls Of death. R. Il. H.