Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1874-01-30

when he got cutup at Peters Bal
lic-him and that school-marm a
helpin' him." Aye, we found We
disliked him-bcause he liked
her.
We found that with perfect har.
mony of soul these hearts had met
and mingled.
We are alone. Rev. Milton
May won "Miss Grey, of Sandy
Gulch."
a Being a Boy.
If 1 was obliged to be boy and
a boy in the country-the best kind
Of a boy to be in summer would
be about ten years of age. AS soon
as l got any older, l would quit it.
The trouble with boy is that as
soon as he gets old enough to enjoy
himself he is too old, and has to be
set to doing something else. Ii q
country boy were wise lhe would
stay at just that age when>he could
enjoy himself most and Nave the
least expected offiim in the way OF
work.
OF course the perfectly good boy
will always prefer to work and do
the "chores" for his father and err
rands for his mother and sisters
rather than to enjoy himself in his
own way. | never saw but one
such boy. He lived in the town of
Goshen-not the place where the
butter is made, but much better
Goshen than that. And | never saw
him, but l heard OF him; and being
about the same age, as l supposed,
/ was once taken from Zoah, where
l lived, to Goshen to see him. But
he was dead. He had been deaf al
most year, SO that it was impossi-
bic to see han. He died from the
most singular disease; it was from
not eating green apples in the sea
son of them. This boy, whose name
was Solomon, before he died, would
rather split up kindling wood for
his mother than 60 a hunting-the
consequence was that he was kept
splitting kindling wood and such
work most OF the time, and grew
a better and more useful boy day by
day. Solomon would not disobey
his parents and eat green apples
not even when they were ripe
enough to knock off with stick
but he had such q longing for them,
probably; so that his example Is
very ii l.iiicuIt to follow. In fact a
boy is hard subject to get moral
subject from anyway. All his little
playmates who ate green apples
came to Solomon's funeral, and
were very sorry for what they had
done.
John was very different boy
from Solomon, not half so good
nor half so dead. He was n farm
er's boy, as Solomon was, but he
did not take SO much interest IN the
farm. If John could have had his
way he would have discovered a
cave full of diamonds, and lots of
nail kegs full of gold pieces and
Spanish dollars, with a pretty little
giN who lived in the cave, and two
beautifully caparisoned horses, upon
which. taking the jewels and mon
ey, they would have ridden off to-
gelhcr, he did not know where.
John had got thus far in his studies,
which were apparently arithmetic
and geography, but were in reality
the "Arabian Nights" and other
books of high and mighty adyen-
ture. He was simple country boy,
and did not know much about the
world as it is. but he had one of his
own Imagination, in which lie lived
a great deal. dare say he found
out soon enough what the world is,
and he had lesson or two when he
was quite young in two incidents,
which may as well relate.
If you had seen John at this time
you might have thought he was only
shabbily dressed country lad, and
ycu never would have guessed what
beautiful thoughts he sometimes
had as he went slubbing Ais toes
along the dusty road, nor what a
chivalrous little fellow he was.
You would have seen a short boy,
barefooted, with trousers at once
too big and. too short, held up per-
haps by one suspender only, a
checked cotton shirt, and a hat Of
braided palm leaf, trayed at the
edges and bulged up in the crown.
1t is impossible TO keep hat neat
if you use it to catch bumble-bces
and whisk 'em; to bail the water
from leaky boat; to catch minnows
in; to put over honey-bees' nests,
and to transport pebbles, strawber
ries and hens eggs. John usually
carried a sling in his hand, or a
bow, or timber stick, sharp at one
end, from which be could sling APP
pies at great distance. If he
walked in the road he wa ked in the
middle of it, scufling up the dust;
or if he went elsewhere, be was
likely to be running on top of the
fence or stone wall, or chasing chip
tsr
John knew the best place to dig
sweet-fag on all the farm; it was in
a meadow by the river, where the
bobolinks sang SO gaily. He never
liked to hear the bobolink sing,
for he said it always re-
him OF the whetting Of a
scythe, and that reminded him of
spreading hay: and if there was
he hated it was spreading
hay after the mowers. 81 guess you
like it YOURSELF" said John,
with the stubs getting into your
feet, and the hot sun, and the men
getting ahead of you, all You could
do" 49,.
Towards evening, once, John was,
coming along the road home with
some stalks OF sweet-flag in his
hand; there is succulent pith in
the end OF the stock which is very
good to cat, tender and not so strong
IS the root; and John liked to pull
n and oor~s, bon,o ,,,Lot In 4, .ot