The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1874-04-28

con, If foolish looking, half moon face
that never rose or set,had not been paint.
ed on its face. Out of the kitchen
opened the csndle-closet, and the sink
room, which was huge dark wellroom
that never had a ray of sunlight, its only
window looking toward the north as if
searching for cold. The doors Of the
kitchen were curiosites, and no two alike
that on the south large and easy, that
on the north sagged on its hinges and shut
with a harsh noise the dining.room door
shut with cackle, and was always un-
latching itself the door next to it, sell
dom used. seemed stately and aristocrat.
ic; the cellar door was gloomy and
mysterious.
All, yes down those cellar stairs we
have gone thousand times, to draw
cider, to pick over apples, to sort potatoes
and turnips, to boil potatoes and turnips
for the pigs, in a new-fangled kettle set
Also down those stairs we have gone
hundred times, to play hidc.and-seek, to
get hatsiull of apples, to hide away from
the folks up stairs who 'wanted" us, TO
explore holes, with Charles behind to
keep up our courage, in the fear Of seeing
great fiery cats eyes in some bin, or be-
hind some barrel in some corner Of the
very darkest dark The cellar was under
the whole house, very roomy,snd without
windows except on the south. These
were quite large and above ground; aud
as the cellar behind and the warm sun
before kept them glowing, spiders lived
there all summer eating flies, and all win
ter eating each other, with now and then
hard.shell bug as digestant. Also, berc
it was that VIC fell Our tender mouth
had often uttered bad words. such as
"gosh !" 81 vum," "goll darn it," 81
swan and even "by jink fews," but had
never sworn one of the regular and un-
doubted oaths. until one day, as the sun
shone warm, (how well we remember and
culver, we put our fore finger near to q
black spider, who, instead Of retreating
sprang forward and bit it. My guardian
angel must have been in the other part o!
the cellar, for was left to say--to say
-"--''-well, it would have beer
darn it," only there was an m in place
of the r. In a second would have Civ
eu worlds to have recalled the phrase
| expected an instant catastrophe. \
vague idea of the fate of Koran, Dathar
and Abiram came over me. rushed W
stairs, and got speedily by the side of my
mother, who Eas very pious woman, ,anc
| kept near her-all day, and was Sc
very good as to excite in her hope tina
| was being awakened to religious things
| never liked black spiders before and
have never liked them since
Poets, scholars, and artists are Otter
represented living in garrets, and a sat
thing it must be to live there But I
roomy garret, extending the breadth o
the roof, is n marvellous good place t.
plav in Here the children are ont o
sight, in perfect liberty. That must b'
an outrageous noise that could get dowr
to the lower floor. Here are are all man
ner of things TO play w;thboxes, chests
crippled bureaus cast of curtains. quee
old dresses, broken furniture, pans, FIRE
Tenders, andirons. screens, aud hundred
of other things for young folks to use il
building tects, and dressing up in cos
tune. In the garre;, too, the nuts ar,
stored, hickory-nuts, butternu.s, chest
nuts, hazel.nuts. Bushels of ounces ar
heaped up Through November, waiting tt
be preserved, Through the scut,le tn
boys could enjoy the forbidden pleasure
Of getting upon the rnnf. creeping dowl
to the cutters, straddling the ridgeboard
and, on the sly, firing nuts or pebbles a
the people passing below. The seem
changes My flesh creeps This garre
is also, sometimes Judgment hall
Naughty boys, who have laid up a lin
of petty transgressions till the sum tota
should be worthy Of general clearance
go whimpering and crying up these stair
with silent gentleman behind them trim
ming the leaves from ounce switch
i All what hatred of sin then visited til
young wretch | he had only felt, whe
tempted to truancy. or fbs, or stealin
doughnuts. or pulling sisters hair, o
"cutting up Jack" generally, as he doe
now, sin would have been prccipice u
which no temptation could have mad
him climb We have never seen a pape
analysis Of the mental state of the bo
vociierating repentance, dancing with cy
cessive nimbeness, seeking with one littl
hand to cover space ten times its size
and squirming in manner so supple n
would make an eel eDvous.
After a storm. calm What pleasau
DAYS followed reckoning Alas sine
the time when Pharaoh, on a lull c
trouble hardened his heart, boys hav
done likewise. 1t is true that the rod {
correction drives it far away from II boj
but it comes back without any driving
The great trouble is that we are bor
boys and not men. Every one has to b
hammered into proper shape GA the AT
| vii.
) But the barn lie that has not been
country boy, with great various barr
and innumerabe sheds, and "lean.to, q,
carriage houses, cribs, floors, huge door
, aud all sorts Of creatures in, around, an
under-horses, cattle, cows, calves, dove
, swallows, rats, mice. weasels, cats, dog
J hens, chickens, pigs, and sheep--has 10!
, an experience which no after educatio
can ever make up
, Did you ever stow away hay when tn
pitchers winked at each other-a hin. I
cover you up aud bury you? Did 70
ever play "coop" in a hay NOV aud cree
down in the corner and under the hay
Did you ever dig down and make bo
nest, with cracks in the boards for VIII
j., dows and air? Did you ever, as the mo
! by use sank lower, practice jumping frol
the great crossbeam, under the roof, an
= learn without danger, how it would fe
to fy1 Did you ever lie on your bacl
: in spring, and watch the swallows in an
out. building mud nests on the rafters
Did you ever watch the ways and doing