Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1874-04-22
Taken at lis Word.


ut EtiztuEru srUARr PHELPS.

~ AtA'tf' NNfl. o % % .htfA AAfAftaA 90
Herds story.
There, gol aid and don't car,
If never see WI again '
am aImct an old man now, with my
grey hairs 30, rheumatism, and an objection
to draurhts so old that wear my rub.
ocrs iu dg, cold weather, and don't take
of a comhrter before May, aud don't e
out after jew-ial in the summer, and don't
think nuch about the church sociables and
whom ! shall take TO a lecture.
Yol can think how old that must be
But Oh as ! am, | remember Just how |
said tose words; where the accent fell
how ticy sounded how the wind caught
them aid blew them round the corners ol
The ho,sc; aud how they seemed to come
sr1uudaud knock on the windows, to be
let iu again, after had shut the door
Nothirt has happened to me in all my life
since thy were spoken that has helped in
the leai 10 make me forget them.
II may be only an old mans notion, but
sometm | am forced to wonder if any.
thing vii happen in the next life that can
make ~, forget IT,
Ther is this about q next worlds life,
girls ah boys; it is no fun, to my mind, to
carry thing on into it that you want to
forget and can't forget And we all know
how dr,ary anything is when there's no
fun init.
There was fun enough in what | have to
tell, at the first Of it. At least Trollo
thought so, l suppose Trollo was my
brother. lie was little chap, eight years
old. vas fourteen They had all gone
off and left Us alone in the house, aud
Troilo had plagued me half out my senses.
That's the way, you know, it seemed to me.
1t seemed TO him quite different, I've nc
doubt
This is bow it happened
My sister Mary lived in New Haven. That
was fifteen miles away. Mary's husband
had got into some trouble about money, and
father thought he would 90 on aud see
about it; aud Mary's baby was always
getting SICK, but they didn't often come
on poor Mary together At any rate ia.
ther and mother thought they would 90 on,
and as they would be gone only over the
second night, and because was fourteen
years old, and because Trollo said he would
be good, and because Keziah Phipps said
she would come over and do for us, and
stay nights, unless 1.-THE old man got his
back up, and because, on the whole, we
didn't very much care but thought it would
be rather nice, and that if Keziah Phipps'
old man should, by any providcntial acci.
dent, get his back up" we would make
molasses corn-hulls. with vanilla in thom,
we were left alone
1t was dark and cloudy, the day they
went away Mother said she was afraid it
was blowing up for a storm; but father
said he thought not. Aud be told me to be
sure and not let the fire 20 out, nor the
pigs 90 hungry, nor the horse 90 unblank.
sted aud mother kissed US both-but she
kissed rrollo twice-and told me to take
good care Of Trollo, and let the cat sit by
the FIRE aud then the stage ratified away
with them, and Trollo and stood looking
after it,
81 wish they'd come back tomorrow
don't you, Herod ?" said Trollo.
My name was Hurdley. But Trollo
used to call me Herod, just to see what |
would say and when he found | didn't say
anything, he called me so because he had
GOT into the way Of calling me so ; | didn't
much mind, but rather liked it, Only
when the boys laughed at it, or felt cross,
il used to seem an ugly name. But Trollo
bad a gentle, little, pleasant voice, and gem
orally liked the sound he gave it.
| said no, didn't wish they were COM
ing right back for was thinking about
the vanilla eorn-balls. And Trollo said
he didn't know as he did, either
But you're to be good, you know" "
said I.
felt very old and superior to Trolo,
and | rather liked it to feel that | could
order him around for two days.
IL hadn't said wasn't, had I?' said
Trollo, firing up to begin with
Then | fired up a little, and told him he
was to behave himself, at all events; and
that was the beginning of it. l thought
it would have been nicer in me
not TO have preached at him before he'd
had chance to behave one way or the
other. But I didn't think of it at the
time. Boys don't, you know,
So we both sulked little, and Trollo
went to school but when he'd come home
to dinner we'd got over it, or very nearly
We only quarreled about his piece of pie
He said it was bigger than mother let him
have. And We got out the foot-rule and a
and measured it off. Then
be ate it down in three mouthfuls, to pay
ne for that.
| didn't 90 to school myself | was to
stay and watch the house, aud look after
the horse, and so forth for it was only two
days, and could study at home, and such
a thing might never happen again. And
keziah Phipps came over aud got dinner
and went away again, and came again to
supper and stayed all night. Keziah
Phipps was our nearest neighbor; she
lived quarter Of mile away. Ours was
rather lonesome house, with pine trees in
the front yard and long stretch of fields
behind, where the snow drifted it always
driited in the road by our house, too. We
lived on a very windy road.
1t was cold day, and the wind blew
pretty high. Trollo came in from school
the last time that afternoon with red checks
and as full Of mischief as he could hold
lie stamped off tho snow in the entry aud
flung his mittens at me when told him NOT
to. One. Of them hit me in the eye.
Trollo was good alma. 1.-THE, little
quick eyed chap, always up to something.
"Oh ] didn't mean to |" he said
when the mitten hit.
But | was mad. 1t didn't hurt me much
but I'D been having cold time with the
horse and had spilled the pigs supper, and
| suppose, didnt feel like myself exactly
from not going to school as usual, but loaf.
ing around and sitting by the fire SO much
AT any rate, | was mad. SO | shook him
lie didn't say much, and | don't think be
cared much. He'd come home as wild as
witch aud there wasn't anything he wasn't
ready to do to make mischief that night.
And because | was mad, he wouldn't mind
me.
lie tied his rubber boots to the door.bell
lie stuffed his wet mittens down my neck.
lie set the cat into the platter with the
turkey bones, and then set platter, cat, bones
and all upon the table, when Koziah Phipp.
had begun to eat. lie ran out with new
squash pieto give to the horse, and dropped