Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-03-11
OUR INNOCENT ABROAD.
ST. CLAIRsvIILE, o., FEB. 13, 1875

OUR INNOCENT ABROAD.
ST. CLAIRsvIILE, o., FEB. 13, 1875.
The heading at the top of this is
scarcely appropriate for this letter, for
if st. Clair's little hamlet is not exactly
my home, it is the next thing to it (nOt
my girls hOmeD and used TO be. Nei-
ther can here conjure up that feeling
of innocence which is compatible with
my text. Indeed, when [ think of the
apples, and peaches, and pears, and
plums, and cider, and melons, and old
iron, and sugar water, and ducks eggs
and things l have helped bad boys
carry off in the days that are no more;
when think of the number of times
my hat has fallen off while l was ad-
miring Overbaugh's strawberries over
the fence; when think of what school
teachers used to confide in me after the
other scholars had retired; when l
think of the rayless night knocked at
an old shopkeeper's door, and, when
the poor old woman looked out of
the upstairs window, asked her if she
had amy te'penny nails like this
showing sample; in fact, when l think
of anything ever did, can't feel in
nocent at ALL could at the time; how
ever!
The best thing 1 know about st.
Clairsville is that John Smith and /
used to live here. l don't know where
John lives now, if he is alive. If these
lines should ever come to his peruSal, /
hope he will forgive me for sprinkling
Indian turnips' with sugar, and Civ
ing it to him rs new kind of candy.
saw an old friend to-day. 1t was
an old blaze of mine. She used to bring
butter to our house, and used to go
fishing to her house. | called her Maud
Muller and 1 would sit whole hours
and think of the glorious future that
lay before us, when her house would be
my house. She was beautiful then.
Now she looks like picture before
taking in an almanc. She is mar
ried.* i am not.*
The only Improvement l can notice
in st. Clairsville is in the show WIN
dows. When we boys used to throw
snow-balls, the windows were so small
as to afford no protection of any conse-
quence to a youth who stood before
one of them. Now they are SO large
that lad may pelt countrywide in
his sleigh mercilessly and yet be safe
SO long as he stands in front of drug
gist's window. (There is a druggists
window here.) l suppose this reform
was brought about by concert of action.
1t is rather hard on good little boys
parents, should think, if good little
boys break as many windows per diem
as they used to. .t H
They have register At the hotel here
1 mention this fact because at most Of
the village hotels visit they have no
registers. l Lam accustomed to carry
note book in my valise especially for
the purpose of registering my name at
hotels whose landlords do not provide
book for that purpose.
am not the only Howard that lived
here. Alf. Howard, familiarity called
(on his bills) the Ole Bull of America
used to stay here considerable of his
time. Board was so cheap. This was
the reason he stayed. He paid his
board with prOmissOry note. The
note is framed, and they exhibit it now
ss one of the letters written by Poti-
phar's wife to Samuel-or was it to
Othello she wrote them? 1t is inmate
rial, anyway.
AS came here the other day, some
one in the omnibus (the nearest rail-
road to st. Clairsville is five miles south.
They used to have mayor who never
saw railroad. However this is not
bad. for Mr.. Wilmington once mayor
of London, says he never saw a rail-
road, } some one began to talk about the
town. / thought l knew the voice;
but l could not remember where had
heard it. He had lived in st. Clairs-
vile in past years, and he was coming
back to see the old town. By his lOcat-
ing of the place of his abode when he
was denizen of the village conclud-
ed he had lived in large stone house,
back of the sheriff's residence. Then l
knew him. He was murderer; they
couldn't prove it at the time Of his trial
but / know he was. An uncle of
mine had gone to the trouble of writ
log and printing his confession, so as
to have it ready when he was hanged.
1t was entitled sThe Autobiography
and Confession of Benjamin Boiling
broke Barnes, Murderer, etc. and it
was handsomely illustrated, and the
binding was beveled-beveled the long
way. In it the poor man confessed to
the murder of seven children, four
iudlUS3 UWO IudIIlOu COuplCo, OhO tWlii,
anu Billy Patterson. He had also COM
mitted, on an average, three burglaries
a day. In the front was a facsimile
autograph of the criminal, sworn to
before u justice of the peace, certifying
to the truth of the whole. And after
all this preliminary, they found him
not guilty. The worst of it was, that
my unele's action came to the ears of
Barnes, and made him mad.
And thus / met him.
Barnes was very enthusiastic in his
praise of the town.
My uncle doesn't like st. Clairsville.
The only objection have to it is that
ten of the citizens take the New York
Tribune. And this when they have
had good paper of their own for sixty
three years.-HARvEY HOWARD, in
Danbury News.
*Thank Heaven
A Beautiful Figure.