The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1878-01-24


Sure our wraiths, when we are gone,
Oft will haunt the chambers lone
Come to seek (ah, ne'er to findD
All the years we leave behind!
Farewell. house. for evermore!
Farewell, old familiar door,
Farewell. home-yet no. not 30
Home goes with us where we go!
HOW THE WEATHERCOCK WAS
OILED. "
&C. I'm game to doit," says Billy John
son, "any time you like
Not you" says joey Rance. at
amt in YOU"
-" Amt itP'' SAYS Billy.
And, as he spoke, he took pull at
his strap, and Parson says:
"My good man, couldn't think of
allowing it." a
You see, this is how it was. We'd got
a weathercock atop of our church
spire at High Beechy; and it was cock
in real earnest, just like the great Dork-
ing in Farmer Changers yard; only the
one on the spire was gilt and shone in
the sun quite beautiful.
There was another difference, though.
Farmer Granger's Dorking used to
crow in the morn. and sometimes on a
moonlight night; but the gilt one atop
of the steeple, after going on swinging
round and round, to show quietly which
way the wind blew. took it into its head
to stick fast in calm weather, while in
rough wind-oh, for a. mercy! the
way it would screech and groan was
enough to alarm the neighborhood, and
alarm the neighborhood it did.
wouldn' t believe it was the weather.
cock at first, but quite took to old Mother
Bonnett's notion that it was signs of
the times, and kind of warning to
High Beechy of something terrible to
come to pass.
But there, when you stood and saw it
turning slowly round in the broad day
light, and heard it squeal, why you
couldn't help yourself. but were bound
to believe.
just about that time chap as called
himself Steeple Jack-not the real
Steeple Jack, you know, but an i'm
poster sort of fellow, who, we heard
afterward had been going about and
getting sovereigns to climb the spires,
and oil the weathercocks, and do bit
of repairs, and then going off without
doing anything at all-well, this fellow
cana to HIGH Ranchy and saw Parson,
and offered to go up. clean and scrape
the weathercock, oil it and all, without
scaffolding, for a five-pound note.
Parson said it was too much, and
consulted Churchwarden Round, who
said "ditto,' and so Steeple Jack did
not get the job, even when he came
down to three pound and then to q
sovereign; for, bless you, we were too
sharp for him at High Beecby, and sus-
pected that all he wanted was the
money, when, you know, we couldn't
have made him 60 up, it being a risky
job.
The weather-coc went on squeaking
then, awfully, till one afternoon, when
we were out on the green with the
interchangeable, for practice, Parson
being with us, for we were going to
play Ramboro Town next week, and
Parson was our best bowler
He was thorough gentleman, was
Parson, and he used to say he loved a
game of cricket as much as ever; and
as to making one of our eleven, he
used to do that, he said, because he
was then sure that no one would swear,
or take more than was good for him.
Speaking of our lot, Pm sure it made
us all respect Parson the more; and
tell you one thing it did, beside-it
seemed to make him our friend to 60 to
in all kind Of trouble, and, what's
more, it fetched all our lot in the crick-
ct club to church. when, I'm afraid, if
it hadn t been out of respect to Parson,
we should have stopped away.
Why, you may laugh at me, but we
all of us loved our Parson, and he could
turn us all this way or that way with
his little finger. III
Well, we were out on the green, as
said, and the talk turned about oiling
the weather-cock, and how we'd heard
as Steeple Jack, as he called himself,
had undertaken to do Upperthorp stee-
pie. as is thirty feet lower than ours.
and had got the money and gone off.
81 thought he was rogue" said
Billy johnson. He looked like it
drinking sort of fellow. Tell YOU what,
I'm game to do it any time you like .
amt in you.''
"Ainst it." says Billy, tightening his
belt, and then
my good man." says Pason, II
couldn't think of allowing 1t.
You see, ours was a splendid spire,
standing altogether hundred and
seventy feet high; and, as it says in the
old history, was landmark and
beacon to the country for miles around.
There was q square tower seventy feet
high, and out of this sprang the spire. !
tapering up a hundred feet, and GER
tainly one of the finest in the country.
"Oh. I'd let him go, SIR" says Joey,
"he can climb like squirrel"
"Or tom-cat, = says another.
More like a monkey" says Sam |
Rowley, our wicket keeper.
Never mind what can climb like"
says Billy, I'm game to do it; so
here goes" r
But. ifyou do get up" says. Par
son, "you will want tools to take of t
and oil the weathercock, and you can't
carry them"
just then message came from the
rectory that Parson was wanted. and
he went away in a hurry; and no sooner
had he gone than there was no end of
cnaf about Billy, which ended in his
pulling up his belt another hole, and
saying:
/" I'm going.'' 80 i
'And what are you going to do when
you get up therep''
: Nothing" he says, but tie the
Il Al \ i