Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1879-06-11

spring; the sun was shining, the birds
wefc singing, the river sparkling, and
the birds on the trees seemed to be grow
ing greener every minute. We really
thought that We had at length hit upon
the very thing. Not that we were over.
sanguine ~ We rode back to town; we
had been too often disappointed not to
fear some hitch or some fatal drawback.
The more We saw Of bwansdown villa,
however, the better NJ liked it. The
only reason for its being empty was the
exorbitant rent demanded by the propri-
etorj but since that would be divided
between Aunt Sarah and myself, it was
not 40 serious an obstacle in our case.
As for that estimable relative, when che
saw the place she was charmed. and to
cut a long story short, we happily res
cued her out of the designing hands of
the Weadles, and established her com.
fortably in her new home. Not too
soon, for Weadle had gained a certain
ascendency over her, and a correspon.
dence has been kept up with that branch
of the family ever since.
For q time we were in constant expec-
tation of some u%nthought of defect
coming to light in our new home; but
weeks passed on without smells cropping
up, or kitchen boilers bursting, or any
other domestic calamities occurring, and
we gradually grew easy. We boated,
We ished, we made pleasant acquaint-
ances among our neighbors, we picnicked,
we practiced lawn tennis, and thoroughly
enjoyed the summer, which extended
itself into October; Aunt Sarah being
as happy as any one in a quiet sort of
] way, and recovering in a great measure
from the sheck she had received; for
though / have spoken of that explosion
in . somewhat light tone, the poor old
lady's nerves were seriously Jared by it.
The pleasant weather died off very
suddenly at last. A fog, q frost, and
three days perpetual rain closed the
season efIectually. The boat was hauled
up into It's dry-dock; the garden games
were packed away carefully; and my
wife and l, who are partial to theatrical
entertainments, began somewhat to re-
greet our distance from town.
At breakfast on the Sd of November,
Aunt Sarah said: elf you are thinking
of having any fireworks to amuse the
children on the 9th, Guy Fawkes' Day
Charles, l should like to contribute" |
left an egg half-decapitated, like a vic.
astounded was l. We had been devising
how we should keep the fare of squibs
and the banging of maroons in the dis.
lance from the eyes and ears of relative,
and had arranged to have all the shutter:
in the house closed, and all the curtains
drawn at a very early hour on the event.
! full evening, dreading lest any such sight
or sound should recall the alarming cpl
sode of the year before.
"Why, you look quite scared, my
DEAR" she added to my wife; ait doe
not do to give way to unreasonable nerv
business. We are many, many miles away
from that dreadful canal now"
: l have often observed that invalid
. and nervous people defeat all c~alculatio,
, of their likes and dislikes in this way
: and yet I was surprised. Not wishin,
: Aunt Sarah to nee that l thought he
weaker than she was, however, / entered
Q with alacrity into the scheme, went t,
. London and purchased a neat assor.men
! of pretty combustibles that very after
! noon, and spent the 4th and the mornin.
of the 9Th in making arrangements TO
T their effective display. The business o
these preparations was absurd. enough,
= have no doubt, for l had not launche,
e out into anything elaborate, but hat
e contented myself with very simple an,
t familiar pieces. Still, it required som
thought and study to find out how to lie
of even these with advantage, so mex
!, p~erienced was l. However, there wer,
printed directions in my box, and b,
following these carefully l hoped t
please my not too critical spectators
d These were placed at the drawing room
window, which looked out upon tn
lawn where the exhibition was to tax
e place; and soon after dinner on a mos
n favorable evening, dark, dry, and still,
n sailed out with a box of Vesuvians i
my hand, and opened the entertainment
by lighting the touch-paper of a nea
a case, which presently beganlto burn wit
e e~ntense brightness. causing the tree,
the river, and all other objects to appea
d blue, then green, then rosy, then intense
1t ly dark; quite ar categorical represents
n ton of human life. Next came
,e cluster of Roman candles, which fizze
and threw up colored balls in a satisfat
is tory manner enough. Then l let off
l. fire-work which was to run backwar
n and forward along a string which / ha
10 fastened for the purpose between tw
y trees. 1t started fairly enough, bu
IL stuck at the further end, and had to b
10 stirred up with a hoe before it would fl
=. back again. However, Ialone knew tha
Is it was intended to act otherwise. Mex
b, we had a Jack-in-the-bo which tel
ID minated in a volcanic eruption of crack
D. ers darting and banging into the air.
/ was most doubtful about the success
10 of the rockets. l had collected all tn
er big door-keys in the house, and had tie
a. them firmly to the sides of chairs, 6
he that the rocket sticks might be support
&c ed in them comfortably, like canes an
III umbrellas in a stand. But when tn
Id box of fireworks came down no sticL
ID were sent with it, so l had to fit an
in regulate them by my own judgmen
ht which had no experience to guide i,
IL only a vague impression that the rookie
to when fixed to the stick should balant
as an inch or two below the head. o.
or neighbor on the right was curious j
h. vegetables, and glass frames were sprea
3 all over his grounds, so that it woul
I'd never do to incline the missiles in tn,
es direction. In front, however, wa tt
lie river, into which the sticks would ia
,g harmlessly; and on the right was
IN wharf, for the lading and unlading
se what merchandise / did not know-o,
ne shrubbery was planted out too thick
ne to get q glimpse at it; coal, probably,
I'd ~conjectured. At any rate it might fair
k be supposed that an empty case with
.. light lath attached to it would do 4
re harm if it fell within the precincts
1r on to one of the barges moored off i
TT So / fred the rockets with a slight il
olination 70 tho Loft N mako nrxo