Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-01-31
Three Chapters In "a Boys Lirc.


CHAPTER L. II 3 a BOY
His advent is heraded in the brief but
strong sentence just quoted. No matter what
hopes have been indulged concerning girl
babies, there is something in the pithy an
nouncement, ITS a boy" which dispels all
fanciful dreams and sets everybody squarely
on a prose basis His very voice. as it uttcrs
defiant warwhoop to the grand army Of hu-
nanity, tells the story to experienced years.
The visions Of a dainty girl darling very soon
vanish before this positive piece of prose,
who kicks his sturdy heels through the deli
cate pink socks intended for his sister and
who grows red as turkey cocks head at
Thanksgiving times when he is expected to
show of to good advantage before callers
lie persists in an abnormal development of
nose aud a pufliness about the eyes, along
with several other little tricks known only to
Interested parties. Parents and nurses be-
come rcconclod and accept him ON trust,
seeing no other alternative. lie emerges
from his puffy and rosy ohstinacy TO a roly-
poly, wide-awake thing of beauty, which is
Joy fully one-hHf Of the time. There is
process from infancy to little boyhood,
sweet time when the man-c child is half baby,
half angel Ia the clear depths of his inno-
cent eyes is world Of trust and hope and
love. His white brow is fair as a freshly
opened lily, and his lips as sweet as hormosa
roses. Ie is most witchiug at this age, for
the peCuiaritcs which mark the tHtIEt trTi-
bic are yet undoyeloped. He is an armful of
love and beauty and promise and dread and
hope. Love him while yet there is no guile
on the tender lips, no sin IN the unwrittcn
soul, 10 touch Of the worlds breath upon
Gods finished work.
CHAPTER u.--"GIT Up, OLD HoRsEY :"
Mercy, what a noise! Look at that chair,
with IA string tied on the arms and made fast
to the writing desk and flower stand, all to be
driven tandem ly that young imp in kilt
skirt ard fancy hat ard shoes Who upset
that worklaskot: and good gracious, what
work La, been made with my wool and
thread There's the las, Graphic torn to
scraps and stuffed in the cuspidoro with my
screw-driy yer that ! lost week ago. What is
he doing with the cat : and, dear me, if he
hasn't thrown grandma spectacles into the
grate.'
Where's Harry? Run 10 the kitchen and
see. All the eggs are broken in the basket Of
folded clothes, and the milk for pudding has
been fed to the cat and dog Bridget Lanni-
gan is in towering rage, and says. "Pbat's
the use of Shawn to kape clane wid such
young diyil forninst ye:" Miss Frgidity
Fussbunch calls and is Mortified by beng re-
quostod to "bc IA Lorse and let Harry ride
straddle to Boston" She is questioned also,
on many delicate points. He gets very close
to her and asks what that white stuff on her
face is, and what makes her wear such fun
ny little hat.
A few years Of this juvenile terror and
then appears another stage Of the boy. He
gets a fever only appeased by marbles. 1t is
useless to head OF this phase if it is shut of
in one direction it breaks out more violently
in some other. 1t goes through period Of
six or seven years and costs much in anxiety,
broken window-panes and mortified pride.
He is afflicted with rats, pgt ons, and other
boyish complaints, which are harmless. but
annoying. He brings in six dirty st,tl traps
to amuse his sick sister, who grows wors, rnder
it, and i'll his soctude he straps his log fast
to six feet of stills and stoops to ontor the
door of her room, to the horror and di,uay
of his mother. He brings little notes home
from school which he tries to explain il a ia
vorable light, but fails to convince his pa
rents that it was "only because Bill Wilson
dropped his slate ON Abe Hennegan's toes and
made Inc laugh" He carves his awkward
initials on old Mrs. Williams's cellar door. and
she threatens his arrest. He goes to see
"Humpty Dumpty," and comes home and
throws real brickbats at his aunt and Bridget
is met with a lattering blow from his head
when she is briDgingin the coal. He makes
life a burden and home a snare and delu-
sion. He tears the comforts in more ways
than one, and Sits the pillow cases to match
them. Gradually he leaves off his hurly-
burly life and ilnperceptibly glides into
CHAPTER 1u-''w HERE'S MY BLUE TIE :"
Where is the backing brush: am going
to little surprise and won't be home till
eleven. Is my percale shirt done up nice
wish you'd make my collars sitter. / don't
thank some one for throwing my coat down
and getting it wrinkled all up. How do you
like this hatI Think it looks better than my
soft = You will find the pigeon boxes
all deserted about this period not a Iat-trap
cumbers the back yard. The woodshod the
atricals are all ended the stills are put away;
kites forgottou window panes in perfect
safely. The dust has filled up the rude in
itials in Mrs. Williams = cellar door. and there
is unlimited quiet all around the house.
Chairs stay in their places. and Iantaloons
vii, no longer bear cutting over for the boy.
He get- tn, III now out Of new stuff and moth
er's cut " III not satisfy him. He is not in
the way now and there is a heavy pain in
mothers heart as she thinks that he will new
need her much any more. The innocent
'yes have "a deeper meaning in them now.
They have taken into their dtpths the ref,c-
ton Of a face younger than mothers and life
begins to look 7, al to them.
The world is full Of houses where these
pictures will he recognized and hung up as
family portraits-homos whore there are no
sounds of young voices now. They grow
away into the great world so soon. and we
put away the nameless feeling of desolation
as We do the cast-of toys of their childhood;
and when the evening Of life approaches the
b, art goes back along the track of time, and
is once more with the children in the dear old
long ago Cincinnati Saturday Night.