Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-04-30
"APRIL-FOOL

Academy who never joined in any of
the games; never went skating; never
went swimming; never made a snow
man or threw snOw-balls; never came
10 the meetings of the debating society,
where such questions as, "If a fellow
ask fellow Tor a bite Of fellows ap-
pie, which is the potter way to give it
10 a fellow-tO bite off a piece your
self, or let a fellow bite for himseh?"
were debated with much mock gravity
and real fun.
He looked with horror on all kinds
Of fighting; had no admiration for
great Generals; thought war should be
abolished; shuddered at tales Of cruelty
and suffering; was cOnstitutionally
timid and extremely credulOus; hated
thunder and lightning; liked birds,
flowers, pretty verses and fairy tales;
believed in ghosts and supernatural
beings; was very fair-haired, very blue
eyed, tall, slender, and was named
Harold Lord. But after the first week
or two Of his attendance at school-he
was a day scholar real name was
never heard, for his school-mates,
quickly finding out his peculiar char
acteristics, skillfully turned It into
LADY Harriet and Lady Harriet he
remained for many long year. OF
course. being so girlish in his appear
ance, ways and tastes, and of so re-
served and gentle a disposition, the
other boys rather looked down upon
| him, and, after the manner of BOYS,
made him the subject of much chaff
and many practical Jokes; and so it
came about when Charley Bennett and
Ned MOrningstar and Hen Rowe began
on the afternoon of the 31st of March
to talk about the 1st of April, they hit
upon Lady Harriet as a boy who would
make a capital "April-fool"
| 1--WE can have no end Of fun with
him. said Charley. "You know he
lives all alone with his grandmother
" A Little Red Ridinghood," inter-
rupted Hen Rowe.
| down by the cedar woods" con-
tinued Bennett. "But the question
now in order is, what kind of fun shall
| it be?''
Dress up like Indians, and pretend
you're gOin' to scalp him." proposed
little Al Smith, who had joined the
party-a thing no other small boy in
that establishment would have dared to
do; but then Alfred, as his aunt called
him-and very cross old aunt she
was, too-had no father nor mother,
and was such good-natured, willing,
reliable young chap that his older
-schOol-mates made quite pet of him,
and allowed him many liberties they
would have allowed to no one else in his
class.
Nonsense, Smithey," said Hen
Rowe. ''Ghosts is the thing" and strik-
ing an attitude, he quoted:
liam thy fathers spirit;
Doomed for certain term TO walk the night
/ And. for the day, confined 10 fast I'm fires go.
gould tale unfold, whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul; fre-e-e-ze thy
Make fBBy1s tBy%'% '"'Oou'
That's quite enough of that, Rowe, -
said Bennett. "a band of young des-
peradoes is my idea. The papers are
full of 'em just now-fellows living in
caves and other queer places, and rob
bing right and left (result of reading
too many dime novels, heard the Pro-
fessOr say so this morning). Been
round here, too; stole Uncle Jeff's calf
day before yesterday; and his grand
mother goes TO sewing society tO-mor-
row night"
"The calfs grandmother asked
Hen Rowe.
Didn't know you had any grand
mother" said Bennett
"Charley's hit on the very thing. "
declared Ned Morningstar. "We'Il let
| three or four Otherfellows intothe Joke,
and I'll be Captain, and Wen wear
masks, and all the old clothes we can
beg, borrow, or take, and get ourselves
up prime as a No. band of reg lar
young villains. Aha! your money or
your lifer' making lunge at small Al.
"But you won't really hurt Lady
HarrietP'' said the little fellow, an
anxious look coming into his soft brown
eyes. "He's good to me, and gives
me candy, and took me fishin' once"
"Took you fishin'r' repeated Char
ley Bennett, counterfeiting the greatest
astonishment. eff he did, I'll bet he
never let you catch a fish. He'd
a-fainted when he saw it a-wriggling on
the hook"
''He did, too,n answered AL, stout
ly. 81 caught four, and six crabs, and
he got eight" adding, frankly, "but
he said he didn't like to catch them,
only his grandmother said he must.
Every reprehensible old lady, said
Hen Rowe, gravely, ''to allow her
greediness for fish to trample on the
softest feelings of her grandson's head
i mean heart But don't be afraid,
Smallbones'' stroking AIS dark curls
1--WE won't hurt him, not a bit; make
your mind easy about that. He shall
live to take you a-ishin' again"
1T does him good to wake him up
once in awhile" added Ned Morning
star, "he's such turtle. think l see
his face when we all shout April
foorp'
At dusk the next evening, after
Grandmother Lord had gone to the
sewing society, six or seven dread
ful-looking objects came splashing
through the mud up the road
which led to her cottage. They We're
dressed in uncouth garments Of all sizes
and colors. Hats, brimless, or with
brims very much turned up or very
| much turned down, two flaming red
turbans, and round, handleless basket,
through the open wicker-work OF
which the hair of the wearer struggled
in the most Outlandish and pOrcupinish
manner constituted their head-gear.
| The leader carried a gun. The Others
were armed with hatchets, knives and
clubs All their faces were hidden by
| paper masks painted in various colors.
''this is the house." said one of them,
in a voice that seemed to come out OF
the ground beneath his feet, as they