Stephens City star. (Stephens City, Va.) 1881-1883, 1881-10-08
How Jimmy Brown Studied Wasps.

cause our people wanted TO get even
with the people of the next town, who
had a returned missionary with whole
lot of idols, the. week before. The lee
ture was all about wasps and beetles and
such, and the lecturer had magic Ian
tern and microscope, and everything
that was adapted to improve and vitrify
the infant mind, as our minister said
when he introduced him. I believe the
! lecturer was wicked, bad man, who
came to our place on purpose to get
me into trouble. Else why did he urge
the boys to study wasps, and tell us how
to collect wasps' nests without getting
stung? The grown up people thought
it was all right, however, and Mr.. Ira
verse said to me, "listen to what the
gentleman says, Jimmy, and improve
your mind with wasps."
Well, I thought would do as l was
told, especially as knew Of tremendous
big wasps' nest under the caves of our
barn. got ladder and lantern the
very night after the lecture, and pre-
pared to study wasps. The lecturer
said that the way to do was to wait till
the wasps go to bed, and then to creep up
to their nest with piece of thin paper
all covered with wet mucilage, and to
clasp it right over the door of the nest.
OF course the wasps can't get out when
they wake up in the morning, and you
can take the nest and hang it up in your
room and after two or three days. when
you open the nest and let the wasps out,
and feed them with powdered sugar,
they'll be so tame and grateful that
theIl never think of singing you, and
you can study them all day long and
learn lots of useful lessons. Now is it
probable that any real good man would
put up boy to any such nonsense as
this? It's my belief that the lecturer
was hired by somebody to come and
entice all our boys to get themselves
stung.
As was saying, got ladder and
lantern, and piece of paper covered
with mucilage, and after dark climbed
up to the wasps' nest, and stopped up
the door, and then brought the nest
down in my hand. was going to carry
it up to my room, but just then mother
called me; SO put the nest under the
seat of our carriage, and went into the
house, where 1 was put to bed having
taken the lantern out to the barn and
the next morning forgot all about the
nest.
forgot it because 1 was invited to 60
on picnic with Mr.. Travers and my
sister Sue and whole lot of people.
and any fellow would have forgot it if
he had been in my place. Mr.. Traverse
borrowed fathers carriage, and he and
Sue were to sit on the back seat, and
Mr.. Travers aunt, who is pretty old and
cross, was to sit on the front seat with
DIR. Jones, the new minister, and 1 was
to sit with the driver We all started |
about nine o'clock, and big basket of
provisions was crowded into the car
riage between everybody's feet.
We hadn't gone mornamile when
Mr.. Travers cries out "My good gra-
cious Sue, I've run an awful pin into
my leg. Why can't you girls be more
careful about pins ?" Sue replied that
she hadn't any pins where they could
run into anybody, and was going to say
something more, when she screamed as
if she was killed, and began to jun
up and down and shake herself. Just
then DIR. Jones jumped about two feet
straight into the air, and said, "Oh, my?"
and Miss Travers took to screaming,
"Fire murder help!" and Shaping
herself in a way that was quite awful.
L began to think they were all going
crazy, when all of a sudden I remem-
bered the wasps' nest.
Somehow the wasps had got out of
the nest and were exploring all over the
carriage. The driver stopped the
horses to see what was the matter, and
turned pale with fright when he saw
DIR. Jones catch the basket of provisions
and throw it out of the carriage, and
then jump straight into it Then Mr..
Travers and his aunt and Sue all came
flying out together. and were all mixed
up with DIR. Jones and the provisions
on the side of the road. They didn't
stop long, however, for the wasps were
looking for them SO they got up and
rushed for the river, and went into it as
if they were going to drown themselves
only it wasn't more than two feet
deep.
George-he's the driver-was begin
ming to ask, SIS thisyer some swimmin'
match that's goin' on !" when wasp hit
him on the neck, and another hit me on
the cheek. We left that carriage in