The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1883-09-19
Pathetic Memories of the Plough.

dy. | took a brick and cleaned that
old mould, board with the esame eager
delight and thorough faithfulness
that Ben Butler bestowed on the
furnishing up of the Massachusetts
Almshouse. What a thrill of ecsta-
cy frolicked within me as / slipped
the loop Of the single line about my
wrist, reached up to the handles
and yauped "g'lang." Grandfather
followed in silence. | felt as glori-
Gus as Private Dalzell when be gets
inio the newspapers, and with unut-
cradle feeling l chirped, Dear
grandpa, you needn't work any more.
III run the farm and grandma can
spend The money and" We were
going down an incline, so when my
pride quickly Strengthened the old
plough shot out of the ground and
jerked me clear over astraddle of the
beam. The horses stopped and
grandpa kindly remarked, Ye
mustn't sit down 10 rest so airly in
the mornin', J,enny, if yer goin' to
run the farm felt as bad as the
Star Routers who pleaded guilty to
conspiracy and had to take it back,
plead not guilty and be discharged.
Grandpa fondly sat down on a
stump and watched me pull and tug
10 drag the old plough and two
horses backward to plough up the
skip. After | pulled my arms out
of socket, wrenched my back and
was ready TO start, grandpa wiped
the moisture from his eyes, and
cooed softly " Ye can save good
deal of time and gruntin' by turnin'
the horses and maxim them drag
the plough roun' for ships like that
uu." l felt SO grateful l wanted to
let him 90 the house for jug ofbut-
termilk. We came to a little swell
in The ground and the old plough
starred down deeper and deeper,
like an artesian well auger. Bar
down on th' handles" yelled old
business. The horses thought he
meant them, and they just straight
ened out till their bellies kissed the
ground the plough started for Chi
ma, struck root. the plough clevis
busted, the horses shot forward, and
l rose over the plough at The end of
the plough line, like Gilroy's kite.
Grandpa picked me up tenderly,
busted me OFF with sprout. then
sent me 10 The house for a cleyis and
a mattock to dig the old plough
out.
| started next time with humilia-
ton and an angry ancestor. The
old plough seemed possessed. 1t
tried as hard to evade the land as
st. Louis wet grocers do the Down
ing law. Push th' handles from
the land" shrieked my red-hot in
structor, as the plough shot out
again. The horses know the misery
wrapped up in that shrek and sup
posing it referred to them they
started on a trot with yours truly
a-skipping and a-hopping, and
a-puifing and believing "whoo-o-o"
like fog-born. The plough found
its affinity, an old stump; a crash
followed, and | was thrown nearly
over the township. 1t busted the
old stump, and dear grandpa arrived
Just in time to greet the bees that
,swarmed out. 1t was awful, the way
the horses plunged and kicked, and
dear grandpa batting bees and try
ing to unhook the traces. Lem,
Lem; We young rascal, come hyarp'
But ! concluded TO faint dead away
first. He got the team loose and
thev tore for the house, kicking ike
the whiskey element in the Iowa
Republican party at the third reso-
luton. Darling old grandfather
started for me just clawin' bees
from his shirt and pants, jumping,
yelling murder and splitting white,
with enough prodding insects around
him to sting ":he raseals out" p"
Much as l loved old grandpa's soci-
ETY., | concluded not to wait. ! came
out of that faint and started down
the home stretch like a modern
Office seeker. Grandpa was after me,
stopping his old hat wildly and
whooping, Holy Moses" ETC., etc.
For the first half mile we gained on
the horses, but as we neared The
house our wind began to fail. Grand
ma and the red-headed hired girl
ran to meet us, and the hired girl
outran grandma. | lodged her,
but grandpa ran right into her arms.
When / got stopped grandpa was
hugging the hired girl. grandma was
demonstrating them both, and the
trio was screaming and lodging and
squashing bees. When the round
dance broke up dear grandpa was
too overcome with exertioD and bee
} stings to return to his professorship
in our agricultural college out in the
/, field. He sent me out alone, full oI
apprehension and fresh butter.
milk.
Fascinating old plough Memory
runs through a clotheswringer as thy
! d, skeleton outlines comes ripping
down the burrows of time. Thou
, vert ever a creature of impulse and
idiosyncrasy. Still | followed thee
carolling the symphony Gee, gee
there, Haw, nowl haw. Consnort
your old hides, III maui the hay
out of you" Then grandpa would
J spring from his ambush in the fence
r corner and fill me full of animation
and pain. All, as the ploughshart
of time encroaches on the land O
to-morrows, burning to-days into
yesterdays, as the furrow falls back
into the broken past, my spirit j:
tried and wearied with the task o
being and longs to sink into the in
, visible arms of rest. Fascinating
!, old anatomy wrecker. Thou ar
superseded by the invention of tn,
, steam plough, just as | have been by
|, the superior tactics of modern poll
. ticians. Let US lie down in th,
! furrow together, old playmate, anc
|. let the noiseless share of time cove
US over with the following of th,
i, years.
| had severe attacks ofgravel anC
kihpey franhla. ,y,o pnoi,Ia 10 f,o. ,