The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1883-02-01

Set Tar rom human Ills:
Our childhood'a simple valley
Begirt with green. green hills.
Nor all the worlds mad riot
Which we have known since then,
Hath touched this valleys quiet
Deep in our hearts own ken.
Good Words.
OHIO CIDER.
The Mischief that slumbers I'm tho
Innocent Raisin.
John Synder in st. Louis Post Dispatch.
II never knew" said the parson,
"whether somebody played q trick on
the deacon or not. He was q pretty
close-mouthed old fellow; rather proud
of his shrewdness and not apt to pub
lish the fact if anybody got the better of
him in trade"
''But this wasn't Z trade, was it?" asked
one of the trustees.
''No," responded the parson, with a
ghost of q twinkle in his right eye.
mo, 1t was a present the deacon got
from relatives of his out west; out in
Central Ohio. They sent him q barrel
of splendid new cider"
"Tell US about the trick. doctor"
"Well I don't know that it wasa trick"
said the parson, dropping into a warm
chair by the CRATE. "But it was q very
funny bit of experience the deacon had.
Fla! hal These folks of his sent him this
cider and sent him aletter saying that it
made the best bottled cider in the world,
telling him that all he had to do was to
pour the cider into small bottles and
drop raisin into each bottle just before
he fastened in the cork. Well, Hezekiah
followed the directions very carefully,
and piled the bottles in that little cellar
of his just back of the furnace. Ofcourse
the cider went very slowly, as the dea-
cons family is quite small. Besides, he
had notion that this cider, being extra
fine, ought to be kept for company or
Christmas or mince pies, and what not.
So it was lying in the cellar two or three
months. One evening my wife and my
self dropped in to spend the evening
with the deacon. My wife said she
hadn't been there for five or six months,
and so Mrs. Chace wouldn't be satisfied
with mere formal call. Deacon was
delighted to see us-dear old fellow-he
just beamed with hospitality. Told his
wife to bring in some of her special COM
pany doughnuts, and said he was going
to open bottle of that splendid Ohio
cider. Well, demonstrated with him;
told him he had better keep the cider
for real company as we felt like mem
bers ofthe family, you know. Facts, I
thought the cider must be pretty hard
in spite of the raisins, and hard ciler al
ways gives me little fit Of Indigestion.
But Deacon wouldn't take any excuse.
He was bound to open some of that Ohio
cider. So he brought out three bottles.
My wife was talking with Mrs. Cllace
about calling on the new folks-the
Browns-that had just come into town
from Warren. Her face was turned
table chatting with me and twisting the
wire off one of the corks."
''Oh, yes," said the deacon. II knew
the Browns long before they went to
Warren. The old man used to do bust
ness in Providence, and Julius Cae-
sar, what's that?" The cork flew out of
the bottle as if it had been shot out of a
gun, just skinninR the end of the dea-
cons nose on its way to the ceiling. MY
wife turned quickly as she heard the
deacon's quick exclamation, aid the
cider docking like churned soap suds)
caught her full in the eyes. Being q
woman of great presence of mind as you
know, she jumped on her chair and began
to scream ''Firev The rest of the CT
der was playing like fountain over her
new silk dress, for the deacon was 80
dazed that he stood holding out the
bottle at arms length. suppose it was
sinful under the circumstances, but I
fell back on the sofa and laughed till
cried, even if that silk dress was spoiled.
There wasn't drop left in that bottle
when the fountain stopped playing. I
wish ! could have had photograph OF
the old deacon as he stood holding it
ut at arms length. Ha! Ha! Hal" And
the parson laughed heartily at the recol-
lection.
"By this time," continued the parson,
"the deacon's blood was up. No use tt
say we didn't care for the cider just be-
fore going to bed. Some of this cider
they must have. "The bottle" deacon
said, twas trifle lively, but be didn't
believe there was another one like thai
in the whole lot. But he grasped the
other bottle little more firmly, pressed
his HUMP on the cork and began to pry
off the wire. Mrs. Chace was down or
her knees trying with q dry towel K
make the silk dress look trifle more re-
spectable }, and noticed that my wife be-
gan to edge over into the corner anC
wink her eyes as one does who expects
to hear cannon 60 off. Quick as {
fash deacon turned the neck of the bot
tie into glass as the cork few acros.
the room and stirred up the cat, and al
most every drop of that cider danced out
of the glass onto the parlor tablecloth
About two tablespoonful stayed in thu
tumbler.
Hadn't 1 better get the umbrella,
more?" said Mrs. Mr. (" Chace, in that patient
meek way of hers. without the slightest
flavor of fun in her voice.
Eyes," said deacon, with little trit1e
of irritation in. his tone. Better have
the Salvage Corps come, hadn't your"
''After had smoothed down my voice
into tolerable composure. I suggested
that if the deacon was going to continue
the experiment he had better go into
rne garden, where the lrrepresslDle
cider might gallop around in less ex'
pensive fashion! Deacon's wife began
to say that she thought the hired man
had better 90 along in case of academia
but I quietly nudged her arm, and she
held her peace. Strange thing, isn't it,
that the best wife in the world will otter
rasp q mans feelings more than his bit
terest enemy can do! Well, deacon
went out alone with the cider. We
heard loud report which my wife said
she hoped wouldn't raise the neighbors
and when he came back he had the glass
nearly half full of cider. The old mar
looked flushed and unhappy, as it h<
had confided his private feelings to thu
cider in more earnest manner than ht
was accustomed to do with his pastor
was actually aching to get out into thu
street where I could laugh it out. St
after tasting the mercurial liquid, anc
pronouncing it superb. wife and hur
ried out of the house."
"When on Wednesday evening, after
prayer meeting. Deacon Hezekiah insist
ed that should drop in as I was going
home, and taste that cider"
but, Deacon" I said, ''the last time
saw that cider it acted like evil spirits
knocked. How did you manage to tame
it?"
.s~v 40. .