The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1885-12-23
A Chapter on Hornets.
The horne, i an interesting study

DOrQet uulll dia tS-t A-3c~N s--~~
he il thoroughly deceased.
I can recall the time when a fami-
lvof hornets forced themselves into
nv society without waiting for an
introduction, and / do not want 1t to
occur again. The details Of the al
fair are quite indelibly fixed in my
memory's archives. / shall never
forget how it feels to be pierced 10
the heart bv the red-hot dagger OF
the baldheaded hornet until memo
RVS mage is obliterated, and the con-
ereration has passed around my de-
fnnct remains. and rendered an hon
esi decision as TO how look in COM
pleie repose- -,
I was but a sad-eyed, thoughtful
boy. with fiaxen hair, and a tired
cast of countenance, and ordlnarl-
lv moved with considerable dellber-
alton. because deliberation seemed
70 agree with me. When | was sent
70 fetch anything ! sort Of meander-
ed. and if / met anything 10y the
wav that was alive, / would stop
and throw a stone at it. That Is the
manner in which my young genius
budded. and drove the person who
would send me on errands to exas-
peration and profanity.
One beautiful summers day, when
the reapers were in the field and the
golden grain was falling before the
flashing scythes, and the cat-bird
was warbling merrily in the hedges,
and !, resting. oh, so restfully, un-
der the tree that bore the early har-
vest apples, a summons came from
the commander-in-chief of the de-
partment that iriendless boy bearing
nov name should go down through
the orchard TO the bubbling spring
at the foot of the hill and fetch the
harvesters a brimming bucket OF
water. | had not meandered Tar
when / saw beautiful hornets nest
upon a low limb which hung almost
directly over my path. 1t chalieng-
ed nv admiration, for il was as big
as a peach basket. and as symmetri-
cal as an old-fashioned jug.
was not in much of a hurry, so
l set the bucket down and put nay
hands in my pockets, and made
careful and critical observation. AT
the time there was a strong love Of
natural history in my ardent nature
and when | saw something that /
did not fully understand, i was
prone to investigate. Now that i
am much Older, am not much that
way.
/ noticed that there was an old
hornet sitting at the main door, and
he was not asieep. He had black
ewes and yellow mustache, and he
looked mad. He was the grand out
er guard, the exterior muc-a-mue
pro tem., or something of that sort |
suppose.
had never before seen a hornet
with such an impudent countenance
and / thought / would just pick up
a stone and hit him between the
eyes, and then run before his friends
and fellow-citizens found out the
cause of the trouble. ! was an i'm
pulsive boy at times, and did not al
WAYS stop to reason thing out be-
fore did it. Usually l caught the
conclusion suddenly by the slack of
The trousers, and then, if / found it
was not the conclusion | wanted |
Just let it go.
There was a nice smooth stone
lying at my feet. ] picked It up,
and with all the vigor of youth and
an impulsive arm | threw it straight
at the old baldheaded door-keeper
do not think that | hit him. 1t
is my impression that he saw noe
stoop down fol the stone and imme-
diately whistled for four millions of
MS relations, who were holding a
family reunion or ratification meet
ing, or burbar, or something inside
the nest, 10 come out and help me
90 away from there.
All that | distinctly remember
about the occurrence is that some
thing stabbed me in about nine hun
dred places at one end and at the
same time, and that / left the scene
with considerable impetuosity. |
longed for some solitude in the midst
of which i could collect my scatter
ed thoughts, and ] went in search
of solitude. But every hornet in the
congregation seemed determined to
60 with me to the end. / haG never
before had anything so much at
tached TO me. The warm desire OF
those hornets to remain in my socie-
ty for an indefinite period was af-
fecting to my youthful and tender
mind.
/ went through the harvest field
so fast that the harvesters got only a
glimpse Of my yellow hair as it dash
ed through space like frolicksome
meteor on its mad career. When
they learned who it was that was go
ing so rapidly, they could hardly
believe that their eyes were not de-
ceiving them. They had never seen
me in a hurry before, and naturally
they were surprised. They had no.
tieed that when | came from the
spring | usually 'meandered, but on
this occasion l turned aside for no
obstacle. l lowered my record far
beyond the expectation of nav most
eangnine friends, and as the last and
best winded hornet reluctantly gave
up the chase and turned back to re-
port, / fell over the fence surround
ing the orchard, aud the thought
came into my mind that it was very.
very hard TO die SO young and fair,
when the world was SO bright and
full Of promise, and the early apples
were just getting ripe.
A travelling phrenologist who came
along that way next day was deeply
interested in me. He made a sur
vey OF my bumps, and declared that
mad the most remarkable head
that had ever come under Els notice.
My love of home bump and nv Ian
guage bump, which were about the
size of goose eggs, particularly sur
prised him. Tnen there were many
other remarkable bumps, be said.
that were not laid down in the
books, and which be could not place
without some research. He had