Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-11-19
YK(s OLD SMO0TH-BORE PROVERBS
BY WALTER Il. GRAY.

H1 WALTER Il. GEA1.
Jake Allen will never set the sea on fire, "
sp pgophesied every old woman in my ma
tsve village. Now, to speak frankly, l had
90 particular desire to accomplish that diff
hcnlt feat, and had some other more enter
prising yoy,ngster succeeded in doing it,
I doubt very much whether ] should have
iaIscn the trouble to walk the two miles
wisSch lay between Turtle Creek and the
Mccain IN order to better view the blaze.
Jake Alien was shiftless, lazy. good
SoE~nething, worthless cuss." This, with
u few additional adjectives, was the unan-
isnnns verdict found against me 10y my fell
tov-ci'izcns. Even the schoolmaster
s,andeyed me, and said l didn't know
enough to go under cover when it rained.
In s1ct, was looked upon as the butt end
~s creation, and those few people who did
not. ,iespise me pitied INC from the bottom
nj their hearts.
ssm an orphan, and was reared by my
Maa:c-nal grandmother. Poor old soul,
heE nuch-worn tongue and wearysbones
arr. at this moment peacefully enjoying
ssscar weil~earned rest in the old church.
gasd- AS old age approached, her favorite
paE!'me was to search the Scriptures for
passages pertaining to the bringing UP of
children, ana whenever sho discovered
anything new. it was sure to bc applied in
cay case. we'll remember, ono Sunday
afssrnoon, she was sitting in her rocking
chair, the open Bible on her lap, when sud
aenfy she exclaimed: "Spare the rod and
spnIl the child;--it is curious 1 never
ahou2ht of that before" and then, looking,
aoEar,l me, she said: 'Jacob. 60
asrs yonder and get me q good,
ssau: switch" ] obeyed wonderingly.
DSss, On my return. wonder gave place to dis
may, when found my partially disrobed
fern inverted, and placed across her knee,
so,s falt The tingling Of the switch, as my
grandmother warmed up to the task of
carving out her biblical instructions. For
sf.sru the good work continued, the rod
sas ne-er spared, though 1 often suspected
stsas certain portions of the child were be-
srsg spoiled. Another Bible precept, to
which my grandmother was very much at
tsschsd, was the visiting of the iniquity of the
fassscr upon the son. Evidently, during
ths lifetime of my father, the relations ex-
sEsmg between him and his mother in law
vern somewhat strained, for very often
suffered punishment for his iniquity.
2 hailed with delight the time when my
age and strength rendered me u7spdpku bic
aysd saw the rod descend into state OF
~'irnocuoas desuetude." Now. thought L
my cup is full of joy, my days of bliss have
some, and from this on my life will be one
Yon:s round Of unrestrained pleasure. Alas
vas mistaken; my grandmother was
merely resting upon her oars, preparator,
40 adopting new style Of artillery. Al
last She discovered what she wanted in the
shape Of two old fashioned smooth bore
II my arms ached from too long con
fSDued engagement with the bucksaw, and
ss:,ught 10 spell myself with some lightc,
ssgcrcisc, was sure to hear a voice from
<he kitchen eaclaim: "Jacob, why dom
ys,u saw that wood? You amt got bit o.
E,c* mp in you. Don't you know that 8
rolling stone gathers no moss?" Then
again, il lay stretched upon the broad
cE my back. under the shade Of
a Tree, on q summer after
noon, holding sweet communion
with nature, would be aroused from m,
xeveries by the same harsh voice, exclaim.
ing: ~Here, you lazy bones. why amt you
doing something! Don't you know set.
ting hen never grows fat" and SO on, al
s>asseam. They would be hurled at me 6
dozen times dav; in fact, 1 became NOR.
bidly morose every time thought of 6
rolling stone ana setting hen.
At last, when l had reached the age OF
ii, my grandmother was attacked by fata
fever. When she was breathing her last
she called me to the bedside, placed hel
old Bible in my hand, and said, in solemn
and earnest tones: Jacob, have tried
hard 10 bring you up in the way you should
CO. All the fortune have leave 10 you
You will find it in that book. When an
laid away to rest, open it and make good
use Of its contents. Good-by, my poo,
boy, and God bless you" Then death
seized her in his cold embrace. I was
deeply grieved, and cried bitterly when
place, for, with all her crotchets, my
grandmother was the only person in the
wide world who had ever cared for me.
On my return from the funeral my
curiosity overcame me, and ! set to work to
overhaul the old Bible. Between its leaves