Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-05-26
THE DOWN-HILL ROAD,

- - - - " w ~ AA-A t-iA1 AhS LAk<t
81 guess I never told yc bout Jos!ah's
accident that he had few years ago, did
!, when he and I was goin' to Murry.
vile, tradin'l Wal, II hoin't then I
will, that is, if you won't tell him that I
told ont, cause he's alias sayin' o wom-
an can't keep nothin' to herself, and I
allow there is some things I can't keep,
and this is one on cm.
Gas was gcin' to say, Josiah had got
to go and git a lot Of stuff some paint, a
few rails to fix the fence with, some
meal an bran, an ono thing an another,
don't remember Jest what now, only |
had occasion to remember these few I'd
got to have some cotton Goth, calikcr,
molasScs, sugar, etc, so | told him
guessed Id 90 along too. So | packed
some eggs into a peck measure of oats,
an | had pretty near pound Of feathers
tied up in paper bag that ! had been
savin' along, so l thought I'll take 'cm
an turn 'cm towards my cloth an
things.
owe loaded up an got started carly
ono Saturday momin.' We took the old
gray mare an the lumber-wagin. Yc
see, Josiah thought he could bring the
rails better in n long wagiu. The dash
board was split off pretty low down, but
he said he guessed 'lwould hold all We
should want to bring without spillin'
out. So we drove along an got to town
about ten o'clock.
II went round to Jacobs's and sold my
eggs, an to Hyde & 'roylor's with my
feathers, but they wouldn't give me my
price, so l jest put en- back into the
wagin, an went 10 I.oomis's and bought
my cloth and things, an got back to
Williams's stable 49, where josiah alias
keeps his l!orse---at jest two o'clock, an
lie want there SO went to the millncr's
shop to Git my bunnit fixed, an 50 told
the stable fcllcr to tell Josiah where
was, an to come after nc with the team.
When | got there the hunnit hadn't been
touched, an in few minutes up drove
Josiah. Now, if you ever went any
where with 4 man that's alias in hurry,
why, then, its no use for mo to under
take to tell yc what ! went through with
a-tryin' to keep that man from goin' of
without Inc or sassin' that millincr. But
VIC got started at last, and Josiah says,
says he:
I" We've got sich 4 load, and its SC
kinder hot, I'm goin' to take the down
hill road; it's good deal higher that
way than It's t'other an better road,
too, except that pcsky hill
"'Yes,' says !, "pcsliy hiII' is jest
where shan't 60. I've rid down that
hill once, a-holdin' on with all my might,
an like ter pitched out the wagin head
fust. No, sir, if you go that road you'll
have to stop an let me git out
"Now you know Josiah as we'll as
do; he'll do anything to save cent o
money ora minutes time, anil he's ALA
sayin' "time is money"
"Wal, let him have his way ruthcl
than to have any more words about it.
but when we got to the hill | got out
an after Josiah had took good cud o
tobackcr into his mouth, he and the ole
mare logged along; but see few BRAN
! bic berries 'longsde the road, and stop
( ped to pick few on 'em, when ! hccrt
somethin' 90 kcrslam, and there the ole
mare was, flat down, the wagn kinder
standn' on end, an Josiah a-spravln
around on the horses back, an the jue
O. molasscs, pot O. paint an measure o
oats on top oil him, an somcthin' o
ruthcr had wet my bag of feathers an
made a big hole int, and things wa
kinder squeezed onto 'em, so that they
was a-putlin' out in all directions. Tht
cork got out O the jug, an the fence
rails was stanin' in the air, some on ZEN
crcss-ways an don't know what not
If that didn't beat all the sights ! eve
see. never was 50 tickled in my life
an if it had killed him | don't believe
could have helped lafiin', for there h,
lay, covered with paint, molasses, fcath
crs, oats, bran an dirt, an madde
man YOU never sec than he was.
''Now, Josiah don't very often swea
in my hcarin', but l tell yc there was ;
blue streak ont down that hill that after
noon, what WANT already strcalcd will
paint and moasscs. SoysI:
Josiah, what's happcncd' Don't y
like the down-hill roadl'
"'Consarn it! that's woman all over
Amt satisfied With scein' n man stow
round in this way. without twittin' on it
bein' MS own fault; an that amt ali; y
won't sleep a wink tonight 'tilye'vc tol'
ev'ry man, woman an child in the neigh
borhood.'
"I jest stood there end hild on to m
sides til I thought should 60 off. an
when J got so | could speak, says /: 10
siah Jones, you're picture fer Comicl
Amanack, if ever there was one, entitled
"A henpickcd husband, tarred en- fcath