The Press., 1888-02-23

Then another fellow said Don't you know anything2 Its the New London Northern"
 And somebody else put in: "No it ain't, Smarty The New London Northern don't go DO farther'n Palmer"
 "Pshaw yes it does, and, besides, ain't this Palmer ?" And so 1t went on, and, for my part, guess they was all right. I'll leave it to some one that knows if they want
 We drove into Three Rivers in good style. And while we WAS waterin' the horses at the fountain q b'heve we was) that funny driver saw a man standin' and lookin' at us and he inquired the way to (horndike. He pointed straight out east over the bridge. When we started up again we went straight out west though, aud every body in the big mill there was bowin' and smiln' and wavin at us.
 The girls was scairt-any way they won dered where in the world he was goIu' to take us to. But he drove right round that nIce little square park there, and then on towards Thorndike.
 "Ain't that nice church ?" said little Hattie. And sure enough it wRs-a good big cream colored one-with a cross on 1t. [ think its a pretty nice plaoe--Three Riv- CTS. And ain't it funny aboutit? Its got just as many folks in it as there are square miles in Rhode Island (without us mean).
 Such a nice ride as we were having Just as nice and warm And Co think that one of the little chaps aboard never mad sleigh ride before
 By and by we went past another school. house, all quiet and nice, aud begun to wonder about our "treat"-we did-and where we was goin' to stop to spend our candy money, Teacher said to wait tlll we got back to Palmer. So we did. And we went past a nice large grove where they have pic-nics, summers, l guess. They vas seats there. Aud, O my goodness don't you think it is a funny place for the stove to be under the table Course it wan'n't rusty any
 Aud there was another church with a cross onto it. And some of us wondered now there came to be two such nice ones, with crosses on, 80 near together.
 Thorndike is nice little place, too, but it don't look so very large. But you leave Narragansett Bay out of Rhode Island, and then see where Thorndlke comes in We'll, out to the west there, we saw the station. "Thorndike" it said, on the end of the building, and then we heard the cars a comin' along. We went over the track pretty quick, l Can tell you, and along come the train, twistin' along as if it had forgotten where it was goin' and was lookin' around to see. Then we drove on to the south, and crossed the track again, and stopped. There was some freight cars there, with couple of men aboard, waitin.
 "Can yon tell me the way to Thorn dike ?" the driver asked them.
 Wasn't he comical to ask that, when we'd just come through it? Down past the mills and long stone buildings, past a couple of fellows on the sidewalk, walkin' along all dressed up, and one of 'em was "paralyzed," and couldn't walk without staggerin', aud the other acted as if he was ashamed to be seen in his company. 50 wa'n't it funny for the driver to inquire the way to Thorndike?
 And the men said "No. "We don't know that country" So they was up to him, wasn't they2
 We drove on little bit, and then turn ed around. That brought us face to face with a couple of men in a single team.
 70, where are we going?" cried the girls. Fraid cats
 "Can you tell me tue way to Thorndike ?" That was that funny driver again.
 "Thorndike why, you're m that coun- try now," they laughed.
 "Well, which is the way to Palmer de- pot?" Then they laughed like anything. guess they thought the driver didn't know.
 You'd better turn round and go back v' So we did. and got SO much ride free.
 After awhile we came to a great grave yard. There were two new graves there, with the brown earth heaped up there, tlo ff,l uI.N. ..1 1t. One of them was little bit of one, with wreaths and flowers on it, and we guessed the little Murphy girl was there, for we saw the procession go past the school-house one day.
 We went past the comiclest lookin' old man, leadin' dog. I'll bet twas "Uncle Zolvaw and now he's dead. We begun to hoot just little bit at him, and was just goin' to ask him how his father was, and then we thought, and looked at teach ar, aud-remembered our manners. (We hadn't had that treat yeti
 Some of the boys had jumped overheard, aud run along beside the barge" So the teacher telegraphed to the driver by them to stop at the Palmer post office, She had certificate for nice youngster that uster come to school with us. His mother want el it, to see if he hadn't been to school enough last year to let him into the mill. So we stopped We'd been clear round Dumping, and didn't feel bit hungry for DumplIngs.
 One of the boys asked the teacher if they could "stop aud get some cigars"
 "Why, you'd oughter be ashamed to talk such stuff out on a sleigh-ride," said teacher.
 Yes, or any other place l" said one of he fellows. Good for him That showed how he was brought up, didn't Itp
 All the big girls and lots of us boys got of to spend their money. But teacher she staid in. We begun to think that that treat was a gone case. We waited and waited till the driver started up three or four times before we got 'em all aboard again, and then they tumbled m in such q hurry that we got mixed up every which way. But the treat had come One of the big girls had taken a greenback into the store and got it changed into candy and corn-cakes for the teacher They said the merchant said that be guessed we'd be pretty sweet crowd, and we were. Some of the boys was afraid the girls would get more than their share, and one little greedy dipped handful after handful out of the candy bag into his pocket ever so many times. That showed him up pretty we'll, dIdn't it But there was a little gentle man there and he only tooL tuvn or thraa