Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1888-01-16
The Old Tune-BOOk.

secondhand book store at the cor
ner, and was fumbling over lot of
old volumes that had been placarded
ssFor Sale Cheap" Hiram had a
passion for quaint old books, and
many time for mere trifie he had
bought literature which no sum of
money could have induced him to
part with. And now, as he rummag-
ed among the musty volumes, he
heard a piping voice that startled
him strangely.
"Waal, meow, if it amt HI Atkins !?
But, sakes alive how he has filled
eout -
This was what the voice said, and
the shrill tones took Hiram Atkins
away back over the years, and over
the hills, and over the rivers, and it
seemed to him as if he were a bny
again-a ruddy little boy in a prim
Vermont village among the rugged
hills.
"Gee whillikins ''said Hiram. "It's
a Carminy Sacryl Yes, an'it's the
very same Carminy l used TO sing
eout of when | b'Ionged to the choir p
So it was; the same green backed
oblong book of church music which
Hiram's grandmother had bought for
him when he was boy and began
going to singing school. That was
many years ago, and times were all
no longer a boy; battling in this
great noisy western world had bro't
wrinkles to his face, and the years
had left traces of their frosts and
SHOWS in his hair The Carmina Sac
IA, too, was changed once it had
been bright, and fresh and new, but
now it was faded and ragged. Fully
one-half of its green pasteboard COW
ers was missing.
"Didn't know me at fust, did We"
asked the Carmina "Waal, times
hev gone powerful hard with me, an
l guess l amt of much more account,
nohow. Why, when your gran'ma
bought me | cost her dollar n a
half, but meow I'm chucked inter this
ere basket with a lot Of vain, frivo-
lous, secular trash that's goin' at a
ninepence apiece"
The old tune-book sighed grievous-
ly. To Hiram Atkins it did seem
like desecration. This old tune book
was one of the first books he had
ever held in his hands-with the ex-
ception of his New England primer,
his catechism and his Bible, it was
the first.
"I'll buy ye; darned If don't y
cried Hiram. "Tll buy ye, if it takes
the last boss dads got! -
And he did buy that old Carmina
Sacra, although it cost him only two
York shillings, land not spirited Nor
gan as you might suppose.
Hiram took the Carmina home with
him, and that evening they talked
over old times together; that is to
say, as Hiram turned over the leaves
of the quaint old book and saw the
familiar hymns and psalms and an
thems, the tunes seemed to talk with
him and hum to him, and he could
see faces and hear voices he had not
seen nor heard in many years.
s'You wuz a little boy then," said
Brattle Street; "your legs wuz chub
by an your cheeks wuz rosy, an you
wore cunnin' blue jacket to which
your trousers wuz buttoned with
brass buttons. Sometimes when it
wuz cold you wore a tippet and cap
that had ear lappets on it; your yarn
mittens wuz hitched together with a
long tape to keep you from losin of
'em. Ough but what ALFRED cold
we used ter have on the west
side of the mountain, eh? p
HWaal, meow, | had almost for
gotten it," said Hiram, musingly.
eye he'd ?" exclaimed Denis; "an'
We don't remember the little blue jack
ct with brass buttons best of all, but
I had forgotten whether the winters
wuz so very cold or not
"Waal, l declare fort! p cried
Brattle Street. s'That beats all ma
tur' An ye've forgot yer poor OF
gran n'ma, too, haint yer
ssOh, no." said Hiram, solemnly. |
''I could never forget dear old gram
ma, though she's been dead many, |
many years .
s'Just as like as not We reckollect
how We use ter bring her foot-stove
Ter meeting for her ev'ry Sunday in
winter time? ?"
eyes, I reckollect it neow," said |
Hiram, smiling. sit was a crazy
Did affair-a zinc box in a wood
frame, punched full of holes, with
small iron pan inside. | hated it
-hen cause the Newton boys an the
others made fun O. me fur carryin' it
fur gran 'ma-goll darn me I'd carry
It all over creation for her meow !"
eye use ter stop in the vestry an
Gil the pan with Goals out er the |
stove,'' said Denis, an then you'd |
carry it up stairs an set it in the pew |
do you remember the pew near the
so gran mas feet wuz
warm all through meetin' while you
set in the other corner of the pew,
shiverin' like calves-foot jelly an
wonderin' why the minister's prayers
wuz alters longer in winter than in