Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-09-07
THE HISTORY OF A MELON.
rTs YOUTH. ITS AMBITION AND ITS
ROUNDED DESTINY.

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Norid. ~atermsIoa Ay haghhG = -
sun It vas meioa d great dD Tor ~
ieuxth and shicknes Of Il and - wsighS
thereof lts color vas dssp. dart. hsasti-
ful green-a green that maGis no compromias
With any other color. but bid ~ Own with
unwaverinx tenacity For days and days Il
had lain in q gentle hollow stretching out
eagerly with the page Of each hour. Is
drank in the grateful dews d night, smiled
ueath the kia Of every amorous sunbeam,
and rartook in silent rapture Of the hnardsd
sweetness Of every passing hreese.
Underneath its polished surface strangein-
u>cfs maGlr their homeA The little ant. TO
whom the sluggard has been 20 often advised
to 90. allied his underground storshouse with
ten times a. much food - b. needed, and
having no ice refrigerating facilities, allowed
half Of il TO spoil
The cricket made harp Of his left hind
leg and discoursed sweet airs from Norma"
and the other opera shArp&
The spider wove his thin. gray pail. and
into it many diss did tall
The bumblehee sometimss bit thereon, and
slipping down ies smooth zidss imagined 1t
mortal enemy, and In . foolish dt Of anger
left part Of its humble sticking therein
Sometimes little birds with bright eyes and
fluffy feathers and pert, conceited strut,
would light upon the stem and eye the mon
ster curiously, and then, feeling In every
tissue Of their tender bodies the mellow wine
of summer sing low In soft, delicious song
FROM FIELD TO Busy MARI.
All these things the melon greatly enjoyed,
for It was a poetic melon. snd found some
thread Of pleasure in all the subtitle sssences
Of life.
Il Was a cunning melon also, and when the
cracker farmer and his long, lank son would
halt t.efore it, and the old man would say,
"Rili, | low thish yer melum air ripe ernough
TO ship the melon would stiffen itself and
grow hard and stern and repelent, and the
son would thump it with curiously distorted
thumb and finger and drawl nut; Nav,
dad. that air melum amt ripe ernough yit."
Then the melon would exalt its horn and
chuckle softly as the knocking rooster chuck
ieth from the ridge pole OF the barn when
blacker faces illuminate the blackness OF
night and the ''festerbule" in In rapid prog
resi- GEAR 10y
But one day the melon was wrapped IL
slu,nber after a surfeit Of sunshine and dew,
its muscles all relaxed, its cuticle yielding h
trifiins pressure, and lo in the twinkling of
an eye, AS 1t were, its stem was rudely
clipped and it awoke to find itself one Of a
hundred melons in a jolting car bound for
Jacksonville
Now, most melons would have lost all hope
at this, and grown Respondent and melan-
cholv. but this particular melon WIS a fellow
of infinite Jest, aud held a choice secret cloae
to its heart, and, although it could see but
little Of the country through which it was
riding. vet enjoyed the journey, for it knew
it would have some fun with the boys when
it arrived at the great city by the St John&
In twentv-four hours the journey was over,
and the melons were distributed among the
fruit dealers of the city Our hero became
part and parcel OF the stock OF q self expatri-
ate.i Greek on Bay street. and absorbed In
rapturous ecstasy the varied perfumes arising
from oranges peaches, plums, Strawberries
and a pair of old socks thrown carelessly un-
der the counter Two days and nights it lay
in silent enjoyment Of these ambrosial de
lights and then it carriel out long cher
islcI ,i!an The melons were placed on the
pave outside the store in order that they
might deluie unwary passers by Watching
its opportunity. onr melon gradually edged
over to a box near by and hid behind At 10
o'clock the thrifty Greek moved his fruit in
side and closed up for the night The melon
was not seen and not missed, and remained
in partial nb-curty until II p M. when ID
rolled boldly into sight aud lay shaking with
half suppressed mirth.
"oH, DAT wATERMILYoNl"
At 10 p IN. Calamity P. Muggins, Afri-
can. was going home from protracted meet
ing of Lodge No I. Ancient aud Independent
Order Of Hamstrung Sons Of Copernicus, an
order both beneficial and social in its organi-
xation
As Calamity drew near the store the melon
slightly raised its head and grunted auda-
ciously The negro saw it, and his eyes stuck
out so that they could almost shake hands
with his nose Cautiously approaching, he
touched II with his foot. Yes, 1t was a real,
material melon, forgotten by the careless
merchant when he shut up shop for the night
Calamity put his hands in his pockets and
whistled softly to himself. Then he looked
around and about him There was no one In
dght The electric lights began to flicker
and 20 out with few belated jewellers who
went the other way than to this store. Boldly
picking up the melon he moved rapidly OF
toward Hansontcwn-
The melon laughed all the way there, at
one time so violently that it nearly fell out
OF his arms
In due process Of time Mr.. Muggins ar
rived at his palatial one story, two roomed
mansion, opened the door gently, went In,
and placed his precious prize upon the table.
The wife of his bosom and the twins, who
especially resembed their father about the
feet, were wrapped in such profound slum-
Der that lie decided it would be cruel to
awaken them, and that he would be able to
conquer the melon single handed.
Taking out his knife, he cut the melon
lengthwise 1t yielded gracefully to the in
cision, emitting pleasant cracking sound
A look of disappointment waltzed rapidly
over his expansive countenance as he saw It
was nearly az green inside as it was on the
out
Il was the first melon Of the season, how
ever, and as he had obtained it under quasi
providential circumstances, he determined
to use classical expression-to get away
with it. He did so and went to bed.
US sthIs sHoue uchiShAitAy upo" WIZ sAAAAs
gle roof, the winds of heaven iisped about the
pig pen and the hen coop, and all was quiet. .
About . a. m. as near as she could calcu-
late, Mrs Muggins was aroused from sweet
dream Of peace by a series Of unearthly
screams. and hastily lighting q candle, saw
her husband making prodigious efforts to tic
himself into a hard knot. Some watermelon
rinds upon the table In the kitchen solved the
mystery, and she at once proceeded to apply
the proper remedies foot Of mustard
poultice placed over the homny and hog re-
ceptacle, and copious libations Of ginger tea.
soon had the desired effect, and by sun up he
was able to express himself coherently. At
Ia m. be had recovered sufficiently to sit in
an easy chair while his wife started in on tho
days washing.
As for the mellon, It fulfilled its mission
and happily died. Jacksonville Fla.i Times
Union
Fechter's Neglected Grave.
In little cemetery near Philadelphis is the
grave of an actor who belonged to three ma
tons, and who honored all-Charles Fechter
who was of partly English descent, Of
French education, and was American in his
latest triumphs and his place OF burial His
resting place is thus described by gentleman
who lately visited the spot: "A marble bust
OF the romantic actor which formerly stood