The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1894-02-23

readers of the BANNER last week, but
the mail got showed up somewhere on
the Green Mountains and the missive
did not reach us until Saturday morn
ing. lti little late, but we give it
below.-ED.
We are now having cold weather and
good sleighing-a little too much sleigh
ing in some places. We often hear the
saying: 81 wouldn't lay straw in their
path, '"but the road-breaker would,
whole bundle of 'em. and he made fine
road by means of the old-fashioned
"bundle of straw under the runner"
That's for the ''Outlylng districts" for
the road that leads past farm houses,
where many old-fashioned ways are still
observed, where there is grandfather
or q grandmother who insist on having
tallow candles made, and on killing the
fatted pig sin the new of the moon, $50
that the pork would not shrink in the
barrel" as it might if killed when the
moon was waning. There is an old gem
tleman 'in this district who used, not
long since, to delight in sitting by the
fire in his armchair of an evening, tai
low candle in one hand and his beloved
New York Tribune in the other; scorn-
ing the kerosene luminary, he was en-
loving himself in his own way. But
alas, the infirmities of age have rem
dered him almost helpless, and once in
the chair by the fire he cannot get out
without help. His voice was truly stem
torian and could be heard a mile away,
giving directions to farm hand, or call
ing some mischievouss urchin of the
third generation to account. Few could
hold candle'' to "Uncle Levine in
many respects; certainly not many
young men of this generation in this
vicinity could not, as he was in his
prime. Once lover of the weed" for
many years he has es chewed tobacco.
Young man, we heartily recommend
this sort of chewing to you, 'twon't hurt
you a mite, or as Uncle Levine used to
say: mot an atom, not an atom" This
genial old gentleman was very fond of
children and would coax them to his
knee to hear song. In his jovial way
he would sing 1.-The old cat he married;
the humble bee, bumhuhlly- re-
peating the nonsensical lines in an ir-
resistebly funny way. Sometimes it
would be this;
There wss a chippin' squirrel.
Lived in hollow tree,
He cared for nobody,
And nobody cared for he.
At the end of this stanza he would in
quire of the enchanted listener: "Shall
| sing you another one?" and with a
twinkle of his eye, he would repeat with
great gusto the same lingo. He used to
tell us about the old woman who always
said 81 told you SOL and when her hus-
band told her that the brindle COW had
eaten up the grindstone, she remarked
as a matter of course, 81 told you so, |
knew she would" He said that when
he was boy, he, with certain com
panion, used to tease an older fellow for
stories. One day the trio were sitting
on a log, and the fellow said he would
tell them a story about an OK. He told
them what monster the OK was, and
finished up by saying, land he had
horns 500 long" measuring the distance
with his arms which came back "uneX-
pected like" against the two boys, who
sat, one on either side, devOurlng the OK
story, and precipitated them backward
into bed of thistles. This was not
Uncle Levine's mode of telling the
grand children and great-grand-children
a story. Mr.. Hard was born April LIST,
1907, consequently is near his eighty.
seventh birthday. The oldest person in
town as far as we are able to ascertain,
is Mrs. Dyer Oatman, who has just
passed her ninety first birthday. Mrs.
Oatman was born February 7, 1903. She
is still able to walk about the house,
reads and talks intelligently, and de-
lights in relating many "reminiscences
of by-gone days. Miss RhOda BOttum
is about ninety; she is "wrinkled and
gray, and bent with the weight of
years" and rheumatism, as we suppose.
She used to haYe loom in her room,
and many rag-carpet was woven by
her patient fingers. These old people
lived in the days when tallOw candles
were the only luminaries 'in de fust
families" when people went to meeting
in lumber wagon land there was
wagon full toO). In winter there was no
| fire, except the Goals in the foot stoves,
carried by the women; why do we not
all go to church and take the children
every Sunday when lis possible, let us
make it point to 60, letting no small
obstacles stand in the way for a mo-
ment, and afterward explaining the ser
mon. making it as interesting as posi-
BILE to the small people, at the same
time requiring them to give the text,
and as much of the sermon as they can
remember, in their own words. $50
that when they shall come into these
barren years, they may not bring mind
unfinished, nor withered hand
And fer those who have reached the
last stage of life's journey, let us cherish
all the respect due them, and try to
teach the young people to exert them
selves to please the grandmas and the
grandpas and the old, old aunties and
uncles, trying in every way possible tc
make their last days pleasant, remem
bering that "soon the night cometh' tc
them, as it will sooner or later to all.
From your friend,
MARJORIE MARCH.
| WEST ARLINGTON,