Middletown transcript., 1896-08-01


AX8 hat when he wen
to meeting in winter. He was alway
ready to argue that these modern time
were awfully bad, and that the goo
old times of hundred years ago wer
just right. He would decry invention
and improvement and say that th,
world would be better off without
them. He took newspaper on pur
pose to count the murders recorded in
| it and to tell how bad the world ha(
grown. He would stand for hours il
the village and retail his deductions Oh
the present and his regrets for the past.
One day he had whipped the minister
in argument, and as he had had his
dinner and the minister had gone away
mad and the women we're at work in
the kitchen, he tipped back in his chair,
drew a red silk handkerchief over his
head to keep off the flies and went to
sleep. He had not slept over five min
utes before his son John came in and
said:
Come, father, we must get at that
piece Of wheat and cut it,"
Blewitt got up and yawned and fol-
lowed his son to the barnyard, where
his two sons sat Oh log filing couple
of sickles.
'What in the nation are you doing
with those sickles?" said Blewitt.
One of the boys looked astouished
and said: "Doin'2 Why, We are get
ting ready to cut The wheat"
Blewitt stared a moment and then
said: "Why in thunder don't you hitch
on to the reaper and stop foo lin with
them sickles?"
The boys looked at each other in sur
prise, but said nothing. Blewitt ran to
the shed, but there was no reaper there.
He came back. The boys had got over
the fence and were on their knees
reaping the wheat and earring in
ravels.
Boys" said BleWitt, "what do you
mean by this foolishness? Where is
reaper?"
Charley, the second boy, looked at his
father pityingly, and then tapped his
forehead and looked over to John, who
nodded and looked sad.
why, darn it," said Blewitt, "you
can never run those bundles through
a threshin' machine"
"Threshln machine?" said Charley.
"why you know as we'll as I do that l
shall have to fail this wheat out morn
ings and nights while going to school
this winter. What ails you, father?"
Blewitt, as we said, got mad easily,
and now he just hoped up and down
and said:
"Flail it outl 1t must be thrashed
ready to ship on the cars next month";"
"Cars, cars" said Jo hn. "Don't know
what ails you, father, or what you
mean. / know shall have to team
this wheat down to Albany and sell it
for what it will bring. Here you come
out talking about reapers and cars and
thrashin' machines, and darned if l
don't believe you are crazy, so now"
Blewitt pinched himself to see if he
was asleep and strobe anglily to the
house. AS he approached it he heard |
a roaring and rumbling like the wind,
and he looked into the kitchen and |
here was his wife spinning. Who-o-o
went the big machine, and Blewitt sank |
into a chair and yelled:
"Now, Maria, what under the can
,py are you doin'?"
"Doin'2" said his wife, why spinin',
Of course. must get out forty yards
If full cloth for you and the boys and
wenty yards of pressed flannel for me
md the gals"
Blewitt looked down al his legs and
aw them encased in full cloth of coarse
exture, and the seat of his trousers he
elt reached clear up TO his shoulder
blades, and the legs were as wide as
wo-bushel sacks.
"Well, I'll be darned." was all he
aid. #ff
Dreamily he sauntered out again to
he wheat field and John halted him.
"Father, if you amt going to help
ut the wheat suppose you yoke the
ken and go up to the woods and draw
raft or two Of logs for wood9'
Blewitt was composed, but he said:
i had intended to burn coal in the
and parlor and not cut
nuch wood"
"Coal, coall" said John, angrily
"Now see here, father; don't want
ny more Of this foolish talk. Pm 60
ng to get Doctor" {
Blewiit began TO think he needed one |
imself. Here his boys had never heard
f reaper or thrashing machine or
ars. On the lounge at the house he |
~ himself down and tried to calmly I
hink things over. When the doctor 8
anne he called for a pail and barred /
'lewitt's arm. He took out his lance, c
nd then Blewitt groaned again. III
81 must take gallon of blood" !" said |
be Doctor, ''and then he will calm
own be all righi.' II
Don't you know bleedin' was played
ut fifty years ago2" said Blewitt. t
"How he wanders," said the Doctor. d
nd he plunged in his lance. Blewitt
tinted. Whe he came to himself he {
card one of the girls talking about an
rtist down in the village who took f
rofile pictures with spindle as nat 8
raj as life.
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