The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1896-03-21

III hlSht. WI. N'ii peoiitoo "eS ''ciA "hN
raised in this city, and he had been accus-
toned to it's roar, which was in fact music
to him, as it is to many others.
"Mr. Griptongs had made fortune in
business and retired, and he thought he
would like to move into the country. How
he came to pitch or Storkville Center l
don't know but don's sec how lie could
have made better selection. He bought
a farm there, just on the edge of the town,
and settled down comfortably. But from
the very first he suffered from insomnia,
which was very mysterious thing for he
had good health and plenty of money and
nothing to bother him, and he took plenty
Of exercise and got tired enough at night
but somehow he couldn't sleep. He won
dered for long time why this could be,
but he couldn't imagine until one night,
when he was sitting out on the veranda, all
Of sudden he became conscious Of the fact
that the world was full Of Stiffness stiffness.
He thought he had never heard so much
alleuCe Ill LIS lllC bGlOIc anu lS HtNCl ldu
He knew now what was the matter with
him. He'd been accustomed all his life to
noise, and lots OF it, and every fiber OF his
body had been accustomed to vibrate in
unison with it, sleeping aud waking, and
here he was with tho conditions of u life
time suddenly and absolutely changed.
! =,
place, and he liked the people; he didn't
want to move away, hut of course he hal
got to sleep at nights. During the day his
time was abundantlv occupied; and the
comparative quiet of the neighborhood did
not disturb him. The trouble was about
the nights, and question was, what should
he do? He had ample means, and what
he undertook to do was to set up in his
new home some approximation to the con-
dition that had existed in the old As not
infrequently happens, lie somewhat over
did it.
"Mr. Griptong's farm comprised 800 and
some acres, extending along the road for
upward of tive-eighths of mile. What he
said about going to begin with was to pave
the street along the whole front of his
property with stone pavement. He went
to New York and bought lot Of second
hand paving stones that had been taken up
to make way for an improved pavement
don know just how many he bought
but lot of 'em, several canalboat loads,
and he had 'em freighted up to his place
1t was late in the fall when he bought the
blocks. | remember that his boats were
the last boats through the canal before the
close of navigation that season, and it was
midwinter before he had all the blocks on
ground. Then he was delayed by strikes
and bad weather and one thing and an
other, so that before the work was finished
it was spring. and the frost was coming out
Of the ground, and that pavement was
probably the toughest and most uneven
piece of stone pavement in the world The
roadway had simply been graded up for the
blocks and the stones laid down, and now
the road was all wavy with knobs and hills
and valleys from end to end. But that
was just what Mr.. Griptongs wanted
"He had bought in New York seven
large iron | beams, three curved pieces of
street railroad, such as they lay around
corners, and few pieces of angle iron and
little assortment lot OF iron bars to give
variety and tone and he had bought also
one OF those trucks that consist of four
heavy wheels. with reach between, with
the crosspieces above the axles, upon which
the load rests, plated with iron to keep
them from wearing.
'Well, finally they got the road finished
and ready for use. Mr.. Griptongs' house
stood about midway of it, and the idea was
to have that heavy load of iron driven up
and down the road from end to end, past
the house all night, beginning just before
Mr.. Griptongs went to bed and continuing
until after getting up time in the morning
They loaded the iron upon the truck the
l beams and bars and so on, with the
curved plates sticking out at one side, like
so many gigantic sickles. They had good
four horse team. The outfit was down at
one end of Mr.. Grptongs piece Of road
and the signal for starting was to be red
lantern hung up on the middle post of Mr.
Griptongs' veranda.
swell, that night, when Mr.. Griptongs
was all ready to 20 to bed, he called down
to his hired man in the hall to hang out the
light. minute later you could hear the
l beams rafting a quarter of mile down
the road.
'Oh now,' said Mr. Griptongs as he
got into he'd, that sounds something like
it' and when the load went past he was
snoring loudly-.he first sound sleep he
had had for months.
"Noise? Well, there never was any
thing like it in that or any other part OF
Vermont, and for hours the four horse team
kept it up jolting the big truck along,
with the beams and bars bounding, making
music for the sleeping Griptongs, but
spreading amazement and dismay through
out the neighboring country. About a
quarter past II the load upset. The two
piUh yyhaala nf tla trn.L ba,na,aJ 70 1r,n