Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1897-12-26
zERAH wEs1eRook's FLUTE.
II Some One adm broken 1t He
Would Not Envc nccn IA nig Man.

~ ~ ASh q -
brook, eN-deputy comptroller Of New
York and lately judge of Montgomery
county. THAT shows what 4 lucky
think it was for him hat his flute got
broken years and years ago UP in Sus-
sex county, y. j., the night we went
over and gave him n surprise party.
'Zeary was born in Sussex county
aud lived on the farm only II few miles
from the Delaware. and he came OvC'
into Pike county when he was Ii or L..
to go to school at Milford. lie :"
popular among us young folks. hGi
thunder! there wasn't anything about
him, either OF outward show or inward
Eight, in those days that would have
furnished material for the best all
round prophet in the business 10 build
a future for him beyond the confines Of
the rail fence around that old West
brook farm over in Jersey. Some folk
went so far rs to prophcsy that 10
would come TO some bad erd, bGsirf
their forebodirgs on what seemed tr
he the all-sriIicicrt fact that he playci
the flute. lie didn't exactly play tho
flute. either. He tcascd il. lie worric'
H.. lie hur'Cd from il siacClto tuo;s
that jahbCd holes In the Silly surrm,'
night. lie forced from it distrCssful
meanings. Cnspirg gurglCs. wCCful
walls. aEd'wi!d and ~dCsrairiuC shr!,ks
lie cut these up into sections aud called
them tunes. The most dcspa!rirg. the
most hopeless. the most distressing 90
thCs" was his favoriic. He called il
'NaralcoT Crossing the .Nlps!' never
1n'-..r.I -. \-,,Hn,, 1n.G - Ill a..
crossing the Alps. but it wa never.
never 50 bad rs that. People who fore
saw his awful finish declare 10 this day
that it would have come long brfor,
this II something hadn't happened 10
separate !tw frNu that Gutr.
"Icary uwii g0irg TO school! in Milford
after awhi'C. and thought he could dc
better h. r~i," back home 10 help With
'hc pig Liz " ard tic chores about the
farm. 80 lie took lis flute and vert.
leaving a vacuum in Milford mus'cal
circle that 4 fife and drum corps failed
TO III. Then. after awhile. when tic
weather got cold and the slcighiro
good. 4 lot Of us Young folks THOUGH,
we'd take a sleigh ride over TO the West
brook farm and give Icary a surpris,
party. Iakir" lots Of cakes and thing
a'1"". - was the surn~i.g r"riv custer
in t.asr Gays. r. NJ was IT," coolest
night ! was ever Cui "a. II was 50 cold
that when orr sleigh upset on the wav
over aud dumped rs al down n ter.
foot bank. AID i r-r Of cus,nrd hur
charge cf climbed TIP on my head
turned itself bottom SIDE up. suua,l,,
down on nv crown. ard sat there p.
cocky rs a helmet on n iiusv Troiar
soldier. it frozr fusi before lad rcrrv-
cred from my astCrishmCut sunic.tu.l,
to take i; or. and I either had 10 b,
,"alrcd to got away from IT or leave IL
there until we could yet somewhere 10
;haw il out. and | left il. The girls al!
had Mysteries for awhile. hut no one was
hurt.
I'VE were only n couple Of miles from
the WcstbrCOk place when this mis-
hap hcfcIl us, ard We soon Strengthened
things up ard went on. As we rcareG
the CHEEKY lights that CLEANED from
the Wcstbrook windows. suddenly The
horses prickcd up ;hc'r ears. STONED
and tried to turn round in the road and
90 back. The driver quictcd them down.
but looked back at us. frightened him
self. Then, brought to US on the night
wind, we heard sounds Of arony-dc-
spairing means, CXcruciating walls. and
cries.
"Great Hcaven!' exclaimed one Of
the party; have we corne here to NEE,
with sickness. and perhaps death?'
No replied another. who recor-
nizcd the sounds. we haven't. That's
only Hcary boosting Napoleon over the
Alps
at was zcary and his flute. gtili
tempting fate. We SCOT hustled inside
with cur surprise, and II was surprise.
too. But even the sight of me frozen
fast by my hair 10 a tin pan couldn't
turn Icary from his course. lie had
Napoleon at such a critical spot in the
Alps that he couldn't leave him there
with safety. and lie kept on crossinr
bin over. lie rot him to the pinnacle
Of the Alps at last.aHd cast him down ON
the other side with such an appalIfur
burst from the depths Of the flute TIM,
one OF the girls reached out for mo-,
Mysteries and got en-. Then Xcary
threw the house wide open. They
thawcd me out, and wr were having =
joyful time. when Icarv moved toward
the flute again. We were nbout q,
order mp the horses and ~, but v,
didn't have 10. Somebody or sometime
somehow. had wrecked tho flute.
whether ii had been sat on. or iumptd
on. or what, there il was. broken beyond
repair.
"Icary was sad. but he kept up. He
ncvorcould get another flute that suited
him, and The charm q the farm was
brokc lie left the place by aud by
and went mp into New York state.
There he got into politics. and The first
thing We heard he had got TO br a Judge.
and then deputy comptroller Of the
state. And now he's n mayor. But he'd
never have been there If wc hadn't gone
over TO Jcre"y with our surprise party
That night. Icnry ought TO offer n re.
ward OF maybe $500 To the fellow who
broke that flute. III just like to make
that much about now TO kind o. winter
nynr ~" d" - {
n quart OF nnc sand at two cents vii
90 the work Of three pounds OF securing
soap costing live cents cucb.
Pieces of brown paper should b,
folded and put into u little wall poke
on the back Of the pantry door.
Irvine taken from the bundles zen.
homo from both dry goods and grocr,
stores should hive the ends neatly tict
md be wound nt once on n bnll.
White OF eggs, saved one or tyyn M n