White Oaks eagle. (White Oaks, N.M.) 189?-190?, 1898-04-28
zeRAH wEsTeEook's FLUTE.
II Some One Hadn't broken IL He
MouId Not Have Dccn O niK Nan.

brook mayor of Amsterdam, up in York
state somewhere" said Pike county
man, referring to Hon. Zerah West
brook. ex-deputy comptroller Of New
York and lately judge Of Montgomery
county. THAT shows what Il lucky
think it was for him that his flute got
broken years and years ago up in Sus-
sex county. y. j., the night we went
over and gave him surprise party.
"Zeary was born in Sussex county
and lived on the farm only a few miles
from the Delaware. and he came over
into Pike county when he was l6 or Il.
to go to school at Milford. He was
popular among us young folks. but
thunder. there wasn't anything about
him, either Of outward show or inward
light, in those days that would have
furnished material for the best all
round prophet in the business TO build
a future for him beyond the confines Ct
the rail fence around that old West
brook farm over in Jersey. Some folks
went so far as to prophesy that he
would come to some bad end. basing
their forebodings on what seemed to
be the all-sufiieient fact that he played
the flute. He didn't exactly play the
flute, either. He teased It. He worried
| it. He hurled from it staccato toots
that jabbed holes in the Silly summer
night. Tie forced from it distressful
meanings. gaspng gurgles, woeful
walls. and wild and pairing shrieks.
He cut these up into sections and called
them tunes. The most despairing, the
most hopeless, the most distressing of
these was his favorite. He called il
! Napoleon Crossing the Alps!' never
believed it. Napoleon had a bad time
crossing the Alps. but it was never
never so bad as that. People who fore
saw his awful finish declare to this day
that it would have come long before
this il something hadn't happened to
separate him from that flute.
"Zeary quit going to school in Milford
after awhile. and thought he could dc
better by going back home to help wit
the pig killing and the chores about tho
farm, so he took his flute and vert.
leaving vacuum in Milford mus cal
circle that a fife and drum corps failed
to fill. Then, after awhile, when the
weather got cold and the sleigAing
good, lot of us young folks thought
we'd take a sleigh ride over to the West
brook farm and give Ieary surprise
party, taking lots of cakes and things
along, as was the surprise party custom
in those days. That was the coolest
night | was ever out in. 1t was so colo
that when our sleigh upset on the way
over and dumped us all down ter.
foot bank. and a pan of custard haf
charge Of climbed up on my head
turned itself bottom side up. squashcd
down on my crown, and sat there as
cockv rs a helmet on a tipsy Trojan
soldier. il froze fast before had recov
cred from my astonishment sufficiently
! to take it eff, and I either had 10 be
scalped to get away from it or leave i
there until we could get somewhere tt
thaw il out, and left it, The girls al
had Mysteries for awhile. but no one wa:
hurt.
wv WIZ OIll NOuPlt VI iiI'C ~ u
the Westbrook place when this mis-
hap befell us, and we soon Strengthened
things up and went on. AS we nearet
the CHEEKY lights that cleaned from
the Westbrook windows. suddenly tn
horses priclied up their ears, stopped
and tried to turn round in the road art
@. back. The driver quieted them down
but looked back at us frightened him
self. Then. brought to us on the nigh
wind we heard sounds Of agony-dc
spairing means, excruciating walls, an,
cries.
"'Grcat Heaven! exclaimed one o
the party; have We come here to NEE
with sickness, and perhaps death"
"'No,' replied another, who recop
nized the sounds. we haven't. That
only Zeary boosting Napoleon over tn
Alps
at was Zeary and his flute, sti
tempting fate. We soon hustled insid
with cur surprise, and it was surprise
too. but even the sight Of me frozc
fast by my hair 10 tin pan couldn
turn Xeary from his course. lie ha
Napoleon at such critical spot in tn
Alps that he couldn't leave him ther
| with safety, and he kept on crossin
| him over. lie got him to the pinnacl
Of the Alps at last.and cast him down o
! the other side with such an nppalliu
burst from tho depths of the flute thi
one Of the girls reached out for nor
= Mysteries and got 'em. Then Zear
I threw the house wide open. The
/ thawed me out. and We we're having
joyful time. when Zeary moved towar
n the flute again. We were about
4 order up the horses and ny, but v
4 didn't have TO. Somebody or someth!n
somehow. had wrecked the nut
4 Whether it had been sat on, or jumpc
i on, or what, there il was, broken beyor
4 repair.
i "Zenry was sad. but he kept up. ]
. never could get another flute that suite
o. him. and the charm Of the farm W
., broken. lie left the place by and |
o and went up into New York stat
n II There he got into politics, and the fir
K, thing We heard he had got to be n jude
- and then deputy comptroller OF &
: state. And now he's mayor. But he
mover have been there II we hadn't go
! over 10 jersey with our surprise par