The Newtown bee., 1909-07-16
THE OLD STOVE. From the Academirian Kindly Loaned The Bee By w, II, Prindle.

On my way to and from school,
 pass an old stove, which l think might be q great acquisition to any one wishing to collect relics of ans
 'iqulty. lt stands upon q hard substance usually called rock, As
 the surface of the rock is somewhat uneven all Of the feel are not able to touch lt at once. This gives 1t
 ne appearance of being just ready to dance q polka. ! presume it has no Idea of performing such a deed, Tor, on account of It's extreme age. l do not think 1t would endeayor to try any such feat of agility.
 The pipe hv some mischanre seems to have strayed from its proper place, but where 1t Is this compo- sition sayetn not. In it's place Q venerable tea-kettle stands with as much audacity as though 1t really belonged there. That tea-kettle is with it's sauey little spout turned up so cunnlngly. The lid, l am grieyed to say, is lost. The kettle is placed over the opening left for the pipe in such a manner that one Of the legs is left on the outside and the other two are inside of the open ing. l presume it would not fit or else there was very little pains taken in putting the kettle on. When it boils suppose we can all take tea.
 l should think from the bright vermillion hue of the stove that 1t never had an introduction to black ing, or even if it had it was so long since that it had entirely forgotten 1t. o, ye stoves with your mirror like faces, who as yet bid defiance to the corroding touch of time Can ye boast of having done half as much good as this old box stove which may have been an heirloom for cen turies? have a particular rever- ence for this aged stove, and why should l not. An, well do I remem- Der when puzzling at Those seeds of Science, called A, B, C." in the cold winter, what blazing fires we used to build in it to keep ourselves from freezing. Then we used to gather close around it, pursuing mischief ana study with great assiduity as bright idea entered the mind of that venerable object When, To- the bottom parted and with a terrible crash deposited all the contents of the stove upon the floor beneath it.
 Methinks I live OCT that scene again. Consternation is for a mo- ment depicted on every face, some ejaculations uttered, dnd the glow ing embers lay scattered on the floor. The scene changes. Some laugh, some cry, some express hope that the old schoolhouse will be burned, some run for snow to put out the fire (for in those days we were dependent upon the neighbors for water.) In the course of few days the old stove was menued and in its place again, just as good as new" It is long time since this event occurred, but,
 : Such scenes and such days,
 Though past and afar,
 Will live in the blaze
 Of bright Memory's star"
 The old schoolhouse has been for saken and the old stove, after pass ing through many changes, has reached it's present position. It really makes me feel sad to see it stand there without any protection for it's venerable form. But such are the ways of the world. Ever ready to turn off it's most faithful servants to take care of themselves, when they are no longer able to serve their interests.-[Mary Jane herman.