The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-12-29


about two inches to the left of the
bottom of his necktie Strange as it
may seem, his very early Christmases
stand out in the strongest relief on
bis mental horizon. AS a matter of
TACT and common sense he never had
many of them, but they are so vivid
pm memory's horizon that it seems
hs If there must be hundreds of
hem.
Those Christmases were made of
she most wonderful combinations,
half pact, half fancy, that never were
put together. They were woven and
interviewer of moonlight, star glin-
Ter, reindeers, new fallen snow,
linking sleigh bells, stories by the
ireside, wonderful visits from your
uncles, aunts, cousins and grandmas,
Stockings, chimneys, flying sparks,
Bongs, toys, roast turkey, mince pie,
candy, nuts, oranges, layer raisins,
plum pudding and fried cakes with
holes in them. We used to try to eat
the cakes without eating the holes.
It is lots of fun. Did you ever try it?
To a boy VINO lived out in the
country among the hemlock trees,
where the SHOWS when they fell in
December did not go off until late the
derful town of mystery and music.
A trip through the town at night was
like an excursion through fairyland.
The street lights seemed to be so
bright and dazzling, you know; and
while trip up the Cherry Ridge
hill part of the town seems gloomy
enough now, the illumination | dare
say is greater now than it was then.
That is what distance of time will do
for you. 1t was truly written, "Tis
distance lends enchantment to the
= view."
In the soft Summer evenings,
when the basin was full of boats,
there was always sound of music
. from some part of the flotilla, and it
8 sounded quite weird and full of
witchery. In the Winter the canal
was empty and the bottom was a
mass of black mud, broken bottles
and the flotsam and jetsam incident
to the maintenance of such a water
highway. No music came from the
canal in Winter; but they used to
haul out the black mud and pave
Wayne street with it. 1t was a
shame to do it, but they did it all
the same. The music came later on
e. in the Springtime, gentle Annie,
stuff, and drivers sang things to their
horses. There were boatmen in those
days, and they certainly could say
things, and sing things, too, when oc-
casion arose, and occasion was quite
lively half a hundred years ago in
this happyland of Honesdale
Talking ABOUT music reminds me of
a brass bugle dream. The brass
bugle hung on nail in Honesdale
! jewelry store kept by a man by the
name of Seaman. I've forgotten his
front name, but that doesn't matter.
/ saw that bugle and coveted it.
What l wanted of it | can't tell you
never blowed on such a thing in
my life-wasn't built on those lines.
And yet, there was a belief in my
head that if l could in some way get
that horn for my own, everything
else in the world might go. There
was hidden scheme of taking that
brass squawker and learning to play
1T in secret-in secret, mind you
and then of some time blazing forth
to the astonishment of the world as a
player of the sweetest of music,
while my friends and relatives stood
around and gazed in wonder, and
felt sorry for the unkind way they
ieiu u CdICu me- InC unhluu UTedI-
ment including a mild trouncing ad-
ministered out in the woodshed for
sundry attempts to run cars" on the
gravity road that was not far from
home, sweet home"
Now, to make this sound like a
real story, it should show a saving
of pennies, a fixed purpose, a kind
hearted old man who forced money
on me forsaving the life of his
daughter by stopping a runaway
horse, ands some more, until that
brass horn was paid for and hidden
away in a Cherry Ridge hay mow
along with the apples and things
that boys and squirrels gather; but
all of that part of the story would
be so devoid of truth that it can find
no place or part in this sketch
never got the horn, and thus vanish
ed another chance to electrify the
world. Had that horn come my way
there is no telling what might have
been the result. While learning to
play it in secret the neighbors might
have "gamboled on the green" or
done some other desperate deed, as
they were lured on by the spell" of
the performer.
Probably the most important piece
dale out our way was that there was
in that town a store where they sold
nothing else but candy. Some of the
boys doubted that story very much; !;
but other boys said it was true, for
they had seen the store, been in it,
and had actually bought candy there.
And thus our faith was strengthened
and our doubt were swept away by
the logic of positive evidence.
And now I'm coming to another
side of the Honesdale picture that
seems strange indeed, to the writer
hereof. 1t is about certain things
connected with the town that filled
me with fear. First, l was afraid
of the canal, especially at night. II
seemed so dark, and deep, and big
that it must be full of mysteries
They could drown big men and nIJIe
boys there so easily, and surely the
dark waters would hold the secret
forever. Then there were the boat
boys with red faces and loud tones
xThn naraicfad in bitobino tri, n