Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1921-12-15
' PART ii-Continucd.
s.

AS he grew older, his insatiate Gu
riosity enabled him to expose unnum-
bcred weaknesses, indiscretiOns and
social misfortunes on the part of ac-
quantances and sChoOlmates; and to
every exposure his noise and energy
gave q hideous publicity; the more
his victim sought privacy the more
perSiStCntly he was sought out by
Waffle vOCiferOus and attended by
hilarious spectators. But above all
other things, what most stimulated
the demoniac boy to prOdigies of sat
ire was any tender episode or symp-
tom connected with the dawn of love-
d Florence herself had suffered eXcru-
Ciatirgly at intervals throughout her
eleventh spring, because Wallie dis
covered that George Beck sent her a
valentine; and the humorist's many,
many squealings of that valentines
AffectlOnate quatran finally left her
p unable to decide which she hated the
, more, Wallie or George. That was
the worst of Walle: he never "let
up; and in Florences circle there
was no more SOLDERING threat than,
"Tll tell Wallie TOrbin" AS for
Henry Rooter and Herbert Illngs-
worth Atwater, Jr they would as soon
have had a head-hunter on their trail
as Wallie Torbin with anything in his
hands that could inCriminate them
in an Implication of lOve-or an &C.
acknowledgements of their own beauty
The fabric of civilized life Is inter-
woven with blaCkmail; even some of
the nObleSt people do favOrs for other
people who are depended upon not to
tell somebody something that the no
blest people have done. Blackmail is
born into us all, and our nurses teach
us more blackmail by threatening to
tell cur parents, if we won't do this
and that-and our parents threaten
TO tell the dOCtOr-and so we learn
Blackmail is part of the daily life Of
II child; displeased, his first resort to
get his way with other children Is a
threat to tell; but by-and-by his
experience discovers the mutual bene-
fit Of honor among blackmailers.
Therefore, at eight it is no longer the
ticker to threaten to tell the teacher
and, q little later, threatening to tell
any adult at all is considered some
thing Of breakdown in morals. No
toriOusly, the code is more liable to
infraCton by people of the physically
weaker sex, for the very reason, of
course, that their inferOrity or mus
Gle 50 frequently compels such a sim
II they are to have their way. Btt
for Florence there was now no such
TEMPTATION. Looking toward the den
molition Of Atwater & ROOter, an exi
posture before adults Of the results
Of Truth" would have been an effect
Of the sickliest pal!or compared to
what might be accomplished by a
careful use Of the catastrophe Wallle
TOrbin.
ALI in all, 1t was great Sunday
for Florence. On Sunday evening IT
. was her privileged custom to 90 to
AHt b'llSt VI llfl ltlt OIu
Joseph Atwater. and remain until nine
O'Clock, in chatty companlonshlp with
Uncle Joseph and Aunt Carrie his
wife, and a few other relatives who
were in the habit Of dropping in there
on Sunday evenings. In summer
lemonade and cake were frequently
provided; In the autumn, one still
found cake and perhaps a pitcher. OF
clear new cider; apples were always
certainty >.
This evening was glorious; there
were. apples and cider and cake and
walnuts, perfectly cracked, and q
large open-hcArted box Of candy
Naturally, these being the circum.