Year: 1871

of fat pork, half dozen biscuit an d II
plate of doughnuts at one sitting, and
sometimes, after smart days work, he
would swallow a quarter of 4 pie by way
of dessert.


Old Boggs used to say the boy would
| ruin him If he kept on that way until
be was twsnty-one.


But it was fun for Boggs' daughter.
She would pile up the victuals before
the voracious youth, and as he slowed
them away with great deliberation aud
regularity, her roguish eyes would spar
kle and she would laugh on the sly and
say it was equal to feeding the pigs.
Time wore on and it began to be OBJ
served that Brigham took pains to comb
his hair and grease his boots with con
siderable frequency. In the winter he
would escort farmer Beggs' daughter to
the district school, and he used to display
great agility in shoveling out the snow
drift to make q smooth path for the
young lady 80 that she could walk to
school.


One cold winter morning, just after a
heavy snow storm, he started out bright
and early to shovel away the snow drifts.
His hair had been nicely creased, and
so had his boots, and as he was shovel
ing with might and main through .
great bank of snow, Miss Boggs came
tripping gaily along. AS soon as he saw
her Brigham threw aside his shovel,
jumped to the further side Of the snow
drift, got upon his knees, aud blubbered
out, Miss Boggs, love you; will you
be mine?n


1t was a picture for an artist. The
black eyes of Miss Boggs fairly snapped
fire, and her little foot stamped the snow
fiercely as she said, "Get up, you BOBBY;
do you suppose would have such a slip
of a man as you ?"


Miss Boggs had great fancy for
plants, and she was always on the look
out lor slips of different varieties. That
was why she termed Brigham "slip of
a man." Why is il that elderly girls





young men even of their own age?


Brigham rose up out of the snow, sor-
rowfully 81 .ouldered his shovel, and from
that time forward there was coldness
between him and Miss Boggs. The
coldness in fact was 90 marked, that it
might be said to amount to a DRIFT. But
Brigham did not lose his appetite. If
anything he ate more heartily than ever,
and old Boggs was frequently heard to
say he wasn't worth his salt.


Spring came at la.t, and everything
started into new life. The fields donned
their robes of green. sheep gsmboled on
| the hillsides, and birds twittered in the
air right merrily.


One day. after a particularly hearty
meal, Brigham sat down upon the steps
of old farmer Boggs' porch, and as he
was contemplatively engaged in MUNICH
ing a raw turnip to aid his digestion. he
was startled by the unusual sound OF
Koo-koo- ker-r-rewW It was farmer
Boggs' favorite Shanghai rooster, whose
clarion voice, long silent in consequence
of the rigorous Vermont winter, now
poured forth shrill and hearty wei
come to the glorious beauties of spring
| time.


Brigham paused, laid aside his turnip
aud critically scanned the movements
of the noble bird Of the barnyard. He
observed the bold, defiant look, the
| lofty strut and the lordly mien of the
chivalrous Shanghai, at whose call
would come troops Of plump and pleas
ure loving hens. They were meek and
sleek, and submissive to their lord and
master. To him they look ed for protec-
ton and on him they leaned for sup
port.


For long time Brigham mused and
was lost in reverie. At last he rose up
and said: II will learn . lesson from,
this rooster. Here is the principle OF
natural selection fully set forth. Why
should pine for the love of one woman?
1 will follow the example set by this "a
vorite Shanghai. I'll join Joe Smith,
turn Mormon, and have as many wives
rs please"


| And so he did.


This only illustrates" said my uncle,
"how a great mans career is often
shaped and marked out as it were by the
most trivial circumstances"


As for the pretty Miss Boggs, she was
glad to be rid of the presence of her per-
| secutor and afterwards married a r.
spectacle farmer, lived happily in yon-
der house, and reared a large family OF
children.


| What Does It.