Transcriber's Notes: 1. This text has numerous intentionally misspelled words. 2. In several instances, what would normally be a full stop has been presented in the original text and here as an extra space. 3. The punctuation and spelling of the original text have been retained throughout. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "SEQUIL" Or Things Whitch Aint Finished in the First ByHENRY A. SHUTE Published byThe Everett PressBoston, Mass. , Mcmiv ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright, 1904, by Henry A. Shute. Entered at Stationers' Hall. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "SEQUIL" OR THINGS WHITCH AINT FINISHED IN THE FIRST Sept. 7, 186- Gosh, what do you think, last nite father and mother andme and Keene and Cele and aunt Sarah was sitting at supper when father, he sed i am a going to read your diry tonite. Gosh i was scart for ihadent wrote ennything in it for a long time. So after supper i wentover to mister Watsons and asked him if he dident want to see father andhe sed he wood and i went home and told father mister Watson wanted himto come over jest as quick as he cood and father went over. I knewfather woodent ever think of it agen. Father and mister Watson Beanysfather set and talked about what they usted to do and father sed do youremember Wats that time you and Bill Yung and Brad Purinton and Jack Fogwent down to, and then he saw me and Beany lissening and he sed, youboys run away and he giv me 5 cents and me and Beany went over to old SiSmiths for some goozberies but i have got to wright that old diry somemore whitch is pretty tuf, i have forgot whether it was brite and fairsence i wrote my last diry or not, but ennyway it is brite and fairtoday. Lots of things have hapened sense i wrote my last diry. Beanysfather is a poliseman now and Beany feels prety big. Beany hadent bettersay mutch to me ennyway. The stewdcats have come back and they has beenlots of fites. Scotty Briggam licked 2 stewdcats in one day. One day meand Pewt and Beany was standing in frunt of the libary and 2 stewdcatswent in and Pewt threw a peace of dry mud and it hit the stewdcat ritein the neck and bust and went down his coller and he see us laffin andhe walked rite out to where we was standing and he sed sorter sisy likewhitch of you boys throwd that, and Pewt sed jest like him, if you areso smart you had better find out, and he grabed Pewt and throwd him ritein the guter and roled him round in the mud and hit him 3 good bats inthe ear. Me and Beany run and Pewt he was mad becaus we dident pich inand help him, but lots of times me and Beany has got licked and Pewtnever helped us. I told Father about it and he sed he was glad of it andhe wished the stewdcats had licked me and Beany two. Sept. 8, 186- brite and fair. The band played tonite downtown. We allwent down but mother and aunt Sarah and the baby and Franky and Georgieand Annie who was all two little except mother and aunt Sarah who had tostop and take care of them. The band played splendid and Fatty Walkerjest pounded the base drum as hard as he cood. Most of the fellers runround and played tag and hollered but i set still. I cant see howfellers can run round and holler when a band plays. They tried to pullme out of my seet but i giv Beany a good punch. When we came homemother asked if i had behaived and father sed i set there jest like aold potato. He sed i dident know much ennytime but when i herd music idident know ennything. Sept. 9, 186- Will Simpkins is coming to visit us. He is my cuzon and isolder then i am and every time he comes he licks me. I dont dass to tellbecaus he is company. So this time i am going to get Gim Erly or TadyFinton to lick him. He is coming next Saterday. He lives in a city andwears a neckti every day and feels prety big and says i am a countryman. I see Gim Erly today and he says he will lick time out of Will for anife and a slingshot. I had lost my nife so i told Beany and he sed hewood give Gim his nife if he wood let him see the fite. Will lickedBeany last summer and Beany aint forgot it. Then i dident have ennyslingshot and so i told Fatty and Fatty he sed he wood give Gim hisslingshot if he cood see the fite. It seemed kinder mean not to tellPewt, so i told Pewt and he sed he would give me his fathers pigsbladder when it was killed if i wood let him see the fite, that makes 2bladders i am going to have this fall. Oliver Lane is going to give mehis, they will make bully footballs. I gess i can get Potter to give mea leest flycatches egg if i will let him see the fite. Sept. 10. Brite and fair. Will Simpkins is coming tomorrow. I bet hewill wish he hadent after Gim Erly gives him that licking. Potter gaveme a red wing blackbirds egg and a chippys egg and 2 blewjays wings tosee the fite. Sept. 11. Brite and fair. It was the best fite i have seen since CrisStaples licked Charlie Clark you had aught to have seen it. Will camethis morning he was all dressed up and had his shoes blacked. I knewthat wood make Gim want to lick him. I felt kinder mean when he camebecaus he seamed glad to see me, and mother sed i hope you boys willhave a real nice time together, and i sed i gess we will. So afterdinner i asked him to go over to Beanys and we went over and Gim wasthere and Potter and Pewt and Fatty and Billy Swett came with Fatty andhe wispered he wood giv me a whailbone bow. Gim sed to me easy have yougot them things and i sed yes and Gim sed no fooling and i sed hope todie and i crosed my throte and i sed you have got to lick him first andhe sed he wood lick him. So we went over in the high school yard to playprisners bass. Well prety soon Gim sed Will cheeted, and Will said hedident, and Gim sed do you mean to call me a lier and Will sed he didentcheet and Gim sed he wood giv him a paist on the nose, and Will sed hewant man enuf and Gim scrached a line in the dirt and told Will not todass to step over it and then Will put a chip on his sholeder and toldGim not to dass to nock it off and Will sed if he hit Gim he wood nockhim so far he woodent come down at all and Gim sed if he hit him therewoodent be ennything left of him but a red neckti, and Will told Gim hewas a freckled faced mick and Gim told Will he was a curly haired niggerand just then Fatty give Will a push rite into Gim and they went at itand Gim licked time out of Will and got him down and lammed him until hehollered enuf. Then Will he went home balling and i had to go two andwhen we got home mother sed it was a shame and she wood tell father whenhe got home. When father got home mother told him and sed it was a shamethat Willy, she calls him Willy, i am glad my name aint Willy, i hadrather be called Skinny or Polelegs or Plupy then Willy, well she sed itwas a shame that Willy coodent play with me without having that dredfulErly boy fiting him and she wanted father to go up to Mr. Tucks whereGim lives and tell him about it. Well father sed boys always fit andshe mustent wurry about it he gessed Willy wood get over it. But he toldme not to ask Gim Erly down here agen. So after supper when i had to gofor the yeest i ran up to Gims and giv him the nife and the slingshotand told him not to tell. Sept. 12. Brite and fair. Will has got a black eye and a scrached nose. Nellie has got well and we had a ride today after church and i let Willdrive. In the afternoon Beany and Pewt came over and we had a shootingmach with the whailbone bow behind the barn. I told Beany and Pewt notto tell for if they did father woodent let us go together agen. Fattyand Potter and Billy Swett wont tell ether. Sept. 13, 186- Brite and fair. Today we had a good time. Mother let meinvite Beany and Pewt and Nipper Brown to supper for company for Will. Pewt coodent come becaus he shot one of his fathers hens with his arrowrifle jest like i shot my hen whitch was eating eggs and Mister PurintonPewts father woodent let him come. I gess if father had been at home forsupper i wood have got a licking but he dident get home til the 7 ohclock train. Well we had been raising time up in my room and when wewent down to supper i pulled a chair out when Nipper went to set downand he set rite down on the floor bang and grabed the table cloth andpulled of his plate and cup and sauser and Beanys sauser and they camerite down on his head and broak to smash. Nipper was scart but motherpicked him up and said he needent wurry for she dident care for thedishes and asked him if he was hurt and said it was my falt and she toldme i had aught to be ashamed and I hadent aught to have company if idident know how to treet them. She dident send me to bed becaus she hadto be polite to Beany and Nipper and so i was all rite, after supper weplayed domminoes til the nine oh clock bell rang and then Beany andNipper went home. Sept. 14. Brite and fair. Will went home to-day i was sorry he went, wehad a good time and i never knew him to be such a good feller before. Igess it did him good to get a lickin. Father says it always does me goodto get a good lickin. Before he went he got me to throw a ball easy athim and he let it hit him in the eye so he cood tell his folks that aball hit him in the eye, so he wood not have to tell a lie to his fatherabout his black eye. A feller feels a good deal better when he doesenthave to lie to his folks. When i usted to hook in swiming i usted tostick my head in the rane water barril so I cood tell father how i wetmy hair. I dident like to do it sometimes becaus the barril was full oflittle wigglers but i had ruther do that then have to tell a lie, ennyway i gess all the wigglers that got into my hair died becaus theynever bit me. Father says they turn into musketers. Sept. 15, 186- Brite and fair. I forgot to say that i giv Will thewhailbone bow that Billy Swett giv me to see the fite. He was glad toget it i tell you, and he sed i was the best feller he knew. I told himwhen he came here agen we wood have some more fun. Mother gave him 25cents and gave me ten cents for being so good to him. Me and Pewt andBeany had some goozeberies down to old Si Smiths. Father told me onetime i cood have a football, so i asked him tonite and he sed i didentdesirve ennything, that i had caused him a good deal of truble, ennywayi am going to have 2 bladders. Sept. 16. Clowdy but no rane. Beany and Ticky Moses got fiting at resesstoday. We was playing 2 old cat and we was chewsing sides, and Beany andTicky was chewsing and the way they did it was this. Beany he throwedthe bat at Ticky and Ticky he cought it about half way down, and thenBeany he put his hand above Tickys and Ticky he put his above Beanys, and so on til when they came to the end of the bat the last one whitchhad his hand on has the first choice and no fudging, only he has got toswing the bat around his head 3 times and throw it 3 times as far as hecan gump. Well Beany he had the last hand on the bat and he cood jestget hold of it a little and when he swung it round his head it slipedand hit Ticky on his head, and he piched into Beany and jest as they wasfiting good the bell rang. That is jest the way. Something always stopsthe good fites. I bet on Beany. Sept. 17. Brite and fair. The stewdcats have got back long ago--i forgotto wright that in. They are some new fellers not enny biger then i am. Honey Donovan licked one of them easy and made him ball like a baby. Chitter Robinson and a stewdcat named Hall had a fite on the Plains andneether licked. They fit until they was tired out, and Darlinton a bigstewdcat came up and stoped them. They aint much fun in going to schoolnow. All the girls go to school in the libary bilding and they is nobodybut fellers in the grammer school. I tell you it is pretty loansom. Wefellers dont care mutch if they miss in there lessons. Sept. 18. Brite and fair. After school today me and Beany and Fatty andNibby and Lees Moses and Whacker went home by the libary building, whenthe girls came out they dident pay enny attension to us becaus the highschool fellers was there. Perhaps they will want to slide on our sledsnext winter and then i gess they will find out something. Sept. 19, 186- Brite and fair. Went to church in the morning and tosunday school in the afternoon. I have got a new pair of britches. OldMissis Stickny made them out of a old pair of fathers. They wasent veryold becaus they was made out of the same blew coat that father had whenhe was going to make his speach when old Dirgin put me out of the townhall. Father sed he wood never ware them britches ennymore. They was tootite, and his new boots was too tite two, and so he giv them to me, onlyi cood have the britches made smaler and i coodent have the boots madesmaler so i will have to wate a long time before i cood ware the boots. Well after sunday school me and Bug and Cawcaw and Pile Wood went downto the dam. They are having the dam fixed and the water is auful low, rite below the dam they was some big pikerel in a place where theycoodent get out. Well we took off our shues and stockings and begun towade in after them and they wood dart round lively and we got prettywell spatered, and than i fell rite down and got wet soping. After thati went rite in and we got 12 big pikerel and we had 3 apeace. So i wenthome and i was afraid i wood get a licking and i did two, for when icame in father said where in thunder have you been and i told him andsaid here are some good pikerel for supper and he said i will atend toyou sir, and he took me up stairs and gave me a whaling. Gosh you bet ithurt. Well then he told me to go to bed and said i coodent have mysupper, and when i took of my close my legs were all blew and i calledmother up to see how i was black and blew and when she came up she saidfor mersy sakes, the coler has all come out of your pants and you areall chekered blew, so i tride to wash it of, and it woodent come of. Soi went to bed and i felt auful hungry and i cood hear them at supper andi could smell beefstake and i almost wished father was ded, and when itwas almost dark mother come up with a tray and she had fride one of thepikerel and had some tost and a baked potato and i set up and had a bulysupper. Mother wasent mad a bit with me but she told me i did rong butshe gessed i got my pay for it and i gess i did. Mother is jest as goodas she can be. Sept. 20. Brite and fair. The coler hasent gone of my legs yet. Tonitefather took me down to Erl and Cuts where he got the coat that mybritches was made out of and told Erl about it and made me show my legs, and Erl said i gess George, the cloth hadent been spunged, and fathersaid i dont know about the cloth, but he was spunged most damly when hegot them. And mister Erl laffed and gave father a pair of new britches, and we went home. Father felt pretty good about it, it dont seam rite, igot a lickin and got my legs all blew and it wont come of, and fathergot a new pair of britches for nothing. Enny way one of these pickerelwaid a pound. Sept. 21. Tonite i went over to Beanys. Mister Watson Beanys father wasleening his head on his hand and i stumped Beany to pull his elbo out. And we nearly dide laffing to think about it and by and by Beany got uphis spunk and pulled his elbo out and his head came rite down on thetable and he jumped up and grabed Beany and hit him some good bats andsent him to bed and told me to go home and never come over thereennymore. So i cant go with Beany ennymore. The coler hasent gone out ofmy legs. Sept. 22. Rany. The coler has begun to go of my legs. Sept. 23. Rany as time. We got some soft sope of old man Currier todayand the coler is most gone. Sept. 24. It is all gone now. Sept. 25. Lubbin Smith and Geen Titcum got fiting at resess today andthe bell rung before eether had licked. I bet on Lubbin. I went down forsome more pikerel today but the river is two deep now. Sept. 26. I went to church today. They issent enny fun sundays. Sept. 27, 186- Brite and fair. Today we was playing football at schooland Whacker got rooted agenst Colbaths barn and hit his head whack andfell down jest as if he was ded, and old Francis came running out andgrabed him up and put water on his head and then he waked up and was allrite but he had a headake. Sept. 28. Rany as time. Father has sold Nelly to old Si Smith. She waslame in her hind leg and when she stands in the stable she holds herhind leg up in the air all the time, and when she goes out she limpsauful but after she goes a while she aint lame. So last nite fatherhiched her up and took me and we drove over to Wire Shaws in Kensingtonand when we came back he took out the whip and hit her under the bellywith it 2 times and you aught to see her go. When we came to old SiSmiths she was going like old Billy Robinsons troter. Then father turnedround and drove up to Sis and old Si and Shep Hodgden and Gimmy Biddleand Charles Fifield was there and father said this will make jest thehorse you want for your store and old Si said she aint biger than a ratand father said i gess she is big enuf to carry out all your lodesunless you put down your price, and then they all laffed at Si, and thenSi said she was a puller and father said what do you want Josiar onethat you have to push, and then they laffed agen and when father calledhim Josiar i know Si had better look out for when father calls me Henryi know i am in for a liking. Then Si said she is lame in every leg andfather said you get in here and drive her and if she goes a lame step iwill give her to you, and old Si said to Shep and Gimmy you get in anddrive her and they got in and drove off and father said he wood take 50dolars for her and old Si said he wood give 35 dolars for her and theytalked and talked and then Shep and Gimmy came back and said she wentall rite and old Si said he wood give father 40 dolars and father saidshe was worth 50 but as Si was a nabor he wood like to acomodate him. Well old Si was counting out the money when he said he bet she was akicker father said she is kind as a kitten and dont bite or kick dontshe Harry and i said she cant kick becaus she always holds up one leg inthe stall, and old Si said whats that and i told him how she coodentkick becaus she held up one leg, and then Gimmy and Shep and CharlieFifield and old Mister Page all laffed and hollered and stamped roundand slaped their legs and said that is a good one, and old Si stopedcounting his money and swore aufully and father looked auful mad for aminit and then he said she is wirth every cent of 50 dolars and asked Siwhat he wood give and Si said 15 dolars and they talked and talked andafter a while he give father 25 dolars. Then we went home and fatherlooked prety mad. I dident know what i had done but when we got home hesaid Harry you go to bed, so i went up about scart to deth but by and byi crep to the stairs and lissened and he was telling about it to motherand he said if he had sence enuf not to ask me about it he cood had got15 dolars more out of old Si and he was mad enuf to lick me, and then hebegan to laff and mother laffed and said it served you jest rite Georgeto try and cheet a old man, and father said Nelly was wirth 50 dolarsand the last baril of flour that Si sold him was older then Methooselasgread granfather and he wood have got square with Si if it hadent beenfor that boy. Well mother said you cant whip him for telling the truthand father said thunder no i aint going to lick him but i was mad enufto. So i felt prety good and crep back to bed. Sept. 29. Brite and fair. At school today Scotty Briggam jumped over thefence today to get the football and fell on his arm and broke it, andthen he went home and came back before school was out with some shinglestied on his arm. Scotty has got some spunk, but i gess Tady Finton canlick him now. Old Francis said 2 axidents in 2 days was too mutch and wemustent play football enny more. So at recess we go behind the schoolhouse and have fites. Gim Miller and Ben Rundlet had a good fite, andtomorrow Plug Atherton and Diddly Colket are going to have a fite it ismost as much fun to see fites as to play football. Sept. 30. Brite and fair. We cant have enny more fites. At recess todayPlug and Diddly had the best fite i ever saw. They fit all recess andnone of us heard the bell and Plug had Diddly down and we were allhollering, paist him Plug and hit him Diddly when old Francis came roundthe corner and grabed Plug and Diddly. I tell you we all went intoschool lively and old Francis made Plug and Diddly stand on the platformall the rest of the day with their arms round each others necks and wedident have enny recess in the afternoon. It is pretty tuf. We cant playone old cat becaus old Polly Smith makes a fuss when the ball goes overher fence and we cant play football becaus Scotty broke his arm andWhack got stunted, and we cant fite becaus it is rong to fite. We mightjest as well be girls and roll hoop. Sept. 31, 186- father has got a new pair of hip boots. Rany. Sept. 32. No i ment Oct 2. Yesterday was Oct 1, and i got it Sept. 31. Went down to Henry Youngs tonite and had my hair cut. He put some aufulnise smeling oil on and when i got home they all took turns in smelingof my head. Oct. 3. I went to Church. Pile Woods sister played the organ she isgoing to play all time now. Oct. 4. Brite and fair today and yesterday. It was so hot today that meand Chick Chickering went in swiming, the water was cold as time, and wejest ducked our heads and come out lively. Oct. 5. Nothing today. Brite and fair. They hasent been enny fites atschool for the longest while. Oct. 6. Keene and Cele has got some new balmoral skirts. They feel pretybig. Oct. 7. Charles Talor was down to the house tonite and kept us alllaffing to hear him tell stories about father and Gim Melcher. Oct. 8. Brite and fair. Tomorrow me and Beany are going to wirk forMister Hirvey making ice creem. He is going to give us some and somecreem cakes. I missed in school today. Oct. 9. Brite and fair. I gess i shant forget today very soon. Thisafternoon we went over to Mister Hirveys and we wirked a long timemaking ice creem by turning the handles of the buckets and choping upthe ice. After we got done he let us come into his saloon and we had tobig glasses of pink and yellow mixed and some creemcakes. Well after wehad et it Beany said less put some pepersass into the rest of thecreemcakes. So we did and then we went out and peeked through thewindow. Bimeby a man came in and set down and we saw Mister Hirvey bringin some icecreem and some creemcakes. Well we kept peeking and thefeller et one creemcake and we heard him say to Mister Hirvey that theywere the best creem cakes he ever et and then he took another and took ahog bite out of it and then he jumped up and his eyes buged out and hespit it out and begun to swear and drink water and stamp round andMister Hirvey said what is the matter and the man spit some more andswore and said they was helfire in the creemcake, and Mister Hirveylooked into it and said some one has put pepersass into it and i bet iknow who did it. When i heard him say that i ran round the corner, butBeany waited too long and Mister Hirvey saw him peeking in the windowand came out lively. Well Beany he ran down into Toles yard as tite ashe could go and Mister Hirvey came hipering after him with his whiteapron on, i dident know he cood run so fast. Bimeby he came back holdingBeany by the ear. Beany he wood try to hold back until his ear nearlypuled of and then he wood come along. Well Mister Hirvey snaiked himrite into his saloon and said, did you put that pepersass into mycreemcakes, and Beany he said he dident, and Mister Hirvey said i dontwant enny lying, and said that Beany and the long leged Shute boy werethe last ones in the place and that one of us did it. And Beany he saidhe dident and he saw me with the pepersass bottel in my hand and MisterHirvey he said now you have got to eat that creemcake or take a goodlicking and he took his cane, and held Beany by the coller and said 1and Beany dident eat it, and then he said 2 and Beany dident eat it andthen he said 3 and he hit Beany a auful whack over the legs and Beanyhollered like time and held on to his legs, and then Mister Hirvey hesaid 1 again and Beany dident eat it and he said 2 and Beany dident eatit and jest as he said 3 Beany he grabed it and took a bite and tride toswaller it and i thought i shood die to see him, he spit and clawed athis mouth and he howled and jumped up and down and then he ran over toCharles Toles pump and rensed his mouth and drank out of the horse trothand Mister Hirvey and the man like to dide laffing. I waited till theywent in and then i went over to see Beany and when i asked him how heliked the creemcake he said i was a long leged puke. This was one of thetimes that Beany got cought and i dident. Oct. 10, 186- Sunday agen. Brite and fair it never ranes sunday. Fatherwent to church today. He woodent have gone if Keene and Cele hadentbeen going to sing a duet. I dident want to go becaus i was afraid theywood brake down, but father he said i had got to go and so i went. Oldmister Blake who sets rite behind us droped his hym book and had to bendway over to pick it up when he set up he hit his bald head a feerfulbump agenst the book rack. I nearly laffed out loud and had to hold onto my mouth. Oct. 11. J. Albert Clark is teaching Keene and Cele a new tune. Keenesings the treble and Cele sings the alto. It is there is a bank where onthe wild time grows. At supper tonite i asked what wild time was andaunt Sarah said it must be what father and Gim Melcher used to have. Then we all laffed and father told aunt Sarah she was geting so funnythat she wood have to wear a kerb bit and a martingail. Ennyway it was agood one on father. Oct. 12. The wind blows feerful. Father wants me to lern to sing a tunewith Keene and Cele. I dident want to but he said i had got to, so wetried it, and i sung it rong every time. I sung it jest enuf rong tomake you feel crepey in your back, and father said if you cant singbetter then that you had better shet up. So i shet up. Oct. 13. Clowdy but no rane. Georgie has lerned a new tune. It is i woodi were a fary queen. We are going to have the minister to supper andfather is going to make Keene and Cele and Georgie show of. I hateshowing of. Ennyway i havent got to show of becaus father says i cantsing. I can sing but he dont know it you bet. Oct. 14. Rany and windy. I have got a sore throte. Father dident want tohave the minister to supper. He said to mother, what in thunder do youwant a minister for, and mother said, we must have him becaus he willthink it very queer if we dont, only you must be careful not to say ordo ennything queer, and father he said he wood keep his eye peeled, buthe told mother she must look out for the children. Oct. 15. Still rany, my throte is beter. We are going to have chickingfor supper when the minister comes. Tonite father brought some newgoblets from boston. Mother and aunt Sarah wirked all day making piesand cake. Then mother let me lite a paper and hold the chickings over itto burn of the little fethers and hairs i like it becaus it smels likethanksgiving only i burnt my hand and it smelt jest like the chickingbut i dident like that you bet. Oct. 16, 186- today the hole town was full of ministers, most of themhad long tailed coats and white necktis. Deekon Gooch came down to thehouse with 2 of them. Aunt Sarah was wating in her best dress and whenshe saw them coming she said Murder Joanna they is 2 of them, what shallwe do, and mother said, mercy sakes what will George say. Well the bellrung and i went to the door and asked them in and Deekon Gooch saidthey was Mister Fernald and Mister Robinson, he said they was hisbrothers. Then Deekon he went off and i showed them to the front room upstairs and one of them asked me if i loved the lord and i said yes sirand he said i was a good boy. And then he asked me if i went to churchand sunday school and i said yes sir and he asked me what was the texlast sunday and i said i dident know what tex ment and he said what didhe prech from and i said he preeched from the pulpit in church and fromthe platform in sunday school, and Mister Fernald he began to laff andMister Robinson he said i woodent laff if i was you brother, and then hesaid what does the minister say after the first prair and i said o yes iknow now, he says we will now take up the usual colection and thenMister Fernald laffed again, then Mister Robinson he asked me how manysisters i had and i said 4 and he asked if they went to church and isaid Keene and Cele sing in the quire and Georgie goes but Annie andFrankie and the baby was two little and then he asked if father went tochurch and i said not very often, only when Keene and Cele had to sing aduet, and then he asked me what else he did sundays and i said sometimeshe made viniger down celler and sometimes he went over to see John Adamshens or down to Gim Melchers shop or up to Hirum Gilmores, and he saidit is very deploorible is it not, brother and Mister Fernald he laffedagain and said he gessed he better not ask me any more questions, andperhaps my father woodent like to have me tell all about him, and i saidfather wasent afrade, and he said he dident give much for ministersennyway and then Mister Fernald laffed as hard as he cood and MisterRobinson looked mad, then we went down stairs and they shook hands withmother and aunt Sarah and Mister Robinson he set down by aunt Sarah andasked her about the church and prair meetings and why she dident alwaysgo and lots of things like that and Mister Fernald he got the baby inhis lap and he talked to mother about the children and told us storiesand he was jest buly. Then bimeby father he came home and he shook handswith them and he said he was glad to see them whitch was a auful lie. Then mother said super was ready and we all went in to super and fatherkept talking and telling stories until mother said George and looked athim, and he shet up and turned red and then Mister Robinson began topray and all of us kept still but Georgie who began to gigle, and motherlooked scowly at her and she shet up two. Then father looked at motherand winked and i had to put my hand over my mouth. Mother she almostlaffed to, and Mister Robinson he kept on praying till bimeby Frankie hesaid Mama i wish that man wood stop and Mister Fernald he began to coffi bet he wanted to laff. Well ennyway Mister Robinson he stoped. Thenfather helped them to chicking and bisket and gelly and coffy andeverything and then he helped us and we all begun to eat and bimebyAnnie said we have got some napkins tonite, and Frankie said we have gotsome little plates to put the butter on, and i saw them first, and Anniesaid we have got some new goblets two, so there, and Frankie run histung out at Annie and she made up a face at him, and then father toldthem to stop and they stoped and mother and aunt Sarah turned red andMister Robinson he looked auful sollum and Mister Fernald looked funnyand then he looked at father an begun to laff and father laffed and thenwe all laffed as hard as we cood, and Mister Fernald he said, dont minda bit Missis Shute, i have got children of my own, i like MisterFernald. After super Frankie and Annie were sent to bed and we wentinto the parlor and father kept us all laffing telling stories, and thenKeene and Cele sung now i lay me down to sleep, and there is a bank onwhitch the wild time grows, and Cele sung flow gently sweet Afton andGeorgie sung i wood i were a fary queen, and then Mister Robinson wantedus to sing a religous song and we sung shall we gather at the river. Then they asked me to sing and i said i coodent and father said beforehe thought, that boy is bedeviled to play a cornet, then Mister Fernaldhe said let him play it, it wont hurt him, then father begun to tellsome more stories and kept us laffin fit to die, and Mister Fernald hesaid he hadent laffed so much for years, and he said, to mother, MissisShute i gess you have a prety good natured husband, and she said yes, and father he said he most never got mad and jest then the bell rung, and Keene went to the door and said that Mister Swane the polisemanwanted to see father and father he went to the door and in a minit weherd him swaring and herd him say it is a dam lie Swane and you know itand then Swane went away and father came in and said that someone hadridden horseback over the concreek sidewalk and they tride to lay it onme. Then it was bedtime and Mister Robinson he prayed some more and heprayed for those who took the name of the lord in vane, and then we wentto bed. Oct. 17. Brite and fair. The old ministers has gone. I am glad of it. Iliked Mister Fernald but i hated old Robinson. I gess he wont getinvited here again. This morning at brekfast he prayed again until thebrekfast was most cold and he prayed a good deal about takin the name ofthe lord in vane and i cood see that mother looked mad but she didentsay ennything. Bimeby he begun to talk to mother about father having aunfortunate temper, and said his langage was shocking, and Cele she upand said, i gess my father is as good as you are and Keene stuck out hertung and mother sent them away from the table, and then old Robinson hesaid i am afrade your children are not well brought up, and motherlooked rite at him a minit and then she said, i shood feel very badly ifmy children shood xcept hospitality from another person and crittisisethat person to his face, at all events i cannot submit to have myhusband or my children crittisized, and Mister Robinson he dident sayennymore you bet. After brekfast they went away, and Mister Fernald heshook hands with us all and he asked mother to let Cele and Keene comedown to shake hands and she did. After they had went mother she gave usa peace of mince pie apeace and we all hoorayed for mother. None of uswent to church today. Oct. 18. Brite and fair. Tonite father borowed Gim Loverings horse andwagun to go riding. Gim said it aught to be greesed, so father asked meto greese the wheals, and then he said i will do it myself, and then iwill be sure it will be done rite. So he got the munky rench and thelantern and some lard and went out to greese the wheals, and when he hadgreesed them he come in and washed his hands and then he went out andtold mother not to set up for him and he unhitched the horse andhollered gitap and when the horse started one side of the wagun wentdown whack and out came father. Well he held on to the ranes and stopedthe horse and mother said what is the matter, and father said thatinfernal boy dident screw up the nut and the wheal come of and nearlybroke my neck, and as soon as i tie this horse i will give him a goodwhaling and aunt Sarah said George you greesed the wheals yourself andfather said by thunder so i did. Then i got the lantern and we lookedfor the wheal and it was leaning up against the apple tree and fathersaid jest look at that, the wheal ran up to the tree and stoped, andthen we hunted round for the nut and we coodent find it and i got downon my nees and father held the lantern, and Cele and Keene came out andhunted and we coodent find it. Bimeby father said he could put on thewheal and hold it on till he got back to Gims and he lifted up the exand i went to put on the wheal and there was the nut all screwed on theex. Father had put on the nut but had forgot to put on the wheal and hadleft the ex resting on the jack. I gess he hadent better say mutch aboutme. Oct. 19. I have got a new box of paper collers. Oct. 20. Brite and fair. This afternoon me and Fatty Melcher wirked allthe afternoon puting leafs in old Putty Lowjys barn. Old Putty said hewood pay us but when we asked him for our pay he said we cood have allthe horse chesnuts we wanted. So we got a baskit and picked it full andwent back to Fattys and pluged horse chesnuts at old Puttys cat. Oct. 21. Brite and fair. Skinny Bruce and Ben Rundlet got fiting today. Old Bandbox Tomson came in to lern us some music and he left his fiddelin the entry and at resess Ben he put some sope on his bow and when oldBandbox tried to play on it he coodent make a squeak. Then old Francisasked every feller in school who done it, and when Ben said he didentknow who done it old Francis he up and whaled time out of Ben. I gessold Francis see Ben do it. Ennyway after school Skinny he hollered Benhow did you like your licking, and Ben he hollered back Skinny Bruce isa redheaded goose, and Skinny he got mad and paisted Ben one in the eyeand Ben he give Skinny a sidewinder and then they fit from first base toColbaths barn where Whack got stunted and old Polly Smith came out andsaid if they dident stop fiting she wood go for the polise, and so theystoped. I bet on Skinny. Oct. 22, 186- brite and fair and most as hot as summer. That was pretymean of old Putty. Oct. 23. Mary Watson, Beany's sister and Mary Straton whose fatherchased me and Beany when we broke the gaslite, can run faster then ennyof the fellers xcept Tomtit and Arthur Francis. Oct. 24. I have been sick agen. Not very sick but my legs aked ferful. Mother says it is becaus i am growin so fast, but i know why, me andBoog Chadwick rassled all yesterday afternoon. Ferst i throwed Boog andthen Boog throwed me, and when we got through Boog was only 2 throwsahead. We dident get mad at all. Ennyway i dident have to go to church. Oct. 25. Tonite we had company to super. Mister and Missis Merill. Frankie did a funny thing. Father asked mother for some chese andmother she said they wasent enny, and Frankie he said he knew where theywas some and father said all rite Frankie if you can get some i willgive you a cent, father he thinks Frankie is auful smart, and so Frankiehe climed out of his high chair and ran out into the kitchen and bimebyhe came in with 3 little peaces of chese and father he asked him wherehe got them and he brought in the rat trap. You had just aught to haveherd them laff. Oct. 26. Clowdy but no rane. Some folks can eat chese that is allwiggly. Oct. 27. Still clowdy. I cant. Oct. 28. Beany has got the best little ax i ever saw. His father got itfor him to split his kindlins. I wish i had one like it for i have tosplit my kindlins with a old rusty ax that ways about a tun. Oct. 29. Brite and fair. Tonite i went over and helped Beany splitkindlins with his new ax. It was jest as easy as ennything. Oct. 30. Brite and fair. Old Tom Fifield killed his pig today and giveBeany the bladder, and we blew it up with a pipe stem and kicked it fora football after school. Jack Melvin is going to have Micky Kelleysfathers pigs bladder, only he dont kill his pig till most winter. I amgoing to have Oliver Lanes, and his pig is the bigest in town. I bet hiswill be as big as the stewdcats big football. All the fellers wish theycood get it. Oct. 31. Cold as time this morning, but i had to go to church jest thesame. Nov. 1. Beany got a licking today for hollering after old Nancy Marble. She went into Beanys house and told Beanys father. I hollered two butfather was in boston and she coodent tell him. Nov. 2. Brite and fair. Oliver Lane killed his pig today. It was thebigest pig in town. I had been wating for the bladder ever sense lastJune and i thought such a big pig aught to have a big bladder, but itwas jest the littlest bladder i ever see. I suppose it was so fat insidethey wasent enny room for the bladder. Skinny Bruces pigs fathersbladder, no i mean Skinny Bruces fathers pigs bladder was most twice asbig. Nov. 3. Brite and fair. The water in the rane baril was froze over lastnite. Today i blew up the bladder and dride it in the kitchen. It made aprety good football. Pewt dident give me his fathers pigs bladder thathe promised me when i let him see the fite when Gim Erly licked WillSimpkins. You jest wait Pewt and you will see. Nov. 4. Brite and fair. Georgie got sent to bed today and had to stay inbed all the afternoon. Mother told her not to tuch a vase that was fullof sand to make it heavy. I wanted the sand for my aquarian and so ipoored it out. Well bimeby Georgie came in and went up to take the vaseand it was so lite that when she lifted hard it came up so quick thatshe went rite over backward and smashed the vase all to bits. Mothercame running in and found that Georgie wasent hurt, but she howled asloud as she cood so that mother woodent lick her, and so she got sent tobed. Mother said it sirved her rite. Nov. 5. Brite and fair. I have been sick today. I gess i et two muchspare rib. When i think of it it makes me sick. So i have been thinkingover the poitry about the fellers. Some of it is prety good. Ed Tole fell in a hole and coodent get out to save his sole i made that up. Plupy Shute is a dirty brute. And never will fite if they is a chance to scoot. Pewt he made that up. Old Tim Calahan he was a hell of a man. Fatty Melcher he made that up. Frank Hanes aint got enny branes and dont know enuf to go in when it ranes Beany he made that up. Nipper Brown tumbled down and busted his head and cracked his crown. i made that up too. Granvil Miller the barber went to shave his father the razer sliped and cut his lip becaus he forgot the lather. Skinny Bruce he made that up. i tell you they is some prety good poits among the fellers. But anyfeller whitch gets poitry made up about him gets mad. Nov. 6. Brite and fair. Ed Tole can spit further than enny feller inschool. Nov. 7. Keene and Cele are sick in bed and coodent sing today inchurch. They have feerful headakes. Docter Perry came in to see them. Nov. 8. Brite and fair. Keene and Cele and Georgie are all sick now andthe docter says it is scarlet fever. They are all up in the frontchamber and mother and aunt Sarah take care of them. Nov. 9. Clowdy but no rane. Annie is sick now and i cant go to schoolennymore. I like that. So i am making a hen koop. Nov. 10. Rany today. Beany he hollered over today to find out how Keeneand Cele and Georgie and Annie are. I have got a soar throte but i aintgoing to tell ennyone about it. Nov. 11. I had a headake all last nite. I bet i am going to have thefever. Frankie has got it now and mother is afrade the baby is comingdown, she asked me how i felt and i said buly. Nov. 12. Old Missis Smith is helping take care of the house and gets thebrekfasts and dinners and suppers. Today docter Perry he came downstairs and i was setting in a chair and he said what is the matter withyou, and i said nothing and he said let me look at your throte, and hemade me open my mouth and he looked down in my gozzle and then he saidyou march upstairs into the hospitle and tell your mother that you are anew pacient and i went up and when mother saw me come in she said well ihave been expecting you. Then i went down to my room and got myniteshert and i thaught i aught to write this down becaus i might die. People do die of scarlet fever, i wonder if ennyone wood read it if idid die. Ennyway father said once that a boy whitch was born to be hungnever wood die in enny other way, so i gess i am all rite. Ennyway iaint going to wright ennymore till i get well. * * * * * Jan. 17. Brite and fair. I dident die and every one of us got well. Annie had it the wirst and i had it the next wirst and Frankie and thebaby want hardly sick any. Today is the first time i have been out. Celeand Keene went out last Wensday but i coodent becaus i hadent got donepeeling. After folks have the scarlet fever their skin dries up andpeels of and if you get cold in the peeling you die every time. I had onmy Hoppy Gad boots for the first time today. Father brougt them up toshow me when i was in bed. I was prety sick and dident know nothing for2 or 3 days. Mother says i was talking about the fellers i knew inReading. We lived in Reading one year and so i thought i was there igess and she says i talked of George and Wendal Evans and PuggyFergerson and Totty Procter and Emma Wallis and Jonny Pike and EdHarndin and Nelly Minot. I had a fite with Ed Harndin and licked him. When Willy died we came back to Exeter, and she said i talked aboutWilly to, and everything. We had some fun while we was sick. Cele usedto tell stories and we made flyboxes and then when mother was out of theroom we wood turn sumersets, and bimeby when we got so that we cood eatapples we used to have one apeace every day and we had to scrape themwith a nife and eat the soft part, and when we were geting beter we wereauful cross. I gess most every one wood be cross to lose thanksgivingand crismas two, and my berthday, and all the skating and snowbaling. Ennyway i havent got to go to school this week. Jan. 18, 186- buly snowbaling. I went out today a long time, mother toldme not to plug snowballs, so i only throwed 2 or 3. I am hungry all thetime. Jan. 19. Brite and fair. One of my hens died when i was sick and therooster frose his comb. It is prety tuf on me. Jan. 20. I went sliding today on factory hill, it was buly. They wasenthardly ennyone there. Jan. 21. Brite and fair. Whack and Boog have got a duble runner, theymade it out of there sleds dart and arrow. It is the fastest dublerunner on the hill. I went with them. We beat Pewts duble runner esy. Pewts is biger and Mister Purington Pewts father painted it buly but itcant go as fast or as fur as Whack and Boogs. Pewt was mad becaus webeat him. Jan. 22. I went to church today. Keene and Cele sung in the quire. Beanykept sticking his head out from behind the organ and making up faces atme to make me laff out loud till the minister spoke to him and he feltprety cheep. Jan. 23. Snowed and raned today both, i had my sled painted today. It ispainted black with a gold stripe and Exeter Boy in gold letters on it. Mister Purington Pewts father painted it. I went to school today. Nobodygot licked. Jan. 24. Clowdy. My sled is most dry enuf to use. Jan. 25. It misted last nite and frose and today everything was coveredwith ice it was fun to see people fall down. Most everybody fell down. Iwent sliding on spring street. Jan. 26. Cold as time. I went to school. We are going over colburns inrevew and so i can keep up. Jan. 27. I havent got ennything to wright today xcept that i went toschool. John Adams has got a new brama rooster. Jan. 28. Brite and fair. I licked Ti Crummet today. Me and Whack andFatty Melcher was over on Factory Hill sliding and Ti Crummet and HirumMingo and Bobberty Robinson and Dinky Lord came over and i had my sledall new painted, Pewts father painted it and Ti Crummet run his old sledagenst it and nocked of sum of the paint, and i told him to keep his oldsled of mine and Ti he said he wood nock sum of the paint of me if isaid 2 words more and then he swoar feerfully. I dident say nothingbecaus i dident want to fite him, and Hirum Mingo said Plupy says he canlick you Ti and Ti said i can nock hel out of you old spindel legs and isaid i dident say so and Ti he swoar sum more so it sort of scart me, well then i was going and Hirum he pushed Ti rite into me and he kickedme in the leg and got hold of my hair and i got the under hold and gothim down jest as esy as ennything and then i set on him and lammed himtil he holered enuf and then i let him up and he went home balling. Ibet he beter not fite me agen. Jan. 29. Brite and fair. It aint the feller whitch can swear thefeerfullest whitch is the best fiter. I went to church and sunday schooltoday. Jan. 30. Brite and fair. Johnny Kelly can lick enny feller on Court orSouth Street and he can swear auful two. I gess most of the fellers isscart of him becaus he can swear so. I aint scart of him. Jan. 31. Rany. Not mutch but sum. We was playing snap the whip today andJohnny Kelly was on the end and got snaped rite into a pudel of waterand he said i dident hold on and he wood give me a slap in the mug and isaid he want man enuf and jest then the bell rang and we had to go in. Tomorow he had beter look out i am going to give him one in the eye andthen grab for the under hold and get him down and lam him good. I bet hecant fite enny beter then Ti Crummet did, and when i have licked him allthe fellers will be afrade of me. I bet he will wish he had never fitwith me. Feb. 1. Brite and Fair. I have got a black eye. This morning i went toschool erly and when i got there Johnny Kelly was there and he said nowold Plupy longlegs i will fix you and i said pile rite in and we willsee and he began to swear wirse then Ti did, and i said if you want agood paist in the gob they is plenty of them rite here if you are manenuf to sale in, and when i said that he come at me so quick that idident have time to get ready and he hit me in the eye and in the mouth2 times and got the underhold before i cood and got me down and lammedme till i hollered enuf. Then all the fellers holered Plupy got lickedPlupy has got a black eye. It was prety mean ennyway. When i got home todinner mother asked me how i got my eye sore and i said i got it boxingwith Johnny Kelly and she said was you fiteing and i said we box everyday in school sometimes Beany and Whack and sometimes me and Pewt buttoday me and Johnny Kelly boxed and he hits to hard and she said sheshood think so, and said i had beter box with sum other boy and i gessso two. Ennyway i dident lie to her for that wasent lying. Feb. 2. Brite and fair. I gave Johnny Kelly the core of my apple today. Gosh sum fellers can fite auful and swear auful two. Feb. 3. Brite and fair. Beany has got a new blew jacket. He felt pretybig about it until Pewt took him in the back with a roten apple. Beanystaid in all resess a scraping the apple off of his coat. This afternoonhe wore his old jacket. But he is going to pay Pewt for that sum way. Feb. 4. It snowed hard all day all the fellers are whacking cats head oneach others back. You take some chork and chork the inside of your handand your ferst and last finger and then you wet your fingers and makeeyes and nose and mouth in your chorky hand and then you wate til afeller comes along and then you lam him one on the back and it makes thefunniest cats head on his back you ever see with eyes and nose and mouthand 2 long ears whitch your fingers made. I got 5 on my back today and igot 1 on Beany and 2 on Pewt and 1 on Pop Clark and 1 on Nipper Brown. Feb. 5. It snowed this morning and we dident go to church i dug somepaths and read Billy Bowlegs in the afternoon, after super it snowedagain and is snowing now. I bet they will be some deep drifts tomorow. Feb. 6. Brite and fair. It has cleared off. Everything was jest as whiteand they wasent hardly a track in the snow. I had to dig sum paths, andi got up erly and dug a path down the frunt steps and out to the road sofather cood get into the hack. Jo Parmer said it was prety tuf slaying. My Hoppy Gad boots have been greesed and they dont leak a bit. Me andPewt and Beany had sum fun diving. We tide scarfs round our heds andnecks and div from our steps into a snow drift. And we cood go in wayout of sight. We tide our britches down over our boots, it was more funthan diving in the river. After we div one drift all down we trideanother, and bimeby Beany he said come on fellers here is a buly driftdown by the shed and we went down and Beany said i chuse first dive andhe clim up on the shed and said 1 to make ready, 2 to prepare, 3 to begoing and 4 to be there, and then he div rite into the swill bucket. Itwas under the snow and Beany coodent see it, and when he came up he wasall swill and he was mad and said i knew it all the time, and he wenthome and aint going to ever speak to me enny more. I coodent see the oldbucket enny more than he cood. It is jest like Beany to get mad at everylittle thing. I bet he wood laff if i div in the swill bucket. Feb. 7. Brite and fair. Beany woodent speek to me today. All rite Beanyyou jest wait and see. Feb. 8. Brite and fair. It was buly snowballing. We was plugingstewdcats today and Pacer Gooch came along. So we got behind trees andPewt peeked jest in time to get one rite in the eye. He had aught toknow beter than peek out when Pacer is pluging snowballs. Feb. 9. Me and Fatty Melcher are making some arrow rifles down to hisshop. We are going hunting for rabbits saterday. Brite and fair. Feb. 10. Brite and fair. Tonite father brougt a magasine home tonite. Itis the young folks. We all wanted it so we took turns. Ferst Cele read astory and then i read a story and then Keene, we all read it out loud. Cele read amung the glass blowers. Keene read the story of a bad boy. And i read around the evening lamp. They was all buly stories. Feb. 11, 186- this afternoon me and Fatty Melcher and Potter Goram wenthunting. We had our arrow rifles and Fatty had a ax and Potter a hachetin his belt and i had a nife. We had a buly time. We went up to the eddyand then went across the river on Gilmans side. We saw 2 patriges and 1rabbit and some blewgays. We dident hit them but we came prety nearthem. Then we bilt a fire and et our donnuts and then we tracked arabbit into a pile of bushes. When we turned over a log we scart out afield mouse and killed it. Tonite Potter came down to the house and weread young yagers. Feb. 12. It raned hard all day. Keene and Cele had to go to church andso i had to go two. They wasent many there. It ranes now. Feb. 13. It raned hard all nite. I cood hear it agenst the window andhear the wind blow. It is comfertible to be in bed and hear the rane. Only i forgot my kindlings and i had to get up before six oh clock thismorning. Feb. 14. Beany nearly got killed today. He was spliting wood with hisnew ax and he was standing rite under a closeline. Beany feels prety bigabout his new ax and he had got so that he can grunt jest like men whochop wood all the time. So Beany he swung the ax over his head and ithit the closeline and bounced rite up in the air and came rite down onBeanys head and he fell down whack and laid there till his father cameout and lugged him into the house. They thought he was ded but hewasent. I went over today to see him, he was setting in a rocking chairby the stove with his head rapped up in a towel. I sent Beany avalentine today. He dident send me one but i gess it was because he wassick. Feb. 15. Brite and fair. Beany is better today. I went over and splithis kindlings for him. Feb. 16. Brite and fair and buly snowballing. Gimmy Watson, Beanysbrother said if Beanys head hadent been jest like the choping block itwood have killed him. Gimmy is mad becaus Beany calls him Gami. He canlick Beany alone and can lick me alone but me and Beany together canlick him. Feb. 17. They was a fire down on franklin street today and Bob Cartergot all squirted over and his close frose to the ladder he was on. Feb. 18, 186- it snowed today, and then it raned. Feb. 19. We have vacation in about 2 weeks. Feb. 20. I shall be glad when spring comes. I wet my feet most everyday. Feb. 21. We are going to have a school xibision at the end of this tirmand old Francis says he is going to give prises to the best scholars. Nipper and Pricilla and all the other good boys are studying hard so asto get the prises. I woodent take one of their prises if they wood giveme one. I woodent give 2 cents for their old prises. Feb. 22. Today is Washington's berthday and we can ring the town bell at1 oh clock and at 5 for a hour. I went down both times and Ed Derbon letus take turns in ringing the bell. Only 2 can ring at a time. When meand Fatty Melcher was ringing the bell went over and it pulled us wayup to the ceeling. Most of the fellers staid out in frunt of the churchand pluged snowballs. Bimeby some stewdcats came along and we pluged andhit a stewdcat named Lee rite in the back of his head and he said wehave stood enuf from these townies and he and Stone and Clifford andWinsor, who was our sunday school teacher until he saw the rooster fite, and Belmont came over the fence and charged us and we pluged as hard aswe cood and they pluged two and we ran behind the church and theyfollered us and jest lammed us and washed Beanys face and rolled Pewt inthe wet snow, and jest then Boog and Whack and Puz and Zee Smith camepiling in and paisted time out of them and then the stewdcats chargedthem and throwed Whack in a drift and Zee got one in the back that madehim lay down and grunt before he cood get his breth, and then all thestewdcats from Toles house piled out and piched in and they was givingus time when Bozzaris Wadly see the fite and jumped of a load of woodand Pacer and Stuby Gooch and Scotty Briggam and Kibo Marston and SkinnyBruce and Frank Elliott herd us hollering give it to the stewdcats andcame running over and then we had jest a buly fite and i tell you thesnow balls jest flew and Fatty Gilman got one rite in the eye and PhebyTalor got one rite in the mouth jest as he was hollering stewdcat and itfilled his mouth with snow and old Woodbrige Odlin was coming out of thebank and he got one in the leg and one in his old plug hat and it nockedit of and he went over to the hotel and i gess he told old Brown becaushe and Swane and Potsy Dirgin the poliseman came over and made us stop, it was the best snow ball fite i ever saw. We are going to lay for thestewdcats next saterday at the libary. Old Bozzaris Wadly was the bestfiter we had and nobody knowed he cood fite. When the stewdcats woodcharge us he wood not run a bit but wood jest stand and plug and oncewhen Clifford tride to put him over he coodent do it. It was a bulyfite. Feb. 23. Brite and fair. Gosh what do you think i am going to get aprise in school. Last nite i had to go down to old Tom Connors store toget some carosene and old Francis was going down town with Perry Moltonand they was talking about who was the best fellers in school and whothey was going to give the prises. I lissened and old Francis saidPotter and Nipper and Pricilla was going to have prises, only he didentcall them Potter and Nipper and Pricilla, but Arthur and Jonny andCharlie, then he said they is one boy who is as smart as enny of themonly he dont study much and i had to shake him up laitly and he is doingbetter now, then Perry he said who is it, and old Francis said i gess iwont tell you his name for he may disapoint me, but he lives on CourtStreet. I tell you it made me feel all tremly. It coodent be Pewt orBeany becaus they miss there lesons most every day and they aint ennyother fellers living on Court Street so it must be me, becaus oldFrancis shook me and Medo Thirsten up day before yesterday and Medolives on South Street. Gosh wont father be sirprized i nearly got aprise once when Fliperty Flannygan marked my words all rite and i woodhave got it if it hadent been for Gimmy Fitsgerald. But this time i amgoing to get it. I bet the folks will think i am quite a feller. Feb. 24. Brite and fair. I dident miss in school today. Tonite i staidin and studied. Pewt and Beany come round and were mad becaus i woodentcome out. Feb. 25. Rany. I got 9 xamples rite today out of 10, but i missed inspeling. It aint often i miss in speling. Feb. 26. I took a book today to church and studied. Feb. 27. Rany again. I dident miss in ennything today. I told mothertoday that i was going to get a prise if i dident disapoint him. So shetold father tonite and he said he dident beleive it. He said he hadnearly a buchel of prises he got in school and he give them to thefellers to ware in a torchlite percession and they kept them. He said hegive all his prise books to the sunday school. He said when he put onall his meddles and walked out they gingled jest like slaybells andglitered so they scart horses. Aunt Sarah laffed and said the onlyprises he wore were black and blew ruler marks that old mister Ellisgive him and he got enuf of them to, and she said tell Harry what youleft the Academy for, and he said the teachers were down on him becaushe lerned faster than they cood teech, and aunt Sarah said Doctor Solewood tell a diferent story, and father said that Doctor Sole was awirthy man but he dident forgive ennyone which was smarter than he was. Then father said you talk very strangly Sarah for one of your years andi shall ask the Coart to apoint me as gardeen over you as a person ofunsound mind. Then father said he had never told ennyone why he left theAcademy so suddin, but it was becaus he broak his jaw in 3 placestalking Greke to Doctor Sole. Well he kept us laffing all the eveningand when i went to bed he give me 10 cents so i gess he feels prety goodabout my prise. Feb. 28. Clowdy but no rane. I only missed in Geogerfy today. Aunt Sarahis going to exibision day to see me get my prise. Keene and Cele aregoing two. I dont dass to tell Beany. He come over tonite to get me tocome out and see him set his dog onto Mister Heads cat and was mad wheni told him i had got to study. Beany he says i will get so i cant fiteor have enny fun i am geting so good. Beany will get a good punch if hesays much. Mar. 1, 186- brite and fair. Father is going to the school exibision. Mar. 2. Brite and fair. Tonite father lerned me a speach to say when oldFrancis gives me the prise. I dont want to say it but he says i have gotto. This is my speach. Mister Francis i thank you very kindly for thisbeautiful present, whitch i value for the honor whitch has been conferedon me, and i trust that i shall so conduck myself that you may neverregret it. Mar. 3. Brite and fair. Tomorow is exibision day. Today we rehersed. Pricilla sung pulling hard agenst the streem and played the organ. Potter read a composition and Nipper xplaned the sum about the hundredgeese the one i never cood do. Good morow farmer with your hundred geesesir i have not a hundred but if i had as many more and half as many moreand 2-1/2 geese i shood have a hundred, how many geese had he. WellNipper can do that sum and so he has got to show of. I havent got to doennything xcept to say my speach when old Francis gives me my prise, whitch is prety good for me. Mar. 4. Brite and fair. I am not fealing very well tonite. Father didentgo to boston this morning but staid to home. This morning in school werehersed for xibision. Pricilla sung and plaid and Nipper rote down thegeese sum on the blackboard and rote his name under it jest as good ashe cood. I wanted to rite Nipper under it but old Francis wood paisttime out of me if he found out who rote it. You aught to hear Pricilplay and sing. He sings do your best for one another making life aplesent dream, help a poor and weried brother puling hard agenst thestreem, and the old organ goes boom ya, boom ya, boom ya ya ya, that isa prety song for a feller to sing whitch never will give the fellers thecore of his apple but always eats it hisself. Well this afternoon i puton my best close and my plad neckti and a new paper coller and went toschool erly. Prety soon the people begun to come in. They was old PerryMolton and old Nat Shute and Gewett Swazie the committy, and old BilMorrill with his hair curled under behind and Chick Chickerings fatherand mother and docter Goram, Nippers father and mother and Pricillasfather and mother and lots of people and i thought father wasent comingbut bimeby he come in with his new britches that he made Erl and Cuttsgive him and his boots blacked and aunt Sarah and Keene and Cele. AuntSarah had got her best earings and her dolman with beeds and Keene andCele had on their bronze boots and there plad dresses and they got aseet on the platform. Keene and Cele felt prety big becaus they was inthe seminary and Aunt Sarah felt prety big becaus she had on her earingsand her dolman and father felt prety big becaus i was going to get aprise. Well first old Francis said a prayer and everyone bowed thereheads and father bowed his two but i saw him peek out under his hand. Well then we all sung and Mary Emery plaid the organ. Then our classresited and Nipper xplained his sum about the geese and then Potterspoke a peace and then Pricilla plaid and sung his peace. Then there wasa dialog and then we sung sum more. Then old Francis opened his desk andtook out a little riting desk and said it had been prety hard to tellwhitch was the best scolar becaus they was 3 boys who were so neartogether. So he would give the riting desk to Arthur Goram and the glassinkstand to Johnny Brown and the stamp colecters book to Charly Hobbs. So when he give them Potter and Nipper and Pricilla stood up and bowdand said thank you. If they had been so smart they aught to have aspeach ready. Ennyway i had my speach all ready. Then old Francis saidthere was one boy who had grate talents and was a very brite boy butowing to his fondness for play had not done as well as he shood. But hehad showed such talent that he aught to be menshioned espesially as hehad been studying much better laitly. When old Francis said that auntSarah and Keene and Cele set up strate and father tride to look as if hedident know who he meant and i said my speach over soft, to be sure ihad it rite. Then old Francis said i have selected as a present for thisboy a book, and the name of this boy is, and then he stoped a moment andi cood almost hear my heart thumping, and then he said JohnnyChickering. Gosh i had forgotten all about Chick Chickering living onCoart Street. When he said that aunt Sarah and Keene and Cele sat riteback in there chairs and father turned auful red and looked at me as ifhe wanted to nock my head rite of and then he droped his hat on thefloor and it fell of the platform and roled way out under MedoThirstons seet and then he blew his nose with a auful toot. Then oldFrancis give Chick the book and then he read the names of the 10 nextbest scolars and my name wasent there eether. And then father looked madenuf to bust, and Aunt Sarah and Keene and Cele looked prety sick. Thenwe all sung happy school Ah from the never shall our hearts long time beturning, and then school was dismissed. Docter Goram and Nippers fatherand mother and Pricillas father and mother and Chicks father and motherand lots of the people staid to shake hands with old Francis, but fathermarched rite out and Aunt Sarah and the girls two. Well when i got homeyou aught to have heard father. He said i was the laziest and mostwirthless boy there ever was, and i was a disgrace to him and he sent meto bed lively. I dident want the old book ennyway. Mar. 5. Church today. I dont care. Mar. 6. Brite and fair. Chick feals prety big about his old book. EdTole has got a new game rooster. We are going to throw him over in JohnAdams yard the first time John lets his bolton gray out. I rode on thehack today all the morning. It is more fun then geting good marks inschool. Ennyway it is vacation and i am going to raise time. I dont carefor a old prise ennyway. Mar. 7. Brite and fair. I broak a window today on purpose, i dont care. Mar. 8. Brite and fair. Got sent to bed tonite for swearing. All i saidwas gol darn it. Father needent feel so big. I have herd him say wirsethings than that. I dont care. Mar. 9. Clowdy but no rane. I dont care if i dident get no prise. Chickneedent feel so big. I woodent take his old book ennyway. Mar. 10. Brite and fair. I got fiting with Beany today in his yard. Hechased me over to my yard and i turned round suddin and stuck out myarm and my fist hit Beany rite in the eye. You had aught to herd himhowl. Then mother called me in and sent me to bed. It is prety tuf whena feller cant hit another feller in the eye whitch is chasing him. Wellennyway i stamped upstairs to bed and when father came home i knew ishood get a licking. So when father came home i lissened and herd themeating super, and i herd father say where is that boy and mother said isent him to bed for striking Elly Watson. Elly is Beany you know. Andfather said whitch licked. And mother said Elly was crying very loud andholding on to his eye, and so i sent Harry to bed and father said if hedident do ennything wirse than licking that Watson boy i wont complaneand if he will get up spunk enuf to lick that boy of Brad Puringtons, hement Pewt, i will give him a treet. Then mother said i dont know what isthe matter with Harry this vacation. He is cross and impident, and thenKeene said i slaped her face yesterday and Cele told Keene it was herfalt and she hadent aught to have plaged me, and Keene said she didentand Cele said she did and father said you girls shet up when your motheris talking. Then someone shet the door and i dident hear enny more. After super Cele come up in my room with a tray with my super and i setup in bed and et my super and Keene looked into the room and made up aface. After super i heard father talking again and he said i needed agood licking and mother said something was the matter with me and shenever knew me to keep cross for a hole week, and father said he woodtake it out of me in 2 minits and mother said no she wood talk to me. Sobimeby mother come up and i made beleeve i was asleep and mother setdown by the bed and said are you asleep Harry, and i said yes before ithought, and then she sorter laffed and began to talk to me and told mehow sory it made her feel to see me so cross and doing bad things andshe wanted me to be better and not wurry her for she dident feel verywell and gosh before i knew it i was balling rite out. Well i balledgood and she rubed my head and got me a drink of water and i said i wooddo beter. Then she kissed me and went down and after a while i went tosleep. Gosh i maid up my mind if father licked me that i woodent balland i wood do something auful the next day, i wont say what it was butit was something auful. I have been a prety mean feller. Mar. 11, 186- when i got up this morning i felt buly, and i got a pailof water and brogt in wood enuf to fill the woodbox way over the top. Itis warm and the snow is all gone xcept in the corners where the driftswere. I saw a robin today and i wished on it but i cant tell what iwished becaus if i did it woodent come true. It is something i have beenwanting auful for a long time, but i havent had money enuf to buy it. Mar. 12. Rany. I went to church. The minister said it was esy to be goodif you tride. I gess ministers dont know much ennyway. Mar. 13. Me and Beany is going to keep store in my shed. Today we madethe counter of 2 barils and a board and we made a lot of flyboxes andjacobs laders and tonite we made a lot of sweet firn cigars, and hayseedand mulen leaf and cornsilk. This afternoon we went out picking up bonesin a baskit. Most every yard had a lot of bones in it xcept where thefellers had been. We got most a buchel. We get half a cent a pound forthem down to old Gechels store they make nife handels of them and perlbuttons. Mar. 14. Beany got mad today and says he wont keep store with me. We gotour flyboxes all pined up and our boxes of cigars all ready and mothersaid she wood give me some molases for sweatened water. So we was allready when Beany got mad about the sine. He wanted it to be Watson andShute becaus he is older then me, but it was my shed and my sweatenedwater and my board and my barils and so i said my name shood come ferstand he got mad and took half of the things and went home. I dident lethim have a bit of the sweatened water. Lucy Watson was mad two andwoodent speek to Keene and Cele. Mar. 15, 186- i opened my store today and nailed up my sine fancy goodsand sweatened water H. Shute. Potter and Whack and Fatty and Boog andPuzzy and all the fellers come round and i sold lots of stuff. I charge10 nails for a sweet firn cigar, 5 nails for a rattan or grape vinecigar and 3 nails for hayseed cornsilk and mullen leaf. 3 nails forwhite jacobs ladders and 5 for gilt, 10 nails for flyboxes made ofwriting book paper, and 15 and 20 nails for gilt and silver and redpaper. 15 nails for snappers that will snap good, and 15 nails for aglass of sweatened water. I had a big trade and i cood see Beany out infrunt of his house looking over. Bimeby he came over and i said hulloBeany come and have a drink and a cigar. So Beany he took a glass anddrunk it and lit a cigar, a sweet firn one and said how is trade, and isaid they is quite a little stiring, and he said have you got mutchstock and i said most sold out but they is plenty more where that comefrom and Beany he said dont you want to by my stuff and i said no i gessnot. Bimeby Beany he said less make up Plupy and i said i aint mad andBeany he said well let the old sine rip and so he went over and got hisstuff and pinned it up and we had a good trade all the afternoon. Tonitewe made cigars and flyboxes and snappers. Beany is a prety good fellerto have a store with only he smokes and drinks two mutch. Mar. 16. Brite and fair. I saw a blewbird today. Beany come over erlyand we had a good trade. Beany smoked so many sweet firn cigars anddrank so mutch sweatened water that i told him he coodent be my pardnerunless he smoked cheeper cigars and only drank 4 glasses a day. 2 in themorning and 2 in the evening. That is enuf for enny man. Mar. 17. Rany today. Not mutch trade. Pewt and Nipper has got a store inPewts shed. Tomtit says he has got beter things than we have and he gotall the fellers to go up there. Tomtit was mad becaus we woodent takesheet iron for pay. You cant get ennything for sheet iron down to oldGetchels and if we took it for pay enny feller cood go out and pick up aold stove pipe and buy out your store. Mar. 18. Brite and fair. No i mean it is clowdy. Beany is acting pretyqueer. He has been talking with Pewt, and last nite he promised to comeover and make cigars and he dident come and Nipper said Beany was overto Pewts. Today he was prety sassy and said he would drink all thesweatened water he wanted. He was away all the afternoon. Mar. 19. Beany dident make up enny faces behind the organ today. Afterchurch i holered at him and he woodent look round. I bet he is going tokeep store with Pewt. I dont care. Mar. 20. Beany came over this morning and said he was going to bepardner with Pewt and he wanted his stuff and his half of the iron andnails. I told him he was a mean cuss and he said he woodent be pardnerwith a feller whitch woodent let him drink and smoke out of the store. He said Pewt wasent so mean as all that. So we divided the stuff andBeany wanted half of what nails and iron i had taken before we werepardners. He dident get it you bet, and he dident get enny sweatenedwater neether. Mar. 21. Brite and fair. Medo Thirsten came up today and wanted to buymy stuff and i sold it all to him. I am glad to get out of the store soi can go of with Potter and Chick Chickering. We went up to the Eddytoday. We saw some blackbirds and some robins and 3 blewbirds, and got 2last years nests. It is almost time for flying squerels. We saw a reddertoday. Mar. 22. I saw Beany today and he run out his tung at me. All rite foryou Beany. Mar. 23. It raned and was auful windy today. I sold my iron and bonestoday to old Getchel for 42 cents. I took out 12 cents to treet thefellers and put 30 cents with my cornet money. Mar. 24. It was warm today and fine. I saw some wild geese flying overtoday. It made me feel funny to hear them holler. Me and Potter andChick went out in the woods today with our bows and arrows and bilt afire and fride some potatose. Mar. 25. This is the last day of vacation. Beany and Pewt have had aauful row, Beany says Pewt sold all the iron and nails and kept most ofthe money. Pewt says Beany drank up more then the moneys wirth ofsweatened water and smoked all the best cigars i am glad of it. I gessthe next time Beany will know more. Mar. 26. Sunday. Nothing to do but go to church and think of going toschool tomorow. I wonder if i shall get a licking this tirm. Mar. 27. I went to school today. They isent much fun now. It is twomuddy to play ennything. So the fellers all have clappers and we clapall the time. Skinny Bruce is the best one. He has some bone clappersthat jest ring. Fatty Gilman has got some made of black walnut. Mar. 28. We plaid ball a little today. It is geting prety dry in theschool yard now. Mar. 29. It snowed a little today and then melted. They wasent enuf forsnow balling. My hens has begun to lay. Mar. 30. The top of my roosters comb whitch was frose last winter when iwas sick has come of and his comb is all smooth and shiny and hasentgot enny picks on it. Mar. 31. Brite and fair tomorow is april fool day. I am going to get oneon Beany. Apr. 1. Today i had a good one to get on Beany. I rung the doorbell ofour house and mother came to the door and i stood there laffin and shelaffed and said i am glad to see you sir because i want you to fill thewoodbox and get me 5 pails of water. Gosh i dident think it was sofunny. At school old Francis woodent let us play april fools on eachother but in the afternoon i went over to get Beany to come with me toget a 4 foot yardstick down to Lyfords. I was going to get Beany to askfor it and then they wood lam him, becaus they isent enny 4 footyardstick. I jest laffed to think of Beany getting licked. Well when iasked Beany he said he wood go only his father wanted him to go down toold Kellogs harness shop to get a pint of strap oil to oil some harnes, and if i wood go with him ferst he would go with me. So i said yes andwe went. Jest before we got there Beany said you go in and ask for it, and i will wait becaus old Kellog dont like me very well. So i went inand old Kellog was sitting straddle of a seet with big wooden nippers onit and he was sowing on a harness and he said cross like what do youwant and i said i want a pint of strap oil and he said o yes i have gotsome good strap oil and he got down and grabed me by the coller and tookdown a strap and licked me till i hollered. Then he let me go and when iwent out rubing my legs Beany was jest laffing fit to die and he saidyou thought you was prety smart old Plupy to get me to go down for a 4foot yard stick dident you. And then he ran his tung out and run of downtown. I will pay Beany for that. Apr. 2. Brite and fair. I went to church. Apr. 3. Father is going to have a garden and i have got to dig it up. Father says he is going to help me but i know how it will be. He willdig about ten minits and then he will go over to see Beanys father. Idont see why it is that jest as soon as it is time for fishing fatherwants to make me wirk. Pewt cought 3 pirch today. Apr. 4. Brite and fair. Last nite we went diging up the garden. Fatherbegan to dig and dug about a minit and then he stoped and went in thehouse to change his shues, and then he come out and took of his coat andthen he dug a nother minit and then he went to the fence and talked withSam Dire and then he took of his vest and took up his spade and then hesaid i was doing splendid and he wanted to see Wats a minit and he wentover to see Beanys father jest as i said he wood and dident come back. Well i dug until mother called me in to go to bed and i got about a panfull of wirms. Tonite me and father are going to dig some more. My backis lame. Apr. 5. Brite and fair. Last nite father told me to cut the eyes out ofa lot of potatose to plant. So this noon and after school me and Keeneand Cele cut out the eyes of the potatose. We raced to see which woodbeet, i had a sharp spoon handel, Keene a darning needle, and Cele apen-nife. We had 3 cups to put the eyes in and when we got the eyes alldug out we counted the eyes. Cele had 176 Keene 158 and i had 143. Jestas we got done father came home, so we showed him the eyes and i wishyou cood see him. I woodent dare to wright what he said. If i talkedlike he did he wood have sent me to bed for a year. I gess he wood havelicked us all but mother laffed and laffed and said we dident know enufabout farming. So we only got sent to bed. Apr. 6. Brite and fair. I hoped it wood rane today so we coodent dig. But it dident. If they had been a circus it wood have raned like time. Last nite we dug some more. Father started all rite but jest then hesaid he had got to go down town with mother. So i dug until Beany andPewt came over and then we begun to plug peaces of dirt at Charly Direand after a while somebody broke a window in Sam Dires house. Pewt saidit was me and Beany said it was Pewt. Father came home and sent me tobed. He give Sam Dire 25 cents for the window. Ennyway Pewt broke it. Apr. 7. Brite and fair. Apr. 8, 186- it raned today. I am glad of it. Apr. 9. It raned today. I am glad of it. I went to church. Apr. 10. Tonite me and Beany and Whack finished diging all the rest ofthe garden. When father came home he went out and steped on a rake thatwas lying down with the sharp points up and ran it into his foot and hecame limping into the house swaring auful, but he wasent much hurt andisent going to have enny garden. Ennyway he left the rake there himself. Apr. 11, 186- Brite and fair. Father is going to have some geese. Hewent to Dal Gilmors and Dal said you cood keep geese for nothing becausall they et was grass and father says he can raise geese on grass untilOctober and then kill them and sell them and make lots of money. Ennywaythey was grass enuf becaus we want going to have enny garden sincefather steped on the rake. Dal Gilmor has got a old goose whitch is morethen 30 years old. I bet he is tuf. Apr. 12. Brite and fair. Father came home tonite erly and we begun tomake a geese pond. We took a baril and cut it in 2 and made 2 tubs. Thenwe dug a hole in the garden and put in 1 tub and filled it with water. It made a buly pond. Next saterday father is coming home erly and we aregoing to hampton falls to get sum geese eggs. Apr. 13. Rany Franky fell out of bed last nite. Father said it was myfalt. The baby had the crupe. Father says something is always thematter. Apr. 14. Clowdy but no rane. Beany has got a dog, it is black and tan, not 2 dogs but jest 1. His name is Gip and he can fite. Apr. 15. Still clowdy. Frank Hanes has got a dog like Beanys. His nameis Dime, i bet he can fite. Apr. 16. Brite and fair. I put some minnies in the geese pond today. Itwas after church and i got them yesterday. They wood have dide in thetin pail, so it wasent rong to put them in Sunday. Tomorow we are goingdown to get the geese eggs. Apr. 17. Brite and fair. I am wrighting this in bed. It has been a pretytuf day i tell you. Father coodent come home erly becaus he had to wirk, so he give me fifty cents and me and Beany went down to hampton fallsafter the geese eggs. Well we got them and started home. We had Beanysfathers horse and we saw a old black horse by the side of the road andBeany said i wood like to plug him with a geese egg, i said praps theyis a roten egg there. So we shook the eggs till by and by they was onewhitch ratled. Then Beany choze to plug him and he let ding at him andthe egg hit him a paister rite in the side and broak and spatered himall over with yellow, and he kicked up and ran away before i cood get another egg. Then we went on till we saw 2 cows and we shook the eggsagain till we got 2 whitch ratled and when we went by we stood up in thewagon and let ding at the cows. I hit one rite in the frunt of her headand the yellow ran down over her nose and Beany hit the other in theside and then a man holered at us and we licked the horse and drove oflively. Then we saw a cat sitting in a barn door and we both let ding ather but dident hit her and both eggs smached agenst the barn and thecat ran into the barn and a man came out with a tin pail in his hand anda little stool in the other and holered at us and we licked up the horseagain. After that we dident plug enny more for they was only 7 eggs leftand they only ratled a little. When we got home Beany let me out and itold father about the eggs being roten, he was prety mad and said i hadaught to have shook them before i took them. He asked me what i did withthe roten eggs and i said i threw them away and jest then Mister WatsonBeanys father came over with Beany and 2 men and it was the same manwhose horse we pluged with roten eggs, and the man who holered at uswhen we plugged the old cows. The man grabed me by the coller and toldfather i was the wirst boy in the town and if father dident lick me outof my skin he wood, and father said hold on there, they aint nobodygoing to lick my boy unless he licks me ferst, and he walked up to theman prety quick, and the man let go my coller and father said if they isany licking to be done i can do all that is necesary, and the man saidwe are going to have him arested, and father said what has he done andthe man said these two boys have been throwing rocks at my horse andhave cut a big gash in his side and he is all over blud, and the otherman said we had been pluging rocks at his cows and had cut one on thehead and one on the side well me and Beany said we only threw geese eggsat them and the blud was the runny part of the eggs and we crossed ourthrotes and hoped to die if it wasent so, and father said to the man didyou xamine the gash and he said he was so mad when he see the horse thathe hitched up the other horse and followed us and told his hired man tolook after the horse and brogt the other man to. So father said toBeanys father to hich up his horse and we wood go down and see if wehad lied to him and he said if i had lied to him he wood give me thewirst licking i ever had. Well jest as we were going to get in the wagonthe man whitch had the tin pail and the stool in his hand come drivingup and said we had been pluging roten eggs at his barn and father saidhe wood be cussed if he ever saw such boys, and me and Beany said wedident mean to hit the barn but we pluged at the cat and dident hit her. Then the other men told him about the horse and cows and he said it wasonly roten eggs and then they felt beter, and they said they was willingto let us of with a good licking, but father said he woodent lick me forennybody else, but he wood pay them for their truble and they said theywood settle for fifty cents each and i had to pay it out of my cornetmoney. I only had one dollar and 30 cents but Aunt Sarah give me 20cents. I beleive i had rather got a licking for it will take me 6 weaksto ern so much money and i wood have got over a licking as soon as igot to sleep. Then father sent me to bed. I wonder if Beanys fatherlicked him. I shall know tomorow. Apr. 18. Brite and fair. Beany dident get licked. Apr. 19. Brite and fair. I bet father cood have licked those 3 hamptonfalls men together easy. Apr. 20. Brite and fair. I shall never get that cornet. Apr. 21. I had some fun today. They wasent enny school today becaus oldFrancis had to go to a funeral or something. So i bilt a nest for myhens. Apr. 22. Brite and fair. Father aint going to have enny geese. Tonite wegot a old yellow hen of Sam Dire and set her on 7 eggs in thehorse-stal, and then we had super. Nothing hapened at super xcept thatKeene got sent to bed for sticking out her tung at father when shethought he wasent looking but he was, becaus he woodent let her go overto see Lucy Watson Beanys sisters new hat. Well after it was dark fathersaid i forgot to pay Sam for his hen and he started rite acros thegarden to go over to Sam Diars and it was dark and i herd a auful splashand thumping round and feerful swaring and i knew father was in thegeese pond. I woodent dass to wright down what he said, if i had saidwhat he did he wood have sent me to bed for a year. Well he came limpinghome and swaring into the house and he made me get a lanten and we wentout to the barn and he took the old hen by her hind legs and swung herround jest as we fellers do when we plug apples on a stick and plugedher way over in Sam Diars yard and then he took the eggs and pluged themas far as he cood and told me to fill up the pond tomorow or he woodlick me. Then we went in and mother and aunt Sarah nearly killedthemselves laffin and father said i spose you wood laff if i killedmyself and when i went up to bed i laffed easy and Keene and Cele werelaffing under the bed close. Bimeby i herd father laffin and then we alllaffed loud. Jest think i had to pay a dollar and a half of my cornetmoney for pluging 5 eggs and father pluged 7 eggs and a old hen anddident have to pay ennything, ennyway it was fun to see him. Apr. 23. Brite and fair. I filled up the geese pond. It was sunday butit was after dark. Apr. 24. Brite and fair. When father came home i told him i had filledup the geese pond and he asked me where the tub was and when i said ihad filled it up he said i was a loonatic and dident know enuf to go inwhen it raned. So he made me dig out the tub and fill in the hole. Itell you i have to wirk prety hard. Apr. 25. Brite and fair. Today old man Thirsten Medos father came to thehouse and told mother someone had pluged roten eggs at his barn. Motherdident know what to say for a minit for she dident want to tell aboutfathers falling into the geese pond, so she said she was very sure ihadent done it but she wood speak to father about it, so when father gothome old man Thirsten came up to the house and said George that cussidboy of yours has been pluging roten eggs at my barn and father said thistime Kimball, his name is Kimball, he dident do it for he was with meall the evening til he went to bed. So father and old man Thirsten wentdown to see the barn and it was all spatered with yellow. Then old manThirsten said he wood give a dolar to know who the scowndril was whitchpluged those eggs, and father said i wish you cood Kimball, it is aoutrage, and father looked auful funny, jest as he did when he scart oldIke Shute that time on the high school steps. When we went home fatherkept laffing, and when he told mother she said it was a shame and heaught to make it rite with him, and so father bought a sawhoss of him, he sells sawhosses, and i have got to use it. Somehow i always get thewirst of it. Apr. 26, 186- it raned like time last nite but it was brite and fairwhen i got up. What do you think, me and Beany are going to by a horseof old Nat Mason. He lives down Stratam road and he has a old troterthat can go like time. Apr. 27. Brite and fair. Me and Beany saw old Nat today. We aint gotenny chink. If i hadent paid that money to those hampton falls men forpluging roten eggs at there cows i should have sum. All i can rase isthirty five cents and Beany can rase fifteen cents. Fatty Gilman mostalways has lots of chink. Apr. 28. Me and Beany saw Fatty today. He wants to go in with us becaushe says his folks want to use old Chub so mutch that he dont get ennychance to use him. But Fatty he hasent got enny chink eether. Enny waywe are going to see old Nat tomorrow and peraps he will let us have iton tick. Apr. 29. Brite and fair. Today was saterday and this afternoon me andBeany and Fatty went down to see old Nat. He was in a old house smokinga old pipe made out of a corn cob. So Fatty he asked him to show us hisold plug, only Fatty dident say old plug but said Mister Mason can wesee your troting horse, and old Nat he got up and went to a little barnand opened the door and holered get up lady Clara and she tride to getup and coodent, and old Nat swoar and kicked her and then she coodentget up, and then he clim over her and puled her head up into the rackand then he took a stick and hit her sum more and swoar sum more andthen she got up. Then Beany he asked old Nat what made her not get upand he said that troting horses most never laid down more than once ortwict a weak and sum of the best troters never laid down. He said Dexterand Flora Tempel never was knowed to lay down. Then Fatty asked him tolet us see her trot and he hiched her into a buggy and we set on thefence and old Nat he drove of most walking. Bimeby we herd the old wagonratling and old Nat he came down the street just fluking. I never saw ahorse go so fast. I tell you old Nat he had to pull to stop her. Shebreethed prety hard and jerky, but Nat he said it was hickups becaus shehad et too mutch. Fatty he asked how old she was and old Nat he said shewas bout 12 but that she wood be good til she was 30. Then we asked howmutch he wood sell her for and he said he wanted 5 dolers for her but hewood let us have her for 2 dolars and fifty cents and we could have thewagon for 2 dolars and fifty cents two, and he wood throw in the harnes. But we dident have the money and so we tride to swap and bimeby he saidif i wood give him my gun and Fatty wood give him his silver pensilcase and Beany give him his 6 bladed nife he wood trust us for a month. So we give him the things and he give us the horse. Only we coodent takeher then becaus we have got to find a place to keep her. None of us dassto tell our folks about it. We woodent let Fatty know about it if wehadent suposed he had plenty of chink. Apr. 30. Brite and fair. After church today we went round to see if wecood get a place to keep our horse. We asked Noot Crumet but Noot hesaid he dident have enny place to put her unles he give her his room andhe told us to go to Bucher Haly and see if we coodent get a chanse toput her in his smoke house for we cood keep her longer there than ennywhere else and so we went to him and he chased us out of his yard. Thenwe went to Charles Flanders but he dident have but one room and his shedwasent big enuf to keep a gote, and then we went over to old JethrowSimpsons and Jethrow he said if we wood help him haul wood enuf to fillhis shed we cood keep her in his barn as long as we wanted to and haveenuf hay two. May 1. It was may day today and we dident have enny school. So me andBeany went up to Fattys and got him and we went down to old Nats. Wewood have run all the way only Fatty got tukered out. When we got thereold Nat made us promise to give him a hat or a pair of old boots becaushe kept lady Clara over Sunday. Fatty he said they was lots of old hatsat home and so we went way back and got a old tall bever hat and thenold Nat hiched up lady Clara and we piled in. Fatty he drove ferstbecaus he said we coodent have got her unless he had got the old tallbever. So Fatty he drove up as fur as ass brook and then Beany he droveas fur as the old brick meeting house and then i drove as fur as thehall place where Jethrow lives. We all had to stand up when we drovebecaus the ranes is two short. When we got there old Jethrow was thereand he had a dingel cart and we hiched lady Clara into it and went up toJady Hill for sum wood. We wirked till 12 oh clock and then we run hometo dinner and run back agen. I took all the meal i had for my hens most2 quarts and i fed her. It is Fattys tirn next to get meal for her. Thenwe wirked til six oh clock and we were allmost ded we were so tired. Well when we asked old Jethrow whitch stal we shood put her in he toldus to take our old plug and get out or he wood lick us. Jest think ofthat. Well we dident know what to do. So we waited til most dark andthen Beany said we had beter go to the next house becaus they was a bigshed there. So i said i wood ring if Fatty wood ask and so i rung thebell and a woman came to the door and Fatty told her all about it andshe said old Jethrow was a meen old skin flint and we cood put our horsein her shed and cood keep her their as long as we wanted to. So shegive us a lantern and we went out and they was a buly place and we madea stal with 2 boards and put a lot of saw dust under her and give her apale of water only we dident have enny hay. Well bimeby Beany said thathe cood see the hay sticking out of the cracks in old Jethrows barn, andwe went over and looked and we cood see plenty of hay there. So Fatty hesaid we had ernt that hay and we aught to have it, and Beany said sotwo, and Fatty said he woodent steal ennything but this hay was ours andwe had ernt it. So Fatty and Beany puled out a board and held it openwhile i puled out enuf hay and then we fed lady Clara and went home. Ennyway the hay was ours and it wasent stealing to take it. May 2. Brite and fair. This morning i got up erly and went over to thebarn. Beany he was there and Fatty he came after i had got there. LadyClara was laying down and woodent get up. I gess she was prety tired. So we fed her and Fatty brogt some otes. So we curred her down as far aswe cood reech and brushed her and then we went home. At brekfast motherasked me what made me smel so barny and i said i had been helping Fattycurry his horse. At noon we fed her agen and tonite we got her up andcurred her other side. We dident drive her today. May 3. Rany as time. We cant drive lady Clara today. We curred her 2times. May 4. Tonite we drove lady Clara. We went down Newmarket road. We tooktirns driving. One of the wheals come of and we had to get out and walkhome holding on the wheal. May 5. Ed Adams give us a nut and we fixed the wheal. We had a ridetonite. I tell you lady Clara can go. We beat Gim Lovering tonite. Hedident know who we was becaus it was two dark but we knowed him. We beathim and then we waited for him to come up and then we beat him agen. Wedid that 3 times, and Gim he was mad. May 6. My hens dont lay enny now. I gess i dont give them enuf to eat. It is prety hard to keep a horse and hens two. We dident drive tonitebecaus it raned. It was brite and fair yesterday. May 7. Today was sunday and we coodent drive lady Clara. Tomorrow nitewe are going to lay for old man Churchil with his troter. I bet we canbeat him. May 8. I have missed in my lesons most every day, and so has Fatty andBeany. Today i swaped a hen for a buchel of meal for lady Clara. Wedrove her tonite but we dident find ennyone to race. May 9. Brite and fair. If Beany dont shell out more meal he wont drivelady Clara agen. May 10. Beany got a peck of meal today at old Si Smiths. He charged itto his father. May 11. We had a buly ride tonite we raced 4 fellers and beat them. May 12. Brite and fair. Tonite we coodent get lady Clara up. We aregoing to try agen tomorrow and drive her in the day time. May 13. Rany agen. We got lady Clara up this morning. Beany and Fattypulled in front and i licked behind. This afternoon one of our whealsbroak down. Ed Adams give us a nother wheal. It went on all rite only itisent as big as the other wheals and it makes the wagon go one sided alittle. We had a good ride today. We have to be pretty careful intirning around a corner becaus the wagon is one sided. May 14. Today was sunday. Father told me if i smelt so of the barn hewoodent let me go up to Fattys agen. I bet he wood be mad if he knowed ioned a horse. May 15. There was a fite in school today. I dont care mutch about fitesnow. I had ruther race horses. Tonite we raced with a big white horseand beat him esy. We all had to pull on the ranes to stop lady Clara. May 16. Brite and fair. Beany is behind 5 feeds and me and Fatty had tomake it up. Last nite lady Clara lost a shue. So this morning beforeschool we walked every where we drove last nite and Beany found the shueway down to long meter Dows on Hamton road. Beany he said if we woodcall it square about the feeds he wood get Gim Elerson to nale on theshue. So we did and Beany got Gim to nale on the shue. Beany he raked upGims front yard to pay him. Beany is a prety good feller. Fatty hadcompany to his house and we dident go to ride tonite. It was two bad. May 17. Rany as time. We coodent go to ride today. It always ranes jestwhen a feller wants to do some thing. May 18. It raned all yesterday and last nite and today. I bet it willrane a week. We are having prety tuf luck. May 19. At last it has stoped raning. I thaught i never shood wrightbrite and fair agen. We had a buly ride tonite after we had tide up thebridle with sum rope. Lady Clara fell down and we had to unharnes herand get her up. She broak the bridle and skined her gnees and we put onsum wheal greese. Beany was standing up driving when she fell down andit draged him rite over the dasher and on top of lady Clara. Tomorowthey is going to be a ministers meeting in the upper church and thereaint enny school tomorow. So we are going to drive all day. After schoolwe washed the harness and got a load of sawdust at the hub mill, andcurred lady Clara. We have got most all the hay we can reech. When wecant reech enny more i dont know where we can get enny more unless Fattycan get sum. May 21. Brite and fair. I had a feerful day yesterday. I feel so bad icant hardly wright ennything. But i will try to wright it all down. Inthe morning me and Beany and Fatty we hiched up lady Clara and droveround town. Sum of the fellers holered at us but we dident care. Theywas lots of ministers in town. They was mostly long tailers with whitenecktis. So in the afternoon we hiched up agen and drove up to thedepot. Old woodbridge Odlin was there wating for the 2 oh clock trane. He had a baruch with a driver and his new span of black horses withcliped tails. And he had on his long tailed black coat and a shiny beverhat. Well we dident wate for the trane but we drove through Winterstreet and out to Front street. When we came to Lincoln street oldWoodbridge Odlin came along with his baruch filled with old ministerswith bever hats and specks and white necktis, and the driver hit thehorses and away they went lickity larup. Well Beany he was driving andhe leened over and hit lady Clara a paist with the whip and she wentafter them like chane litening, and we all began to yell and the blackhorses went faster. Well they was 2 rods ahead and when we got toWhackers house we was most up to there hind wheel, and when we got todoctor Gorams office we was jest even. The old ministers was bouncingaround and holding on to the sides, and old Woodbridge had lost his hatand was standing up yelling sumthing at the driver, and his whiskerswere blowing way behind him. It makes me most die to think of him but idont feel mutch like laffin. Well when we got to Elliott street we wereahead of them and then the driver began to pull up his horses becaus allthe people was yelling and waving there hats like time. Well lady Clarawas breething so she sounded like a big sawmill saw, and when we trideto stop her she woodent stop so we all tride together but we coodentpull her in a mite she had her tail sticking rite up in the air and themore we pulled the faster she went, when we went thru the square Fattyholered to run her over string brige and up factory hill so we cood stopher, and we pulled as hard as we cood but when she came to the cornershe tirned around into Water street and over went the wagon and we cameout jest fluking. Well we want hurt mutch and we run after her as fastas we cood. We found pieces of the wagon and harnes all over the streetand when we got to the barn she was there all rite. Lots of people cameto see about it, but when they found that nobody was hurt they wentaway. They wasent ennything of the harnes left but the bridle and thewagon was everywhere along the street. Well when father came homesomebody had told him about it and he made me tell him all about it, where we got her and how we fed her and everything, and when i told himabout the hay i thought he was going to lick time out of me he was somad, and he said he never knowed i cood steal, and i said i only hookedit and he said what is the diference and i said stealing is takingsumthing that you know belongs to sumbody else, and hooking is takingsumthing that belongs to you and sumbody else wont let you have. Isuposed everybody knowed that. Well he dident lick me, but after superhe got mister Watson, Beanys father and we all went over to see ladyClara and what do you think, when we got there she was ded. I gess shehad broak something inside of her. I tell you me and Beany felt pretybad and Fatty did when we told him. Well then father and mister WatsonBeanys father told us to go home and go to bed and so we went. So tonitei herd father telling mother about it and he said he give old Jethrow adresing down that wood tech him not to cheet a boy agen. He said ifJethrow hadent been a old man he wood have nocked his head of. May 22. Brite and fair. I shal never own a horse agen. May 23, 186- brite and fair. My hens are laying buly now. I gess theydident have very good cair when me and Beany and Fatty was keeping LadyClara. I tell you a feller witch keeps a horse cant pay mutch atentionto ennything else. May 24. Brite and fair. Tonite me and father went down to old manCollins. He wants to sell father his cow. He says she gives 20 quats ofmilk a day. Father says the milk we get of the milk man is all chork andwater. May 25. Rany as time. Father ofered 30 dolars for old man Collins cow. He wants 35 dolars. She has got auful long horns. Old man Collins saidshe had auful big milk vanes. Father said they was varrycose vanes andshe want wirth 30 dolars but he wood give it to help out a old man. Oldman Collins he said if she kep on giving milk the way she was a givingit they wood have to milk her in a tub. Then father he said he gessedshe give so mutch milk that it want good for ennything and old manCollins he said you cood take the creem up by one corner and lift it outlike a old pair of linen britches. They dident trade tonite. May 26. Brite and fair. Tonite me and father went down to old manCollins agen. Father said he was going to trade for that cow only i mustshet up and not say ennything. He said you jest wach me and you willlern sumthing about trading. So i wached him. Well we went down andfather said well mister Collins how do you feel about trading tonite. And old man Collins he said, i gess you are two late George fer i havesold her to a man in Hamton Falls. And father said what did you get forher and old man Collins he said i told him he cood have her for 35dolars and he ofered me 33 dolars and 50 cents and i said the first manwhitch ofers me 35 dolars gets her, and i gess he will be up tomorowmorning. Then father he said have you made the trade and old man Collinshe said he hadent made enny trade but he had kind of let the manunderstand he cood have her for 35 dolars. Then father he said he woodgive 35 dolars and old man Collins he said he dident know about sellingher xcept to the Hamton Falls man but if father wood give him 37 dolarshe cood give the Hamton Falls man 2 dolars if he came up and wasdisapointed. So father he give old man Collins 37 dolars and we got aroap and tide it round her horns and led her home. When we got home wetried to get her in the barn, father he went ahead and she folowed himin and all of a suddin she backed out lively and father came out jestfluking, holding on to the roap and taking feerful long stradles. Helooked so mad that i dident dass to laff. Well father held on like agood feller and bimeby she stoped. Then father said so so and held outsum meal in a pail and got her in the barn and tide her to a post. Thenhe give her sum hay and we went in and he told mother she had beter makesum araingments to sell sum milk for we was going to have 20 quats everyday. Then mother she said if the cow gives milk like my hens lade egsthey woodent be mutch milk to sell, and father said you jest wait tilmorning. Then we went down to old Gechels store and father he bougt thebigest milk pail he cood find. May 27. Brite and fair. This morning me and father got up erly and wewent out to feed the cow and i piched down the hay and father he setdown and begun to milk her, he brougt out the big pail and a little oneto use after he had filled the big one. Well the ferst thing he did wasto aim a streem rite in my eye. Then he milked in the pail and it made afuny sound, well he kep milking and bimeby it stoped coming, and hesqueazed away as hard as he cood and he coodent get a drop and bimebyhe give up and said he gessed it was becaus she was in a new place andwas loansum. When we went into the house and straned it thrugh a sivthey wasent quite 2 quats. Mother she laffed and asked what he had donewith the other 8 quats and father he said you wait til tonite. Then heet his brekfast and went to boston and i et mine and drove the old cowto pasture. I found a robins nest in a pine tree and took one eg. It isall rite to take one becaus the old bird cant count. May 28, 186- brite and fair. Last nite after super father milked the oldcow again. He only got 2 quats and a half. He was prety mad and he saidhe wood get even with old man Collins sum day. Tonite he met old manCollins and he asked father if she milked esy and father said yes and heasked father how mutch she give and father said she give more than hewanted. That want a lie for father dont like milk. I bet father willget even with him sum day. Nothing else today but church. May 29. Brite and fair. I have to go to pasture 2 times every day. Ilike to go in the woods but i dont like to have to go. Today i found anest in the barn with 15 hens egs. I gess mother wont say mutch about myhens now. May 30. Rany. Beany has gone to Bideford to see Tom Cleves. I hope Tomwill come with him when Beany comes home. I went up to Whacker Chadwickstonite. Beany has been sick he et two mutch pork. May 31. Today it was hot and we had a thunder shower. It raned when iwas driving the old cow from pasture and i made her run from old NatGordons way home. Sam Dire said she wood give bludy milk, so when fathermilked her i wached and it want a bit red. So i gess she is all rite. June 1. Brite and fair. Today we had a great time at brekfast. Fatherwas home becaus sumtimes he gets tired. We had boiled egs for brekfastand mother she boiled the egs i found in the nest. Well we set down tothe table and father he helped us to egs and bisket and he took up a egand held it over his glass and hit it a paist with his spoon and it wentoff jest like a pop pistol and father he said thunder Joey the infernalthing is roten and we all held our nose and ran away from the table andyou never smelt such a auful smel. Well mother she made me take the egsall out behine the barn and throw them away and i did and when i gotthere i had sum fun pluging them at J. Albert Clarks big apple tree andi hit it most every time and every time i hit it the eg popped like apistol. Then i went in to brekfast and mother was burning some coffy ina duspan to take away the smel of the roten eg. Well while we was eatingbrekfast J. Albert Clark he came in and said i had beter come out andclean of his apple tree and burn a rag and father made me take a pailof hot water and clean it of. J. Albert needent have been so fusy for itwood have all dride in a little while. June 2. Brite and fair. I wish that old cow was ded. Beany hasent gotback yet. June 3. Brite and fair. I am in bed. I aint sick only i havent got ennyclose to wair. Tonite after father had milked the old cow i thougt iwood try it. So i got a tin diper and went out and set down and began tosqueaze and she kicked me rite thrugh the barn door and rite into themanure pile. When i got up i was all covered and Aunt Clark was in herback garden and she saw me and asked me if i was hurt and i said iwasent and she said for mersy sakes dont come near me but go round tothe pump. Well i went round to the pump and mother and Aunt Sarah andAunt Clark pumped on me and threw pails of water on me and scraped mewith peaces of shingle, and when they had got me prety clean mothermade me go in the barn and take of my close and then she put me in a tubin the kichen and washed me in warm water and soped my head and thensent me to bed. I have got to wair my best close tomorow and i cant goout of the yard. I wish that old cow was ded. Father said it sirved mejest rite. June 4. Brite and fair. Beany has got back. Tonite he came over and toldme about the fun he had at Bideford. We was going to ring doorbellstonite but i had to stay in the yard and it was sunday two. June 5. Brite and fair. Today Scotty Brigam let me take his bugle and ilerned to make 2 notes. My mouth was all sweled up and my face aked. Itaint so esy as a tin whissle but i can make more noise on it. I gess ishall never get that cornet. June 6, 186- i have to pay all the money i can ern to get corn for myhens. June 7. Brite and fair in the morning and clowdy but no rane in theafternoon. Tonite me and Beany rung doorbells. We dident get cougt butwe came prety near it. June 8. Rany. Tonite the old cow kicked father and nocked him rite ofthe stool and spilt about a quat of milk all over him. Buly. I wanted totell him it sirved him rite but i dident dass to. June 9. Clowdy but no rane. Father has sold the old cow to Eben Garlandthe bucher. Buly. Aunt Sarah asked mother what she gessed he wood havenext and mother she said she gessed he wood by a gristly bear for he hadbougt most everything but that. He says he gesses he will have sum sheapfor they cant bite or kick and dont eat mutch. June 10. Brite and fair. The baby had the croop last nite. The minit hecoffed croopy father and mother jumped out of bed and father he fellover a chair and that waked us all up. Then he tride to lite a lamp andhe coodent find the maches and he swoar round feerful. Well mother shelit the lamp and they all went tearing round and they got sum hot waterand made the baby eat some eg and sugar and put hot close on his neckand prety soon he was all rite. Then they give me the rest of the eg andsugar. Then we all went to bed and i lay and laffed to think of fathertumbling over the chair and swaring. Ennyway the baby is all rite. June 11. I hate to go to church. We have all got to be vaxinated. Sumpeeple in the next town have got the small pocks. Beany has been andPewt two. Beany says the doctor takes a nife and cuts a hole in your armand then puts on a big scab whitch has come of somebodys arm whitch hasbeen vaxinated, and that stops the blud. But he says that if the scabdont fit you bleed to deth. So i asked father about it tonite and hesaid that Beany lied about it, but he says if you are vaxinated withthe scab of a redheaded person your hair will turn red, and if he haswarts or frekles you will have warts two and frekles. Father said oncewhen he was a boy he knew a feller whitch was vaxinated with a scab of acock-eyed man and bimeby the feller began to squint and he kep onsquinting wirse and wirse and bimeby he was cock-eyed two. And father hesaid he knew another feller whitch had a wooden leg and he sent his scabto another feller to be vaxinated and that feller began to limp and healways walked stifleged. I gess father was fooling. Ennyway i hope ishant be vaxinated with Skinny Bruces scab, becaus he is redheaded. Father he said he was going to get a scab of Horis Cobb for me andperhaps i wood have a little fat on me and not be so spindel shanked. Iwish i cood get a scab of Gim Erly or Tady Finton and i cood lick timeout of Pewt. June 12. Brite and fair. Beany has a auful sore arm. He dont dass torassle or fite or do ennything. June 13. Brite and fair. Pewt has got one two. Tomorrow nite the doctoris coming. June 15. Brite and fair. Last nite after super the doctor come and hewent into the parlor and father and mother and Cele and Keene and me andGeorgie and Annie and Frank and the baby was all in the setting room. Well ferst father went in and he was only in there a few minits and hedident holler enny and then he come out laffing, and i asked him whosescab he had and he said he dident know but it must have been from summinister becaus he had been thanking the lord it was all over. Thenmother she went in and father told her he had got the scab of old MikeCasey for her. Mother is english and she dont like the irish and fathersaid it to plage her. Well she went in and then Aunt Sarah went in andKeene and Cele and they dident holler eether. Then my tern came and iwent in and it dident hurt a bit only sort of smarted tickly like. Iasked the doctor whose scab i had and he said Bruce Brigams. Buly. BruceBrigam is the best cornet player in town. I bet i can play like time ifi ever get a cornet. Then the rest of them went in and none of themhollered xcept the baby and he always hollers when ennything is thematter. Father told Cele that he got old Nigger Tashs scab for her andhe gessed she wood begin to turn prety dark culored before a week or 2. Aunt Sarah told Cele he was fooling. June 16, 186- Brite and fair. My arm is all rite. June 17. Rany and thunderry. My arm begins to ich a little only i cantscrach it. June 18. Still rany. All our arms begin to ich. Annies arm is the wirst. We dident go to church today. That is one good thing. I never knew it torane before on sunday. June 19. Brite and fair. Every one of us is cross as time. I took holdof Georgies arm today and she began to ball and said i did it purpose. Ikeep hiting my arm agenst things all the time. Somehow i never hit thewell one. That is always the way with things. June 20. Brite and fair. Father is cross two. Last nite he grabed me bythe arm to shake me and it hurt so i hollered like time, and then he letme go and said he forgot about my arm. June 21. Brite and fair. Annie is in bed sick with her arm. She alwayshas things the wirst xcept mother, only mother says she hasent enny timeto be sick. June 22. Brite and fair. My arm is still auful sore and the wirst of itis becaus i cant go in swimming. June 23. Brite and fair. All our arms is better. John Johnson who ringsthe town bell has gone away for a week and Beanys father is going toring it. He has to ring it at 7 oh clock in the morning and at 1 ohclock in the afternoon and at 9 oh clock in the nite except Saturdaynites when they ring it at 8 oh clock so that peeple can get there bathsbefore bedtime. Me and Beany are going to lern to ring it. June 24. Rany. Me and Beany went up to the church today to see Beanysfather ring the town bell, he let us pull it a little, it is prety esy. Then we went up at 1 oh clock and at 9 oh clock. June 25. Rany again. Most of our scabs has come of. I dident go up tosee Mister Watson ring the bell this morning becaus i dident get up intime, it was sunday. Beany he dident neether, but we did tonite. Beanycan ring it prety well. June 26. Brite and fair. Jest think, Beanys father is going to Portsmuthtomorrow and Beany is going to ring the bell and he is going to let mehelp him. Beany is a prety good feller. Mother sent of the scabs todayto peeple whitch wanted them. Nobody wanted mine. Father said it wasbecaus i was such a tuf feller. June 27. Brite and fair. Gosh if we dident have a auful time today. Inthe morning me and Beany went up to the church and rung the bell, we hada good time and rung it jest so many rings jest as mister Watson, Beanysfather told us to, then me and Beany both got kep after school, and whenwe got out we asked Noot Crummet what time it was and he said it wasjest 1 oh clock and that the town bell had jest struck and then me andBeany jest put for the church as tite as we cood hiper, and we was pretynear tuckered out when we got there and we both grabed hold of the roapand begun to ring the bell. Well we only rung it a few times before weherd sumone holler fire, and then more peeple begun to holler and welooked out and we saw Charles Fifield and Charly Batcheldor and ChickRandall and Jimmy Josie jest putting it for the ingine house, and Beanysaid buly they is a fire, and we begun to ring the bell as hard as wecood and holler fire. Then the Methydist bell begun to ring and then theupper house bell, and Charles Tolls horses came galoping down to thefountain ingine house with Mat Sleeper driving. And Mager Blakes horseswent by jest lickety larup for the Torrent ingine house with old Browndriving, and then Flunk Ham came piling into the church and said, giveme that roap and he puled like time, then sum peeple came runing in andsaid where is the fire, and Flunk he said we dident know, and then weherd the ingine and went out and they was the Torrent and the fountainand lots of men, and they said where in hel is the fire and nobodyknowed where it was. And then Chick Randall he asked Flunk what he wasringing the bell for and Flunk he said he found me and Beany ringing it. Then they asked us what we was ringing it for and we said we was ringingit for Mister Watson Beanys father, because he was going to ring it forMister Johnson, and he had to go to Portsmuth and so he told Beany toring it, and then old Brown he said us was fools and asked us if wedident know enuf to tell time and he said it was only 20 minits past 12oh clock when the bell begun to ring, and some of the peeple was mad andsaid we had aught to be arested, and then we said that Noot Crummet toldus it was 1 oh clock and then sum of them begun to laff and said it wasa good one. Ennyway me and Beany run home as quick as we cood and thepeeple went of two. Well tonite father said if he had got into so manyscrapes when he was a boy as me and Beany did he wood have been in jale. And Aunt Sarah laffed and said she gessed she cood tell a few things ifshe wanted to and father he said he cood two but he gessed he woodent. Ennyway he said Gim Melcher and Charles Talor led him into a good manyscrapes and Aunt Sarah she said she gessed me and Beany and Pewt want asercumstance to father and Gim Melcher and Charles Talor. June 28. Brite and fair. It is most fourth of July again. They is goingto be a band concert on the square. I shant have as mutch money as lastyear. Ennyway i bet i will have a good time. I went in swiming 4 timestoday. I coodent go in while my arm was sore. Annie is most well butcross as time. June 29. Brite and fair. I went in swiming 5 times today. Tomorow me andPewt is going pikerilling. Pewt is a good feller to fish. Fourth of Julyis coming next week. June 30. Today me and Pewt went fishing. We got Charles Flanders littleblew bote. It is the esiest bote to row i ever rowd. Pewt cougt 4pikeril and 5 kivies and 3 pirch. I cougt 2 pikeril and 2 kivies and 4pirch and 1 sucker. We cougt sum minnies and shiners for bate but wedident call them ennything. We div of the bank at the eddy, once Pewtsliped and come down all guts, it nocked the wind all out of him. July 1. Brite and fair. Today is the first day of July, and we had myfish fride for brekfast. July 2. Brite and fair. I bougt 5 bunches of snapcrackers and 2 bunchesof canon crackers and sum slow mach and put them in a box in my room. Tomorow is the nite before fourth. Pewt is going to have a pistol andBeany a canon. Father he says if he hears of me fooling with a gun hewill lick me and send me to bed for a week. Ennyway he dident sayennything about a pistol or a canon. July 3. Gosh i was scart today. This morning i went up to my room tolook at my snap crackers. I got the box on the floor and was countingthem when i looked out of the window. I saw old Miss Hartnett hangingout sum close on the line, i thougt i cood make her gump and i wanted totry jest one canon cracker to see if they was good ones. Well i lit oneand pluged it down behind her, and jest as she was reaching up with hermouth full of close pins it went of bang, and she hollered love of Godand went rite over backwards. I thougt i shood die and jest then onewent of bang rite in the room and then they all begun to go of bang bangbang and i grabed the box up and pluged it out of the window and mothercame up jest hipering and the room was full of smoke and i was stampingout the burning paper. Well when i got it out she was prety mad with meand made me clean the room and wash the floor and windows. Ferst i wentout and picked up my snapcrackers. They were all rite but all the canoncrackers but 2 had went of. Mother she asked me how they got afire and isaid i was fooling with them and they got on fire and i had to plug themout of the window. Then she said that was what fritened Miss Hartnett soand i said was she fritened and she said she was so fritened that shefell over backwards and i said is that so. Mother dont know i did it onpurpose whitch is prety good luck for me, so she only made me keep mysnapcrackers in the yard. So i put them in a hole in the apple tree. Gosh, you aught to hear Miss Hartnett tell about it. July 7, 186- brite and fair. I have been in bed 3 days. On the fourth igot bloan up with Pewts canon. I had fired all my snapcrackers but 2bunches whitch i had saved for nite, so me and Pewt we was fixing thecanon, ferst we wood put in sum powder and then we wood put in sum wetpaper for a wod and then we wood put in sum grass and then put in theramrod and pound it down with a rock. Then we wood put a fuze of a snapcracker in the tuch hole and lite it and put for the other side of thestreet and it wood make an auful bang and tern 2 or 3 sumersets. Well wehad lots of fun and bimeby i was poaring out sum powder out of thepowder horn and all of a suddin they was a flash of litening and thenext i knew i was in bed and father and mother and Cele and Keene anddocter Perry and aunt Sarah and aunt Clark and Georgie was in the room, and i said what is the matter and mother began to laff and then to cryand Docter Perry he said you had better take her out and let her liedown, but mother she said she wood be all rite and docter he said youneedent wurry Missis Shute, you coodent kill this boy with brik. Well myeyes smarted and i felt like the room was spinning round but it didenthurt enny. Well that nite i coodent go to the band concert but theypushed my bed up to the window and i cood hear it prety good. The nextday i had sum buly gelly and oranges and Cele and Keene read to me andin the afternoon Beany came in to see me. Beany he burnt his hand on thefourth and Pewt he burnt of one eyebrow and so we all had a prety goodfourth. Yesterday Boog and Puzzy came down and fit for me until mothercame up. I am all rite now and tomorow i can go in swiming. It was thebabys berthday today. He was just 1 year old. He is a auful fat littlebaby, when i was sick mother wood let him sit on the bed. July 8. Brite and fair. I went in swimming today. The water was jest aswarm as if it came out of the kittle. Next monday i am going bullfroging with Cawcaw Harding. July 9. Brite and fair, nothing today but church. July 10. Me and Cawcaw had a prety good time today. We cougt 3 dozenbull frogs legs. We got sum old busters. It is auful funny to catchthem. They will bite a bare hook, so we swing the hook by them and theygump for it and then they kick and almost tern rong side out trying toget of of the hook. Then we grab them by the legs and whak their headsover the side of the bote and their inside comes out and sumtimes lotsof hard water snales comes ratling out and sumtimes they has fishes andsumtimes other bull frogs or stripers. Then we cut of there legs. Me andCawcaw always kill them ferst. Sum fellers cut of there legs ferst, thatis prety cruil i think. Cawcaw he thinks so two. July 11. Brite and fair. Today i went in swiming up to sandy bottum. Whack and Boog and Puzzy were there and got to pluging green apples. Whack got behind a tree and jest as he peeked out Boog pluged a hard oneand took Whack rite in the mouth. Then Whack got mad and said he coodlick Boog and Puzzy together, so Boog and Puzzy piched in and had a goodfite and punched time out of Whack. While i was waching them fite, sumbody tide gnots in my shert sleavs so tite that i coodent get themout so i had to go home without my shert on. It was prety lucky i had myjaket on. July 12. Today i went up to Whacks and we et sum green currents withshugar on them and then et sum green apples and then we went inswimming down to sandy bottum. I dont feel very well tonite, i have gota bely ake. July 13. I have been sick all day, mother made me take a big spoon fullof caster oil. July 14. I am beter today, it raned all day and tonite they was athunder shower, it struck a tree in Gilman field. July 15. I went up to Whacks agen today. I dident eat enny green applesor green currents you bet. Whack and Boog and Puzzy did and they givelittle Willie sum. They never have the bely ake. I never see suchfellers. July 16. I have got a velosipede, it ways 90 pounds. I have got so i canride it down hill, last nite i was riding it up by Gim Odlins and it ranrite into a tree and i came of rite over it and scrached my hands andnocked the skin of my gnees. Today was sunday and i coodent ride it buti set on it. July 17. Hot as time today. Docter Gerrish and Docter Perry and J. Albert Clark have all got buly velossipedes, they have spring backs butmine is solid iron back and when i go over a bump or a stone it mostratles my teeth out. Beany he can ride two, but Pewt cant. July 18. Feerful hot. July 19, 186- we fellers is going to have a swiming mach. They is goingto be prises for the feller whitch can dive the best and for the fellerwhitch can swim the fastest and for the feller whitch can swim thefurtherest under water and for the feller whitch can flote the bestwithout wigling his arms and legs. I bet i will beat sum of the fellers. Most of the fellers can beat me rassling or nocking of hats or runningor gumping but i bet i will show them sumthing when we come to race inswiming. I practised today diving until my head aked feerful. July 20. The race is to be next Wensday. They is Pewt and Beany andFatty Gilman and Fatty Melcher. Boog and Whack and Puzzy was going torace but they wanted to have it at sandy bottum and we fellers wanted tohave the diving mach at the oak and the swiming under water at thegravil becaus it is wider there, and so they was mad and woodent comein. Ennyway sandy bottum isent wide enuf and you cant tell whether afeller is swiming one foot on bottum. Today i went in 7 times. Ferst ipractised swiming fast bullfrog fashion. Next i practised side stroaknext i practised swiming under water. I swum 5 times acros at thegravil. Then i practised floteing, but i cant flote without keeping myhands moving. Ferst my feet sink and when i get straight up and down myhead goes under. Then i div until my head aked like time agen. I feelprety tired tonite. July 21. Rany as time. I only went in swiming 2 times today and i didentdive enny. I only practised swiming fast and floteing. I coodent flote. In every boys book of sports and amuzements it says throw yourself onyour back and throw your head back and hold your breth and you will notdrownd until asistance reeches you. So i tride it today but i coodenthold my breth more than 1 minit and as soon as i let out my breth down iwent unless i kep my hands moving. So what the man whitch rote that booksaid aint so unless asistance comes in 1 minit. July 22. Brite and fair and hot as time. Pewt thinks he is going to beatme swiming. I gess he will find out. July 23. Today was sunday and i coodent practise swiming or diving, darnit. July 24. Brite and fair. I only went in swiming 2 times today, once thismorning and once this afternoon, but i staid in all the morning and allthe afternoon so i coodent go in more then 2 times. The race is dayafter tomorow. July 25. Brite and fair. Today we went up to Pewts and we aranged aboutthe prises. Pewt was to give the prises. The prise for swiming fast wasa bag of erly apples from Pewts garden. The prise for swiming underwater was a gewsharp and the prise for the best diver was a cain fishingpole and the prise for floteing was a arrow rifle. We all give 5 centseech to buy the cain pole. The gewsharp was one whitch Pewt had and thearrow rifle Pewt had made. So Pewt he said as long as he give 2 of theprises he was to have the say about whitch beat. July 26. Brite and fair. The fellers plaid a meen trick on me today. Themeenist i ever see. I wont ever speak to enny of them agen. This morningwe had the race. Ferst we had the fast race. We started at the oak andswum down to the gravil. I was as far as from here to Beanys houseahead. So i got the apples. Fatty Melcher was next and Pewt was next andBeany and Fatty Gilman got tired and went ashore. Next we had thefloteing mach. Fatty Gilman floted the longest and then Beany becaus hewas fat two and then Pewt and then Fatty Melcher and then me. I was thewirst and the fellers all howled at me. So Fatty Gilman he got the arrowrifle. I dont cair. Then we went back to the oak to have the divingmach. After we had div Beany and Fatty Melcher they said i div the bestand Pewt and Fatty Gilman said Pewt div the best. Then Pewt giv himselfthe prise becaus he had the say. I was prety mad. Then we went down tothe gravil to have the swiming under water mach so i went ferst and iswum from the going in place on Moltons field to the elm tree on old NatGilmans side and when i come up and looked round they wasent enny fellerennywhere. So i swum back prety lively and my close was gone and theapples and the gewsharp and the fellers two. So i dident know what todo. I thougt they had hid the close and i hunted in the buches but idident find them. So i wated a long time and bimeby i heard sum oars andi looked and i saw a bote with a feller and 2 girls, so i coodent hollerand i hid behind a tree. So they went by and then i come out and iwalked back to the oak and when i got there i found sum girls pickingdasies and i lay down behind the fence and just then a hornet stung me 2times and i yelled and gumped rite up and danced round before i thougtand then i see them and i hipered back to the gravil, they hipered twothe other way you bet. Well i set there in the shade for a long timeuntil i got kind of cold and then i set in the sun. I thougt sum of thefellers wood come in swiming, but nobody come. I knowed if i wated tildark i cood get home all rite, only i wood get a licking for scaring thefolks most to deth for they wood think i was drownded. Well jest then iheard sum fellers talking up by the oak and i went up and there wasPotter Goram and Chick Chickering. They had been fishing and had cougtsum buly pikeril. Well i holered to them and they come down where i wasand i told them about the meen trick the fellers had plaid on me andPotter he said he wood go home for sum close and he give me his jaketand then he hipered acres the field and me and Chick began to fish and icougt a pirch and a eal and Chick he cougt 2 roach. Then Potter he comeback with my best close and so i coodent fish enny more. So i went homein my best close. When i went by Pewts he holered Plupy has got on hisbest close. I dident say ennything. So when i got home mother asked meabout it and i told her, it want telltaily eether. So mother she told meto go up to Pewts for my close and i said if Pewt took them he coodbring them back and Beany and Fatty two. So at super father he asked mewhy i had got on my best close and i told him and he said if Pewtdident bring those close back in about 5 minits he wood go up and boothim down to our house and back agen and jest then Mister Purington cameinto the yard holding Pewt by the ear. Pewt he had the close and MisterPurington he nocked at the door and he asked for me and when i come tothe door he made Pewt give me the close and then he told Pewt to tell mehe was sorry for what he had done and Pewt he dident want to say it butMister Purington most lifted Pewt of the ground by the ear and then Pewthe said he was sorry kind of mad like and Mister Purington lifted him upagen til Pewt he stood on his tip toes and his face was all onesided andhis eyes all squinty and then he had to say it over agen polite. Andthen Mister Purington he led Pewt home all the way by the ear. I thougti shood die. It sirved Pewt jest rite. Father laffed when i told him howthe hornet stung me and how the girls hipered. July 27. Brite and fair. Pewt cant go out of the yard today. I didentspeak to Beany. July 28. Brite and fair. I am going with Potter and Chick Chickeringinstead of Pewt and Beany. We went butterflying today. July 29. Brite and fair. Nothing to wright today. July 30. Thunder storm rite after church. I wish it had been ritebefore. July 31. Tonite a man come down to see father and said i had gumped upbehind a fence without my close on and scart his girls. He was stopingat the beach and they come up to Mager Blakes hotel. Well father calledme in and i told the man all about it and bimeby he begun to laff and hesaid it was a prety meen trick on me and he shook hands with me and hewas glad i dident do it a purpose only he was sorry i got stung. Aug. 1. Me and Potter and Chick went fishing. Chick fell of little riverbrige with his close on. Potter caugt a whacking snaping tirtle. Hegave it to Sam Dire and he cut his head of after it was cut of it woodbite a stick. Sam says it wont die til the sun goes down. He says thatif you cut a snake in 2 peaces it will come together agen and heel upand be as good as ever. Me and Potter is going to try it. Aug. 2. Big thunder shower last nite. We all got up and lit lamps andset round in our nite sherts. We lit all the lamps we cood find so wecoodent see the litening. Father kept telling funny stories, but motherand Aunt Sarah was scart and told him he hadent aught to joke when ennyminit he mite be struck by litening. Father he said he dident beleavethe litening wood strike him enny quicker for not being scart of it thenit wood if he gumped and holered o lord every time it litened. Wellafter a while it only litened way of and we went to bed. Aug. 3. I havent spoke to Beany yet or to Pewt eether. Aug. 4. This morning it was Friday. We have fish chowder Fridays. I dontlike it and so i drink milk and father wanted the milkman to go downceller to try some of his vinegar. Mother hangs the wash boiler and thetin pans and iron kittles in the celler way and when ennyone whitch istall goes down celler he has to stupe down so not to nock down the pansand kittles. So father he was down celler and he holered for the milkmanto come down and when he went down he hit his head aginst the boiler andnocked it down and all the kittles and pans tumbled down on his head andwent banging down into the celler and you never heard such a feerfulnoise. Father was mad as time, but after the milkman was gone we alllaffed as if we wood die. Mother and Aunt Sarah had to set down theylaffed so. Mother said it made more noise then the thunder did lastnite. Aug. 5. Me and Cawcaw Harding has got a new way of fishing for pikerilwhen we are in a bote. One of us padles the bote and the other skips forpikeril. When you try to pull a pikeril into a bote most half of thetime he goes over the bote into the water, so when me and Cawcaw fisheswhen the feller which is skiping gets a bite he lets him have it a minitand the feller whitch is padling the bote padles towards the shore andthen the feller whitch is skiping gumps rite out as soon as the wateraint over his head and gives a big yank, and the pikeril goes salinginto the field. Sumtimes when it is woods the line gets tangled all upin a tree and we have to shin up the tree or cut it down to get thepikeril. We get prety wet but we dont cair. We always ring out our closewhen we get done fishing and they is most dry when we get home. Todaythe bigest pikeril we caugt got up in a tree and we coodent shin up thetree and we coodent plug him down with rocks so we had to leeve himthere. We got 12 pikeril. We are going monday. Aug. 6. Brite and fair. Today after sunday school Beany he came over andwe made up. This was the longest time i ever was mad with Beany. I amglad we aint mad enny more. Father let me go to ride with Mister Watsonand Beany this afternoon. We went down to the beach and took ourlunchun. When we was coming home me and Beany got most asleep and ourlegs got asleep two, so Mister Watson he told us to get out and walk alittle and we wood be all rite and when we got out he whiped up hishorse and drove of lively and made me and Beany walk most a mile. We kepawake after that you bet. I had a good time. Aug. 7, 186- clowdy but no rane. Me and Cawcaw went fishing agen todayin the bote ferst i padled and he skiped and then he padeled and iskiped. When we got up by the cove i got a bite and Cawcaw he padledthe bote towards the shore and i gumped out lively and gumped into adeep place and went down way under. When i came up Cawcaw was nearly dedhe laffed so. Well i held onto my pole and swum to the shore it was only3 stroaks and i sloshed up the bank and yanked that pikeril way into thebuches. He was a big one. Cawcaw did it purpose. Sumtime i am going torock the bote sudding when Cawcaw is standing up skiping and he will gointo the river kerswash. Aug. 8. Hot as time. Me and Beany rung sum more doorbells tonite. Wedident get cougt. Aug. 9. Brite and fair. Potter Goram can stuf birds, so they look jestlike they was alive. He stufed a red winged blackbird so good that thecat et it and dide. And then Potter he skun the cat and stufed her. Ican skin the cat on the horizondle bar, that is another way. Aug. 10. Me and Beany rung sum more doorbells tonite. We rung old Headsdoorbell and then we tiptode round by the side of his house into GimEllersons yard and laid down behind the current bushes. Well jest as oldHead come piling out mad as time Pewt and Fatty Melcher come rite by andold Head grabed for them and Fatty he run and Pewt got cougt and oldHead he jest lammed Pewt with his cain and Pewt holered he dident do itand old Head said he did and then he give Pewt sum good bats and senthim home balling. Me and Beany most dide only we dident dass to laff outloud. Jest then father come out to see what Pewt was holering about andhe said what is the matter Orrin and Mister Head he said sum cussid boyhas been ringing my door bell most every nite and i cougt him tonite andlicked him good. And father he said who was it, and Mister Head he saidit was Brad Puringtons boy, and father said i am glad it wasent my boyand mister Head he said i am glad two but i gess your boy woodent bemeen enuf to ring doorbells and father he said i gess he woodent eetherand then they went in and me and Beany we tiptode up Maple street anddown town and then back home jest as if we had been down town all thetime. That was a good one on Pewt. It made me think of the time MisterWatson Beanys father licked Beany when we rung his doorbell and he cameto the door with a lamp and the wind blowed the lamp out and MisterWatson he bumped his head on the door. Aug. 11. Brite and fair. I cant help laffing every time i think of Pewtgetting licked. It is a good one on Pewt. Aug. 12. Brite and fair. Tonite me and Beany tride the same trick onNipper. We saw Nip go down town and we rung Bill Greenleefs bell 2 timesbefore Nip come back. We hid in old Ike Shutes porch and peeked out of alittle window. Bill he come out and run round the side of the house andthen he run up street and looked behind trees and fences and swoarterible. Me and Beany near dide. He was so mad that he staid up tilnearly 10 oh clock waching. We cood see him peeking out of the windowand we dident dass to go home til after 10 oh clock and i got licked forbeing late. If Nipper had only come home when he had aught to Bill woodhave cougt him and licked him and we wood have got home all rite. Wewill pay Nip for this. Aug. 13. Brite and fair. Nothing but church today. Aug. 14. Brite and fair. I coodent go out of the yard today. Beany hecome over and we are going to ring old man Hobbses door bell tomorownite. Old man Hobbs is Prisils uncle. Aug. 15. Brite and fair, and hot as time. Tonite we rung old man Hobbsesdoor bell 2 times. It was auful funny. The ferst time he come out kindof slow with a lamp. Me and Beany were rite on the other side of thestreet laying down in the long grass. Well he looked all round andwalked out to the end of the piaza and then he went in mutering. Bimebywe rung it agen and out he come prety lively but he dident catch us. Ifhe was as lively as Bill Greenleef he wood have cougt us. Well he wentround the house and then old Missis Hobbs she came to the door and saidwhat is it William, and he said it is some more of that Purington boysdeviltry, and she said i wood speek to his father and old Hobbs he saidhe wood and then they went in. Jest as we was going to ring the bellagen a man come walking quick down the street and went up to the doorand rung the bell and jest as the bell rung old Hobbs opened the doorquick and gumped out and grabed the man and said you rascul i have gotyou and the man said you old fool are you crasy and then old Hobbs hesaid i thougt it was that Purinton boy ringing my door bell and thenthe man went in the house and we wated til they had shet the door and weput for home and made sum sweet firn segars. Tomorow old Hobbs is goingto tell Pewts father. I never had so much fun in my life. Aug. 16. Brite and fair. Today Pewt come down to the house and saidwhere was you last nite and i said me and Beany was making sweet firnsegars over to Beanys and i gave him 2 segars. Then Pewt he said thatold Hobbs come down to his house today and told his father he rung hisdoorbell 2 times and Pewt said he dident and his father said he didentbeleeve him and was going to lick time out of him if he had and he didit. Pewt was prety mad and i was prety surprized you bet. This afternoonthey was a thunder storm. After it was over we went fishing but didentget a bite. Aug. 17. Brite and fair. Went up to Whacks this morning and Boog andPuzzy had 2 fites. Neether licked becaus old miss Finton come out andstoped them. Boog got a bludy nose the second fite. In the afternoon iwent fishing with Cawcaw. I dident get a chance to tip him over but wecougt 5 pikeril. Tomorow nite me and Beany are going to ring sumdoorbells. Aug. 18. Clowdy but no rane. Jest the rite day to go fishing. I wasgoing with Cawcaw but he was sick becaus he et to many apples up toWhacks. Tonite Beany coodent go out of the yard becaus he dident splitsum kindlings so we dident ring enny doorbells. It was a prety meen day. All the fun i had was going in swiming. Aug. 19. Prety hot today. I went in swiming 5 times. Sumthing is thematter with my eyes i keep winking them all the time. Father keepssaying stop batting your eyes. I gess it is becaus i keep opening myeyes under water to see things on bottum. Father says if i dont stop iti shant go in swiming enny more. Aug. 20. It raned this morning so hard that i dident have to go tochurch. Buly. Aug. 21. Brite and fair. Tonite me and Beany rung old Missis Sawyersbell. When she come out with the lamp we run into Pewts yard and theninto Nat Weeks. She went in and come out agen with a shorl on and wentrite over to mister Purintons and nocked at the door. We was near enufto hear evrything. When Pewts father come to the door she said i thinkthings has come to a prety pass if peeple cant keep there boy fromtrubling there nabors. And then Mr. Purinton Pewts father said what isthe matter and Missis Sawyer she said your boy has been ringing mydoorbell and Pewts father he said how do you know he did it and MissisSawyer she said i see him run rite into your yard. And so Pewts fatherhe come out and went round the yard but coodent find ennybody. So hesaid praps it was the Watson boy or the Shute boy and she said praps itwas becaus she had heard they was prety bad boys. Then Pewts father saidit was a mersy if they dident both get into jale and she said she gessedthe Shute boy was a trial to his father and mother and Pewts father hesaid he gessed the Watson boy was two. Then he said if he was her hewood go rite down and see there fathers. When me and Beany heard that weclim over Nat Weeks fence esy and put for home. When we got there theywas nobody in Beanys kichen and we went in esy and got the sweet firnand begun to make sweet firn segars. Bimeby we heard old Missis Sawyerblabing to Beanys mother and she said she wood go in and see if Elly wasin and when she come in Beany said mother jest see how many segars meand Plupy has made and he held up a lot that we made last week and shesaid you boys must have wirked a long time and Beany he said it takes agood deal of time to make so many and she went back looking pretypleased becaus she thougt Beany dident ring the old doorbell and shetold old Missis Sawyer that we had been making sweet firn segars all theevening in the kitchin. So old Missis Sawyer went home kind of madbecaus it wasent me and Beany whitch rung her doorbell ennyway shethougt it wasent. Aug. 22. Brite and fair. Aug. 23. Brite and fair. Tonite me and Pewt and Beany and Fatty Gilmanand Fatty Melcher and Billy Swett and Gim Erly and lots of the fellerscome up and plaid i spy the bull. One feller lays it and he shets hiseyes at the gool and counts fifty and the rest of the fellers go andhide and when he has counted fifty he trys to find the fellers and taghis gool before they do. They is a stick leening agenst the gool and ifone of the fellers can get to the gool ferst he can plug the stick asfar as he can and the feller whitch is laying it has to run and get thestick and go back to the gool and leeve the stick there before he canfind enny more fellers and if enny fellers has been cougt they can hideagen. So tonite we plaid it til nine oh clock and i had laid it most anhour when Pewt pluged the stick and hit old Bill Morril rite in the headjest as he came round the corner and he was mad as time and we put forhome jest lively. Pewt dident meen to do it. Bill hadent aught to havebeen coming round the corner jest then ennyway. Bill told father theywas the tufest set of boys in the naborhood he ever see. I was behindthe current buches when Bill told father this and he showed father hisold plug hat whitch was all dented in. Father he said well Bill we ustedto make things prety lively when we was boys. Then he told Bill that heusted to ask his father if he cood go over and sleep with Gim Melcherand his father wood say yes, and Gim Melcher he wood ask his father ifhe cood go over and sleep with father and Gims father wood say yes, andthey wood stay out all nite and raise time, and Gims father he woodthink Gim was over to fathers house, and fathers father wood thinkfather was over to Gims house and so they woodent get cougt. That woodbe a prety good trick for me and Beany to try only father wood know twomutch. I gess that is the reason father finds out so mutch about mebecaus he was prety tuf when he was a boy. I gess that is the reson whyministers boys is most always tuf becaus there fathers dont know how tofind out what tuf things they do. I wish i was a ministers son so i coodbe tuf and not get found out, only i wood have to go to church 3 timesevry sunday. Aug. 25. Brite and fair. I wish i was ded. A feller might as well be dedas to be getting licked all time for nuthing. Tonite me and Beany watedtill it was dark and we saw Bill Greenlef go down town. Then we tide astring to his doorbell and hiched the other end to old printer Smithsdoor on the other side of the street and hauled it tite. Bimeby Bill hecome back and went in the side door. Then a man came by driving a horseand when the horse run agenst the string both doorbells rung before thestring broak and out come Bill and old printer Smith. When they foundthey wasent ennyone there they was prety mad. Bill he run round lookingbehind fences and trees and old printer he swoar terible and wentthrough Miss Sulivans and over to Nipper Browns and all round. Me andBeany was hiding in Ike Shutes porch. Bimeby they come back and talked. Bill said they must be 2 of them and old printer he said it was abouttime this thing was stoped and he was going to find out who did it if ittook him all summer. Well bimeby they went in to wate and see if ennyonerung there doorbells sum more. Bill he said he wood leeve his door openjest a little and old printer Smith he said he wood leeve his open jesta little two so he cood gump out and lam time out of the feller whitchrung his bell. Well bimeby me and Beany crep out esy and hunted roundtil we found the string and we tide it agen as tite as we cood and thenwe crep back into the porch and peeked through the window. Bimeby oldmister Lyford come up the sidewalk and when he come to the string itgerked his old plug hat of and he picked it up and brushed it and thenwent of. Bimeby a hack came by and when it hit the string both doorbells gingled feerful and Bill and old printer Smith came hipering outas if they was hiched to the string. Bill went to gump of the side ofthe steps and he got the string round his leg and went fluking and thenholered to old printer Smith that they was a string tide to his doorbell and printer he holered back that they was one tide to his two. Thenthey swoar and talked sum and jest then Pewts father come out and theysaid it was Pewt and old Missis Sawyer she come out and she said it wasPewt two. Well then they begun to hunt and look behind trees and intodoorways and me and Beany got prety scart and bimeby we opened the dooresy and hipered round Ikes house and ran rite into old printer and hegrabed us both by the neck and holered i have got the misable cusses andhe draged us out to the lite and Bill and Brad said it is George Shutesboy and Irv Watsons boy and they shook us up lively. Well old MissisSawyer wanted them to take us to jale but Pewts father and Bill andprinter said to take us down to our fathers and so printer held us bythe neck and marched us down the street and Pewts father and Bill comealong two and old Missis Sawyer she came taging along talking all thetime that we was the wirst boys in town. We went down to fathers ferstand he come out and Bill he went over and called mister Watson. Well hecome over and they all went into the back yard and they told fatherabout it and Missis Sawyer said she was going to have us arested andfather he said if she wanted to arest me all rite but he wood get alawyer and carry the case to the circus coart if it took evry cent hehad and Mister Watson he said so two. And father he said he woodent havehis boy distirbing his nabors and he wood lick me and make me begevrybodys pardon, but it wasent merder or hyway robery to ring doorbellsand if they wanted to arest me to sale rite in, and Mister Watson hesaid so two. Then father and Mister Watson marched us up to old Hobbsand made us beg his pardon and old Hobbs told father we was the wirstboys in town and father aught to whale the life out of us, and then wewent down to Pewts and had to beg his pardon for getting him a lickingand then we went over to mister Heads and begged his pardon two. Thenfather took me into the kichin and give me a licking for eech doorbellthat we rung. He give me a good one for Missis Sawyer becaus she was awoman and he said we dident have enny bizness to plage a woman, and hegive me a prety good one for Bill becaus Bill was a prety good feller, and he only hit me one lick for old Hobbs becaus he was mad at what oldHobbs said and he dident hit me a lick for mister Head becaus Pewt gotlicked for it and he said Pewt had aught to have been licked so manytimes when he dident that one licking one way or the other woodent makemuch diference. The wirst was when i had to beg Pewts pardon. I woodrather get 2 lickings. Aug. 26, 186- Brite and fair. Tonite i asked father about him and GimMelcher staying out all nite and he laffed and said it was trew. Then iasked him how menny times he did it and he said all the times he wantedto becaus his father thougt he was a beter boy then he was. Well i askedhim if i cood stay out all nite sum time and he said no. Then he said iwoodent dass to and i said i bet i wood. Then he said i cood if iwanted to and then mother she said George are you crasy and he said nobut he gessed after i had been out a while i wood be homesick. So aftersuper i asked Beany and Beany he asked his father and he told his fatherwhat father said and bimeby Mister Watson Beanys father he said Beanycood stay out if i cood. So we are going to stay out Monday nite. Aug. 27. Brite and fair. Nothing but church. Aug. 28. Rany as time. Jest the luck. I coodent sleep enny last nitethinking about staying out all nite. Ennyway i dident go to sleep tilmost morning and when i woke up it was raning hard, and it raned hardall day. It has stoped now. They wasent enny fun today. Aug. 29. Brite and fair. I am wrighting this in the morning becaus ishall be to bizzy tonite to wright ennything. I bet me and Beany willhave sum fun. Last nite father said they was a tiger got out of acircus and he kind of thougt it was somewhere in the Eddy woods. I aintafrade. Beany aint neether. Aug. 30. Brite and fair. I gess i wont try to stay out all nite agen. Itaint enny fun. Yesterday afternoon mother made me go to bed so i woodentbe sleepy at nite and Beanys mother she did two. I coodent sleep andbimeby i got up and stuck my head out of the window and looked over toBeanys house and Beany he was looking out of his window and bimebyPotter and Cawcaw went by with their fish poles and you bet i wanted togo two, but i had to stay in my room. So Beany and i begun to holleracrost to each other and i made up this poitry about Beany, fat pork and beens thats what it meens that Beanys got the belyake from fat pork and beens. and then Beany he made up this poitry about me, Plupy Shute is meener than Pewt and he is a prety meen galoot. then mother made me go in a room on the other side of the house, but icoodent sleep and she let me get up at super time. When father come homehe said the tiger had carrid of and et up a bull over to Kingston and hegessed he was coming this way, but i wasent scart. Well after super isplit my kindlings and me and Beany went down town. We went to doctorDerborns store and got sum soda water and Beany he paid for it. Then wegot sum goozeberries of old Si Smiths and i paid for them and then wewent over to Beanys and got a lot of sweet firn segars and then we wentdown town agen. We went into stores and looked at things and we wentdown to the warf and then we went acrost to the raceway and went inswiming. It was kind of cold and we dident stay in very long. Then itbegan to be dark and we went back to water street and staid in thestores til the nine oh clock bell rung and then we went back home. Thefolks was all setting on the front steps. So me and Beany set down twoand bimeby the folks said they must go in and they all went in and shetthe door. It made me feel lonesum when i herd them lock the door. Itmust be prety tuf on fellers whitch havent got enny home. Then me andBeany went over to his house and set on the steps til his folks went inand shet the door and then we set on the fence under the gas lite and weherd Nat Weeks come home and mister Gewell and bimeby Si Smith shet uphis store and then it begun to be loansum. So we went down as fer as theswamscot house and they was a lite in sum of the rooms and we set downon old Kellogs steps and talked. Bimeby old Straton the gas man comeround with a little ladder and clim up and put out the gas and then itwas prety dark. Then Beany he said less go up to Pewts and yowl likecats. So we went up into Pewts garden and we begun to yowl feerful likecats and bimeby Pewts father opened a window and holered scat you devilsand jest then Nat Weeks he stuck his head out and he holered scat two. And then we kep still a minit and Pewts father said i wish there wasenta cussid cat alive and Nat Weeks he said so two and then they went tobed agen. Bimeby we begun to yowl agen and then we yowled jest like catsfiting and Pewts father opened the window agen and pluged a club outinto the yard and holered scat and then we kep still and we herd himtell Nat Weeks that he had got his gun loded and if he herd it go of heneedent be sirprized. So you bet we dident yowl agen. So after Pewtsfather and Nat Weeks had gone to bed agen we clim over the fence esy andwent of up towards Gilmans barn. Beany stumped me to go as fer as thebarn and we was going there when i thougt of the tiger and told Beanyabout it. We wasent afrade but they wasent enny fun in going down to thebarn so we went back down towards the high school yard and it was pretydark there and so we dident go down to set on the steps. Bimeby itstruck eleven oh clock. Ferst the town clock and jest after it thefactory bell an then we cood hear clocks striking in the houses on thestreet. I tell you it made me feel loansum. We coodent see enny lites inthe houses, so we set on the steps and told stories and talked about thefellers and the girls. Beany said he gessed he wood mary Lizzie Tole, EdToles sister sum day. I bet he wont. Then Beany he said when he was aman he wood by the club stable and have all the horses he wanted todrive, and i cood wirk for him if i dident get drunk [curiously enough, the first two statements in this prophecy came true] like most of thehostlers. I told him that i wasent going to wirk for ennybody for i wasgoing to play in the band like Bruce Brigam, Scotty Brigams brother. Bimeby we herd sum real cats yowling and it sounded sort of feerful. Cele read us a story when we was sick with the scarlet fever about a manwhitch had a black cat and he got mad with her and cut out one eye. Thenhe got mad with his wife and cut her throte and stuck her up in thechimny in the celler and pluged up the hole. Bimeby the polisemen cometo find out where his wife was and they hunted evry where in the houseand stable and hen koop and evrywhere and bimeby they wanted to go intohis celler. So the man he said all rite fellers come rite down and sothe polisemen went down celler with him and he showed them all over theceller and they looked evrywhere and coodent find ennything and jest asthey was going out they herd a feerful yowl and they stoped and lissenedand it kept on yowling in the chimny and when they took a pickax andwanted to dig a hole in the chimny the man whitch killed his wife saidthey wasent ennything in the chimny for it hadent been opened for 1hundred years, but they cut open the chimny and what do you gess theyfound. Well they found his wife with her throte cut and a old black catwith 1 eye out setting on her showlder yowling. So they grabed the manand punched time out of him and they hung him to a lampost. Well whenCele read that story to us we all was wirse for 3 days and Annie nevergot over it and when i hear a cat yowl i think of what the polisemenfound in the chimny. So when i herd the cat yowling i told Beany thatstory and Beany he dident want to go of of my steps enny more. Bimebythe town clock struck 12 oh clock and so it was morning and so we tostup to see whether Beany shood wait til i got in my house or i shood goover to Beanys to wait til Beany got into his house ferst. I lost jestas i always do and so i had to go over to Beanys and he tride the doorand it was unlocked and so Beany he went in and i hipered acrost theroad as quick as i cood and went in the back way. I wasent afrade only iwasent going to have Beany beat me in geting into bed. I went up stairsas esy as i cood but when i went by mothers room she said is that youHarry and i said yes and she said are you going out agen and i said noit is morning now and i am going to bed and she laffed and said goodmornin. Then i piled into bed and dident wake up til 10 oh clock. Beanydident get up til 12 oh clock. Father saved a mans life today in Boston. He was a old man whitch tride to get on a train whitch had started andfather saw he was going to tumble of and get killed and he run andgrabed him and the old man tride to pull away and holered and the tranewas going faster and father had to run and push the old man and hegrabed him by the seet of his britches and give him a hist and pichedhim rite into the door of the car and then father he gumped of. Evrybodysaid the old man wood be killed if it hadent been for father. Aug. 31. I bet Beanys father never saved a mans life. I bet Pewts neverdid neether. I asked father if he xpected the old man to give him a gooddeel of mony for it or a gold wach, and father he said the conscencelessof having did a noble act is enuf reward. Gosh if i had saved a old manslife i wood have made him pay me. I wood have grabed him and said oldman pay me 2 dolars or of goes your hind legs. I realy woodent let himdrop but i wood have scart him til he give me 2 dolars. Father he saidthat wood be hyway robery. I dont care. Sept. 1. Brite and fair. They was a peace in the Boston paper todayabout father. It said heroik rescu of a old man and it told about fathersaving the old mans life. Lots of peeple spoke to father about it. Father walked down town tonite 3 times. He most never goes down. Fatheris going to take me to Boston tomorow if i behaive myself and dont do asi did before. Sept. 2, 186- i had to get up feerful erly this morning. After brekfastme and father rode up to the depo in Joe Parmers hack. While we waswating for the trane Charles Talor and Charles Gray and all the fellersbegan to pich into father jest fun like and father got the best of themevry time. You cood here them holler about a mile. Then the trane comeand we piled in. Evrybody knowed father and called him George andevrybody piched into him and he ansered back so that he made evrybodylaff. That was the way it was all the way to Boston. When we got toBoston we went into a bird store and staid a while and then father tookme out to see a house with a canon ball in it where the british hadfired it in the revolution. Then we went down to the custum house wherefather wirks and father took of his coat and put on a thin coat and puton sum cuffs made of pastbord and then he took out sum big books andbegun to wright. He give me a sheet of yellow paper and a pensil andtold me i cood draw sum pictures. When he come in one man holered hulloGeorge what are you going to do with the boy, drownd him, and father hesaid no but i wood if he dident amount to more then you have, and thenthat man he shet up and a nother man he holered George have you savedenny more peeple and father he said no i had a chanse to but his namewas Mudge and i let them hang him, and then that man he shet up. Hisname was Mudge two. Bimeby a man come in with specks and side wiskersand sum papers and a squint eye, and he come up to fathers desk andfather took the papers and wile he was wrighting i drawd the man withhis specks and his old side wiskers and his squint eye. When father hadfixed his papers the man said is that your boy mister Shute and he saidyes and the man said can he draw and father said yes and he took thepaper before i cood grab it and give it to the man and the man looked atit and begun to look mad and father said what is it and he showed it tofather and then tore it up and went of mad. And father tirned red andasked me if i dident know more then that. Then father he picked up allthe peaces and we paisted them together and he showed it to the men andthey all laffed and said i was a buster. Bimeby a man come in and saidthat the naval oficer wanted to see father and father took the pictureand went in. Bimeby he came back and said the naval oficer jawed him andthen he looked at the picture and laffed and said he wanted the pictureand he took it and told father he had better shet that boy up. Then itwas dinner time and we went out and et dinner at a resterrant. I hadmeat and bread and coffy. After dinner we went back to the offise and aman come in and asked who was mister Shute and father said he was andthe man said are you the man whitch put a old man on the trane at thedepo and father said yes and i thougt the man wood give father a hundreddolars or a gold wach and father looked as if he thougt the man wood saynoble man you have saved my fathers life, but the man looked mad andsaid well sir you did a prety smart thing to throw a helpless old man onto the rong trane and send him of 100 miles away from home and scart allhis peeple most to deth becaus they thougt he was merdered and cost him3 dolars to telegraf and stay all nite and if you dont know more thenthat you had beter soke your head. Father he said what was the old fooltrying to get on the trane for if he dident want to go on it, and theman he said he was trying to get of the trane and you woodent let himand the man holered so loud that evrybody cood hear him and shook hisfist and went of swaring feerful. Then Mr. Pope he said o what a fallwas there my countrymen just like what was in the fourth reader and Mr. Davis he said immortal seezer ded and tirned to clay, that is in thefourth reader two. Then all the men laffed and said the treat is on youGeorge and father he laffed two and said he wood be cussed, and he saidthat is what a man got by not tending to his own bizness. Tonites paperhad a peace in it about father and said the old man whitch father put onthe rong trane was going to be marrid and his girl got mad becaus hedident come and marrid another man whitch was there and the old man wasgoing to sew father for braking up the mach. Father said he bet BenRidwill and Jaky Howe rote it for the paper and he wood fix them. Sept. 3. Brite and fair. Sunday today but father dident go to walk. Hewas prety cross two. Beany got sent out of sunday school for raisingtime. After he went out he clim up to the window and made up feerfulfaces at us. Mister Erl the suprintendunt was jest going to make aprayer and see us laffin and see Beany before Beany cood gump down andhe grabed his cane and run out of the sunday school and chased Beanydown to Gim Elersons. Beany cant come agen. I wish i was Beany. Sept. 4. Clowdy but no rane. School begins today, gosh.