BOYHOOD. 13 



The aggravating part of it was that when he had 

 done, he protested with tears in his eyes that it was 

 certainly far more painful to him to chastise me than 

 for me to be whipped. I entirely dissented from this 

 doctrine, though I am bound to confess that, urchin- 

 like, I wished it were true. 



I was sent off to bed without my supper, and told 

 severely to pray to God to forgive my wickedness. 



I convinced my dear mother when she stole up to 

 my room and gave me a kiss and a hunch of bread 

 and butter, that I was perfectly innocent, but that my 

 angry father would not listen to my explanation. 



I believe that when he heard the facts he was a bit 

 ashamed of his hasty anger ; he never apologized 

 to me that would have been far too undignified 

 but I think it was a lesson for him which he never 

 forgot. Ever afterwards he was most tender and 

 affectionate. 



Perhaps it was but fair retribution after all, for I 

 got into many a scrape for which I well earned an 

 equal thrashing, but of which my good parents re- 

 mained in blissful ignorance. 



DANGEROUS USE OF FIREARMS. 



I am not a little surprised now, on looking back at 

 the thoughtlessness of these good people all both my 

 father and my uncles that they should have entrusted 

 us mere children with the unconstrained use of fire- 

 arms. On two occasions we all but enacted a fearful 

 tragedy. 



The first was once when I was on a Christmas visit 

 to an uncle. I was entrusted with his gun and 



