My Boyhood and Youth 



whatever. The clock had a good loud tick, and 

 when he heard it strike, one of my sisters told 

 me that he left his study, went to the parlor, 

 got down on his knees and carefully examined 

 the machinery, which was all in plain sight, not 

 being enclosed in a case. This he did repeat- 

 edly, and evidently seemed a little proud of 

 my ability to invent and whittle such a thing, 

 though careful to give no encouragement for 

 anything more of the kind in future. 



But somehow it seemed impossible to stop. 

 Inventing and whittling faster than ever, I 

 made another hickory clock, shaped like a 

 scythe to symbolize the scythe of Father Time. 

 The pendulum is a bunch of arrows symbolizing 

 the flight of time. It hangs on a leafless mossy 

 oak snag showing the effect of time, and on the 

 snath is written, "All flesh is grass." This, 

 especially the inscription, rather pleased father, 

 and, of course, mother and all my sisters and 

 brothers admired it. Like the first it indicates 

 the days of the week and month, starts fires 

 and beds at any given hour and minute, and, 

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