THE DAILY LIFE OF OUR FARM. 209 



was fat Melon on the roof, half-melted, and vainly 

 endeavouring to suppress the flames with a wet mat 

 and such like, and there was his frightened assistant at 

 the foot of the ladder by which he had ascended, in 

 deadly terror lest his superior officer should be precipi- 

 tated by some extraordinary effort, upon his head and 

 crush him, as he would undoubtedly have done, with 

 the weight of a cider butt. There was the luckless 

 tenant, all bewildered and smoke-begrimed, and in such 

 a condition as his " missus " would certainly not 

 approve of at breakfast-time. There was the good- 

 natured, half-blind, old village carpenter, ready to 

 assist in any way he could, and his comfortable spouse 

 offering recklessly the contents of their rain-water 

 cistern, when we force our way in and find a furious 

 fire burning yet in the grate, with the terrified builder 

 of it looking hopelessly on. You had better get your 

 baby out of the way, and send Melon here. Imme- 

 diately we had put the barrel upon a chair, and quite 

 nervously, according to the directions, I turned the 

 cock gently, directing the fuse upon the grate. Splutter, 

 fizz went a discharge from the pipe, and, darkened at 

 once, dimly drew back and disappeared the flame ; one 

 shoot more and the blaze was extinct. " Now then, 

 Melon, have you a good eye ? Mind that smoke : don't 

 inhale it, and direct this pipe up the chimney." He 

 did earnestly what he was told to do. " Dash my 

 buttons, but that ere was a good shot ! " he exclaimed, 

 with the triumph of a hero, as a great fiery mass came 

 tumbling down, having been disturbed by the violence 

 of the discharge, and then being extinguished into 

 darkness at once. " Look out for your eyes. Melon ! 

 Now aim again." He did so, and started back, as 



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