My Boyhood and Youth 



unlike that befitting the Lord's Supper. No 

 idle word was allowed to be spoken at our table, 

 much less any laughing or fun or story-telling. 

 When we were at the breakfast-table, about 

 two weeks after the great golden time-discovery, 

 father cleared his throat preliminary, as we 

 all knew, to saying something considered im- 

 portant. I feared that it was to be on the sub- 

 ject of my early rising, and dreaded the with- 

 drawal of the permission he had granted on 

 account of the noise I made, but still hoping 

 that, as he had given his word that I might get 

 up as early as I wished, he would as a Scotch- 

 man stand to it, even though it was given in an 

 unguarded moment and taken in a sense un- 

 reasonably far-reaching. The solenm sacra- 

 mental silence was broken by the dreaded 

 question : — 



"John, what time is it when you get up in 

 the morning?" 



"About one o'clock," I replied in a low, 

 meek, guilty tone of voice. 



"And what kind of a time is that, getting up 

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