1404 
December 3* 192J 
The RURAL. NEW.YORKER 
HOPE FARM NOTES 
A Day of Responsibilities 
Part II 
Finally the faint sound of the whistle 
over at the furnace informed me that the 
noon hour had come, and 1 went in to get 
my dinner. Aunt. Mary had laid it out 
for me. There was a small pitcher of 
skim-milk, two pieces of rye and Indian 
bread, one large piece of a Taunton tur¬ 
key and a doughnut. Lest some of you 
imagine that they fed boys on roasted 
turkey in those days, I hasten to explain 
that a “Taunton turkey” is a smoked 
herring—a small fish with many bones. 
It was a balanced 1 ration—cold victuals, 
perhaps, but with vitamines and' vigor. 
The big airtight stove contained a good 
bed of coals, and before I put in the oak 
knot I went down to the dark cellar and 
got two small potatoes. These, buried in 
the ashes, come out later hot and mealy. 
Then I put the Taunton turkey on a long 
stick and put it through the stove door 
over the hot coals. It smoked and sput¬ 
tered in the heat, and as I watched it 
brown I was no longer a lonely boy on 
that dreary farm, but Nick Carter, the 
ranger, cooking his slice of antelope meat 
over a desert fire—just as was described 
in the dime novel. For Aunt Mary had 
told me I could take an hour’s nooning and 
read a chapter in Josephus* “History of 
the Jews.” I took the hour, and a little 
more, but Josephus never got a hearing 
that day. Out in the barn, under the hay, 
I had two of Beadle’s dime novels. They 
were hair-raisers, and they most certainly 
raised me out of the gray monotony of 
farm life. I went back to my job on the 
woodpile imagining that each piece of 
wood was an enemy that needed scalping. 
The cow and calf and old Hero had to 
be waited on and fed. and I went through 
the hopeless task of hunting for eggs, 
though I well knew that our hens had re* 
tired from active service until Spring. 
* * * * * 
My “stent” seemed to keep on like the 
widow’s cruse of oil, for there seemed 
always to be one more stick at the bot¬ 
tom. The afternoon wore on. with the 
sky still gray and dark, when the tempter 
came along the road' once more, this time 
in his most dangerous form. Alice Reed, 
the girl who sat in the seat across the 
aisle from me at school, came in sight. 
With her was another little girl who had 
come to spend Thanksgiving. I had read 
the poem in our school reader of the man 
who kept his son back among the hills 
until he was brown up. Then he took 
the young man to town, told him to look 
around and see what he wanted. The 
old 1 man would buy what he selected. It 
was all wonderful to the boy. As they 
went along the street a group of laughing 
girls passed them, and the boy stopped 
and stared at them. 
“What is that?” he asked. 
“Nothing but a goose.” answered 1 father. 
When the day was ended the old man 
remembered his promise. 
“Now,” he said, “you have seen all 
these great and beautiful things. What 
do you select?” 
And the young man ran true to form, 
for he said without hesitation : “Father, 
I’ll choose a goose!” 
As I stood at that woodpile staring 
at those two girls, with their curls and 
ribbons, that young man seemed to me the 
wisest man in the world. 
“Who you looking at?” demanded the 
girl from the city. No doubt if the word 
had then acquired its present meaning, 
she would have added: “Don’t be so 
fresh !” 
“You!” 
It was the only truthful answer I could 
make. Then they both made faces at 
me, and ran on down the road, stopping to 
look back now and then. And. honestly, 
as I sit. here tonight, half a century after, 
I do not know how it happened that 1 did 
not throw down my ax and go running 
after them. 
Shall I say it was just like a woman 
for Alice to run back and put a small 
parcel on our gate post and then make 
more faces and run off up the road? 
When the girls were out of sight I found 
that Alice had left a great slice of her 
mother’s famous gingerbread! It was 
the old-fashioned kind, with plenty of mo¬ 
lasses in it. I have read in novels of 
heroes who were said to eat their hearts 
out when the lady made faces at. them. 
As for me, I sat on the sawbuek and ate 
the gingerbread. It was a more satisfac- 
any heart could have 
with many thrilling adventures. My duty 
seemed to fasten me to the woodpile, and 
I took up the ax with something as close 
to a sigh as 12 years can come. And 
then out. of the chill and dismal air some¬ 
thing soft and warm brushed against my 
hand. There was Prince, Mr. Howard’s 
big black dog, who had come to visit me. 
Prince had no pedigree that would give 
him a right to his name, but his heart 
was kingly. How well he knew that 
Uncle Daniel never, would permit a dog 
on the place. Aunt Mary had thrown 
hot soapsuds over him when he came on 
an honest visit. But Prince knew these 
enemies were away. He had come to 
cheer up his friend. He knew who had 
bathed his wounded ear and pulled 1 the 
splinters from his foot when he fought 
that bulldog from Taunton, and so Prince 
lay in the sawdust and watched me. He 
was not an impressive figure. One ear 
had been partly chewed away and a wood¬ 
chuck had scarred his nose and face. Yet 
there was something of kindly dignity 
about old Prince as he lay there with his 
big eyes fixed on mine—the best friend 
I had that day. I even took him into the 
house to sit by the stove awhile, but be¬ 
fore he went in I took the shoe brush and 
cleaned his feet, that there might, be no 
evidence of my crime in letting a dog into 
the house. He did leave one spot, after 
all. but I got warm water and' cleaned 
that up. 
Night 
took 
no 
lunch than 
tory 
been. 
Just hand me 
the table. This 
reported to have 
that copy of Milton on 
is part of what Eve is 
said to Adam : 
“What thou biddest 
TTnarguod, 1 obey. So God ordains; 
God is thy law—'thou mine; to know no 
more , 
Is woman’s happiest knowledge, and 1 her 
praise. 
With thee conversing I forget all time, 
All seasons, and their change, all please 
alike.” 
As I look back upon it tonight it seems 
just possible that Alice and Jennie were 
Irving to tel)) me that as they made faces 
and looked back. Possibly; but I must 
say that I have never been intimately 
acquainted with any ladies who expressed 
quite such sentiments after a full knowl¬ 
edge of Adam’s qualities! 
In one of my dime novels I had read 
about some sailors who jumped off the 
ship and went swimming after mermaids, 
promised to come early, and I 
chances with old Hero. About 
three o’clock I started the job of harness¬ 
ing him. I had to climb on his back to 
get his collar on properly, and I used a 
step-ladder to fix the bridle—but jl got 
it at last. The cow nearly drank the well 
dry, as it seemed to me, but. I satisfied 
her at last. After their supper the hens 
went 'to roost and I shut the henhouse 
door. Then the woodbox was filled, and 
the fire in the airtight stove started up, 
and I swept up all the dirt I had tracked 
in. It was dark as pitch when I went 
to the barn to put old Hero in the shafts. 
My lantern was dim and no one can ever 
know what awful shapes come gliding out 
of the dark corners of the barn as I 
backed old Hero into the shafts and 
buckled the harness as best I could. I 
had to climb on his back to fasten- that 
check rein. Somehow at last I got him 
attached to the wagon, and we drove off 
through the dark woods and along the 
swamp to the station. It was never quite 
possible for me to love these well-meaning 
old folks, but I came nearest to doing it 
when I saw them alighting from the train 
on that dark and' dismal night. 
“Well, how’d ye come out keeping 
house?” said Uncle Daniel. 
That was before that meaningless word 
“fine” came regularly into the language. 
Nor did we use “all right” as we do now. 
Aunt Mary was deaf, and, what was 
more unfortunate, very inquisitive. 
“What say?” she shouted 1 . “Is the 
house afire?” 
Uncle Daniel roared back: 
“The boy says things are as they should 
be. No trouble.” 
“I ain’t so sure of that! I’ll see how 
things are first of all!” 
It makes me smile now as I think of 
those two old people roaring at each other 
in the dark as old Hero jogged and 
stumbled along the road. 
Aunt Mary was as good as her word. 
When the lamps were lighted she investi¬ 
gated. There was no dirt on the floor. I 
had washed my dinner dishes, the cream 
on the milk pan was undisturbed, the sil¬ 
ver was safe in the well—and' there was 
the woodpile as evidence of my industry. 
Uncle Daniel counted' the hens and tested 
the red cow by offering her a bucket of 
water. I never did think so much of a 
cow as I did when that great, red, lazy 
thing refused to drink; for that was evi¬ 
dence that I had done my duty. Aunt 
Mary fried sausage over the airtight fire, 
and they told me about their trip to it os- 
ton. 
I felt like a man among men that night, 
and later, upstairs in bed, I heard Uncle 
Daniel shout to his wife: 
“The boy done well. Maybe he’s 
sobered down to forget his evil ways and 
idle days.” 
These women, however, are nothing if 
not critical. 
“I ain’t satisfied yet. Wait till morn¬ 
ing comes, so I can look around. I’ve 
seen these good boys before now !” 
But I knew there was no evidence 
against me, unless that dime novel under 
the hay should come to light. I felt, the 
satisfaction of one who have been faith¬ 
ful to his trust under hard conditions, 
and I glided off into the Avonderful land 
of dreams, where your reward seems to 
come—only to turn to a shadow at your 
touch. Anyway, it, was a day to be re¬ 
membered. I wish I could say that. I 
have been just as faithful through all my 
days. h. w. c. 
Serond Cousins 
A and B are first cousins. What rela¬ 
tion are their children? "What relation 
are B’s children to A? Explain what is 
meant by first cousins once removed. 
Ontario. l. r. c. 
According to Webster’s Dictionary, the 
child of one’s first cousin is properly 
called “first cousin once removed.” but 
often popularly called second cousin, 
which is the relationship between the 
children of A and B. and between these 
children and parents’ cousin. 
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