EARLY SPRING IN MASSACHUSETTS. 53 
truckmen stood behind and shoved, after put¬ 
ting a couple of ropes, one round each end of 
the hogshead, while two men standing in the 
depot steadily pulled at the ropes. The first 
man was the lecturer, the others were the audi¬ 
ence. It is the duty of the lecturer to team his 
hogshead of sweets to the depot or Lyceum, 
place the horse, arrange the ropes, and shove, 
and it is the duty of the audience to take hold 
of the ropes and pull with all their might. The 
lecturer who has to read his essay without be¬ 
ing abetted by a good hearing is in the predica¬ 
ment of a teamster who is engaged in the Sisy¬ 
phean labor of rolling a molasses hogshead up 
an inclined plane alone, while the freight-mas¬ 
ter and his men stand indifferent with their 
hands in their pockets. I have seen many such 
a hogshead which had rolled off the horse and 
gone to smash with all the sweets wasted on the 
ground between the truckmen and the freight- 
house, and the freight-masters thought the loss 
was not theirs. Read well! Did you ever know 
a full well that did not yield of its refreshing 
waters to those who put their hands to the 
windlass or the well-sweep ? Did you ever suck 
cider through a straw ? Did you ever know 
the cider to push out of the straw when you 
were not sucking, unless it chanced to be in a 
complete ferment ? An audience will draw out 
