brite and fair agen. we had a buly ride tonite after we had tide up the
bridle with sum rope. lady Clara fell down and we had to unharnes her
and get her up. she broak the bridle and skined her gnees and we put on
sum wheal greese. Beany was standing up driving when she fell down and
it draged him rite over the dasher and on top of lady Clara. tomorow
they is going to be a ministers meeting in the upper church and there
aint enny school tomorow. so we are going to drive all day. after school
we washed the harness and got a load of sawdust at the hub mill, and
curred lady Clara. we have got most all the hay we can reech. when we
cant reech enny more i dont know where we can get enny more unless Fatty
can get sum.
May 21. Brite and fair. i had a feerful day yesterday. i feel so bad i
cant hardly wright ennything. but i will try to wright it all down. in
the morning me and Beany and Fatty we hiched up lady Clara and drove
round town. sum of the fellers holered at us but we dident care. they
was lots of ministers in town. they was mostly long tailers with white
necktis. so in the afternoon we hiched up agen and drove up to the
depot. old woodbridge Odlin was there wating for the 2 oh clock trane.
he had a baruch with a driver and his new span of black horses with
cliped tails. and he had on his long tailed black coat and a shiny bever
hat. well we dident wate for the trane but we drove through Winter
street and out to Front street. when we came to Lincoln street old
Woodbridge Odlin came along with his baruch filled with old ministers
with bever hats and specks and white necktis, and the driver hit the
horses and away they went lickity larup. well Beany he was driving and
he leened over and hit lady Clara a paist with the whip and she went
after them like chane litening, and we all began to yell and the black
horses went faster. well they was 2 rods ahead and when we got to
Whackers house we was most up to there hind wheel, and when we got to
doctor Gorams office we was jest even. the old ministers was bouncing
around and holding on to the sides, and old Woodbridge had lost his hat
and was standing up yelling sumthing at the driver, and his whiskers
were blowing way behind him. it makes me most die to think of him but i
dont feel mutch like laffin. well when we got to Elliott street we were
ahead of them and then the driver began to pull up his horses becaus all
the people was yelling and waving there hats like time. well lady Clara
was breething so she sounded like a big sawmill saw, and when we tride
to stop her she woodent stop so we all tride together but we coodent
pull her in a mite she had her tail sticking rite up in the air and the
more we pulled the faster she went, when we went thru the square Fatty
holered to run her over string brige and up factory hill so we cood stop
her, and we pulled as hard as we cood but when she came to the corner
she tirned around into Water street and over went the wagon and we came
out jest fluking. well we want hurt mutch and we run after her as fast
as we cood. we found pieces of the wagon and harnes all over the street
and when we got to the barn she was there all rite. lots of people came
to see about it, but when they found that nobody was hurt they went
away. they wasent ennything of the harnes left but the bridle and the
wagon was everywhere along the street. Well when father came home
somebody had told him about it and he made me tell him all about it,
where we got her and how we fed her and everything, and when i told him
about the hay i thought he was going to lick time out of me he was so
mad, and he said he never knowed i cood steal, and i said i only hooked
it and he said what is the diference and i said stealing is taking
sumthing that you know belongs to sumbody else, and hooking is taking
sumthing that belongs to you and sumbody else wont let you have. i
suposed everybody knowed that. well he dident lick me, but after super
he got mister Watson, Beanys father and we all went over to see lady
Clara and what do you think, when we got there she was ded. i gess she
had broak something inside of her. i tell you me and Beany felt prety
bad and Fatty did when we told him. well then father and mister Watson
Beanys father told us to go home and go to bed and so we went. so tonite
i herd father telling mother about it and he said he give old Jethrow a
dresing down that wood tech him not to cheet a boy agen. he said if
Jethrow hadent been a old man he wood have nocked his head of.
May 22. brite and fair. i shal never own a horse agen.
May 23, 186- brite and fair. my hens are laying buly now. i gess they
dident have very good cair when me and Beany and Fatty was keeping Lady
Clara. i tell you a feller witch keeps a horse cant pay mutch atention
to ennything else.
May 24. brite and fair. tonite me and father went down to old man
Collins. he wants to sell father his cow. he says she gives 20 quats of
milk a day. father says the milk we get of the milk man is all chork and
water.
May 25. rany as time. father ofered 30 dolars for old man Collins cow.
he wants 35 dolars. she has got auful long horns. old man Collins said
she had auful big milk vanes. father said they was varrycose vanes and
she want wirth 30 dolars but he wood give it to help out a old man. old
man Collins he said if she kep on giving milk the way she was a giving
it they wood have to milk her in a tub. then father he said he gessed
she give so mutch milk that it want good for ennything and old man
Collins he said you cood take the creem up by one corner and lift it out
like a old pair of linen britches. they dident trade tonite.
May 26. brite and fair. tonite me and father went down to old man
Collins agen. father said he was going to trade for that cow only i must
shet up and not say ennything. he said you jest wach me and you will
lern sumthing about trading. so i wached him. well we went down and
father said well mister Collins how do you feel about trading tonite.
and old man Collins he said, i gess you are two late George fer i have
sold her to a man in Hamton Falls. and father said what did you get for
her and old man Collins he said i told him he cood have her for 35
dolars and he ofered me 33 dolars and 50 cents and i said the first man
whitch ofers me 35 dolars gets her, and i gess he will be up tomorow
morning. then father he said have you made the trade and old man Collins
he said he hadent made enny trade but he had kind of let the man
understand he cood have her for 35 dolars. then father he said he wood
give 35 dolars and old man Collins he said he dident know about selling
her xcept to the Hamton Falls man but if father wood give him 37 dolars
he cood give the Hamton Falls man 2 dolars if he came up and was
disapointed. so father he give old man Collins 37 dolars and we got a
roap and tide it round her horns and led her home. when we got home we
tried to get her in the barn, father he went ahead and she folowed him
in and all of a suddin she backed out lively and father came out jest
fluking, holding on to the roap and taking feerful long stradles. he
looked so mad that i dident dass to laff. well father held on like a
good feller and bimeby she stoped. then father said so so and held out
sum meal in a pail and got her in the barn and tide her to a post. then
he give her sum hay and we went in and he told mother she had beter make
sum araingments to sell sum milk for we was going to have 20 quats every
day. then mother she said if the cow gives milk like my hens lade egs
they woodent be mutch milk to sell, and father said you jest wait til
morning. then we went down to old Gechels store and father he bougt the
bigest milk pail he cood find.
May 27. brite and fair. this morning me and father got up erly and we
went out to feed the cow and i piched down the hay and father he set
down and begun to milk her, he brougt out the big pail and a little one
to use after he had filled the big one. well the ferst thing he did was
to aim a streem rite in my eye. then he milked in the pail and it made a
funy sound, well he kep milking and bimeby it stoped coming, and he
squeazed away as hard as he cood and he coodent get a drop and bimeby
he give up and said he gessed it was becaus she was in a new place and
was loansum. when we went into the house and straned it thrugh a siv
they wasent quite 2 quats. mother she laffed and asked what he had done
with the other 8 quats and father he said you wait til tonite. then he
et his brekfast and went to boston and i et mine and drove the old cow
to pasture. i found a robins nest in a pine tree and took one eg. it is
all rite to take one becaus the old bird cant count.
May 28, 186- brite and fair. last nite after super father milked the old
cow again. he only got 2 quats and a half. he was prety mad and he said
he wood get even with old man Collins sum day. tonite he met old man
Collins and he asked father if she milked esy and father said yes and he
asked father how mutch she give and father said she give more than he
wanted. that want a lie for father dont like milk. i bet father will
get even with him sum day. nothing else today but church.
May 29. brite and fair. i have to go to pasture 2 times every day. i
like to go in the woods but i dont like to have to go. today i found a
nest in the barn with 15 hens egs. i gess mother wont say mutch about my
hens now.
May 30. Rany. Beany has gone to Bideford to see Tom Cleves. i hope Tom
will come with him when Beany comes home. i went up to Whacker Chadwicks
tonite. Beany has been sick he et two mutch pork.
May 31. today it was hot and we had a thunder shower. it raned when i
was driving the old cow from pasture and i made her run from old Nat
Gordons way home. Sam Dire said she wood give bludy milk, so when father
milked her i wached and it want a bit red. so i gess she is all rite.
June 1. brite and fair. today we had a great time at brekfast. father
was home becaus sumtimes he gets tired. we had boiled egs for brekfast
and mother she boiled the egs i found in the nest. well we set down to
the table and father he helped us to egs and bisket and he took up a eg
and held it over his glass and hit it a paist with his spoon and it went
off jest like a pop pistol and father he said thunder Joey the infernal
thing is roten and we all held our nose and ran away from the table and
you never smelt such a auful smel. well mother she made me take the egs
all out behine the barn and throw them away and i did and when i got
there i had sum fun pluging them at J. Albert Clarks big apple tree and
i hit it most every time and every time i hit it the eg popped like a
pistol. then i went in to brekfast and mother was burning some coffy in
a duspan to take away the smel of the roten eg. well while we was eating
brekfast J. Albert Clark he came in and said i had beter come out and
clean of his apple tree and burn a rag and father made me take a pail
of hot water and clean it of. J. Albert needent have been so fusy for it
wood have all dride in a little while.
June 2. brite and fair. i wish that old cow was ded. Beany hasent got
back yet.
June 3. brite and fair. i am in bed. i aint sick only i havent got enny
close to wair. tonite after father had milked the old cow i thougt i
wood try it. so i got a tin diper and went out and set down and began to
squeaze and she kicked me rite thrugh the barn door and rite into the
manure pile. when i got up i was all covered and Aunt Clark was in her
back garden and she saw me and asked me if i was hurt and i said i
wasent and she said for mersy sakes dont come near me but go round to
the pump. well i went round to the pump and mother and Aunt Sarah and
Aunt Clark pumped on me and threw pails of water on me and scraped me
with peaces of shingle, and when they had got me prety clean mother
made me go in the barn and take of my close and then she put me in a tub
in the kichen and washed me in warm water and soped my head and then
sent me to bed. i have got to wair my best close tomorow and i cant go
out of the yard. i wish that old cow was ded. father said it sirved me
jest rite.
June 4. Brite and fair. Beany has got back. tonite he came over and told
me about the fun he had at Bideford. we was going to ring doorbells
tonite but i had to stay in the yard and it was sunday two.
June 5. Brite and fair. today Scotty Brigam let me take his bugle and i
lerned to make 2 notes. my mouth was all sweled up and my face aked. it
aint so esy as a tin whissle but i can make more noise on it. i gess i
shall never get that cornet.
June 6, 186- i have to pay all the money i can ern to get corn for my
hens.
June 7. Brite and fair in the morning and clowdy but no rane in the
afternoon. tonite me and Beany rung doorbells. we dident get cougt but
we came prety near it.
June 8. Rany. Tonite the old cow kicked father and nocked him rite of
the stool and spilt about a quat of milk all over him. buly. i wanted to
tell him it sirved him rite but i dident dass to.
June 9. Clowdy but no rane. father has sold the old cow to Eben Garland
the bucher. buly. Aunt Sarah asked mother what she gessed he wood have
next and mother she said she gessed he wood by a gristly bear for he had
bougt most everything but that. he says he gesses he will have sum sheap
for they cant bite or kick and dont eat mutch.
June 10. brite and fair. the baby had the croop last nite. the minit he
coffed croopy father and mother jumped out of bed and father he fell
over a chair and that waked us all up. then he tride to lite a lamp and
he coodent find the maches and he swoar round feerful. well mother she
lit the lamp and they all went tearing round and they got sum hot water
and made the baby eat some eg and sugar and put hot close on his neck
and prety soon he was all rite. then they give me the rest of the eg and
sugar. then we all went to bed and i lay and laffed to think of father
tumbling over the chair and swaring. Ennyway the baby is all rite.
June 11. i hate to go to church. we have all got to be vaxinated. sum
peeple in the next town have got the small pocks. Beany has been and
Pewt two. Beany says the doctor takes a nife and cuts a hole in your arm
and then puts on a big scab whitch has come of somebodys arm whitch has
been vaxinated, and that stops the blud. but he says that if the scab
dont fit you bleed to deth. so i asked father about it tonite and he
said that Beany lied about it, but he says if you are vaxinated with
the scab of a redheaded person your hair will turn red, and if he has
warts or frekles you will have warts two and frekles. father said once
when he was a boy he knew a feller whitch was vaxinated with a scab of a
cock-eyed man and bimeby the feller began to squint and he kep on
squinting wirse and wirse and bimeby he was cock-eyed two. and father he
said he knew another feller whitch had a wooden leg and he sent his scab
to another feller to be vaxinated and that feller began to limp and he
always walked stifleged. i gess father was fooling. ennyway i hope i
shant be vaxinated with Skinny Bruces scab, becaus he is redheaded.
father he said he was going to get a scab of Horis Cobb for me and
perhaps i wood have a little fat on me and not be so spindel shanked. i
wish i cood get a scab of Gim Erly or Tady Finton and i cood lick time
out of Pewt.
June 12. brite and fair. Beany has a auful sore arm. he dont dass to
rassle or fite or do ennything.
June 13. brite and fair. Pewt has got one two. tomorrow nite the doctor
is coming.
June 15. brite and fair. last nite after super the doctor come and he
went into the parlor and father and mother and Cele and Keene and me and
Georgie and Annie and Frank and the baby was all in the setting room.
well ferst father went in and he was only in there a few minits and he
dident holler enny and then he come out laffing, and i asked him whose
scab he had and he said he dident know but it must have been from sum
minister becaus he had been thanking the lord it was all over. then
mother she went in and father told her he had got the scab of old Mike
Casey for her. mother is english and she dont like the irish and father
said it to plage her. well she went in and then Aunt Sarah went in and
Keene and Cele and they dident holler eether. then my tern came and i
went in and it dident hurt a bit only sort of smarted tickly like. i
asked the doctor whose scab i had and he said Bruce Brigams. buly. Bruce
Brigam is the best cornet player in town. i bet i can play like time if
i ever get a cornet. then the rest of them went in and none of them
hollered xcept the baby and he always hollers when ennything is the
matter. father told Cele that he got old Nigger Tashs scab for her and
he gessed she wood begin to turn prety dark culored before a week or 2.
Aunt Sarah told Cele he was fooling.
June 16, 186- Brite and fair. my arm is all rite.
June 17. Rany and thunderry. my arm begins to ich a little only i cant
scrach it.
June 18. still rany. all our arms begin to ich. Annies arm is the wirst.
we dident go to church today. That is one good thing. I never knew it to
rane before on sunday.
June 19. brite and fair. every one of us is cross as time. i took hold
of Georgies arm today and she began to ball and said i did it purpose. i
keep hiting my arm agenst things all the time. somehow i never hit the
well one. that is always the way with things.
June 20. brite and fair. father is cross two. last nite he grabed me by
the arm to shake me and it hurt so i hollered like time, and then he let
me go and said he forgot about my arm.
June 21. brite and fair. Annie is in bed sick with her arm. She always
has things the wirst xcept mother, only mother says she hasent enny time
to be sick.
June 22. brite and fair. my arm is still auful sore and the wirst of it
is becaus i cant go in swimming.
June 23. Brite and fair. All our arms is better. John Johnson who rings
the town bell has gone away for a week and Beanys father is going to
ring it. He has to ring it at 7 oh clock in the morning and at 1 oh
clock in the afternoon and at 9 oh clock in the nite except Saturday
nites when they ring it at 8 oh clock so that peeple can get there baths
before bedtime. Me and Beany are going to lern to ring it.
June 24. Rany. me and Beany went up to the church today to see Beanys
father ring the town bell, he let us pull it a little, it is prety esy.
then we went up at 1 oh clock and at 9 oh clock.
June 25. Rany again. most of our scabs has come of. i dident go up to
see Mister Watson ring the bell this morning becaus i dident get up in
time, it was sunday. Beany he dident neether, but we did tonite. Beany
can ring it prety well.
June 26. Brite and fair. jest think, Beanys father is going to Portsmuth
tomorrow and Beany is going to ring the bell and he is going to let me
help him. Beany is a prety good feller. mother sent of the scabs today
to peeple whitch wanted them. nobody wanted mine. father said it was
becaus i was such a tuf feller.
June 27. Brite and fair. gosh if we dident have a auful time today. in
the morning me and Beany went up to the church and rung the bell, we had
a good time and rung it jest so many rings jest as mister Watson, Beanys
father told us to, then me and Beany both got kep after school, and when
we got out we asked Noot Crummet what time it was and he said it was
jest 1 oh clock and that the town bell had jest struck and then me and
Beany jest put for the church as tite as we cood hiper, and we was prety
near tuckered out when we got there and we both grabed hold of the roap
and begun to ring the bell. well we only rung it a few times before we
herd sumone holler fire, and then more peeple begun to holler and we
looked out and we saw Charles Fifield and Charly Batcheldor and Chick
Randall and Jimmy Josie jest putting it for the ingine house, and Beany
said buly they is a fire, and we begun to ring the bell as hard as we
cood and holler fire. then the Methydist bell begun to ring and then the
upper house bell, and Charles Tolls horses came galoping down to the
fountain ingine house with Mat Sleeper driving. And Mager Blakes horses
went by jest lickety larup for the Torrent ingine house with old Brown
driving, and then Flunk Ham came piling into the church and said, give
me that roap and he puled like time, then sum peeple came runing in and
said where is the fire, and Flunk he said we dident know, and then we
herd the ingine and went out and they was the Torrent and the fountain
and lots of men, and they said where in hel is the fire and nobody
knowed where it was. and then Chick Randall he asked Flunk what he was
ringing the bell for and Flunk he said he found me and Beany ringing it.
then they asked us what we was ringing it for and we said we was ringing
it for Mister Watson Beanys father, because he was going to ring it for
Mister Johnson, and he had to go to Portsmuth and so he told Beany to
ring it, and then old Brown he said us was fools and asked us if we
dident know enuf to tell time and he said it was only 20 minits past 12
oh clock when the bell begun to ring, and some of the peeple was mad and
said we had aught to be arested, and then we said that Noot Crummet told
us it was 1 oh clock and then sum of them begun to laff and said it was
a good one. Ennyway me and Beany run home as quick as we cood and the
peeple went of two. well tonite father said if he had got into so many
scrapes when he was a boy as me and Beany did he wood have been in jale.
and Aunt Sarah laffed and said she gessed she cood tell a few things if
she wanted to and father he said he cood two but he gessed he woodent.
Ennyway he said Gim Melcher and Charles Talor led him into a good many
scrapes and Aunt Sarah she said she gessed me and Beany and Pewt want a
sercumstance to father and Gim Melcher and Charles Talor.
June 28. brite and fair. it is most fourth of July again. they is going
to be a band concert on the square. i shant have as mutch money as last
year. ennyway i bet i will have a good time. i went in swiming 4 times
today. i coodent go in while my arm was sore. Annie is most well but
cross as time.
June 29. brite and fair. i went in swiming 5 times today. tomorow me and
Pewt is going pikerilling. Pewt is a good feller to fish. fourth of July
is coming next week.
June 30. today me and Pewt went fishing. We got Charles Flanders little
blew bote. it is the esiest bote to row i ever rowd. Pewt cougt 4
pikeril and 5 kivies and 3 pirch. i cougt 2 pikeril and 2 kivies and 4
pirch and 1 sucker. we cougt sum minnies and shiners for bate but we
dident call them ennything. we div of the bank at the eddy, once Pewt
sliped and come down all guts, it nocked the wind all out of him.
July 1. brite and fair. today is the first day of July, and we had my
fish fride for brekfast.
July 2. brite and fair. i bougt 5 bunches of snapcrackers and 2 bunches
of canon crackers and sum slow mach and put them in a box in my room.
tomorow is the nite before fourth. Pewt is going to have a pistol and
Beany a canon. father he says if he hears of me fooling with a gun he
will lick me and send me to bed for a week. ennyway he dident say
ennything about a pistol or a canon.
July 3. gosh i was scart today. this morning i went up to my room to
look at my snap crackers. i got the box on the floor and was counting
them when i looked out of the window. i saw old Miss Hartnett hanging
out sum close on the line, i thougt i cood make her gump and i wanted to
try jest one canon cracker to see if they was good ones. well i lit one
and pluged it down behind her, and jest as she was reaching up with her
mouth full of close pins it went of bang, and she hollered love of God
and went rite over backwards. i thougt i shood die and jest then one
went of bang rite in the room and then they all begun to go of bang bang
bang and i grabed the box up and pluged it out of the window and mother
came up jest hipering and the room was full of smoke and i was stamping
out the burning paper. well when i got it out she was prety mad with me
and made me clean the room and wash the floor and windows. ferst i went
out and picked up my snapcrackers. they were all rite but all the canon
crackers but 2 had went of. Mother she asked me how they got afire and i
said i was fooling with them and they got on fire and i had to plug them
out of the window. then she said that was what fritened Miss Hartnett so
and i said was she fritened and she said she was so fritened that she
fell over backwards and i said is that so. mother dont know i did it on
purpose whitch is prety good luck for me, so she only made me keep my
snapcrackers in the yard. so i put them in a hole in the apple tree.
gosh, you aught to hear Miss Hartnett tell about it.