Now Jim, the young heaven-built mechanic, in the dusk of the evening
before,
Had well-nigh unjointed the stove-pipe, to make it come down on the
floor;
And the squire bringing smartly his foot down, as a clincher to what
he had said,
A joint of the pipe fell upon him, and larruped him square on the
head.
The soot flew in clouds all about him, and blotted with black all
the place,
And the squire and the other four fathers were peppered with black in
the face.
The school, ever sharp for amusement, laid down all their cumbersome
books,
And, spite of the teacher's endeavors, laughed loud at their visitors'
looks;
And the squire, as he stalked to the doorway, swore oaths of a violet
hue;
And the four district fathers, who followed, seemed to say, "_Them's
my sentiments tew_."