Walter Aimwell

“ Some were young men, whose sun-burnt faces were half buried in huge, dark whiskers, and whose pea-jackets and pantaloons bore witness that they were not unacquainted with grease and tar. Occasionally, Jerry would meet a lad about his own size, whose dark blue pants, fitting snugly around the waist and worn without suspenders,—and neat blue jacket, with a turned down shirt collar of the same color, edged with white,—and shining tarpaulin hat, stuck upon the back of his head,—at once excited his admiration and envy. ”

“ Oscar had the name among his fellows of being a shrewd and sharp boy at a bargain; and, like too many men who have acquired a similar reputation, he was not over-scrupulous in his manner of conducting his business operations. If he could drive a profitable trade, it mattered little how he did it; and if somebody else lost as much as he gained by the bargain, that was not his business; every one must look out for himself. So he reasoned, and so constantly did he act on this principle, that, to tell the truth, his integrity was by no means unimpeachable among his comrades. ”

“ There is another, looking toward the sunrise, that is glorious with the blood of heroes. On the hill-tops beside the churches, on the slopes beside the buried great and good, all about the town, are the free schools of a people that wisely love their children and the future. Grim, and with some suggestion of remoteness, glower the barred windows of the prison that throws its shadow over those recreant sons that forget lesson and example. ”

“ I care a good deal more for the poor hens than I do for the money,” replied Clinton.
“That’s right!” said his father; “you’ve made considerable profit out of your poultry, and you must expect to meet with some losses, once in a while. Losses are inseparable from business; and the wisest way is to make the best of them when we can’t avoid them. If a man meets with nothing but prosperity, he is apt to grow reckless in his management, and oppressive towards others; or he becomes wholly absorbed with the world, and forgets that there is a God or a future life. ”

“ INSUBORDINATION. IT was a cherished opinion with Marcus, that the best government for a child is that which teaches him to govern himself. He had derived this notion from his mother and aunt, both of whom, in all their intercourse with the young, had endeavored to keep it in mind. Marcus had put this theory in practice, to some extent, in the management of Ronald, and not without success. He anticipated a still greater triumph of this principle, however, with Oscar, whose age, and peculiar circumstances, seemed favorable to the experiment. ”

“ Education is too precious a boon to be purchased without a struggle, but it is worth a thousand times all that it costs. The child that should prefer to go through the world toothless, rather than endure for a little while the pain of teething, would be less foolish than those children who would rather grow up in ignorance than subject themselves for a time to the labors and discipline of the schoolroom. ”

“ They work hard and get tired, I know; but we not only get tired, but sick, too, and worry and fret ourselves into our graves, while they are in the prime of life. They work out in the pure air, while we are stived up in little hot rooms, breathing everything but the odors of heaven. After all, the country’s the place to enjoy life. Don’t you think so, Whistler?”
“Yes, sir, the country’s the place for me,” replied Whistler. “When I’m a man I mean to have a great farm, and have it stocked with the best horses, and cows, and sheep, and pigs, and poultry. ”

“ Marcus, though busily engaged in finishing up his work for the winter, was untiring in his efforts to relieve the disappointment of Kate and Otis, by finding amusements for them and the other children. When the weather would not admit of a ride in the wagon, an excursion in the woods, or a frolic in the fields and on the hill-sides, he was always ready with some game or amusement that could be played in the house or barn. ”

“ The truth was, Clinton went to school, that morning, with a vague foreboding that his guilt was about to be brought to light. By some mysterious process, which I cannot explain, a secret impression of approaching evil sometimes weighs heavily upon the mind, without any known cause. This was the case with Clinton, that morning, and the glance which his teacher cast toward him, after reading Jerry’s excuse, sent the conviction to his heart that he was discovered. How easily does guilt betray itself! ”

“ A VACATION JOURNEY. THE steamer’s bell is pealing forth its last call. The huge, hot engine, as if impatient of delay, seems hissing at every joint, while the dark clouds that roll up from its smoke-pipes tell of the activity of the sweltering firemen below. The hawser is cast off. A tardy passenger or two are hurried over the gangway, and their baggage sent after them with more celerity than care. A carriage, driven at a furious rate, is coming down the wharf, and a man’s head and arm are thrust out of 18the window,—the arm “sawing the air” in a most vehement manner. ”

“ Leaving out of consideration the sin, it is the smallness of folly that makes the frivolous heart feel empty. It is as though a giant should sit down on the floor, and, grasping a sugar-plum in his great hand, try to coax up the look and feeling of riches and delight manifest in the baby opposite who has a similar sugar-plum. No wonder the giant does not feel happy: he does not even feel the sugar-plum.
They who do not live up to the spirit of Walter Aimwell’s second resolution, though they may not always be bitterly miserable, cannot he richly happy, nor even fully alive. ”

“ Jerry was released from his confinement soon after breakfast; but the unfortunate affair at the table continued to weigh heavily upon his mind. Throughout the rest of the day, he kept out of everybody's way, and said nothing, but looked sour, cross, and wretched. Oscar, too, felt very unpleasantly. He found it hard work to amuse himself alone. He was a boy of strong social feelings, and abhorred solitary rambles and sports. It was a long and dull day, and when he retired to bed at night, he almost felt glad that it was his last day in Brookdale. ”

“ There were thirty or forty persons at the table, and the rattling of dishes, the clatter of knives and forks, and the low hum of conversation, soon commenced in good earnest. Some six or eight young men, in slippers and jackets, and wearing small white aprons, were continually flying back and forth, behind the boarders, bringing cups of tea and coffee, and passing dishes to those who could not reach them. Sometimes half a dozen persons would order as many different things, of the same waiter, almost at the same moment, and Jerry thought the man must be puzzled to know which to get first ”

“ Moreover, the brighter scholars of the class are indebted to you not a little for their brilliancy, like the stars at night, which owe much of their beauty to the dark background. But the chief comfort and satisfaction of your life must be the thought that many of the greatest men the world has produced have been very dull and stupid boys. It is said that the bright boys of the school and the college are seldom heard from, when they become men. ”