Oliver Wendell Holmes

“ The gates swung open, and out they flew
“Where are our broomsticks?” the beldams cried.
[68]
[69]
“Here are your broomsticks,” an imp replied.
“They’ve been in—the place you know—so long
They smell of brimstone uncommon strong;
But they’ve gained by being left alone,—
Just look, and you’ll see how tall they’ve grown.” ”

“ The terrible witchcraft drama of 1692 has been seriously treated, as it well deserves to be. [7] The story has been told in two large volumes by the Rev. Charles Wentworth Upham, and in a small and more succinct volume, based upon his work, by his daughter-in-law, Caroline E. Upham.
The delusion commonly spoken of, as if it belonged to Salem, was more widely diffused through the towns of Essex County. Looking upon it as a pitiful and long dead and buried superstition, I trust my poem will no more offend the good people of Essex County than Tam O’Shanter worries the honest folk of Ayrshire. ”

“ Unquestionably there is something a little like extravagance in “How the Old Horse won the Bet,” which taxes the credulity of experienced horsemen. Still there have been a good many surprises in the history of the turf and the trotting course. ”

“ Old Dutchman was transferred from between the shafts of a cart to become a champion of the American trotters in his time.
“Old Blue,” a famous Boston horse of the early decades of this century, was said to trot a mile in less than three minutes, but I do not find any exact record of his achievements.
Those who have followed the history of the American trotting horse are aware of the wonderful development of speed attained in these last years. ”

“ He would build one shay to beat the taown
’n’ the keounty ’n’ all the kentry raoun’;
It should be so built that it couldn’ break daown!
—“Fur,” said the Deacon, “’t’s mighty plain
Thut the weakes’ place mus’ stan’ the strain;
’n’ the way t’ fix it, uz I maintain,
Is only jest
T’ make that place uz strong uz the rest.”
[16]
So the Deacon inquired of the village folk
Where he could find the strongest oak,
That couldn’t be split nor bent nor broke,—
[17]
That was for spokes and floor and sills;
He sent for lancewood to make the thills ”

“ In a wagon, for instance, the weak point is where the axle enters the hub or nave. When the wagon breaks down, three times out of four, I think, it is at this point that the accident occurs. The workman should see to it that this part should never give way ”

“ The witches, the broomsticks, the cats, and all;
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He led the hags to a railway train
The horses were trying to drag in vain.
“Now, then,” says he, “you’ve had your fun,
And here are the cars you’ve got to run.
The driver may just unhitch his team,
We don’t want horses, we don’t want steam
You may keep your old black cats to hug,
But the loaded train you’ve got to lug.” ”

“ The localities referred to are those with which I am familiar in my drives about Essex County.
O. W. H.
July, 1891.
[8]
List of Illustrations
[11]
[12]
The Deacon’s Masterpiece Have you heard of the wonderful one-hoss shay,
That was built in such a logical way
It ran a hundred years to a day,
And then, of a sudden, it—ah, but stay,
I’ll tell you what happened without delay,
Scaring the parson into fits,
[13] Frightening people out of their wits,—
Have you ever heard of that, I say? ”

“ In those old days when I was young!
“Bring forth the horse!” Alas! he showed
Not like the one Mazeppa rode;
[40] Scant-maned, sharp-backed, and shaky-kneed,
The wreck of what was once a steed,
Lips thin, eyes hollow, stiff in joints ”

“ Hugged by the woods and kissed by the sea!
Where is the Eden like to thee?
For that “couple of hundred years, or so,”
There had been no peace in the world below;
The witches still grumbling, “It isn’t fair ”