[5] one of the men turning the crank and the other feeding it in. I saw the cobs fly in one direction, the dust in another, and the shelled corn fall into its proper receptacle. It was put into bags and carried out every now and then by the men and emptied into the body of the pung. This went on till that singular sleigh was heavily loaded. After this operation, so absorbing to a child, we all gathered in the sitting room, where a table was spread with refreshments. There was a cheerful fire in the old-fashioned fire-frame. As the party drew their chairs in social order so as to look at the fire, everything appeared unusually pleasant, and I am sure that my grandfather and one of the strangers had lighted their pipes. My father said, as his curious little boy was noticed: “Otis, you must speak your piece. Step up on the bench there beside the door.” I did so. My father then said: “Now, Otis, make your bow and go on.” I did the best I could and stammered through that wonderful speech which children learn without knowing for many years its meaning:
You'd scarce expect one of my ageThis was the event, and the whole sweet picture of it is still before me, more than seventy years after its occurrence. Grandfather, with his thin, silvery hair and very genial face, was already infirm with age. He helped
To speak in public on the stage,
And if I chance to fall below
Demosthenes or Cicero,
Don't view me with a critic's eye,
But pass my imperfections by.
