"Sequil"; Or, Things Whitch Aint Finished in the First

by Henry A. Shute

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.