by John Salisbury Cochran.

See previous entry: Beautiful Belmont, Part 18 -- The Apple Paring.

Farm life is not without its many scraps of fun and enjoyment in a family of seven boys and four girls, as ours was. The girls sometimes had a trying time of it among so many boys. A new boyfriend brought home by one of them was considered our legitimate prey until he had established himself in our good fellowship, and woe to the one who could not stand a joke. When once fairly initiated and accepted, though, he was considered one of the crowd and a good fellow.

On one occasion a young physician, Dr. John Majors, who was paying his addresses to sister, and who subsequently married her, brought with him a neighbor friend, Wilson Stringer, who had taken a fancy to one of our other sisters. Stringer was a good fellow and loved a joke. He was one of the most rapid talkers I ever knew. He and the doctor were both fine violinists and had their violins with them. It was during the holidays. After a musical with the piano, guitar and violins, the ladies and gentlemen had seated themselves before the fireplace for an evening chat. Suddenly their attention was directed to Stringer's violin at their backs, waltzing all over the floor with a violent internal commotion. The boys, unobserved, had taken the violin outside, placed a whole pack of firecrackers inside it, started the fuse and quietly slipped it inside the room. Every time an explosion took place the violin made a jump. Dr. Majors and the girls took in the situation at a glance. To Majors, it was a source of much merriment, while to the girls, of course, it was quite embarrassing.

Stringer himself stood gazing at his violin in amazement and half anger. He was too polite to display his resentment toward the boys in the presence of their sisters, and yet he felt his pent up wrath must have some means of escape. Dr. Majors was laughing more heartily at every movement of the violin. Stringer turned upon him, and in his quick, jerky manner said, "Well, I like to see a fellow laugh when there is anything to laugh at, but when I see a fellow laugh and laugh and laugh, I think he's an everlasting fool." This was said in the most quick, vehement manner possible. At this explosion Dr. Majors rolled off his chair on the floor and laughed even more loudly. Stringer looked at him a moment, not knowing whether to laugh or swear, but finally his good nature came back to him and he was soon laughing himself, at which juncture our boys came in, and we were soon one jolly Christmas crowd. The boys helped him patch up his violin, and ever after Stringer was a good fellow with them.

See next entry: Beautiful Belmont, Part 20 -- Miller, the Mean Mare.

For the table of contents and first entry in this series, see: Beautiful Belmont, Part 01 -- Table of Contents and Brief Introduction.

This entry is adapted from Bonnie Belmont: A Historical Romance of the Days of Slavery and the Civil War, by John Salisbury Cochran, which was published originally in 1907. The book has been reedited extensively for inclusion in the Pierian Press Fulltext eBooks database, and is included on the Stratton House Inn Web site by special permission. This special edition of Beautiful Belmont is licensed for use ONLY on this Web site. It may not be copied or downloaded, but may be used for educational purposes and personal pleasure under fair-use provisions via this Web site. Please note that this Stratton House Inn iteration of the book does NOT include the subject headings assigned each chapter for use in the Fulltext eBooks database.

CO-AUTHOR: Wall, C. Edward. (Editor)
CO-AUTHOR: Schultheiss, Tom. (Asst. Editor)

DATABASE: Fulltext eBooks: Copyright (c) 2000 The Pierian Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved
ENTRY NUMBER: EBK30011831

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