burst in the middle and all you will get is a few sparks that dont hurt mutch. but this one was a flusher and it flushed at the end whitch was in Pewts mouth and a stream of sparks went rite down Pewts gozzle. you would have dide to see Pewt spitt and holler and drink water. he drank most a gallon and he wont speak to me becaus laffed.

All the Chadwicks got birned when they was blowing up old Buzell's fence posts, they was lots of fites down town and a house on Franklin Street and a barn on Stratam road birned up. it was the best 4th i ever gnew. Father sed about 2 more 4ths and he wood go out of bisiness.

i sed 2 4ths is eigt and he sed dont you try to be funny. if you do you will get a bat in the ear. so i shet up. when father says that it is about time to shet up.

July 6, brite and fair. saterday again. it is funny when i am in school i am crasy for it to be saterday but when it is vacation i hate to have saterday come. it means 2 things that aint very good. one is that another weak of vacation has gone and the other is that the next day is sunday both of whitch is prety tuf. tonite me and father went in swimming at the gravil. we had a good swim and then we floted down river. it was warm and the treetoads was crokeing and a peewee was peeweeing high up in a elm tree and bats was fliing and it was fine. evry now and then a fish wood splash or a mushrat dive.

when we got home all the folks was setting on the front steps and we got talking about the doodlebug club. father he calls it that. father sed they aint no fool like a dam fool and sed that once when he was in school his teecher old Ellis the father of Rody Ellis that i went to school to used to paist time out of the fellers jest for nothing. so the fellers they got prety sick of it and one day Jim Melcher and of coarse father, he and Jim Melcher always went together and Charles Taylor two and Oliver Lane and 2 or 3 others went out and batted down about a pint of bumblebeas with shingles. they got stang 2 or 3 times a peace but no feller minds being stang in a good caus. so the next day they went to school erly and poured all them ded beas in his old lether seat.

well old Ellis come in and rung the bell and sed prair and paisted time out of 2 or 3 fellers for exercise and toar the sherts off 2 or 3 others for old acquantence saik so father sed and then he set down hard in his chair and more than forty of the stings of them ded bumblebeas riggid in deth so father sed ran rite into him. well he let out a yell you cood have heard at Hampton Beach and gumped

rite over his desk and run out of the school house howling and holding hisself in both hands and sweling up feerful in grate aggony. and father he sed he was stang in forty seven places and swole up so that they had to get old killpigger Haley i mean pig killer Haley to get his briches off with a skining knife.

i wonder if old mister minister wood like bumblebeas if we done that to him.

July 7, rany as time. i thought i woodent have to go to chirch but what do you think it cleered up and the sun come out a hour before chirch. how is that for tuf luck.

July 8, rany not hard but drissly. i wood have went fishing today but there was a thunder shower this morning and fish wont bite after thunder but go down in deep holes and lay still. this afternoon we had the meating of the club. the minister talked lots and ansered questions. i asted him if we had aught to tare down spiders webs becaus they kiled flise. he sed yes then i asted him if the spider woodent starve to deth if he coodent ketch flise. then he sed spiders was sumtimes poizinus and i asted him if he had ever been bit by a horsefli. then we had speeking and Beany spoke his peace about

god made the little fli but if you crush it it will die

and then my sister Cele spoke the peace

do you know how meeny flise fli about in the warm sun

and the minister clapt his hands and we all did two.

then Tomtit Thompson sed he had a new peace about insex and the minister asted him to speak it and Tomtit dident want to, but the minister sed he had aught to be willing to help out in a good caus. Tomtit he sed he was afrade the minister woodent like it but the minister sed he was very sure he wood like it and so Tomtit he stood up and made a bow and sed his peace and it was jest bully.

now i lay me down to sleep while the bedbugs round me creap if one should bite before i waik i hope to god his jaw will braik

and what do you think the minister he got mad and told Tommy he was a bran from the birning and a apostate. i thought they wasent but 12 apostates ever and wasent enny now but that is what he called Tommy and he throwed him out of the club by the ear, wisht it had been me.

Well after Tommy had went the minister talked to us about how wicked it was for Tommy to use the name of god in sutch a conexion. I asted him why it was wicked to use it in conexion with a bedbugg when it wasent wicked to use it in conexion with a fli like Beanys peace and my sister Celes and he sed one was used in the spirrit of love and the other in the spirrit of hate. then we sung a hynm and went home. i wish i was Tomtit Thompson.

July 9, 186—-brite and fair. gosh what do you think. the committy of the chirch came to our house today and asted mother if she wood have the minister to supper as it was her tirn. mother sed certenly i wood be very glad to entertain him. after the committee left i sed gosh mother you told a awful whacker to them old wimmen when you sed you wood be glad to do it dident you. mother she laffed and sed peraps it woodent be as deliteful as it mite be but she wood try hard to be glad to do it and if i wood do my part and all the rest wood we cood give him a good supper and it woodent hurt us to do it. so we have all got to duff in.

July 10, it is going to be a weak from Friday nite that the minister is coming. Friday nite is the nite they have prair meeting and he will have to go prety soon after supper so he wont be there very long. aunt Sarah she sed what if he invites us to go and mother she sed she gessed father wood have a prety good xcuse ready. she never gnew him to fale. mother sed that 10 days wood give her time to get ready. we have all got to wirk. then mother sed she wood have to warn father not to say ennything tuf and warn the children not to speak when the minister was saying grace and not to notice the new napkins and thing like that and that she had got to sweep evry room and wash all the winders and rub up the silver and the caster and the caik baskit.

when father come hom tonite mother she told him about having the minister to supper and father sed gosh what for. and mother she sed George that is a nice way to speak about a minister and father he sed why can't you let me take him down to old Eph Cuttlers and get him a stake and sum fride potatoes and about 4 fingers of fusil oil whiskey and it wood do him a pile of good. mother she sed i am ashaimed of you George for talking so. why cant you take it serius and father he sed it is serius ennuf and i am trying not to burst into teers over it. honest if you wood let me take him to Hirveys resterant it wood save you a lot of truble. but mother sed no we must do our part and father he sed gosh he suposed so but it was tuf. then father he sed i suppose you wont dast to bat out the flise if he comes. then Beany hollered for me and i dident hear eny more.

July 11, brite and fair. i have got an idea. me and Pewt and Beany are goin to talk it over tonite. we are going to have chicken and gelly and hot bisquit and custereds and cold ham and cookys and whips and