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Show A COUNTRY SCHOOLMARM AT A HUSKING. A husking! Glorious! The schoolmarm had many a time heard old people tell of huskings in their younger days, and she had read of the one at which "Mabel Martin sat apart, And let the hay mow's shadow fall Upon the loveliest face of all" but having spent all her twenty harvest moons in the city, she had never had the good fortune to attend one of those right up and down good times with which persons in the country are so familiar. Indeed, until she came down into the pine woods of Maine, to be a country schoolmarm, she had thought this happy manner of combining work and pleasure, if not "a custom laid aside with breeches and cocked hats, still belonging to the old days, and had now rather fallen into disfavor. But here she has had opportunities to see, and can testify not only that huskings are, but that they are all they have been painted by poet or grandma's memories. For some time she had been watching the corn fields with interest, in expectation of the time when, the ears being filled out and dry to the satisfaction of the critical eyes of the farmers the stalk should be cut down and hauled to the barns. And she had sounded every farmer's intentions in regard to the husking of his corn, whether he was going to take his boys away from the institution of learning to keep them and himself prisoners at hard labor in the barn for a number of days, or whether it would not be better to call in the neighbors and have it all done up in one jolly evening. At last, one day, a stout, good natured farmer, who lived up on the main road, on his way from the post office, stopped his horse before the school house to ask her to tell the people on her road that he had gotten his corn in and wanted everybody to come that night to his husking. As soon as school was done she hurried home to array herself for spending an evening away, but was restrained by the initiated, who assured her that it would be an unheard of thing to dress up to go to a husking, and she wisely kept on the plain walking dress that was rather the worse for having been worn so many times over the dusty road, through pastures which grew burrs, thistles, and blackberry vines tenacious, in the woods where pitch trickled down the trunks of the pine trees, and out stretching boughs had so often attempted to retard her movements. It was a merry party that filled the stout, capacious wagon which started from this house in the early evening when the great red moon was just showing over the hilltop. The old white horse was started or urged into a stiff legged gallop, that was even more mirth provoking than his proverbial slow gait, and riding along over the hills and hollows of the uneven road the clear air spread the sound of their songs and laughter till those whose husking days were over peered from their lighted windows to nod, smile and wonder. With a cheerful, though not astonishingly brilliant chorus, they drew rein before the jolly farmer's door and were heartily welcomed by him and his motherly wife. Then, with his lantern, he led the way to the barn, where the husking was already in progress. Such a picture, as the schoolmarm looked in at the door! It was one of those immense, long barns, with all the winter's hay heaped no clear to the roof on either side and hanging over the scaffolds in generous fringe. To make room for the huskers, the hay rack had been hoisted to a place beside the old sleigh, on the scaffold built across from side to side, down at the farther end. And there on a low, temporary seat which extended through the length of the barn, in the centre, they were seated, engaged in lessening the huge pile of corn which met the mows before them, while the husks and butts, thrown back over the shoulder, were rapidly forming another pile behind. At intervals, on the pile in front, were placed large baskets to receive the husked corn, and these, when filled, were shouldered by one or another of the workers, borne away to the corn house and emptied. Just as she stepped inside a young Hercules, who was returning with his empty basket, dropped it at sight of her, and before she had time to remonstrate had seated her therein, and, taking it up again with its new burden, bore both over the pile of butts down the long line of huskers, each of whom had a merry word of greeting, to a place by his side. She went to work at once grasping the corn and stripping down the husks to disclose the rich, yellow ears. She was instructed to leave a few of the inner husks of the largest and best ears (some of them were truly splendid), that they might be braided up as trace ears, the nubbins or "pig ears" were to be thrown into the "pig basket," which was placed half-way down on the butts. It was a temptation to the schoolmarm to neglect her work and just sit still and look about her. The light was from lanterns hanging on pitchforks, which were stuck into the mows and gave to all the scene the very pretty effect of deep shadows and bright light in spots. It fell on laughing, bright-eyed girls, and broad-shouldered young men, in various unconsciously picturesque attitudes, on the steady workers, whose hands were busy at the husking, even while they watched with interest the flight and effect of those soft bits broken from the corn cuds projected with sure aim from one end of the barn to the other, and on the faces of the sober cows that stretched their necks over to feed on the husks and stopped to look with mild-eyed wonder on this interruption of the quiet they usually knew. She was mechanically pulling off the husks from an ear in her hand while admiring the picture, when suddenly the two stalwart farmers beside her threw down their ears simultaneously, and each placed on the one of her cheeks nearest him a rousing smack. She arose "swelling visibly" with mingled indignation and astonishment, but when she understood that she only paid the penalty of uncovering a "red ear," it was impossible to keep from joining in the laugh at her confusion when ?? making the old barn ring ?? ?? however much she may have rebelled in her heart this total overlooking of schoolmarm dignity she dared not frown upon this ancient custom, which is incorporated into the very being of the husking. To be sure, she observed it to be a rule for the girls to make a lively show of resisting the payment of their penalties, adding to their muscular resistance the very efficient aid of lung power, but this only enlivened the scene without diminishing in any degree the determination of the boys to see this gallant law carried into effect. And there is another feature of huskings which she found it not easy to disregard. Sometimes an ear is found which has not ripened in the usual manner into hard yellow or even red kernels, but instead, is a puny, dark cob, having its husks filled out with a dry brownish-black powder, that is freely given off at contact, thus giving the name of "smutty ear." The finder of these generally makes it known by adding a contrasted shade to fair flesh tints in drawing it across a convenient face. It is passed from hand to hand, the girls use it as a weapon of defence making white teeth gleam all the brighter from a dusky encircling, and the party assumes by degrees the appearance of coal heavers. So with "red ears" and "smutty ears" and laughter, with sallies of hearty wit and sometimes a rousing song the work went off rapidly, till at last it was finished, and after they had taken turns at the kitchen wash basin, to clear their countenances of the dark corn dust they were admitted to the supper which the motherly hostess had prepared for them. And such a supper! There were large plates with thick long and wide slices of bread piled to miniature mountains, and balls of golden, home-made butter, stamped with a shield, which proved no protection for it against the knives of the hungry vandals. There was the nicest steamed loaf of brown bread and two earthen-ware dishes filled with beans with, to save waiting, several spoons in each. Then doughnuts and "punkin" pie and "pandowdy." Oh, the pandowdy! baked in a deep, rectangular pan, and cut, not in the regular uninteresting three cornered shape, but into great cubes. The chief ornament to the table was a huge circular dish containing a noble, great, brown baked Indian pudding. With sharp appetites and no ceremony whatever, the company made large inroads on this bounteous repast. When supper was over the women cleared away the remains, while the men repaired to the barn and made lively work of clearing the barn floor by pitching all the husks back to the farther end. That done, the gallants hurried back to the house for partners from the number of rosy-cheeked girls, and returning took their places for a Virginia reel. The singing master, seated on a barrel with his fiddle, furnished the liveliest music; his own roguish son led the dance with the schoolmarm and with the most genuine good will the lads and lasses followed up and down the length of the barn. It was an interesting picture, and in her moments of rest the schoolmarm looked about her and wished she might paint it all, the barn, the dancers, the fiddler and the few interested lookers on, among them the farmer host, whose cheery pleased face rivalled one of his own apples in ruddy sunshine. They danced and then they played games, the old fashioned yet always new Copenhagen, and blind man's bluff and the rest. They were noisy, too, but what did it matter? There was no one living near enough to be disturbed by it, shout and laugh however loud they might, and only the animals and the swallows up in the rafter to wonder at it. There was no ceasing of the revels until the "Wee new hours ?? the twal," and there were merry voices still ringing out when each young man led his sweetheart to his wagon and stowed her safely therein, and until the good nights were said. Riding home it was quieter. The houses they passed were silent and the lights all put out. The moon, now high up, shone with a white light on the mists in the meadows. The air was growing chilly and the revellers were growing sleepy.-Boston Transcript. |