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"Casey Jones ! What a name !"
exclaimed Miss Bridge scorn-fully as the whole classroom burst into
laughter. I could never forgive her for this.
South Avenue was the principal southern highway. We often travelled
it on our way to Riverside Station to meet my grand-parents. Soon after
leaving its intersection with Highland Street, one could look to
the left and see Morrison's stone tower rising prominently against the
sky. The Morrison place is now Regis College. Mrs. Morrison inherited
the property from her father, Dan Demmon, who owned a fancy
eating establishment in Boston. Dan Demmon was a
wicked person, according to Aunt Sarah Robbins, because whenever the
frogs kept him awake of a spring night, he sent
his gardener down to the meadows next morning to cut off their legs and
teach them a lesson. Then he would ship the legs to his restaurant in
Boston to be served as a delicacy. I think that Aunt Sarah let her
emotions get the better of her, as the legs of
Weston frogs, I feel quite sure, are not fit for
culinary purposes.
Once I persuaded my father to take me over to climb Morrisons'
tower. Mr. Morrison seemed very much pleased with my childish
enthusiasm, and 'during the ascent he showed me the compli-
cated mechanism that worked the great clock, and told me how
all the building stones had been gathered in adjoining fields.
From the top we had a magnificent view — Weston center practically at
our feet — Waltham beyond, and finally Boston —and in the other
direction, mountains.
This thrilling experience prompted me, a few days later, to
build my own tower, using old fence rails and two by fours from
a pile of discarded lumber behind the barn. It was a rickety |
