ather he sed it aint natural for a boy
to set round like a sick hen. either he is thinking
up sum deviltry or he is getting to be a lollipop and
of the 2 things i ruther it wood be the ferst.

then mother sed i dont quite agree with you
George. i dont like a miss Nancy enny moar than
you do but i dont beleeve it is nessary for a boy to be
thinking up deviltry to be a real boy. then father
he sed i gess you was never a boy Joey or you woodent
say that. A boy is going to raise tune or he aint
a boy and you mite as well put him into skerts to
onct. i never gnew a puppy to grow up into a good
dog unless he chewed up slippers and spoilt moar
things than he was wirth. then mother sed that
depends on what you call a good dog. if you meen
a dog whitch is all the time fiting that is one thing
but if you meen a real good dog that is another
thing. then father he sed i woodent give a cent for
a dog that cant fite. a god dog that is groan up
dont care to fite but will if he has to. and a good
man dont cair to but will if he has to. they is a
difference between a good boy and a goody good
boy. i wood ruther my boy wood git into scraips
than not. if he dont i know sumthing is rong with
him.

then mother she sed if you like to have him get
into scraips why do you get so mad with him and
lick him, only mother she sed punnish him, when he
gets into scraips and father sed dont you see i cant
aprove of his scraips for if i did he wood be in
scraips all the time and he wood be if he gnew what i
was saying. then father began to laff and to tell
what he and Gim Melcher and Bill Yung and Beanys
father and Pewts father done when they was boys
and he asted if all of them fellers wasent pretty
good men and Aunt Sarah sed none of them is mutch
to brag of and father laffed and sed that shows you
aint a good judge of caracter.

i tell you when i herd what father sed i maid up
my mind that i wood maik up with Beany and Pewt
and we wood show father and Pewts father and
Beanys father that we was jest as lifely as they was
when they was boys. then i tell you i felt beter than
i had felt for a long while and i am going to bed.
to-morrow i will maik up with Pewt and Beany.

October 11, 186---brite and fair. today i maid
up with Pewt and Beany. it wasent near so hard as
i thought it wood be. i gess boath of them missed
me two but not as mutch as i missed them becaus
they had the other fellers. this afternoon we got up
a club whitch we cal