was a severe trial to one of my aunt's orderly
habits, to be daily subjected to the visits of the noisy mischievous
children of her cousin, and although she bore it with more patience than
might have been expected, it was a serious annoyance. More than all, she
dreaded the eldest son Ephraim. From the first there had existed a kind
of feud between them. The boy was quick to notice the love of order so
observable in my aunt, and took a malicious pleasure in studying up ways
and means to annoy her in this respect. Articles of daily use were
misplaced, and many an accident occurred in the household which could be
traced in an indirect way to Ephraim; but the fellow was shrewd as well
as mischievous, and took good care that not a scrap of direct evidence
could be brought against him.

His father was for a time to assist Uncle Nathan upon the farm; and
under pretence of performing some of the lighter work Ephraim usually
came to the farm with him, but it was very little work which his father
or any one else got out of him; but it seemed an understood thing that
Cousin Silas and his family were to be borne with, and they endeavored
to bear the infliction with as good a grace as possible. My aunt was put
out of all patience, by finding one day, upon going to the clothes' yard
to hang out her weekly washing, the clothes-lines cut in pieces and
scattered about the yard. She knew at once that this was some of
Ephraim's handiwork, and when the men came home to dinner she taxed him
with the crime in no very gentle tones. As usual he declared himself
innocent, even saying that he did not know there was a line in the yard.
Then, as if a sudden thought had struck his mind, he said with the most
innocent manner imaginable, "I just now remember that when we went out
from breakfast this morning, I saw Tom Green coming out of the yard with
a jack-knife in his hand, and it must have been him who cut up the
lines." This was rather too glaring a lie, and Ephraim must have
forgotten for the moment that Tom Green had been absent from home for
several days; and cunning as he was, for once he had, as the saying is,
"overshot his mark." "Silas Stinson," said my aunt, "will you allow
that boy to sit there and tell such lies in your hearing?" His father
saw that there was no help for it, he must at any rate make a show
of authority; and looking at his hopeful son with a very solemn
countenance, he addressed him in the language of Scripture, saying "