United States First Reading Book

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 186? edition. Excerpt: ...had stood for fifty years in a farmer's kitchen, without giving its owner any cause of complaint, early one summer's morning, before the family was stirring, suddenly stopped. Upon this, the dial-plate, if we may credit the fable, changed countenance with alarm; the hands made a vain effort to continue their course; the wheels remained motionless with surprise; the weights hung speechless; each member felt disposed to lay the blame on the others. At length the dial instituted a formal inquiry as to the cause of the stagnation, when hands, wheels, weights, with one voice protested their innocence. But now a faint tick was heard below from the pendulum, who thus spoke: I confess myself to be the sole cause of the present stoppage; and I am willing, for the general satisfaction, to assign my reasons. The truth is, that I am tired of ticking. Upon hearing this, the old clock became so enraged, that it was on the very point of striking. Lazy wire, exclaimed the dial-plate, holding up its hands. Very good, replied the pendulum, it is vastly easy for you, Mistress Dial, who have always, as every body knows, set yourself up above me--it is vastly easy for you, I say, to accuse other people of laziness--you, who have had nothing to do all the days of your life, but to stare people in the face, and to amuse yourself with watching all that goes on in the kitchen. Think, I beseech you, how you would like to be shut up for life in this dark closet, and to wag backwards and forwards, year after year, as I do. As to that, said the dial, is there not a window in your house, on purpose for you to look through? For all that, resumed the pendulum, it is very dark here; and although there is a window, I dare not stop, even for an instant, to...