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Methinks, for a person whose instinct bids him rather to pore over the current of life, than to plunge into its tumultuous waves, no undesirable retreat were a toll-house beside some thronged thoroughfare of the land.
But at the first toll-house, while the toll-keeper was changing some money, I experienced the envy of the gods which hitherto I had known only in Schiller's ballad. A pedestrian passed the teacher whom I had offended by playing all sorts of pranks during his French lesson. Not one of the others disliked me.
A painstaking, kindly teacher he was; but the toll-house was a haunt more pleasant to our young fancies than his seminary. John was the general friend and confidant of all the boys; he settled our disputes, made the best tops and balls for us, taught us a variety of new tricks in play, and sometimes bestowed upon us good advices, which were much sooner forgotten. John never married.
Kick-off, 3.30." Well, M'Kinnon, along with the rest of the team, emerged from the old toll-house, close by, to meet their gallant opponents, and Mr. All through the contest, which, by the way, was drawn, with no goals on either side, M'Kinnon was a little stiff, and scarcely played so well as was his wont.
The warden and his deputy congratulated me upon my improved appearance and prospects, and hoped that my whole future career would be equally prosperous. Nor did I forget to call up my friend in need and friend indeed in the toll-house at the bridge. I stayed three or four days in Windsor, finding it really a charming place, and I was almost sorry to leave it.
Had he gone a little beyond the toll-house, just over the shoulder of the mountain, he would probably never have seen the glory of "the sea fogs." It would have been better for his health but worse for English literature. My first knowledge of that glory came to me twenty years ago.
The great town has now grown much nearer his toll-house, which then stood alone on the country road, with no building in sight but the school, at which I, and some two score of the surrounding juveniles, were supposed to be trained in wisdom's ways, by the elder brother of our parish minister.
"Now," said the Cap'n, "seein' that the new man is here, ready to take holt, and the books are all square, I'll ride home with you. I've been callin' it home now for a couple of days." The new man at the toll-house heard the Cap'n talking serenely as they drove away. "I didn't have any idee, Colonel, I was goin' to like it so well on shore as I do.
"It's all very well for you young gentlemen to have your fun," he said indulgently; "but supposing as how you are all found dead in the morning, what about me? It ain't called the Toll-House for nothing, you know." "Who died there last?" inquired Barnes, with an air of polite derision. "A tramp," was the reply.
And, at each toll-house, they made each person that was walking on the turnpike pay some money; perhaps it was a penny that they had to pay. They charged more for each wagon that passed. At last he came into Boston and it wasn't daylight yet. So he walked over to the Common and lay down under some bushes and went to sleep.
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