Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

Ready to laugh at anything we seized upon this and shouted.  He just declared his answer was like Kings!  When the laughed subsided Miss Tate asked King to give his explanation over again.  Ill fated goddess born!  Now Waldo had met his Waterloo.  He started out well enough and was getting along finely when he suddenly choked.  Alas poor fellow!  possibly he had tried to get out too big a word, and it had caught on his epiglottis and got tangled up in his vocal cords, giving them a discordant sound. 

At any rate, he got red in the face, looked down at his desk, and kept saying “ –the-the - - - to the” and then pausing for breath.  Finally his strugglings were lost in our shouts of laughter, for it had become too much for us.  But King persisted and finished up in some manner.  Gibby all the while had remained very serious and now proclaimed that his explanation was just the same.  After they had argued it a few moments, Miss Tate closed everything up (including mouths) by saying that it doesn’t make any difference.  So all this anguish for nothing!

To-night is prayer meeting at most of the churches.  I wish the bells would ring for a long time.  How mournful and sad they sound, as they send their ringing tones thru the quiet air, and still at the same time it is pleasant to listen to