The Brawnville papers Author:Moses Coit Tyler Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: III. JUDGE FAIRPLAY'S TEA PAETT. Bba.wnvhxe, November 15, 1865. (£1TY DEAR," said the Judge, turning to his wife, as [j.L we all sat together in the dra... more »wing room, " will you pardon for once an allusion to the mysteries of that man- forbidden place, the kitchen!" " For just once !" she replied. " If, then, you think there will be time before tea, I should like to read to these gentlemen the passage from Horace Mann, which I showed you last night." " Oh, certainly!" Mrs. Fairplay replied ; " there will be ample time; and if our friends enjoy the extract half as much as I did, they will have a great treat. Harold," she added, speaking to her second son, a bright, handsome lad of a dozen years, "go, dear, to the library, and bring from your papa's desk the book you will find there." "I do not suppose," said the Judge, "that the bit I want to read will be new to you; for you must all have seen it some years ago, when it was first published. Don't you remember the address Horace Mann gave on the opening of a gymnasium in Boston ?" Dr. Drugger was sure he had never seen any thing more of it than the cover, if he had that; as a philosopher, he was willing to hear all sides of all questions; he must confess he had never been much edified by gymnastic addresses; but he expected he should be on this occasion, for, somehow, Judge Fairplay had a gift of rendering every thing valuable which passed over his lips. We all saw the ludicrous struggle in the Doctor's soul between his antipathy to gymnastics and his affectionate courtesy to his friends. The Judge acknowledged the compliment with an amused twinkle of ths eye, and a heroic nod. Mr. Bland and I said we remembered to have seen Mr. Mann's address many years ago, and that for that very reason we should like to hea...« less