Kenosha tribune & telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1856-1859, 1858-09-16

We believed it, too, when we saw tn,
beautiful little creature waddling out O
the front gate by aunty's side, although
when the neighbors had informed Far
mer Pike that Joseph was dead, and h'
had bequeathed his only child to ns
aunt, he had sternly replied-"Let he
keep him, then. AS for me, will new
er see him-neyer have anything to de
with him. ., y - 9'a-Ne- - ..s4 : .o /
,t.rs1 1910 .E..rtl ,r-.gt
IT is not to be wondered at that Alice
and | awaited our aunt's return with ca
ger curiosity, or that the Inquiries witt
which my story commences greeted hel
entrance. She did not reply at once
she lookup palm-leaf fan that lay or
the table, seated herselfin the arm chair
while her features worked painfully.
Il never had anything come across
me So" she exclaimed at last, more to
herself than u.s. And then the tears roll
ed over her cheeks. After awhile she
grcsF calmer, and told her story to CouS-
in Alice and me, sitting in her large
rocking-chair, flaming herself with her
IL.
.HsY GU see Farmer Pike had just risen
from his afternoon nap, and was going
out the back DOR, as I got round by the
meadow in front of the house, 'spied
him and hurried round there Just as he
got up to the WE'LL ail .ss1 gaif m ell s
How dye do, Farmer Pike?' I said
IN a free, neighberlyo sort of way,las
came up to him, can't you let this child
have drink of water, he's had long,
walk and got pretty nigh tuckered
out. l3ai szssi ta 3d ssum gWarllf srF
The old man was completely taken
aback, L could see that by the way he
looked at me, and I looked back at him
a., coola dinnQeenta as a lamb. Then, he
glanced at the. child, and saw the mus
cles round hiso tight.mouth culver a lit
tie, but he sdidn' t. say q word; he took
up the tin cup that stood on the spout
and filed it from the bucket, and held
it out to me, 5but. his great hand shook so
the water! spilled over the top; but of
course L didnltlnotice that, i jest kept
on talking in the most natural way YOU
could imagine, about the fine weather
and the good crops we We're likely to
get. 80 ri saloisi9sb 1iyas il3ssf s.fs~5
"Now say, thank you, grandpa,p
said as | flung. out the water afteF w es-
ton had done drinking ba
" Thank you, grandpa came out the
soft, small tones of the little child, and
I knew they went away down in that
stout old mans heart Like sharp cutting
sword. + ssd.a5.a IA ,sr,, .a. ''s7r r,t =
~" Whose that are child ?n he asked in
a low gruff voice, as if he didn't dare
trust it to speak louder. JAZZ sts
i!%aW ell, now, farmer Pike" SAYS I, stto
hear you ask that ,question. Ifyou can't
tell the color o. them eyes, YOU must be
struck stone blind, and did you ever see
a forehead that was just the shape O.
that one, and a little round head that
was never still but al.ays kept shakin,
and diddlin' round like a leaf on silver
tree, and if you didn't know that, YOU
can't forget that heap o. golden curls,
Just the color o ripe rye when the sun
strikes on 1t. lnever see curls like them
except on one head, andsthat's under the
grass long way from here now.'1 SO
The old man sat down on the stoop,.
and saw twas because his great limbs
shook SO he couldn't stand. .. go
g sat down too. It's rather warm,
farmer,5' / went on, a.fistandin' in the sun
to day, though there's a good bree exc
from the west. Speaking about Weston
though, / don't think he has his fathers
mouth, though Joseph's had way Of
settln' down tight and grim, just ike
youin, farmer, specially when his mind
was made up on any subject. Hals % q
H'' But if you1ook you'lfsee that mouth
was cut just after the pattern O Mary's
even to the 9dimple in the left corner. I
declare, it takes me right back to the
time when Mary and / used to go to
school through the pasture. What a
merry, fun-lovin' creetur she was. I
used always to think her laugh sounded
a good deal more CHEEKY than the robins
In the bushes as we went along
Don't, Esther, don't !" said farmer
Pike, and he put up his hand as though
it was more than he could bear, and his
face was white as the tomb stone. He
hadn't called me Esther though, for more
than twenty years. -ss-,
saw now was the time to strike, and
says | /" Yes, spose it's tryin' to your
teelln', farmer, to talk about them times,
but it's comfortin' to think you've got
your wife and son, all made out like a
peter there. Weston, you dear boy"
called out to him as he was huntin'
butterflies on the grass, and he came
trottin' up to US, " now go and say,
grandpa won't you kiss me? ?" y. -1rs
And the little fellow went up and lift
ed his sweet baby. face to the old man,
and Isped out so pretty, won't you kiss
me, grandpa?""
50 The old man reached out his arms,
and gathered up the child in such aquick
hungry sort of way, that | was almost
scared, and then he groaned out, oh
Mary! oh Joseph p in a way that made
my heart stand still, and he Rugged up
the boy so tight to his broad bosom, that
| knew he never would let him go from
1T again. 5,f29.9 lsq. lugn 9dI
i AT this point in her story, aunt Esther
paused and cried, and so did cousin AL
ice, and I though we laughed at each
other all the time. ,2ol-5a ~,
- Well,Iwhat happened next, aunty?"
l asked as soon as could III 81
+" I didn't stay another minute, child.
l couldn't. Ijust slipped round the cor
ner Of the house, and hurried off home.
but l heard a deep sob as I opened the
gate softly, and ] knew it came up from
heart that hadn't shed a tear for more
than forty years. But it comforted me
all the way back to think g that if Mary
In heaven knows what I've been dom
to-day she'll thank me for it, '1 "' q,
But we shan't have Weston with us
any more now. How shall we get along
without him ?'' | exclaimed. snddenlT