The mountain Democrat., 1864-05-07
DICKS LEGACY.

very hard that his favorite son, and the
, child Of his old age, should not be conten
TO earn his living at home, or at least il
his own country, but must betake himsel
to lands which the rest Of us had only
read Of in geography books. We lived il
London, and within a very ensy dstanc,
: of the Thames-indeed, our street led into
it-but nothing would do but Dick mus
sail to Spain, and see the Guadalquiver-
q name that sounds like an alligator il
extremis.
Our Dick cared nothing for foreign
scenery, had no thirst for information o
any kind, didn't care hether the climat,
gas warm or cold, hadn't the 50 shtrp
knowledge ofany tongue but his own (ano
that be knew very imperitctly}, had ~
sympathy with Columbus or Capt. Cook
and yet he must be always going to sea
Going to see whatY his father rScd tc
inquire peevishly and poor Dick never
could answer him, for he didn't know
himself
He always pined TO be off somewhere
to Kamtchatka, or Mozambique, or JcIi
chO after he bad been at home about three
weeks or SO. S2ain not having been
enough for him, he ran over To Canada
then he took u trip to Hong Kong and
finally went to the West Indirs- from
whence the dear light hearted varabUnd
bcv,r retuIn'd.
Yellow Jack laid him low at B,rbicn,
and many an eye was touched with tears
when the news came over the sea. tscnt
: an . | = g.
it never recovered. For tins ne do well,
who was no scapvGrace. however, was
liked by everybody who knew him. He
was very poor, of course, lcirg Of = a
com!nun seaman bciure the ma>t at b, st;
but he lad kept all hi friends in hi>
! memory whcrcS"cv'r he went. and br"u. .ht
home some tTitic from every outlauii>l
place he visited, for one or other OF item.
lie was uot a tuan for a woman to tnarrv
-un'e>S she Was prepared t. embrace the
! nautical profession a. well aS himself -
but he was an inmeusr favorte with all
the sex and a. for chi!dien. thew adured
tlm. and called hiIu Uucle Di,k whether
authorized hy the t4bi 5 Of atliri,y 50 70
do or not
/ ll~ last present, & lo>tl urous ouc,
brought over hy mrS>nate to my wife,
Wlrh her brotlcr pieA best luyc'- hiad
simple SIT, lhnt hr Wa> T. MAS a hug.
h't.N carrot t"r ,cr! us'ie,l a.rl tat
these eyes ever btheld. Lucy, toNrv-l,
welcomed it a> thou:h lie hal hrtn ! md
oi Paradise. tnr the sake ut the gly,r; AMI
irth,r could hardly tc pcr>uanch not t.
: have il in his room, wher- h, lay Ill 81 tLr
>.chi,oss which at last waS unto death.
Bat the fact was that thr l. lck parrot y a>
~ no means Suitahl. bird for a 81, X
rouu,; for ~ most unexpected seasons. and
corhnrriv ia the dead ot llght. it would
htgiu t. tax As loud a. a washvrwoma;,,
and use the most ctreEcu>;hle language.
which it had picked II Mt >ca-rI,un IL
return voyage, as my wife always wouti
have IT, and by no means tEoH poor Dick )
lip>,
Pooh, pooh = Never saw die" Whats
O'Clock past k.>>l = ti'nr- CHI, X, cijrh
AID tine To Kiss h-,..in-ctjcd, chick -
nat WIS his imitation Of o>cu'atioi -
'lu,4e'ul. toilerol!' WHO'S .ti3ia.'-
XIII the cartain'' 'Srat ic tie >l;,!'
aud number Of other Objectionable STATE.
mcnt>, witch world be not only tedious
here 10 cuUmtratr, hut even luIi,urr.-
NotN lth>tanaing this, poil wa> sicat IA
v"rite with everybody except the doctor,
Whnm II had ChIu'gatcd in th" nr>f uu
measured terms, having mistaken tu,, il
his white cravat, for the sap's Chaplin,
and when misfortune came upon It's, in the
pIcaaart gui>e, hoN ever, # u family tpp
l.r - =, II nod ! =, t,,.
glit cage still Irlnci a portion Of uuI far
uiture, although many persons with no;r
brain than heart thuugltt It a piece oi fo!,y
that we did not turn Dicks loving legacy
into hard monty.
Tie only Inconvenience poll suffered in
consequence Of this changr in our cifcLu.
stances was that, being greatly crowded
/ within doors, we hung him Oat-i,!c tic
hops" IN the summer time, in whlyh posi-.
ton he endured much wordy persrcutcn
from the street boys.
10 these he would return insult for in.
suit, teachiug>them the haIinage used by
mariners, aud learning in ieturn the flow
ciS of speech that flourish in the streets
of the metropolis.
HIS jet black plumage, his enormous
beak, and the unprecedented (for parrot,
violence Of his expressions induced these
enemies 10 call him Nick; but yprv fortu-
nately his ear. was not sufficiently acute
to discern the difference between this CON
tumeiouS name and Dick, which We had
entitled him, alter him who had bcqueath-
ed him to us.
But never you mind. my good father
would observe to US, with general refer.
ence to oil these draw backs that bird
will prove blessing to you yet, or my
dear boy would never have sent 1t to yuu
with his last breath across the seas.
And so, long after my poor father died,
and when many of our children had he.
come grown and were earning their own
living, the parrot was with us still, with
out one touch of gray upon feather.
We were Outtittlrg Jack, our youngest
but one, for situation as under clerk in
collery down in Wales, and had had 10
little trouble to raise the money for that
and his long trouble, when Dick htst
brought us luck.
My dear George said my wife to me
one June evening, just after had come
home from a long days work, If fifteen
guineas would be- very great comfort to
you indeed, know where to get them for
you
Her voice was not SO CHEEKY as her
words, and therefore | knew there was
reverse side to such most gratifying
order.
WELL said I, and what's to be done
for that money? 1t would be great con
yenience. Lucy. Just noS.'
That's true returned my wife with a
little sigh. But we are not so poor as to
be obliged to sell poor Dick even for that
cnmr and IL il for him thot ,h bo.