The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-10-26
selected STORY.
UnAo DREADFUL BOY.

ton in about equal parts. =. ID.
'Who?p queiied Mrs. Bagg III
THAT dreadful boy = said Miss Cottle Of
The ladies we're entering Mrs. joys front.
gate, hay ing come, as per invitation, to attend
a tea-party given By the mother of the boy.
Tommy sat on the front-door step, In tne
hot sun Of that August afternoon, with an oau
skate strapped on TO his naked loot. IL was
a very rusty skate, and ii was avery dHty NJ
tie toot but Tommy was seemingly rapt III
admiration Of the t0at casemOte. -
"Hullow he cried, By way OF poli.e salu
he looked up and beheid them approaching.
..How de do, Thomas ?" said Miss Cottle.
extending a hand eXpermentaly, with the
air o timid stranger making advances to a
bulldog s#.%
"AI right| sung out Tommy good natur-
eddy. go aheadl Choo! choo! choow imi-
itating steam-engme.
Miss Cottle made all haste to get past Tom
my, who got up suddenly and struck out on
MS skate, as though he imagined the stone
step TO be the smoothest ice, falling as re-
suit, heavily upon Miss Cottle, who flung him
OIL with indignant energy, much as it he were
INDUSTRIOUS toad. Tommy fell over back
ward, striking his head on the stone. and i'm,
mediatelg began TO rub the spot and TO paw
with all bis might +.
. Miss Cotte trembled with excitement.
"Good enough for hime' she muttered soto
r0ce.
But Young Mrs. Bagg, who, Though not yet
mother loved children, bent over Tommy
with maternal solicitude, putting her hand on
his head aU
E'Le' me- lone! Tean ole thingw roarcd
Tommy.
"ula it hurt you, little Tommy ?' said Mrs.
Baggs sweet voice.
Tommy looked up in surprise, and immefi-
ately stopped. sDs
"Why, what bumpw continued Mrs
do you do, Mrs. ,Ioy?"
walk in, ladies'" said Mrs. Joy, at the
door; you Il excuse me, l hope. was in the
kitchen, and | didn't hear YOU rap. You've
come early-all the better What's the mat
ter Tommy dear?"
"Nuffin p said Tommy, and "He fell down
and bumped bis head" said Mrs. Bagg, boil
in the same breath.
Il do tcdRt no calnfire on!' cried Tommy
20 dearY' he mllrmured, rubbing his hot
eyes with his dirty hand till his tesr-moisten-
ell face was sight TO behold, II wish it nd
freezer
onOrtly after, Miss Cottle, who had laid her
things aside, and taken a seat in the parlor by
the open window with her "work' in her
hands, looking out, beheld Tommy swinging
ON the gate in perilous fashion. "Td like to
know" said the maiden lady eontemptuous-
", "what good there is In youngster like
that's he is only aplague." ~ e
Airs. bagg, who sat opposite, engaged in
emOroidering a soft little flannel blanket
looked up with a smile. n
ASK his mother, Miss Cottlep
Mrs. Joy had Excused heiselt" to the la
dies tor a few minutes.
"Oh! mothers will be mothers," said Mis-:
COttle, with an emphasis that could leave ne
doubt on her hearers mind as to her contemp
Tor that peculiarly in some women. "TheJ
never can see their young ones faults. Thai
boy does nothing but get into mischief, ant
wear out clothes, and eat victuals, from one
weeks end to another. His mother likes him
just because he is her own. That Is natural
enough, -.-H .H.I i4aasg.. rssas.4t
"Do you know" Mrs. Bagg quietly remark
ed, what Doctor Franklin once said, when ht
was asked what was the good of some recon
dlte and abstruse truth that had. just. been
discovered, and which no one could see any
particular value in 2" &s@bh
"Can't say as do" said Miss Cottle, trying
hard to Imagine what reconcile and alb
struse truth might be. = q, a.aessTHE
"He said by way of reply, What is. the
good of babies p" ID -, 3.r.s- sd
swell he mightp Miss Cottle rejoined.-
"And wise man he was too, ii ever there
was one" av
"Ah but he asked the question ironically.
Miss Cottle. He thought the good of babies
must be apparent to every one, and of them,
SO OF the new-iound truth--in its infancy of
no absolute use In itself, perhaps, except to
be loved Tor its own sake but it will grOao.--
1t is in Tommy's future that you must look
for his usefulness to show ITSELF"
His futurep exclaimed Miss Cottle. Mrs
Bagg, l tremble for that boys future. He'll
come TO no GOOD mark my words. A perfect
little imp of satan, If ever there was cne."
why, Miss Cottlep protested Mrs. Dage
"Ohl but you don't know him. said the
maiden lady, warming with her subject
why, don't you believe, when he had the
scarlet fever last spring, the minister called
the angels, and how, if he was good boy, he
would go there, and wear gold crown, and
have uarp in his right hand, the little rep
rebate up AMI asked him ii he c,uld have &
little black teller to play with up ter heaven p
Miss Cottle paused to note the effect of this
astounding revelation ON her auditor. What
was her horror at seeing Mrs. Bagg throw
back her curly head and send forth merry
peal OF laughter. @#
'Well, Pm surep calculated Miss Cottle
with an angry sniff fttif aA
so dearP sighed Mrs. Baes, recovering.
"please excuse my laughing, Miss Cottle; but
the idea was SO perfectly ridiculous = ha, ha
ha! The child spoke with perfect honesty
no doubt" .. '59ss..-+,. II
ooh! he's honest enough Far be it from
me to do him any injustice, Mrs. Bagg, and
his mother does say he never told lie in his
life. But that's his brazen hardwood. He's
such little rascal that he's got no shame IN
him, and don't care enough about his pranks
to think OF denying 'em. Why, last winter
when we gave our tea-party," miss Cottle
kept house with another maiden Cottle, her
sister Tabitha, in the great old house they
were horn in, and in which they had ever
since dwelt, "don't you think Mrs. Joy brought
that dreadful boy along, and let him run all
overthe house. He went up into the garnet
and found box tuil of dried barberries, and
ate some of them; but they were too sour tol
his precious delicate stomach and what does
he do but ill his pockets with them, and come
down into the pantry when we were all in the
parlor, and get into my jar otmarmalade that
l put up with the best white sugar, pound fol
pound, and eats it hall up and fills the Jar ~
with the barberres out of his pockets, soak
ing 'em down into the maImalade with his
nasty little fingers, and then going outdoors
without any cap on, and playing in the snow
till he had washed OFF every sign OF what he'd
been up to- And when went into the pan
try to get the tea, the shelves were one smear!
told Mrs. Joy, and she questioned him, and
he owned up to it, and said it was good, the
little hog! And she shut him up in the north
bedroom to punish him; as If he cared tol
that He took and chawed up an old news
paper that Was spread on the stand, and stuff
ed the keyhole full of paper wads. And, by
m-by, after he was let to come out, he went al,
over the house, as still as a mousse and stuff
ed up all the keyholes, sol we was bothered
most to death Tor week after. And when !
told his father of it, he never was punished
for it at all. No wonder he's such repro
bate" i.et g
.uhi yes, he was, Miss Cottle," said Mrs
Joy, who had entered unnoticed by the dool
at the speakers back. = .asalsslii lat
"La" exclaimed Miss Cottle, quite discon-
certed. e.t,cstt
His father took him upstairs" continued
Mrs. Joy, "at noon, right after dineer, as soon
as he came home alter meeting you, Miss
Cottle, and stripped all his clothes off him
HE didp interrupted Miss Cottle, much
gratifed; ''and did he fog him severely"
sob no! Mr.. JOY never fiOgs, you know
He says he was nearly logged out of his skin
when he was boy, and the recollection OF il
hurts him 10 this day. He declares he'll new
er fog child Of his. Mr. joys got peculiar
views on the subject of Furnishing children
well, then, what did he strip him for?"
ITO make him put on his night-gown anG
60 about In 1t all the rest OF the day."
"Fudgep exclaimed the splnster; "as Ii
he'd care for thatr,
ms little heart. He hasn't forgotten it to this
day; and more than that, he hasn't forgotten
Wnat 1t was Tor. That's why he hates the
slgot OF your bouse So He saws it's mean
old house"
he don't like me very we'll a;tbar /