The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1869-01-23
misrrlIanp.
MOTHER HuBBARD's WARNING.

Hubbard bought his house the haunted house Of
R-l very much against his wifes will. II
was next to the graveyard, which, though pnus-
ed. was not cheerful, and it had the reputation
Of a ghost However, Mr.. Hubbard did not be-
Iievs nIchosts and too cheerful to b depress-
ed by warnings, and never intended to get very
lonely.
Mother Hubbard he said, when his wife
shook her head over the purchase, i got it cheap,
an d it is a COED one. You will like it when you
get there, if you don't, why then talk
So the house was bought, and into it the Hub.
bard family went There was scarcely . chance
for ghost to show his face in such a family of
boys and girls. The rosy faced master of the
house and his little wife had ten of them
1t was in view OF the eternal cry of mother that
the Jolly husband had dubbed his Martha Jane
Mother Hubbard, using it in jest at first and at
last because of an old habit. Hearing il, the rest
OF R fell into the habit of calling her Moth
er Hubbard so it more her name by great
deal than her baptismal Martha Jane. Having
once expostulated and spoken her mind, Mother
Hubbard gave up the point. She scrubbed and
secured, tackled down carpets and up curtains,
and owned that the place was pretty and AZ not
ghost appeared for week, made up her mind
that there were no such inhabitants, and began
not to mind the tombstones. SO the house got to
rights at last, and baking day came about In
the press of business, they had great deal of
bakers bread, and were tired of it.-Mrs Hub
bard never enjoyed setting batch of bread to
rise as she did that which was eaten for the first
time in the new house.
For 1 cannot get up an appetite for stuff that
nobody knows who has the making Of said Moth
er Hubbard and ali puffy and alummy besides
80 into the oven went thesbread, and ont of it
came at the proper time even and brown and
beautiful as loaves. could be. Mother Hubbard
turned them on their sides as she drew them
forth, and they stood in The long bread trav glor-
ious proofs of her skill and the excellence of her
oven, when Tommy bounded in. Tommy was
four and at that age one is prone to believe that
anything will bear our weight.-Tommy, there
fore, anxious to inspect the newly made bread,
swung himself off his feet by clutching the edge
OF the bread tray, and over it came loaves, Tom
my and ALL
Mother Hubbard flew to the rescue and picked
up the loves All were busted and put in the
tray again but one. That lay bottom upwards
under the table.
"A bothering child to give me so much troubler
she said as shscrawled under the table. 40
-ah--dear, dear, dear, ono my
And on the floor sat Mother Hubbard, scream
ing, wringins her hands and shaking her head.
The children screamed also in concert. Mr..
Hubbard rushed in from the garden, where he
was at work.
What is the matter, mother p gasped Mr.
Hubbard
Mrs. Hubbard pointed to the bottom of the loaf
lying in her lap.
Look there and ask mo she said. 1T ia
warning, William; am going to be taken from
them ALL
And he looked, and saw deaths head and
cross bones, as plainly engraved as they possibly
could be.
1t is accident, said Mr.. Hubbard. Such queer
cranks dApome, you know
But Mother Hubbard was in a troubled state
of mind
The stories about tho haunted house ware
true sha said and the spirits have marked the
Loaf. l am afraid it is a warning
And the loaf was laid aside, for even Mr. Hub. |
bard did NOT dare to eat any of it,
Mrs. Hubbard got over her fright at last, but |
the news OF the awfully marked loaf spread all |
through R., and people came to Hubbard's all |
the week to look at it, 1t was a deaths head
and cross bones certainly, every enc saw at
glance, bat as to its meaning people differed.
Some believed that it was warming of approach
ing death some that the spirits wanted to fright.
en- the Hubbard's away. This latter supposition
inspired Mrs. Hubbrrd With courage finally she
leaned 10 the belief ana when another baking
day arrived put her loaves into tho oven once
more prepared for cross bones, and rot to be
frightened b, them. The loaves baked Just az
before.
They came out brown and crusty as Mrs. Hub.
bard turned each in her hands-there were no
cross bones visible, but on the last were sundry
or letters What, no one could tell,
until there dropped in for u chat certain print.
or OF tbs neighborhood, accustomed to reading
things backward.
by George said he, that is curious. That ia
urious-r-e-s-u-r-g.a-m resurgsm; that is what
is on the loaf-resurgam.'
1T is what they put on tombs isn't it p asked
Mother Hubbard, family.
well, yes said Mr. Hubbard: but it,s not =.
bad as cross bones and skulls
Mother Hubbard shook her head.
1T is little solemner,' said the little woman.
who was not as good linguist as bread maker.
4 feel confident that shall soon be resurgamsd.
and what will those dear children do then p
And now the second loaf was before her ewes.
marked awfully rs was the first Mother Hub.
bard grew really pale and thin and lost all her
,heerfulness
4 have presentiment,' she said over and over
again, that the third baking will decide who
me warning belongs to. l believe it is meant
or me, and time will show. Don't YOU see how
hin | am growing!'
And though Mr.. Hubbard laughed, he also
began to be troubled The third baking day
was one OF gloom. Solemny as at a funeral, the
family assembled to assist in the drawing.
flve ioeves come out markless but one re-
NAMED.
Mother Hubbard's hand trembled, but she
drew 1t forth she laid it on The tray; she turned
IL softly about; at last shS exposed tho lower
surface. On 1t were letters printed backward,
pam enough to be read this time, and arranged
"DTD April %,
LAMENTED by