Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1871-07-12
VOL. XI.

likin' for Aunt Reeny when she was a
girl. Mebby that was one reason why
she would look such long while int
the boys face and eyes. Great, wide
open brown eyes Jack has, what they
call hereabouts the Langley eyes and
mebby the old crltter made the young
davs come back ag'in. There amt no
te1lin' Anyhow, there was some diff
ference. Lawyer Langley when he
was alive a-settin' in the Judges
bench, n Aunt Reeny IN her
ole chair up tn Hickoryton poor-house.
Wall, it was a powerful hot after
noon, and the Fourth o July, indie
pendence Day. The work was done up
an the house was uncommon quiet,
only Aunt Bash had Jerry up in a corn
er to scold at him cause he jest lost
her darnin' needle. jerry he was a
stannin' thare with his fingers in his
mouth, lookin' master silly, for Bash
he'd Just ben boxin' his ears, fore she
he'd about once a week, specially on
Saturdays. Bashy, she would
set him up there, and keep him
there for an hour, mebby, eft
it didn't interfere Aud, lawful heart,
sech blessings as she did give him !
Wall, that day, Nora, the nuss, he'd
gone off with her beau, Jack was stay
in with me an mother, jest s it hap
pened. I wus asleep on the piazza-or
half asIeep-for I remember hearing
Bashy,s voice kinder high n sharp,
Ike fling the saw over t. the mill, her
a sayin', what dye mean, you lazy,
hateful, blunderin' fool, you? Now,
where's my darning needle, I'd be
pleased to know?' An jerry, he an
swering very modest to Bashy, who was
a little deaf, faint likely t nobody
knows Nose What about my nose ?
Hahn t it a good nose? [ sh'd like to
know. You miserable, saucy critter,
you"
!" Wh-r-r-r!n
"Down in the meader, across the
ten-acre lot, AFTERNOON train from the
Falls whistled [ heard it half a
dreamin', an half wakin', and next I
know'd Aunt Reeny rushed down the
yard run, flew by me like wind, with
her face white and her gray hair
BLOWN after her, as she went. It was
all so quick, seem'd s eff I hadn't
more'n breath O. time to think fore I
knew Aunt Reeney was rushin' like the
wind, right straight inter that air
'spress train. I Thought the woman'd
ben crazy all on a sudden. Read O
sech things, ye know. An [ jest up
and arter her, about s quick s my ole
legs could fly but she'd got the start
| o me, n all [ could do was to foller on.
Up come the train, awhirrin' and hissin'
and thunderin'; them great blacl1ingines
make me think o the evil one, just out o
the pit-on it come, an the faster the
ingine come just the faster raced on
Aunt Reeny, till-all in breathin',
there was rushin' sound close by, and
gust O. wind clearin' up the smoke,
an / looked down, and close ter my
feet was layin'-our little Jack! Just
a layin there with bunch O blue flag
in his hand, t he trotted off over the
railroad to pick. There he was, safe
n sound-where Aunt Reeny had
ketched the child and throwed him, the
minute afore the train come up. But
Aunt Reeny herself, poor critter, she
stepped her last step. [ just picked up
the ole woman, bleedin' and cut mp,
she was, too, most too bad to tell on,
took her in my arms II brought her up
to the house
go, wall, we did what we could for
her, the women folks did, n / did, n
we all did. Even Aunt Bash stopped
her sputterin' for onct in her life, n
run bout helpin' as gentle IS a baby.
But twa Mt all no use. Nor warn't the
doctor, neither, tho we he'd i'm on as
soon as horse flesh could fetch him.
But he only shook his head kinder
mournful, an gin us to understand,
'twa'nt nothin' only a question of time,
putty short time, too. An there she
layed IN mothers bed, her eyes shut
up, n her poor old hands outside OF
the white coverlid, fingers worzin' N
workin', this way n that. Tho't she
was knitting, you see, poor critter. L
dunno s it IL strike you s t did me,
but, somehow, I can't never git rid %
the sight % them old, withered, big
veined, thin hands After the poor
thing didn't know nothin', then weak
hands we're gropin bout to and fro,
knittin' still, trying to do somethin' to
the very last, bless her! for other folks
An / s'pose I'm silly, but ] tell you,
miss, the last knittin' Aunt Reeny
ever did, she toed off pair O. footin's
for me, n I've kept them air footin's
as choice as ef they wuz di'mons.
Wear EN- Bless you, no. I shall go
barefoot through Vermont snOw-drifts
a good while fore I'll wear them stock
ms Aunt Reeuy knit last.
Wall, she KEEP them hands goin'
slower n slower, an it got to be later
in the evenln' on to'rd the turn Or the
night You know, s I telled
you-'n' we was all q settin' round the
room, and listenin' ter the ticlzin' in the
corner, Sophy was a settin by the bed
bathin' Aunt Reeny's forred, an Jack
had been asleep, with his head on her
| pillow. L remember mindin' how
kinder pretty t looked, the old wo-
mans white hair mixed up on the pilIer
on the boys curls-sort o wet and
heavy thev was when he was asleep
an list then Jack started n sot up,
broad awake, on the bed, leanin' agin
his mother, an lookin' jist as straight
in t Aunt Reeny's face. Just that min
ute-now you'll think this is sort o,
queer, but this is iist how it happened
Aunt Reeny opened her eyes and
! looked right into the boys an then, all
/ t once, all over her old face there come
such shinin' an CLOWN as | never
see, n can't think O. nothin to de
scribe. Then sez she, speakin' out plain
n clear-so they heerd her clean outin
t'other room-said the dear old critter,
80, Jack, it's youl
$50 pleased and happy the words
was, an they was the last t ever she
spoke She list shut hereye5 n fold
ed up her hands, and drawed one long
breath n was gone. Mother brought
a lookin' glass n put it to her lips,
/ but there want nothin' TO show t she
was hvin' She's gone, Q, dear Aunt
Reenyn
"'Sophy said 1t with little sob, N
sunk down on her knees long side o
the bed, with her face buried up in the
clothes. Nothin' but poor old wo-
man, you see, miss. Never had five
dollars at a time in her life, I s'pose.
Wasn't dedicated nuther, as them
things go now. But for all she was old