Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-08-16

of time at blackening his boots, albeit
the appointed day was somewhere about
o week ahead. But it would take a deal
of fixing, he explained confdentially, to
get ready, and he hadn't much to fix
with. Jake's normal condition was not
that of dauly, certainly. He could
only, as a general thing, be lured by
the prospect of drive to ''red himself
up, as Mrs. Squims said. To be rag
ged and let alone was his heaven. But
this time he rose to the greatness of the
occasion-he brushed and secured,
washed out his sole white shirt, busted
and Strengthened his battered old hat,
and mended his trowsers.
Deeply interested in Jake's fortunes,
we watched the proceedings.
"But jake" said Jenny Smith one
day, "what are you to do for coat ?"
Unhappy suggestion Jake looked
aghast. He hadn't thought of that.
Certainly he couldn't make his appear
ance in that overgrown coachman's s rig
in which he was wont to illustrate the
academical espectability ON the road.
And he had nothing else. No necessity
had ever before developed itself for any
thing save shirt sleeves and wooden
jacket. rr- -- ~.
An awful pause came over our delib-
erations forJake. Miss Smith whistled,
and finally suggested her water proof
we all were ready to fling ours at his
feet-but Jake couldn't go muffled like
an Indian brigand. He shook his head.
Night closed without any solution of
the difficulty, but we trusted that some
how the lads quick wit would find
way oukof it. "
The next morning, however, new
sensation turned us from the contem-
plation of Jake's disasters. The house
had been robbed. We were all terribly
scared, and Mr. Squimps was in fever
of defamation and wrath. His coat,
his best-beloved blue-black coat, in
which he was wont to dignity trustee
meetings, ornament his pew of Sun
day, and pay visits of state to his pa
trons-his coat had been stolen HIS
coat, man so devoted to the interests
of education that he scarcely had time
to go to the tailor's to think that an
ungrateful, inappreciative, idle world
should have permitted him to be robbed!
He raved, he stormed, he threatened
vengeance, he lectured us on the degen-
eracy of the times, and forgot our Latin.
Vague forebodings of lurking assas-
sins, masked robbers, and frequent
skirmishes into the wardrobe and dor
mitories about this time kept us all in
a nervous furry, to the exclusion of all
thought of Jake. But late one twilight
afternoon, as we sat huddled IN the
windows of the long school room wait
ing the supper-bell, we saw him issue
from the clubhouse. Oh, horror! Oh,
apparition of terror For with its tails
nearly touching the ground, it's long
sleeves overlapping his hands, Jake
wore, without doubt, the missing coat,
boldly marching in his stolen fnery
down toward the road in sight of us all.
In sight of sharper eyes too, it
seemed, for not far from the house Mr..
Squimps himself pounced upon him.
Poor, kind, light-hearted Jake We
held our breath that day and the next,
for Jake had been marched off to prison,
and Mr.. Squimps's eloquence and moral
ity were in full flow. He said longer
grace than ever at dinner, and we were
all glad when, hungrily eyeing the scan
ty board, we heard the visitors bell
summon him to the parlor. 1 think we
were in better appetite than usual that
day, and left little behind us for our
Mentor as we filed up stairs toward the
school-room. Passing the parlor door
there rushed out upon us little figure
in a trailing silk dress and a bonnetful
of nodding French flowers. 1t was
Amanda Liza. ..- ."
"Oh, girls !" she cried, Historically,
bewildered with an apparent desire to
embrace the whole troop. ''Poor Jake 1"
Mr.. Squimps, tall and solemn, rose
with dignity, and closed the parlor-door
upon their further conference. We
heard him make this consoling remark:
II always knew he'd come to no
good p r.
It seemed that Amanda, had learned
of Jake's mishap through some stray
newspaper, where the well-known name
of the virtuous and vengeful Squimps
had met her eye. She cemprehended
the situation, and came to the academy
to plead for her old friend
We waited the news of Jake's fate
breathlessly, nodding and whispering
among ourselves. For there would be
trial or something terrible, of course,
we hardly knew what. Mr.. Squimps
was away all the afternoon, the classes
were demoralized, and we stood idly
gazing out of the window at four o'clock,
when carriage came up the drive. To
our amazement Jake sat on the box,
elate and erect. He sprang down, and
opened the door with flourish, and
out stepped Mr.. Squimps.
"The girl pleaded so hard that
have declined not to prosecute" said
Mr.. Squimps; and if splendid new
coat fresh from the tailor's and plump
silken purse of unknown manufacture
had anything to do with this decision
we were not informed of it.
And I'm going to live with Miss
Mandy Liza forever - cried Jack, when
he came among us, his face lit with
glory as if he was departing for
heaven.
Would Amanda Liza dress him in a
blue coat and brass buttons, and make
him her coachman at good wages? All,
what rise for poor Jack Amanda
Liza was his saint, his angel, the hem
whose garment he touched reverently.
There was no commonplace element
about such love as this, and Jack would
be content to let down her carriage
steps and look after her ponies all the
days of his life, we thought. And
that was the last we saw of him at the
Squimpses.
But years after, when I was travelling
in Australia with my husband, Mr..