Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-12-24

had put in the garnet in order to have him
handy in case Of a rainy day. But no reporter
asked her and consequently she did not
know. There are lots OF things OF which we
are profoundly ignorant until We are asked;
and then, rather than confess our ignorance,
we suddenly discover that we know all about
them.
No better illustration of this principle could
be found, by the way, than little Miss Home
body, aged seven, and called Sophy when
she was good, and Sophronia when she was
naughty She was always doing queer things;
and she never did anything that she could
have explained beforehand or anything that
she couldn't explain afterward. But have
got ahead OF my story. am coming TO little
Miss Homebody as fast as can, only must
be permitted first to repeat lest it should be
forgotten, that X was in the garnet and had
been there for a fortnight: and very dismal
time he was having.
I-soPHRoNIA HoMEBopY
That child was enough TO puzzle solomon
and worry Job and drive acknowledgements
crazy before his time, She had no brothers
or sisters, and so she behaved all by herself,
like large family. She made friends with
the furniture, romped with umbrellas went
out riding with rocking chairs, made calls on
the wardrobes and closets, held long CONVEX
sations with the clothes, taught the fiat-irons
their A, b, G, and told fairy stories to the fire.
You never knew what intimate friend she
might have had behind the door To you il
might appear as II only broom stood there;
but il you carelessly touched that apparent
broom you would perhaps be informed, with
tears, that you had fatally injured beautiful
young lady afflicted with a dreadful spine,
whose doctor had said that she must stand
perfectly still for month hand not be touched
on any account Sophy was full of odd no.
tons like that, which she invented herself, and
which sometimes seemed to get badly mixed
in her mind with the real facts around her.
Aunt Sophronia, her fathers eldest sister,
after whom she was named, was fond OF
her, and therefore could not bear to blame
her; but even Aunt Sophronia was sometimes
severely tried. One day, while visiting at the
house, the old lady asked her what she had
been doing the day before, and Sophy told her
she had ridden up Broadway on a coal-black
horse with diamond in one eye, just as fast
as-as fre-engine going to a fire; and a
band OF music. all on black horses, rode
ahead, and when the horses were tired they
all got off and walked, and they walked and
they walked till they came TO the end, and
there was the sea-serpent eating pine apples.
Mercy on us, child!" cried the astonished
old lady; what win become Of you If you
tell such stories as that?" But Sophy insist
ed it was true and offered to prove 1t; SO they
went into the parlor, which represented
Broadway, and there were the mahogany
chairs with black hair-cloth seats-real horse
hair, as Sophy said, triumphantly: they
were the horses; and away down at the end
was foot stool with a marvellous piece of
worsted work on the top, wrought by Mrs.
Joshua Homebody in her young days-and
that was the sea-serpent eating pine-apples
Aunt Sophronia put on her spectacles, took a
good look at ii, and said: "Well, my dear, if
ii isn't that / don't know what il is for my
part. But you needn't tell your mother say
So" Then, entering little more into the
spirit OF the thing, she added: 81 don't see
your band of music"
"Hol" replied Sophy, as IL she had been
expecting that very objection, "you can't see
musicl OF course not" With that she tossed
her curly head and looked so knowing and so
sure OF her ground that Aunt Sophronia pru-
IDENTIFY retreated and began on another point.
But your horses hayentgo any diamonds
in their eyes"
Miss Homebody was ready for her there.
Show me their eyes" auoth she, briefly; and
when that hopeless task was declined, of
course her next piece Of logic was a crusher.
" IL you can't find their eyes how can you tell
what they haven't got In themT The old
lady feebly suggested that no horse that ever
she saw had diamond in his eye. "Did you
ever look to seer said the unmerciful young
person; II have, lots Of times" And then,
not content with having got a decided vic
tory on that line of argument, she clinched it,
quite unnecessarily, by adding: "And, be-
sides, e,en f-why, your kind Of horse is an
other kind altogether"
/ think that Aunt Sophronia herself was a
little responsible for the odd fancies that
crowded Sophy's head; for she told her
stories and gave her books, and sometimes
helped her along in her imaginary adven-
lures by pretending to be whatever the child
wished. Only Sophy would never say before
hand, as most children would do: Snow, you
pretend to be Mrs. So-and-So, and I'll be an
other lady come to make a call" 1t would
happen, probably, in some such way as this:
Aunt Sophronia would call Sophy three or
four times, without getting an answer; and
at last Sophy would reply grayely: "Mrs.
Cunningham, what are you making such a
noise about? Have you lost your little girl?"
YES; I've lost my little Sophy, and want
her to come and be dressed for walk. Pray,
may / ask your namey' her aunt would say.
"My name is Lady Gray" she would
answer gTayely. am astonished you don't
remember me; / was an old friend Of your
dear fathers, and / think would like to take
a walk with you If you can't find your little
grill"
But / cannot undertake to describe any
more of Sophy's ways and doings. Her moth
er used frequently to get out OF all patience
with her, for really she carried the thing too
far It's all very well to play this and that
but when you get so that you don't know
your own name or the names OF your friends,
and really think the front stairs are Mount
Popocatapet and the kitchen range Is a vol
eano, it Is too much for sensible people TO
bear. If Sophy had had other children TO play
with she would have been cured of this habit;
for she wouldn't have had her own way in the
make-beleve world all the time, and so she
would have come back oftener TO the real one
You can't turn chair into horses IL another
magician insists on making camels Of them
The result is that they have TO take turns at
being one thing and the other, and nobody
can forget that at bottom they are chairs.
Or If Sophy had been sent TO kindergarten
she would have hal opportunity to exercise
her busy fancy in other ways; and she would
have been taught TO observe and study things
until she would have made the great discov-
cry that the real world is more interesting
than any imaginary one that can be invented
to take its place. Her active little fingers
would have had delicate and ingenious work
to do-work that would have seemed like
play, but would have had more real variety,
as well as more use, in IL.
Two things must be said about Sophy that /
think could scarcely be said OF most children
as full OF Imagination as she was: She was
afraid OF nothing; and she never told lies to
escape blame or punishment. II you wanted
TO know who had done some piece OF mis-
chief, and asked her about II, she was quite
likely TO reply In some odd way. Perhaps
II. - axfal