Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-12-31

see the matter III this light, ana, AFTER peing
On the rampage for an hour or two, was
sent off upstairs, loudly declaring that
everybody was real mean TO him, and nobody
loved him, at which Mr.. Cooper said: . Be
sik Mt, sifm and VIII said small boys never
did know what was good for them, and sister
Sue muttered that he was perfectly horrid,'
and Chicken Little stretched out her arms to
him, but, being repulsed, buried her curly
head in her mothers lap. while the mother
looked very sad and whispered only: GOOD
night, my son; some day you VIII know AS
better
So Johnny went to bed, trying hard TO keep
up his wrath; for he knew by experience
that he should get sorry very soon Il he didn't
take pains and guard against 1t. As be I'M
dressed alone he resolved in his head
schemes of vengeance on all mankind. 1t
was too bad, he said TO himself that he had
gone and spent his pocket-money ON presents
for everybody, and now nobody deserved
them. He had great mind to go down
stairs early in. the morning, and find all those
presents, and take them away somewhere and
hide them. IN do it," he muttered, "unless
am sorry when morning comes" So he
got in bed with his stockings on, to save time
ia the morning-because tits such a waste of
time to hunt for your stockings when you
get up!
Pretty soon Chicken Little was brought up
TO Sues room and put in her crib, where she
speedily went TO sleep, with her old one
armed doll clasped TO her bosom, and dreamed
Of a splendid new doll with movable eyes and
hair that could be taken Off like real ladies'
hair, and the habit OF screaming when she
was squeezed.
After that there was heard from the parlor
much laughing and rustic OF wrapping-paper
and shouts of Now, you mustn't look!n and
once somebody said, ash! children have
sharp ears. Johnny III hear you'll" All Of
which Johnny did hear, and wondered SO hard
what 1t could mean that he half forgot his an
ger and was just beginning to be sorry, when
he became sleepy stead, and, with long
sigh, plunged down into the pillows like a
man falling overheard at sea. BY the time
the sigh was fairly over a gentle snore had
taken It's place.
But about an hour after he awoke again.
1t couldn't have been the clock that did it; or,
If go, 1t was the very first stroke; for he GER
tainly counted twelve of them, and was just
going to turn over and fall asleep in despair,
because it wasn't time to get up, when he
distinctly heard something going on down
stairs, though he was sure that everybody
was abed. And this brings me TO my fourth
head, namely, In the Dark.
People know very little about the dark,
owing to habit they have of carrying
light when they go into il. Or If they haven't
light, they stumble against something and
make noise, and that's just as bad; for
whatever goes on In the dark, If you make
either noise or light you stop it. When say
dark, mean real dark; not moonlight or
starlight, or gaslight, or twilight, or skylight.
mean the kind OF dark in which even a cat
can't see--so dark that you would know il IL
you were blind. Now that kind is not dan
gerous in any way. Thieves and mosquitoes
even have togive up business under such cir
cumstauces. Plants and animals and ghosts
all stand still and do nothing until they can
get q CLEAN of second hand light at least
from h.,Fa urfa tap iu tkI.
scene OF life for such things only as get no
other chance-stoyes and carpets and furn-
ture and pictures. They take advantage of
complete darkness to enjoy themselves. You
never would think TO look al the heavy piano
whichit takes two or three people 10 move,
and which never speaks unless 1t is spoken 10,
or pounded till silence ceases TO be virtue,
that on a suitable occasion IL can stand ON
one leg and wave the other three in the air.
That only shows how many things 90 on of
which folks have no idea. But it does not
often happen to be perfectly dark; and so, after
all, this kind OF piano playing is not frequent.
{ Now, on the Christmas Eve OF 1874 it got SO
dark in the parlor that piece OF black char
cal wrapped In black velvet and buried in
the Black sea couldn't have been darker. The
shutters we're closed and the curtains were
down and the fire had gone out and 1t was
so dark that all the inahimate things were
walked by 1t just as you or would be walked
by broad daylight
My next head, Did In the Dark, comprises
what happened in the parlor before Johnny
began to operate. First there was a low hum
ming up and down the scale, like the prepa-
ration of a deacon just about TO start hymn
tune. II was the piano, trying its voice
before beginning TO speak. Presently 1t said,
in it's most pianissimo manner, TO the melody
of Days OF Absence:
Now the shades of night are falling;
Don't yon think we'd better beginf
There was subdued rustling and moving all
over the room, and the chairs all came out Of
their corners and stood in a semi-circle around
the piano. as they had seen other folks do.
A small foot-stool, unable 10 hold up its head
as high as the rest, slipped in among their
legs and got very good place TO see what
was going on. Then came the tables and
the writing desk and the chandeliers--no, /
am mistaken; the chandeliers couldn't come,
because they were fixtures. The sofa whis-
pered somewhat hoarsely: "How can stir,
without spilling all these stockings that are
tackled TO mey-and besides, one Of my casters
is gone"
"Never mind US" whispered the stockings,
eagerly. 1--WE are bound to ne empied any.
how. II we weren't packed 80 tight, how--!'
There were five Of them la row pinned 10
the back OF the sofa instead Of being hung by
the chimney. That was more convenient,
particularly because the articles that were
too big to 20 into anyone's stocking could
he laid in pile on the sofa just In front of it.
On this occasion the stockings tried hard TO
unpack themselves but could not do IL with
out a s.omaeh-pump, and they begged the
old sofa to hitch along TO the piano; but he
answered, grooming, 81 guess you don't
know what it Is 10 have lost CASTER So
the stockings hung there in despair and the
articles la the piles Jumped down on the
floor and ran about as well as they could
considering that they were all rolled up in
brown paper and securely tied, which made
their movements resemble what scotchmen
call a sack-race.
The clock on the mantelpiece had struck
twelve and was so exhausted that II could
make no more noise, except TO hiccup regu-
larly twice a second-but That II did always;
so nobody paid any attention to 1t though 1t
waved its hands around In a slow and feeble
way before It's face like person about 70
faint Two fiower-yases on the same mantel-
piece hit he'd TO tie edge and looked over
and seemed 10 weep because 1t was so higA
that they dared not jump down. But APP
oearances are hollow; in reality they Cid not
weep, they only spilled the water that was In
them by tipping TOO far from the perpendic-
ular There was q sound OF splashing water
on the wall IL came from the picture that
Miss susan with the help OF tile drawing
MASTERY had produced last quarter, and
exhibited al the Art Reception. 1t was a
snann Nth a broad white pafh Of