Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1874-12-23
That Emerson Boy.
Detroit Free Pres. ]

That Emerson boy is dead, and there isn't
shy one around that house to make fun. He
vas cheerful. lively boy, and he did his
5cst to make that household put on the
mantle of joyfulness. Emerson often re.
marked that Bob didn't seem ever 10 sit
Gown and think ofthe grave and death, and
ne probably never did.
No, Bob wasn't of that make lie want
vi 10 have fun. Both his ears were nearly
worn up by being cufIed so much, and it
took a whole row Of currant bushes to fur
nish whips to dust his jacket for the sum
uer
Emerson didn't know what fun was until
Bob was eight years old Then the boy be-
ran to launch out. Ho would bore gimlet
loles in tho bottom Of the wster-pail, put
aa-tridges in the coal stove, unscrew the
toor-knobs, fill the kerosene lamp with wa
;er, and good threshing didn't burden his
mind over five minutes. Sometimes his IA
her would take him BY the hair and yank
hin up to the sofa, and sit him down and
ask:
SRobert Parathon Emerson, what lin
alsges sils yeY
s'Its the yaller jaunders, guess" Bob
wcsld meekly reply. .,
Robert, don't you want to he an angel :'
he old man would continue.
"Aud have Wings
Yes, my son. "
HAud fy higher a kit? -
YVES. 49,
tcAnd Fight hawks
Yes, I guess so. -
Hl3et your beef would -whoop Bully
~ the aueelsi'
sThats sacrilege, that isl' the old man
won,d remark, and he would jerk Bobs hair
sone more and declare that the young ras>
al was bound for the gallows. After lying
rudcr the pear-tree for six minutes Bob
would recover from.his sadness and go over
% the barn, and run the pitchfork through
The straw cutter, harness up the COW, and
tick pins into the family horse.
One night he brought home wolf trap
md set it in the middle Of the wood-shed
IGOR to catch rat. He chuckled good
deal that evening at the thought OF what
would happen to the rats, and he fell asleep
sad dreamed that be was hand organ, ana
nat come one stole the crank Of him so that
he couldn't be played on. Just before go
ing to bed old Emerson went out after
scsttle of coal, and he stepped his bootless
DOT into the trap. He made mighty ispring
and uttered mighty yell, aud it took two
men ten minutes to spring the trap OIL his
aeg
sits that boy work = he groaned, as he
aursed his foot, and he took up the boot
.aok, limped into the bedroom, and gave
Bob an awful clip just as the child was
l7eaming Of playing baseball with mer-
Insid.
IN pound ye TO death If ye don't stop
his foolingr' cried the old man, but he
hadn't been out of the bedroom ten minutes
before Bob was planning to stop up the
chimney next day and smoke everybody out
Of the house. 1t wasn't many days before
ae Axed q darning needle in the cushion OF
his fathers armchair and bounced the old
man three feet high; and his licking hadn't
got over smartiDg before he exploded fire.
-racker in his mothers snuH-box. That
night the old man said to him ms lie took
rim by the ear
Robert Parathon Emerson, do you think
&c; where you will 60 to-
YVES, sir " he answered, "1'll 60 to bed
r1yty soon.
Then he got another mauing, and went
70, bed to dream that he was three-tined
pitchfork, and that a msn was using him
20 load hay with.
Poor boy! Even three days before be
lied, and while on his dying bed, he man
aged TO slip an eight ounce tack into hi-
4sthers left boot and get up another cir
t"va