Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-10-05

/ within nearing.
Bob's face flushed scarlet, and he laid
down the hammer, leaving the nail haii
driven. He turned the toy wagon he had
been working on over and over, win
wistfuI look which told OF pitiful heart
ache. Ii was pretty toy wagon In ms
eyes and he made every bit Of II himself,
and If he could only drive six nails more
! II would be finished But there must be
no racket, so he laid 1t away carefully,
and going into one corner OF the yard
stretched himself under tree, and KICK
| ing the turf with his heel pondered over
his many troubles. His mother had said
! there was no peace for anybody ii he was
| within hearing: but certainly there was
| no peace for him anywhere about home.
He had slipped into the parlor after
dinner, and was having good chat with
Mrs. Somers, and she was telling him OF
three wonderful black and white spotted
puppies at her house, when Sister Jennie
came In and asked him what he was inn
posing on Mrs. Somers for. He wasn't
| imposing. Mrs Somcrs said so. Guess he
could talk as well as Jennie, if she was
eighteen two months ago. But Jennie
made him leave the room without learn
| ing how the littlest and prettiest spotted
puppy got out of the cistern when he fell
| In. Maybe he didn't get out. Bob kicked
harder and wished he knew. After his
election from the parlor Bob started to the
garnet to console himself by rock
! ing in the old.fashioned red cradle
! Grandmother Noyes rocked papa and
Uncle John in, but Nell and the
bows would not let him in; they were
getting up surprise tableaux and didn't
want any little pitchers around" He
sought his fathers study to look at an IL
| Illustrated edition Of natural history. But
papa objected; he couldn't have Bob in
| there making q disturbance" Almost
heart broken he turned to his mothers
room. $50 right away, you will wake
the baby" met him at the threshold. He
! looked into the kitchen and begged TO
help make pies, but Bridget told him to
| clear out. He next went to the wood
house and sought to assuage his sorrows
| by working on his wagon, and now he
was forbidden that.
He could not understand why he was
| driven from everything; he had not been
| a bad boy and lost his temper. II was be-
yond his six.year-old philosophy. His
poor little brain puzzled over what older
/ children called certain inalienable
rights without finding solution OF his
| troubles or coming to conclusion. Had
| he been strongminded he might have
called convention and declared that in
the present order of things little boys have
no rights which big folks are bound to
I respect, and drafted petitions for change I;
| but he was sensitive and submissive and
let people snub him and trample on his
| toes without rsmonstranee.
| The tea-bell reused him from his cup
| of bitter, puzzled thoughts.
Bob, come 10 supper"
| He wouldn't have TO wait, that was
some consolation.
At the table Mrs. Noyes was telling
| Mrs. Somers about troup Of performing
| monkeys "One Of the monkeys with a
striped tail, played on the violin, and"
Mamma, it was ring.tailed," inter
rupted Bob, eager to have the account
exact
Bob, how many times have | told you
not TO interruptr'
Bob subsidized, but he knew it was ring
tailed, for he had counted the rings and
had watched it half an hour while his
mother gossiped with Mrs. Layton.
"All the monkeys turned somersaults
when the keeper played Captain Jinks,"
continued Mrs. Noyes.
" Mamma, il wasn't Captain links, it
was oh, ware is myne little tog.'"
bob, If you talk any more at the table
I'll send you to bed
Bob was correct, and he knew it; he
could whistle like mocking-bird, while
Mrs. Noyes did not know one tune from
another. The two reproofs in the pres
ence of Mrs. Somers was too much for his
sensitive, bashful temperament, and NOR
tilted him beyond self-control. His little
fingers trembled and dropped glass of
water, splitting its content upon the cloth
Bob, where's your mannersy Leave
the table instantly" commanded his
father.
The children all laughed, and Jennie
called Bob an gill hammered little bOor, -
and the mortified little fellow crept sadly
into bed and sobbed until he fell asleep.
This boys experience was fair sam
pie Of Bob's whole boyhood. He must
not sing, whistle, shout, ask questions or
pound, yet he must keep himself handy to
run on errands and pick up chips. He
must not talk to company, for little boys
are TO be seen and not heard-he must not
have any company of his own, because he
did not know how 10 behave properly
The idea that Bob had any feelings or
rights was not tolerated. The family did
not intend TO act 0unjustly; they loved
Bob, but they were selfish and did not
| want to be disturbed, and Bob was noisy,
and such an inveterate talker and ques-
toner if given liberty. He was clothed
and Ted, and sent to school and TO church
and Sunday school surely that was all duty
| required.
Bob made discovery after while. He
could pound and saw ana bang as much
as he pleased in Tom Smiths carpenter
shop. Smiths wild, halfdisslpated APP
prentice made discovery, too-that
bashful Bob Noyes had wonderful facul-
ty for saying witty things, and for whist
| ling and singing when he became &C
| quainted-and they coaxed him off more
| than once to enliyen the evenings at the
" Excelsior and Star" saloons.
They were blind as moles at home until
a reckless, almost criminal, deed, com
mitted during the tumultuous period be.
tween boyhood and manhood, showed
them that Bob's young life was being
stepped in degradation and sin. They
wept bitterly, but not in sackcloth and
ashes Wrapt In self.righteousness they
shifted the responsibility from their own
shoulders, and as he went from bad to
worse washed their hands of that unavoid
able family afflictinna hlaak eh.a,