Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-09-02

expect she saw that was all porcupine,
and that il did not matter at what point or
however tender the touch, the quilts in
stantly stood out in full battle array if the
touch was only given.
Honore asked me for the strip. took
| the pitcher and poured her plate full, so
| that her steak and potato were immersed
as well as the bit OF muffin she wished
| sweetened.
Had my father been home would have
been collared and marched into his study
and locked in until after prayers, and
then receive good switching; but he was
gone, and my mothers and elder brothers
look, with her quiet /" 'Grippa. you may
leave the table now and sit in the corner
| till we are through eating. am ashamed
of YOU" reused me still more.
wish my father had been at home. and
| had whipped me until l could not have
stood up for the pain the whipping would
| have crushed the rebellion in my heart,
and week would have cured the bruises
of the rod, and never would have written
such an ending to my story. / should
have had no story to write at all.
As il was, took my seat in the corner
and contented myself by making faces at
| Honore whenever | could catch her eve
at any time, and soon made her hide her
face with her hands in the vain endeayor
| to hide her tears.
remember thinking there wasn't boy
in Illinois that had half so pretty and
sweet sister as Laz and had and this
thought so sweetened my temper that !
| concluded to sit quiet until after prayers
Would to heaven that / had sat quiet
| until the sun had set. | wonder why my
| mother did not tie me fast in the chair un-
| til school time. / would not have made
| the least resistance had she undertaken it
single-handed; at least | think | would
not, but don't know what circumstances
would have inclined me to have done that
| day.
My brother read the chapter. We al
ways read the Bible at prayers by course;
| no matter what came, we read 1t, and this
| morning Lac. read the fourth chapter of
| Genesis. | did not hear any Of it until he
| read the verse where the Lord asked
| Cain, "Where is Abel, thy brothers and
he said, l know not; am | my brether's
keeper"
| heard no more until this And now
thou art cursed from the earth, which hath
opened her mouth to receive thy brothers
| blood from thy hand"
| listened no more. / had heard the
story from my birth; / knew it all. |
went to laying plans for the day and made
up my mind to borrow my mothers
knife and take it to school; the boys
would all envy me, and would lend il to
no one but little Alice De Obert, who was
almost as pretty as Honore. did not
hear a word of my mothers prayer. |
was away at school in Imagination, with
the knife, and Alice and all the envious
boys came back home as we rose from
our knees and my mother called me to sit
by her. How sweetly she talked TO me
and told me of the danger Of given way 10
such an iil.temper; how she begged me to
quell such feelings and to never plague
my sister.
"Do you never think about the sin of so
doing and how bitterly you would lament
it all if she should be taken awayT'
"Yes, maam" | assented.
Then, my son, / beg of you not to tease
her any more; be kind and gentle and
good, iike the dear boy you can be and
not half try Go now and do the hoeing
your father left for you to do each morn
ing, and remember, you make your moth
cr's heart ache when her boy forgets to
be himself
The evil spirit was put to rout but not
quenched. / felt it was there still, but /
thank God | can gay truthfully fought
against it stoutly for a time.
School-time came and we set off to.
gether, Lac Honore and /.
/ had not borrowed mothers knife il
seemed hard work to ask favor SO soon
after having been SO wantonly rude TO her,
and before her.
Passing over Beech nut run, conceived
the desire to cut some of the long slender
branches of maple which grew beside the
little stream, and asked Honore for the
loan of her knife. | knew il was too
slight thing to cut such whips with, but
| promised myself ito be careful" and
took il from the little, loving, gener-
Gus creature-who never could refuse
either Brother Laz. or myself anything we
asked-not without twinge of conscience.
In minute, with Honore and my
brother standing by TO watch my motions,
j had cut beautiful green twig from a
young maple, and also-had broken the
slender blade square off close to the ivory
handle.
With an ejaculative "oh'' / stood look
ing at the ruin had made of almost the
dearest treasure Honore possessed; the
hot blood rushed TO my cheeks and could
not gain courage to look up at them.
"Never mind Little Buddic, you did
not mean to; give me the handle, please. y
This was said with gasp; the dear lit
tie heart was trying so hard to keep the
sob down which almost choked her, and
as turned TO give her the handle saw
great round drop roll down each cheek,
and heard her catch at her breath and
swallow with the effort she was making
to hide her distress from the cause of 1t.
It's too bad but III buy you another,
sister; don't cry"
made out to say this, and | am glad
did but | wonder now how | came to
run on and leave them TO walk alone the
rest of the way; if had waited with them
they would soon have noticed that ] had
forgotten TO take up again the basket of
dinner which had set down by the tree
while cut the whip, and then would
not have been obliged 10 walk all the way
back to the run after IL, causing me to be
late, and cross again; and to forget all
about how had grieyed my little sister
by breaking her knife 10 be sure the act
| was not forgotten, but / remembered it
only as q misfortune of my own, as il !
| had been the only one who had suffered