The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1875-09-02

1
single-handed; at least l think woult
not, but don't know what circumstance.
would have inclined me to have done tina
day.
My brother read the chapter. We al
ways read the Bible at prayers by course
no matter what came, we read it, and thi:
morning Lac. read the fourth chapter o.
Genesis. did not hear any of it until ht
read the verse where the Lord asked
Cain, "Where is Abel, thy brother? and
he said, l know not; am l my brothers
kceper?"
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. I 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 it to
no one but little Alice De Obcrt, who was
almost us pretty as Honorc. I did not
hear Il word OF my mothers prayer. l
was away at school in Imagination, with
the knife, and Alice and all the cnvious
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 to
such an ill-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 away?"
EYES, ma'amn' 1 asscnted.
"Then, my son, beg of you not to tease
her any more; be kind and gentle and
good, like the dear boy you can be and
not half try. Go now and do the hocing
your father left for you to do each morn
ing, and remember, you make your moth
cr's heart ache when her boy forgcts to
be himsclf.'
The evil spirit was put to rout but not
Qucnched. l felt it was there still, but ]
thank God l can say truthfully fought
against it stoutly for time.
| SchOOl-time came and we set off to-
gcthcr, Lac , Honorc and l.
| had not borrowed mothers knife: it
seemed hard work to ask a favor so soon
after having been so wantonly rude to her,
and before her.
Passingov 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. l knew it was too
slight thing to cut such whips with, but
| promised myself "to be CAREFUL and
took it from the little, loving, gener-
Gus crcaturc-whO never could refuse
either Brother Lac. or myself anything We
askcd-not without a twinge of conscience
In minute, with HOnore and my
brother standing by to watch my motions
| 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 Honorc possessed; the
hot blood rushed to my checks and could
not gain courage to look up at them.
Never mind! Little Buddie, you did
not mean to; give me the handle, please"
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 a
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 it.
It's too bad! but III buy you another,
sister; don't cry"
1made out to say this, and am glad l
did; but | wonder now how l 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 l had
forgotten to take up again the basket OF
dinner which had set down by the tree
while cut the whip, and then l would
not have been obliged to walk all the way
back to the run after it, causing me to be
late, and cross again. and to forget all
about how had gricvcd my little sister
by breaking her knife; to be sure the act
was not forgotten, but | remembered it
only as a misfortune of my own, as if l
had been the only one who had suffered,
or the one who had suffered most.
The truth was was cross with myself
and thought | was cross with everybody
else. l missed in spelling that day, and
he given to the one who should not fail in
the latter during the term; until that day
I had been well prepared each time I
grew crosscr every minute. made faces
across the room at Honore again, think
ing all the time of what my mother had
SAID to me in regard to plaguing my sister
The teacher caught me in the act and
kept me in at recess.
Arriving at home we found very dear
| uncle and aunt from a town some twenty
miles away had come on visit, bring
ing with them our three cousins: Alice,
a girl of LaZ.' age, a model of quietncss,
the same as he; Eugcnia, a perfect TOM
boy, OF my own age, and Wallace, a boy
nearly year older than HonOrc.
We four younger ones Immediately
commenced our games in the back yard,
and shouted and laughed until we were
hoarse; we played everything we could
think of, and concluded to wind up with
Hide-and- go scck.'
Every available hiding-placc had been
made use Of but two; one was an old well,
long unused, and partly filled up and dry,
as we supposed; the other, an old water
.ing-trough, large enough, | thought at
first, to permit us all to crawl under, but
on trial found it barely roomy enough
/ for two.
Honore was timid child, and as it was
growing dusky she was afraid to hide
anywhere alone; this angered me, for /,
boy-fashion, preferred my cousin Eu-
genia's company to HonOrc's that even
ing. Eugenia was not afraid, and pro-
fessed herself willing to hide either place,
alone Or with Honore.
zone - three four!'' counted
Wallace; 81 I'm coming soon. Why don't
you hide:"
I was impatient.
"Well, come along, baby!' said. 81
can't put myself in the old well, but 1 Can
put you girls in and then run and
crawl under the trough, l s'pose. Come
quick!'
Eugenia and l caught Honorc's hands
and rushed away with her to the we'll.
The old windlass was still there, and a
rope with which I had coaxcd Lag. to let
me down into the well only few weeks
before; there was moose to put one foot
in, and slipping Honore's foot into this
and telling her to hang tight to the rope
l had her suspended over the we'll in just
such short time as it takes children to
make up their minds to do and to act, es.
pecially in the excitement of game OF
Hidt and go-seek," when they are all on
the gu viue of anticipated surprise by the
enemy, upon the very moment of success.
ful ambush.
Honore was frightened, and begged me
to put Eugcnia down first and Eupenia