The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-08-21

won spoil from those hooks in the eve
lasting hills upon which the suns ra,
still lipger when they have long sint
left the valleys.
Brother Tom.
He is nuisance. If he is not stanC
ing on his head he's always stonin
cats. And if he is not stoning cats he
sure to be swapping off rubber blut
beers or sliding head first down til
banisters. We all despise him, W
girls. We are just growing up, so tina
we have our dresses made with train
for him to step ou) and wear our hal
in long, rough curls for him to pull
We have lots of beaus, and could hav
some fun if ma would only put Tom T.
red early, but he is always squirting
through the door crack or trying on tn
or saying horrid things cut loud in tn,
hallway. The other night when Gu
Lord called--and I know he meant t,
say something particular to one of IL
that evening-Tom stood at the top o
the stairs when he came in, and shouted
"Ob, my eye! look at his legs p ant
when looked up the stairs and made &
face at him the little villain said louder
| than ever "Don't SIT on 'em, sis
they'll break !" Now folks may laugh al
such things if they want to, but fail to
see the wit, and if Tom had been my
son I should have punished him Sc.
verely.
Ma only laughed at him and said be
ought to be ashamed of himself. Pa
said he'd cane him next time, but good
ness what do pas threats amount to
Once Tom became so perfectly awful
that he was sent to boarding school,
and then there was little peace in the
house. But it didn't last long. What
can you expect where there is only one
boy and five girls OF course Tom is
the pet, and ma monrned for him SO
that he had to be sent for to come
home.
The other day Sue Thorne (she lives
next door and dresses elegantly and
were having a nice talk together in my
room. She was telling me all about
splendid plan she had to correspond
with the magnificent tenor singer OF our
choir, when out popped Toms head
from under the musquito bars, and
saidhe: " I'll tell"
"Tom Flanders" said I, "you good
little wretch, how dare You
listen to all we say?"
I'll tell, just as sure as guns, said
he, d" if you don't buy me off," And do
you believe, the young imp keeps Sue
and I short of every bit of our pin
money ever since to keep him from
telling.
OF course, Sues father would just
about kill her if he knew of her flirting.
I declare shall die just from the worry
Of the thing. Every time he says Say"
in that rough, quick way of his, almost
faint
We have an old aunt who has lived
with Us ever since we children were
babies She is nice, of course, and when
We had the scarlet fever she nursed us
md saved our lives. We always felt
grateful. and ma gives her lots of her
second hand clothes, some of them real
elegant, too. But, of course, we do not |
care to have her down in the parlor when
Dur stylish friends call, and we think
she is too old to enjoy parties and SUI
things. But Tom is forever anu ever
he onIv thing that makes ma real mad,
ont she can't stop him. When the new
,urate,s wife, dressed perfectly sub
bIimely, was here the other day, Tom |
said to her: Don't you want to see
Aunt JaneY" Ma pulled him to make
RIM keep still, but he went right on.
You bet she is a brick She's mas
'wn sister, but she amt a bit stuck up.
,he wears a calico dress and helps
ook." I just thought we'd die!
Ma said something about Toms lively
disposition, and after the company was
,one she tried to spank Tom, but he
Vould not lie still Tom is always buy
ny dogs of beggar boys-trading off
lis nice clothes or some of his play
Kings for wretched little curs that
righten us all to pieces. Once he came
n with sick one, snd after it had got
7arm by the fire it commenced to tear
round, SO that we all jumped on the
able and screamed, and pa shot it
trough the door. And although he
'as told never to bring another dog
ONE, in he came soon after with half
tarved creature big as an OK, and was
lone in the room, ami Tom went out !
nd left the dog, and it stood and looked
{ me. so that almost died with terror.
did not dare move or speak, and that
retched Tom never came back at all,
D that 1 should have been sitting here
ii this time stone dead if somebody
ad not come in and taken away the
rute.
People think that l am quite genius,
nd sister Bell paints lovely pictures.
ur names have appeared two or three
mes in the papers already. Mine as
le author of a poem "To a Canary
ird's Eyes," and Bells as the winner
the prize in her school for painting.
ut Tom don't care We might be wild
ottentots for all the respect he ever
lows us. 1 try to make him call me
-argaret or sister, and have offered to
ach him rhetoric so that he may get
be writer and make his mark in the
orld, but he never will call me any
ing but Peggy or Sis, and when I try
teach him his lesson throws putty
ais at me through blow pipe and
lis me to go to thunder with my book.
f course he'll never be anything but a .
sgrace to MS; like as not he'll be
DOR man and work on farm he says :
. shall, or a sailor. Ma says, terrible
! the blow would be, she would rather
i've him die. Last year we took him !
Saratoga with us. But if L should ,
rite million books I never could tel :
DIV we suffered. He was always get ,
az lost. or eating strange vegetables
at grow in the woods, or falling head
-st down the stairs, or being hauled
1t from under the feet of horses, or !
,hting with other boys, until ma said !
le was SO worn out it would take years
restore her. OF course we could not |
Ike care of him-we had no time-and {
, was too big to mind nurse, and so he
as an awful drawback to our comfort. 1
mis- year, ma says, he shall not go with !
/, but what shall we do with him :
b, won't somebody think of a place to !
IL boys between the age of two and !.
enty Some place where they canno. l
ther their mothers and big sisters, !,
It can be kept quiet and out of the !,
"? If anybody can, it will be better
an a legacy of gold to Tom 8 worn out
other and sisters.