The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1875-05-18
MISCELLANY.
JOHN ALExAEDER'S MOONLIGHT FITTING.
BY j. NJ. L,

ell be goshed if l milk old Brindle
again, or split another stick OF wood, SO
there!" And John Alexander threw tbs
ak down with vim worthy of better
cause.
For some time this young American Of
twelve years, had been getting up new
Declaration Of independence, and had
darkly limited to his patient mother, that
it was his stern determination to become
"Rover on the high SEAS" He had not
climbed into the hay-mow.an read on the
sly-"Life before the mast, ''The three
jolly Sailors and "lhe Red Rover for
nothing. One day, he demanded money
of his father for a journey to Boston,
where he supposed any number of sea
captains might be found "shivcring their
timbers'' and "blastipg their eyes, for
just such willing hands as he meant to be.
His father was surprised, and not q
little vexed at his sons new ambition, but
concluded to pay no attention to it, hop
ing that John Alexander would give up
all idea Of becoming sailo:, and settle
down in time on the old homestead.
Two days had past since John Alexan-
der S request for money, and all had gone
on as usual excepting that Mrs. Baily had
tried her darling s appetite with apple fit
tiers, and found them to fail, for the first
time in her experience, to serve as a
s'balm for every woe.'' At the close of
the third day, our hero chopped the
kindlings very fine made the above dec.
laration, and went TO bed quite early~-his
coniding parents congratulated them
selves, that the boy was all right again,
and blew out the candle at nine o'clock,
firm in the belief that he would start for
school next morning in more contented
frame of mind. 1t was bright moonlight
night. and after all was still below, this
misguided boy crept quietly from his bed,
and gathering up his little stock of cloth.
ing, including his Sunday best, hastily
packed all inside the legs of his second
best butternut trousers, tied the legs to-
gether, and after several Intellectual at
tempts succeeded in securing the big end
This original portmanteau our young
hero tossed from the window, then taking
his shot gun in hand, he carefully climbed
out upon the branches of the sweet apple
tree and silently slid to the ground, Then
inverting the well filled butternut trowsers
upon his gun stock he walked quickly out
of the yard, his heart beating so that he
thought his parents must hear it.
A few miles from Willow B. was
a Lake port, and John Alexander plan
ned to walk there, never doubling. with
the blind confidence Of ignorant boyhood,
that fortune awaited his arrival.
He reached the port, footsore and "aw.
full tired" besides being hungry and sleepy
but all the little runaways he had read
about showed sublime Indifference to
hunger and fatigue.
He tried to ask some Of the sailors who
lounged on the wharf if they knew of any
Captain who wanted cabin boy, but the
men looked so rough and answered not at
all like his ideal sailor, that somehow the
words stuck in his throat It was nine
o'clock before he brought his courage Up
to the asking point, and the man answered
roughly enough, but didn't "shiver his
timbers,'' saying: ''Whose runaway
brat are you? Yes, we want a cook s
boy. Can you wash dishes?'' He ans
wered hesitatingly-he remembered the
only time he ever tried, and how, wher
his mother got we'll, she said, ''you die
the best you could Johnny, DEAR" "John
nv, DEAR remembered, too, that she had &
general clearing up: and washed all tho
dishes over. So he said II thought
I didn't know but you'd want boy t.
tar ropes, and 60 aloft in storm
ssThere's greeny,' said the captain Of
the Water-Witch "we'll take hin