Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1876-12-02
A GREAT FOOL.


moreover, he looked like his name
or like the image which the sound o
his name, in musical ear, would cal
Iup in the mind. For John should b,
strong, and quite, and true, and grave
and John Holt was all of these. Hi
skin was fair and his eyes blue, but th,
hair which had been tow-colored il
his childhood, had deepened to brown
Ordinary persons would call him good
looking, rather than handsome, bu
a close observer would pronounce hi
profile perfect, and his mouth anG
chin models of firm and Symmetrical
chiseling. The brows were straight
and strong, though smooth; and hit
not very high forehead was broad and
open.
John Hollis characteristics were
a womanish gentleness, q most marvel
lous and absurd honesty, and a pa.
tience which, to them, locked only toe
much like cowardice. In his family
John was called a great fool.
Johns father had died when the lad
was but ten years old, and left his
wife to bring up her family of five
children and manage the farm. She
was perfectly capable of doing it, and
even wary business men were on
their guard when making a bargain
with the sharp Yankee matron. -Four
of her children followed in her foot
steps, and knew perfectly we'll the
best end of a bargain; but John-well,
if he was a fool it was not because
she had not warned and talked to
him.
John did not grow wiser as he
grew older, and took upon himself the
cross of life. Mrs. Holt had a large
and valuable farm Just on the borders
of the town. Streets had crept grad
ually about her fields, and surround
ed them on three sides; on the fourth
woodlands stretched back toward the
east. Why she should give the con-
troll of this place to John, instead of
one of his sharper brothers, was q
puzzle even to her own mind. The
only reason she could give was that
John was steady and quiet, and
more likely to remain at home
than The others we've. But
she confessed to herself TO be in con-
tinual tlibulation with him.
"My DEAR" she said, to crony,
"you know that fifty cords of wood
we had, good beech, birch and maple,
with not more than twenty sticks of
spruce though the whole? Well,
John mentioned thatstoveful of spruce,
and 80 lost five dollars on the bargain.
I never did SEQ such a fool. Then I
wanted to hurry off our potatoes last
Fall for fear of rot. 1 told John
particularly not to own to q speck;
but, if you will believe it, when Thur
low came to buy them, and asked if
we had seen any signs of rot, that
ninny said:' Yes, a little, though I
VOW I don't believe there were six
spots larger than the head of q pin in
the whole lot. I don't know where
the fellow got his shiftlessness. I'm
sure could always make q bargain. :"
John took all this very quietly as we
have said. He knew that though his
mother would say such thing to others,
she would by no means have allowed
any one to soy them to her. But one
thing he could not bear was that
Nellie Cramer should talk in the same
way. Nellie seemed to delight in tor
menting him. She would follow him
into the gardens and fields, hang on
his arm with her curls blown across
his breast, looking up smiling and
chatting into his face, as soft and
sweet as a kitten, then suddenly. if he
Glanced to press those wandering
curls against his breast, or to bend
too near her lovely upturned face, or
to breathe word of tenderness, of
she went with toss of the head and
q curl Of the lip, and as likely as not,
some such speech as: "I do wish
you would not be SO foolish, John
Holtr'
He never got angry with her.
How could he So metimes shadow
would drop over his face, and he
wouldn't have much to say to her for q
time. Then, when she went TO him
with her coaking ways, and laid her
little hand on his arm. whisper
ing:
!" Now, don't be vexed, John; I
like you so much, butt don't want
you 70 talk nonsense" he would look
down and smile, though not very
brightly, and promise to try TO avoid
nonsense for the future, ending his
promise with q sigh.
Dear me! I wish you wouldn't sigh
so, John r The girl would say, pet
tishly.
I" It makes me feel melancholy to
hear you. One would think I had
done something dreadful to you. +"
Then John Holt would smile again,
still less brightly, and promise to try
not to sigh any more.
Such little scenes as this were mere
asides, however. Nellie usually paid
but little attention to John, being
chiefly occupied in dancing, flirting,
and quarreling with his more snowy
brother Frank, or with any other gay
fellow who was 80 unfortunate as to
be taken with her pretty face, for
Nellie Was an incorngible firt. Il
was only when she had no one else TO
talk to, or wanted TO pique some
othsr lover, or when shs wanted some
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