The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1876-01-27

man put together the house for herself.
1t was little and narrow, and the single
window was quite crooked. The door
was too low, and the matched roof might
have shown better workmanship. But
after all, it was a shelter; and from the
little house you could look far across the
sea, whose waves broke vainly against
the protecting rampant ON which it is
built. The salt pillows spurted their
spray over the whole house, which was
still standing when he who had given
the bricks for its erection had long been
dead and buried.
The second brother new better how to
build a wall, for he had served an ap-
premiership to it. When he had served
his time and passed his examination, he
packed his knapsack and sang the jour-
neyman's song:
While l am young I'll wander, from place to place
rll roam,
And everywhere build houses, until come back
And youth will give me courage, and my true love
won't forget;
Hurrah then 10: workman's life! I'll be mas
ter yet!
And he carried his idea into effect.
When he had come home and become a
master, he built one house after another
in the town. He built a whole street;
and when the street was finished and be-
came an ornament to the place, the
houses built a house for him in return,
that was to be his own. But how can
houses build house? If you ask them
they will not answer you, but people will
understand what is meant by the express
sion, and 'say, "Certainly, it was the
street that built the house for him." 1t
was little, and the floor was covered with
clay; but when he danced with his bride
upon the clay floor, it seemed to become
polished oak; and from every stone in
the wall sprung forth flower, and the
room was gay, as if with costliest paper
hangers work. 1t was a pretty house,
and in it lived happy pair. The Aagof
the guild futtered before the house, and
the journeymen and apprentices shouted
hurrah! Yes, he certainly was some
thingI And at last he died; and that
was something, too.
Now came the architect, the third
brother, who had been at first a carpen-
ter's apprentice, had worn cap, and
served as an errand boy, but had after
ward gone to the academy, and risen to
become an architect, and to be called
"honored sir" Yes, if the houses of
the street had built a house for the
brother who had become bricklayer,
the street now received its name from the
architect, and the handsomest house in
it became his property. That was some
thing, and he was something; and he
had long title before and after his
name. His children were called genteel
children, and when he died his widow
was ga widow of rank" and that is
something and his name always re-
mained at the corner of the street, and
lived on in the mouth of every one as the
streets name-and that was something |!
Now came the genius of the family,
the fourth brother who wanted to invent
something new and original, and an ad-
ditional story on top of it for himself
But the top story tumbled down and he
came tumbling down with it, and broke
his neck. Nevertheless he had a splen-
did funeral with guild flags and music !;
poems in the papers and flowers strewn
on the paving g-stones in the streets; and
three funeral orations were held over
him, each one longer than the last, which
would have reioiced him greatly, for he
always liked it when people talked about
him; and monument also was erected
over his grave. 1t was only one story
high, but still it was something.
Now he was dead, like the other three
brothers, but the last, the one who was a
critic, outlived them all; and that was
quite right, for by this means he got the
last word, and it was of great Importance
to him to have the last word. The people
always said he had a good head of his
own. At last his hour came, and he
! died, and came to the gates of Paradise
There souls always enter two and two
and he came up with another soul that
wanted to get into Paradise too, but who
should this be but old Dame Margaret
from the house upon the sea-wall?
81 suppose this is done for the sake Of
contrast, that / and this wretched sou
should arrive here at exactly the same
time," said the critic. "Pray, who are
you, my good woman ?' he asked. "Dc
you want to get in here, too%
And the old woman courtesied as wei
as she could; she thought it must be st
Peter himself talking to her.
"I am a posr old woman of a very
humble family" she replied. "Pm ole
Margaret that lived in the house on tht
sea-wall!"
"Well, and what have you done? wha
have you accomplished down there?'
81 have really accomplished nothing
at all in the world; nothing that car
plead to have the doors here opened t.
me. 1t would be real mercy to ALLOW
me to slip in through the gate"
"In what manner did you leave tn,
world ?' asked he, just for the sake o
saying something; for it was wearisom,
work standing there and saying nothing
"Why, l really don't know how left
was sick and miserable during my las
year, and could not well bear creepin!
out of bed, and going out suddenly int
the frost and cold. 1t was a hard winter
but have got out of it all now. For
few days the weather was quite calm, bu
very cold, as your honor must very wei
know. The sea was covered with ice a
far as one could look. All the peopl
from the town walked out upon the ice
and 1 think they said there was dane
there, and skating. There was beautiful
music and great feast there, too; til
sound came into my poor little roor
where 1 lay i'll. And it was toward tn
evening; the moon had risen beautiful!
but it was not yet in its full splendor;
looked from my bed out over the wild
sea, and far off, just where the sea an
sky join, a strange, white cloud came u
l lay looking at the cloud, and | saw
little black spot in the middle of it, thi
grew larger and larger; and then l kne
what it meant, for am old and exper
enced, though the token is not ofte
seen. l knew it, and a shuddering can
t upon me. Twice in my life have 1 see
, the same thing; and l knew there woul
be an awful tempest and a spring foo
e which would overwhelm the poor peop
: who were now drinking, dancing and I
a joicing-young and old, the whole eli
: had issued forth; who was to warn ther