Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1876-10-28
VOICES OF THE NIGHT.


What Mr.. Josktns Hears When He |
Retires to Rest. -
From the Burlington Hawkrye.
MIR. JOskins selected a residence out on
West Hill, because twas such a quiet To-
cality. 1t isa rural Kind of a neighbour
hood. and Mr.. JOskins' neighbOrs keep I
COWS. And every COW wears a bell. And
with an Instinct worthy Of the Peak fam
ily, each neighbor had selected a cow-bell |
of a different key and tone from that OF |
the others, i'm order that he might know |
the cow of his heart from, the other kind
of the district. 5 So that Mr.. yOskins'
nights are filled with music, and he has |
learned so exactly the tones OF every bell
and the habits of each corresponding COW
that the voices of the night are not an
nnintelligible jargon to him. 1t makes
it much easier forum. Joskins, who is
very nervous man, than if he had to list
Ell and conjecture and wonder until he
was fairly wild. AS it is, when the first
sweet moments of his slumber are broken
by solemn, ponderous, resonant
"Ka-lum, Ka-lum, Ka-lumr'
Mr.. Joskins knows that the widow
Barberrv's old crumple horn is going
down the street looking for an open gate
and his knowledge is confirmed by a
doleful 'ska-lum-pu-lum! J" that occurs at
regular intervals, as old crumple pauses
| to try each gate as she passes 1t, for she
knows that appearances are decelt1ui, ana
that a boy can shut q front gate Ill such
a way as to thoroughly deceive his father
and yet have every catch unfastened.
Then when Mr.. JOskins is called up from
his second doze by lively seranade of
ssro-link, to-link, lank. lankle, lankle-
1 ~ IL ,v1s., II. ts,,ly l-it,k LII
| He knows that Mr.. TROOPS young
brindle is i'm Throstlewaite's garden and
that Throstlewaite is sailing around af-
ter her i'm a pair of slippers and a night
shirt. And by sitting up i'm bed Mr.. JOS
kins can hear the things that Mr.. Thros-
tlewaite is throwing, strike against the
| side of the house. thud, spat, bang. and
the character of the noise tells him
! whether the missile was clOd, a piece of
hoard. or a brick. And when the wind
down the streat is fair. it brings with it
faint echoes OF Mr.. Throstlewaite's re-
marks. Then when the final crash and
tinkle announces that the COW has bulged
through the front fence and got away,
. and Mr.. Joskins turns over to try and
! get little sleep, he is not surprised. al
though he is annoyed, to be aroused by
} q sepulchral
sKlank, tkiank, klank!" 3Hr cT0gl
He knows it is ThrOstlewaite's old
: duck-legged, brown cow, going down to
the vacant lot on the corner to fight any
) thing that gives milk. And he waits and
{ listens to the "Klank, klank, klank, un-
til it reaches the corner, and terrible
, din and medley of all the cow bells on
the street tell him that the skirmisheas
: have been driven in and the action has
] became general. And then from that
/. until morning Mr.. JOskins hears the
f s.tinkle, tankle, rankle tankle" of the lit
: tie red COW going down the alley TO pros
e pect among the garbage heaps, and tbs
e .rankle-tankle, rankle-tankle" of the
r short-tailed black-and-white cow Skin
i mishing down the street ahead of an es
!; cort of badly assorted dogs, and tn
y stinkle deciding, tinkle de-ding, ding
!, ding" of the muley COW that goes alOns
5 on the sidewalk. browsing on the lowe
< limbs of the shade trees, and the inces
e SAINT s.mo-ov-oO -ah-ha" of the big, blacl
s cow that has lost the clapper out of he
S hell, and has ever since kept up AN unin
S termittent believing to supply its loss
!. And Mr.. Joskins knows all these cow
d nv their bells, ard he knows what the
q are doing and where they are going
o And although it has murdered hi
If dreams of quiet home, yet it has give
1t him an opportunity to cultivate habits {
=; intelligent observations, and has induce
lie him to register vow that If he Is eve
r rich enough he will keep nine cow
ia trained to sleep all day so as to be read
It, for duty at night. and he will live in tn
E. heart of the city with them, and max
g them wear four bells apiece, just for I'll
s. pleasure of his neighbors.