The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-03-21

his sovereignty, with the infantile COM
mand:
"Kish my dolly, too"
I Iobeyed, but closed the interview ab-
ruptly, and wrote the best apology I
could frame to Miss Mayton.
The next day was Sunday. In the
morning those boys invaded my bed to
"fwolic" and "wide horsie backen,"
and I sadly learned how it was that my
brother-in-law had grown SO flat chested.
In the afternoon we tried the stories
again, and Toddie told, with the most
spirited gestures, how
"Dave, let re sling 60 bang bequeen
Bliaff's eyes, IN knocked him down
dead, an Dave took Bliaff's sword an
sworded Biaff's head off, an made it all
buggy, an BEaff r1lnned away"
Then Todde ruined away" and got
himself stung by hornet, and rushed
in, sobbing: -.
"Want to be wocked. Want shing
'Toddie, boy, one day
And I had 20 rock him and sing, line
by line, after Bulge, some absurd little
doggerel about q basket, beginning:
.a '.where is my little 5astik gomez"
- Said Toddie, boy, one day.
When he IVES soothed, those children
beguiled me out to treacherous muddy
'brookside, in search of jacks-in-the-pul-
pit Toddie t,1nbled in, and SO did
Badge, and in pulling them out was
most horribly spattered! Hurrying
home, carriage overlook lis with ladies
in it. Could it be ?-of course it was
Miss Mayton herself
"You seem to have been having a real
good time together" said she, as the
carriage passed. Remember, you are
all going to. call on me tomorrow after
nOOn."
And SO we did, Toddie bearing an ex
piatory bouquet. The children raced off
to watch grasscutter, and sat down
to a delightful chat with Miss Mayton.
Men were Scarce among the summer
boartlers at Hillcrcst, and somehow the
piazza gradually filled with the ladies of
the house. Suddenly shrek arose
from the lawn Toddie had pinched his
fingers Gin the little wheels of the cutter
grass, - and rushed up to me, sobbing
"Sing, 'Toddie, boy, one day.
Nv blood seemed to freeze, but when
Budge explained that "he always wants
that song when he's hurt, all the ladies
urged me, and I wrathfrllly picked Tod
die up and hummed the detested air.
But the little tyrant was not satisfied,
and successively required me to "sit in
Il wockin' chair" to "sing the words"
and to " sing louder, ill at last, before
that audience and her, was obliged to
sing that dreadful doggerel, line for line,
rs Bulge repeated it. Ny teeth were
vt, my brow grew -clammy. At last
l heard some one whisper: ..
"See how he loves him! Poor man
he's in perfect agony over the little fel-
low."
But the agony was prelude to q most
unexpected rapture. An apprehensively
accepted invitation to dinner, where Tod
die tilted his soup over Miss Mayton's
dress, led to twilight tete-a-tete, which
Bulge interrupted by informing the lady:
"Uncle Harry 'spects you, Miss May
ton" -.A .-s.+' 4 - = - - H.
The little rascal had, that very morning,
demanded to know whether I didn't
Glove" Miss Mayton, and accepted With
suspicion my assurance that I " respect
ed" her very highly. Now, before I
could stop him, he continued:
"Only what he calls 'spect, I calls
love-" q... I'D .:.r ..g.'.
There was an awkward pause-some-
thing must be done.
"Miss Mayton," said I, "Budge is a
marplot, but truthful interpreter. r
"When I loves anybody" observed
Bulge, 81 kisses them" ... T.
Miss Mayton gave start. She did
not speak she was not angry. Could
it be that? I acted on Budge's sug-
gestion, once, twice. She raised her
heal and I saw that Alice Mayton had
surrendered at discretion. Then Bulge
and Toddie came in for a share of the
kisses two or three ladies appeared,
and I calmly said:
"Come, boys. Then I'll call with the
carriage at three tomorrow, Miss May
ton. Good evening"
I shall not tell you what / thought Or
did during that interval, except that 7
bought my angelic nephews everything
they wanted, beginning with candy and
ending with goat and goat carriages
Nor shall 1 say a word about my ride
with Miss Mayton, except that it was
suddenly interrupted by runaway goat
and two boo-hooing boys; and that night
Budge prayed: - =
>"Dear Lord, bless Just lots that lovely,
lovely lady that comforted me after the
goat was bad to me-" GS :,
The next day was wet and those chill
dren led me terrible life Their only
real comfort was Jonah, or rather,
the 'whay-al," a picture of which Tod
die tenderly caressed, murmuring:
Dee old whay-al, I loves you. I
tinks twas veal mean in Dionah to get
froed up when you hadn't noffin' else to
eat, poor old whay-al I"
And Toddie amused himself for some
time with big box for whale and a
dead mouse for Jonah, till mishap oc-,
CURED which he mournfully announced
by saying:
=, -1" Djonah bwoke he tay-al p
The next morning, I got a letter from
: AISAO1A3 A2SfociiiSo SliO ~ ucI lIOlu Alice
Mayton, from which I learned that I
might attribute the sudden success of nv
suit to Miss Mayton's " seeing that man
who could be so lovable with thought
less and unreasonable children must be
perfectly adorable to the woman he
loved"
I have not time to tell You how Bulge
revealed to stately Mrs. Mayton the re-
lations subsisting between her "little
girl " and his Uncle Harry" Or how
that awful Toddie disclosed our secret to,
the ladies of Miss Mayton's acquaint-
ance by solemnly declaiming some
"Lines to Alice" he had heard me re-
hearsing in the garden; or how the same
Toddie swallowed "whole bottoo full"
Of paregoric, and was hurried to the