Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-04-05
The Wee, Wee Bairnie.
KclsO Courier.
I v Stnn UnptIy


stepped hastily back | feared |
had been treading on some of the old
man S bowers
He leant on his spade and made no
motion for some minutes. At length he
raised his head and in hasty voice be-
gan
'Ah, sir, | mind the time as weel as
'twere yesterday, and it's forty years
since, when our wee bairnie died. 1t
was his fourth birthday, and he stopped
up tae wait till | cam hame wi bit
present for him. | sat doom be the fire
tac wait for my supper (my wife was
ben the hoose bakinJ when l heard the
PATTERN O his little feet, an | looked
up an held oot my Arms for him. He
didna come rinnin tae them sac quick
as usual, an when | had him on my
knees, says !, An fall ye be, ye wee
BIT n;ckum?'"
I'm fayther's wee, wee bairnie'
''An' wi that he nestled closer to me.
He didna seem CHEEKY. sac | called the
doggie tae him, an the doggie cam lazy
like frae his corner, stretchin his legs.
The bairnie put doom his little han an
strokit the dogs head. But he didna
get UP and play wit, and seemed tired
like.
Janet, said ! ben the house, what
ails the bairnie?'
"'Ails him. says She Ava wi ye;
nacthing ails him.
But he's tired like.
Hootr says she, nae wunner, sittin
/ up till this time O night.
All! but it's nae that; it's mair than
tired he is. Janet, he's nae weel
Janet took up the child in her
arms.
Aweel, said she, an he's nae weel.
I'll put him tae bed when | hae done
wi the bakin';' an wi that she set him
doom i the floor. Forty years is it syne;
but | can see the laddie standing there
yet, wi his head hangin over his clean
frock, an his wee bit leggies bare to the
knees.
Pit him tae bed the moo, Janet.
Dmna min the cakes
She took him up again in her Arms,
and as she did sac, his wee facie becam'
as pale as death, an his little body
shook a over. | never waited meenit,
l.
doctor as hard as | could rim, twa miles
acrass the fields, wi my heart beatin
hard at every step The doctor wasna
in. WI sair heart | turned back. |
stopped runnin' when | got till our gate,
an walked quietly in. Thae doctor $
nae in. Waur luck, said |, as crossed
the door Nae word. | turned roun'
intac the kitchen, an there was sicht a
sight as | niver can forget In corner
was my wife lyin on the groun and be-
side her the wee bit bairn-nae sound
frae either o them. l touchit my wife
i the shoulder, an she lookit up, and
then rose up wi'out a word, an stood
beside me. lookin' at the form of the
little laddie. Suddenly he gied start
and held out his arms tae me
Am | no yer ain wee, wee bairnie
fayther?'
"'Ay, ay, said |, for | could hardly
ly speak, an | knelt doom beside him an
took his little hand My wife knclt
doom on the other side and took his 9th
er hand
eyer wee, wee bairnie, he muttered
as if to himsel-for he had gied himsel
/ lIlc name tnell lie ldlu HIS Iledu
back, and we could see he was gone
The doggie cam and lookit IN his face
and lickit his hand, and then wi low
whine he went an lay down at his feet
! Nivcr tear did we weep; but we sat
bath O us lookin' intae the sweet wee
facic till the morning broke in on us
The neebors cam i the morning, and |
rose up an spoke to them; but my wife
she niver stirred, nor gied sound, till
ane O them spoke O when he wud be
carried tae the auld kirkyaird
$" Kirkyaird! said she, 'kirkyaird nc
kirkyaird for me. My bairnie shall
sleep whaur he played-in oor garden
Nae step farer.
But it'll never be allowed
Allowed! cried she, the bairnie
shanna stir past the end O the gar
den
AN she had her way Naebody in
terfered; and there he lies just whaul
We waur gaun to pit yer foot, and there
he'll lie till the resurrection morning
And ilka evenin' my wife comes an sits
here wi her knittin an we never tire o
speakin of him that lies beneath.
And the old man bent down and pass
ed his hand over the loose mold as if he
were smoothing the pillow of his wee
wee bairne'