The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-08-02

He still kept head In arithmetic, and
wrote such a good composition that day
that his teacher sent him to me with it
for commentator. praised it the
more because his voice squeaked I'M
/ bearably.
"How is your mother ?" ! asked.
"She's in bed nearly all the time. /
don't see her much now, she's too sick, I"
he answered.
"The most unpleasant and ugliest
child have ever SEEM" said my sister
before he had well left the room. My
feelings were hurt again. I went to see
his mother that day and found her quite
ill. She told me the sad story Of his
new deformities and asked me to take
care of him if she should never get well.
"There is no doubt about it," she
said, "my poor child is very rapidly
turning into pig, and l cannot tell
whether he is assuming this shape be-
cause he is selfish and yields to his pig
gishness, or whether, since he has in
reality become half pig, he cannot
help behaving like cne."
We mingled our tears together, and /
promised to do all in my power to i'm
prove and protect him if this great mis-
fortune should cause her death. She
then sent servant for Tommy as it was
bedtime, but he refused to come to his
mother and bit and kicked the maid. So
1 went myself to see if could influence
him. l took him firmly by the hand
and said to him, kindly:
"YOur mother says you should be in
bed by this time, Tommy. Don't keep
me waiting, my dear"
He obeyed me very slowly and sulkily.
1t made me sad to See him creeping mp
stairs on his hands and knees, and as he
fell down two little steps that led to his
room l followed him to see if he had
hurt himself.
"Tommy, You haven't kissed your
mother goodnight, said to him as he
rubbed up his bristly hair, having hit
his head when he fell into the room.
No, don't do that ever now," he
said.
land why not, should like to know9
She is quite i'll and wants to see YOU"
Il am pig and nobody cares" he
answered.
"How long have you been a pig?"
asked.
Its been coming outside for more
than year. 1 think it began when 1
didn't want to give things to Jean and
Will one Christmas. Now, don't want
to give anything-not to anybody-and
l don't care if l am pig; only people
look at me, and the boys call me
Cristles, and squeak when they see me
coming"
1t was mournful to hear his voice
squeak when he was excited, and his
hair seemed to stand up in a ridge on
his head.
81 wish everybody was pigs" he
grunted.
Would you like me to treat you like
a pig?"
"What would you do to me if you
did, then %
I'D put you out in sty, tonight,
and have the plates scraped for you
after breakfast tomorrow" answered.
Tommy kicked and squeaked at my
suggestion.
"You are not real pig if you do not
like sites aud cold scraps"
"I'll bite you," he remarked.
"Perhaps you are a pig, then" said l.
"I'll bite you and mother and the
boys, tomorrow; and I'll root all their
apples out of their lunch baskets and
gobble them up. I've been wanting to
do it for ever 80 long, and now 1 am
going to. And I'm going to mash all
the arithmetics and grammars into the
dirt and tear them with my teeth"
"Youn be new variety of pig,
t2en," said I. CT never heard of pig
that had taste for walking on arith-
metics and grammars.
YOU'D just better get out of my
room," he called from under chair.
So left his room, wondering whether
I had hurt his feelings, because If 1 had
he was not all pig-poor little boy
Tommy" said as 1 closed the door
of his room, 81 want you to stop to-mor-
row as you go to school and tell me
whether you kissed your mother good
night, for if you are really pig must
know it, Tommy"
81 won't kiss her or you ever again,
you horrid old thing" he answered.
Mary was not at all astonished when /
told her the story of Tommy's increasing
piggishness. She said it was the sins of
the father upon the children; and, al
though she had never heard of child
who was outwardly changed into a pig,
she had no doubt it was wise and good
provision-perhaps the only way to star
tie parents into the knowledge of the
fact that many children were growing up
in our midst little better than brutes.
Ma-ysis stoical about the misfortunes
of others. 1 made up my mind not tc
confide in her any more about the poor
child. When / met him in the street
the next day he wore an overcoat down
to his heels, which covered him up en-
tirely; but the yellow bristles on hif
face were quite evident, and when
sent kind message to his mother he
only grunted in reply.
decided to go and see his mother, to
advise her not to allow him to go Il
school any more, for everybody turned
and looked at him, and many made of
fensive remarks. In few days I heart
that he was ill with the measles ant
would probably die. 1 went to him i'm
mediately. as his mother was still con
fined to her room. He was in bed
alone in his room, dreary object t,
look upon.