The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-10-22
For the Indianapolis Sunday Sentinel:
BROWNBOY.
BY MAURICE THoMPsoN.


Saw him first and ran to meet him, as he hob
bled up the straight, graveled path, from the
{Cate to the veranda. He always brought
something like sunshine with him, poor Uncle
Glenn
The morning-glories, and balsam flowers,
and pinks, and roses, and humming birds, and
butterflies were not more welcome to us than
the lame old bachelor, Uncle Glenn.
We were three romping, careless girls,
between u and II, neither children nor wo-
men; spending the hot season at the birth
place of our mother, the old Glenn mansion.
We were in the great front hall. The breeze
from the bay poured through the ample win
dows with keen, salt stimulus in every
pulse.
When flung down my needlework and
darted to the stairway, my sisters followed
noisily.
"It's Uncle Cleml Uncle Clemr' they
cried, eehoing my first exclamation.
We clattered and rustled and iostled down
the broad stairs; we struggled for precedence
at the door; we ran race down the walk, l
ahead, my sisters following hard.
Uncle Glenn balanced himself on his poor
lame feet, such govt he had, and spreading
out his arms took ell to his kind heart in
the order of our coming.
..Winner by three lengthsl' he CALCULATED
fairly lifting me from the ground
As the others came up he clasped them in
the same hearty way, saying:
you're swift-footed, but you broke, you
Most ground by not keeping down to honest
/ trotting. All well see how's Nannie?"
Mamie was our mother, who now came
4 down from the house in her sweet dignifed
way to greet her brother.
We took Uncle Glenn by the arms and
around the body, almost carrying him into
the library. One of us fetched an easy chair,
another the footstool another cigar. We
knew exactly how to please him, and, more
over we had not seen him for three long
months. We all were hungry to hear him
talk.
This is solid comfort" he said. when his
cigar began to burn freely and he adsettled
his swollen feet upon the yielding stool. ''Sol-
id comfort he repeated, perfect rest, and |
need it after the great excitement of the
races.
The racesT' echoed our mother We all
opened wide our Presbyterian eyes. We knew
of the races-the great, wicked horse-races at
S-,hard by. We had read of the unr-
sual excitement, the fast time, the enormous
bets. ard all that; but that good Uncle Glen
could ever have been so outrageously i'm
moral as to think of attending such place
of amusement, so-called, absolutely Mortified
US. .ye held up our hands. He smiled q
vaguish smile like that of dreamer, his hr-
suite face almost hidden in a cloud of pale
blue smoke
~ Eyes, Annie, the races" he said, 81 have
~been there all the week. I never dreamed
that anything could be so exciting. would
not lake thousands, for what 1 have seem
In fact, his face grew serenely solemn as he
spoke, ..In fact, looked right into Heaven
SO to speak, across a race-track."
We all were silent for time. Mother
friad hard To COW cop,afhipr brrbt apd cf
change the subject, but the words stopped in
her throat. She may have been just whit
fanatical, this darling mother; but her ma.
ture was so pure, and her life was religion
itself, of the most orthodox Presbyterian
kind Uncle Glen, too, was of the same
n faith.
u 81 must explain he continued. st will
sound like idle romance, know; but shall
fAl relieved when / have told my story.
never dreamed of the races, Annie, when
went to s.. l went there to test tn,
virtue of the mineral springs. The frs
thing l knew 1 was in the midst of a love
affair.
.-O-ol7 cried mother. We all said, "O-o,'
too. Uncle Glenn chuckled deep down il
his superb grayish brush of beard Sale
he:
Il perceive that my story shocks you at tn,
outset. | fear you can never appreciate it.
'O0clc CIeHl, IHurn1uFeu NtlCle, my
youngest sister, slipping her around hi
feck, ..Uncle Glenn, what makes you so auee
Today"
We all laughed except Nettie. But saw
ground of seriousness behind Uncle Glenn
Smiles. 1 had caught breath of romano,
with girls quick intuition A romanc
possessed of a forbidden, but fascinating
flavor withal. At once l mentally resolved
to have full recital of the story at which
Uncle Glenn had limited. Ny mother ant
sisters failed TO catch the spirit of the occa
sion. They saw nothing but the dreadful
sin of attending the races. They would glad
" have brushed aside the subject withou
further comment, sweeping it into the grea
dust-heap ofunrememberablea and unmention
able. things forever. l could not permi
this There sat Uncle Glenn, the mos
charming story-teller in the world, brimmin,
over, as one might say. with fancies and con
ceits, and memories born of a visit to the for
hidden land, the great amusement world
Think of It'll
had never been in a theater, circus a
opera house. The dance was a mystery. A
for the races, they were yelled in a subdue
cloud of evil, through which my eyes ha
never tried TO look. Uncle Glen had bee
there. He had something to tell. l, for on,
was eager to hear. / think mother divine
my thoughts; she was shrewd as well as
pious woman. With consummate tact sh
frustrated my suddenly formed plan by
recting the conversation into other very do
Ightful channels, and quite soon we were a
Joyous enough. But 1 bided my time.
When evening came and dinner was owe
slipped into the garden with Uncle Glen
having first provided handful of choic
cigars. We found q comfortable seat whenc
we had pretty view of the bay with all i
sails, its lighthouse and its stony bar Tt
sky was cloudless, and full (
flashing stars A soft win
came up from the smashing water in lon
regular throbs. A mocking bird. whose Gag
swung in a tree near by, sang fitfully, i
clear notes cutting far into the slumberol
night
ANow, Uncle Glen. You know what
want" said, fixing his feet easily on IL
L: Il LII Z G.. 4