The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1879-08-14

That all angel came down with a message of
love,
And lifted the babe-at the word Of the Lord
From the mothers warm breast to the bosom
-Chy1xtain 44dvoeu,e.
JACK.
"a morning like this, with the sun
II shinin', and the birds II sinsin', and
the posics blossoming in those beds
down there seem to chirk one up might
ily,' said Mrs. Zib, flirting her dust rag
vigorously. Its pity you amt able
to be up and get peak ut it. It'd do
you more good than medicine CO. ding to
my notion. There's lots Of folks gone by
already, the kind that has little to do.
Well, if I ever" and Mrs. Zib's poke
bonnet and the edge of her sharp nose
seemed in imminent danger Of going
through the shutter, she as 50 inquisl-
lively eager in her inspection Of some
passcr by.
Its that lIokc buy,' she said pres
emily, withdrawing her head and proceed
ing to set in order the Walls on the stand.
Il declare he is a shaver to bc driving
his own pony, u black one with pail
, face and l-what do you call it-dog
cart; I don't see why there's any need Of
giving decent wagon such an outland
ish name! He amt more than eight
years old, Pm sure, and is abou as sassy
as they make en-, but t, en- some folks
arc able to make all sorts of folIc-rols
Tor their children, and others arc put to
their wits end I" git bread for theirs,
and you can't help icclin that lots is VA
rious. Some Ito seem to git all the
plums in tue pudding, and others cant
even git IL Whit at the crust. It's queer,
but suppose it's right
She gave me an lntcrrogal1vc glance as
she spoke, then spying some uncasincss
i'll the little wcck-old morscl of humanity
who was cuddled in my arms, she took
him away and sat down with him in the
low rocker :You folks make an awful
fuss over him. she said meditativcly,
mot that he is anything out Of the ordi-
nary run either, as can sec, but somc-
how, you seem to think he is wonderful.
S'posing now you had felt bad about his
coming, not knowing how he could be
fed or clothed, and s'posing nobody kissed
or cuddlcd him, and wondered whether
he looked like you or his father or his
grandmother or all the rest of 'cm?'
"Mrs. Zlb, please hand me that baby
right away. want to kiss him.
II amt going to do any such thing"
said nurse peremptorily. Giles just
been fooled with enough this morning!
All them big girls in the family had to
have their foolishncss oyer him before
they went to school, and'I hain't count
cd how many times you've kissed him,
He'll take it easy enough on my lap
awhile. Ycller, amt he? Well, that's
the jaunders; it makes EN- sleepy too.
once saw baby just as likely for his
age as this one; but laws, he was blink
in and winkin' away III miserable
sort of a shanty, and nobody seemed to
want him in the world. very much he
was one of them kind that never gifts
Whit at the pudding. He belonged to
the Bri gggs, Danl and Melindy, and the
belonging to them want much of a
blessing, for they were two Of the shift
less, slack, always behind hand sort of
people who never seem to know how to
take care of themselves rightly. Their
lolks had been just so too, a workin' a
little on other folks land, doing an odd
job now and then, keepin' in vittels and
shabby clothes somehow, the women get
tim cold vlttles when they washed for
the farmers wives and some of the old
clothes 1t want no use to make over.
Danl however, was the very cream of the
huh SO far as slackhan aedncss and down.
right lazincss was concerned It WANT
e. no trouble for him to do no.hin', and
never troubled his conscience neither.
though perhaps he didn't have one to
trouble. Sometimes he got job in harry
est or plantin' time, but generally folks
were shy about hiring him; nobody likes
to pay Il man for scttin' drummin' his
heels agin the fence or stoppin' to talk to
everybody who happens to go by. The
women folks said he vas heavy hand
too. on the butter and the meat. He was
great one to 60 cunning; you'd see
: him slouching along regular, two NANCY,
ribby hounds followin' after; such folks
must keep a dog, you know even if thew
hain't nothin' for themselves.
"Mclindy used to say sometimes that
Z she wished Dan'l was little steadicr at
+. his work, but if you went to blaming
him she always had some excuse for HIM.
He had pain in his side, or the
Squire wanted him too work to hard.
or he had to take care Of the baby.
"Therc always was baby in the house:
little, half-(lrcssed, generally miserable
crcctur, for they never got the right kind
Of fare and want made the least mite of,
though Dan'l and Mellndy liked them in
their way. l can't even say that it was
curious tho little things died of after one
another, but 1t lid seem to inc fortunate.
for there want no gainsavinp but what
they were better off out of the world than
IN 1t. Jack though, he TOUCHED l. out,
though nc had all the drawbacks the
Others had, had grew to be u little, black
eyed youngstcr, hanging to NIclindy's
skirts, trottin' TO und after Dan'l or lyin'
in the sun and sand alongside them mis-
cradle dogs.
Mclindy went when the seventh baby
come, and she and the child were buried
together, and you wouldn't hardly think
't,but one day when one of my boys went
past the place where she was buried, il
there want that forlorn little Jack
walking round and round it and pipin',
Nanny, nanny"
M'siortunes never comes single, they
say, and believe it, and to prove it
Danls gun went off all of sudden one
DAY when he was climbing fence, and
somebody found HIM the same day living
there clean shot through the heart.
After he was decently buried no one
knew what to do with Jack. 1t want
to be thought Of that anybody around
should want him, and the only way SEEM
ca to DC to send him to the poor-housc.
l remember he sat out on big stone IN
inc yard, hiding his face from everybody
N his torn jacket sleeve, and crying tor
the dog that Squire Jones had took away