Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-08-10


or he had to take care Of the baby.
There always was baby in the house;
little, half-dressed, generally miserable
creetur, 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. I can't even say that it was
curious the little things died off after one
another, but 1t did seem to me fortunate,
for there want no gainsaying but what
they were better off out Of the world than
in it. Jack though, he TOUCHED i out,
others had, had grew to be a little, black
eyed youngster, hanging to Melindy's
skirts, trottin' no und after Dan'l or lynn
in the sun and sand alongside them mis-
cradle dogs.
Melindy went when the seventh baby
come, and she and the child were buried
together, and you wouldn't hardly think
it,but one day when one of my boys went
past the place where she was buried, if
there want that forlorn little Jack a
walking round and round it and pipin'
NANNY, mammy!'
"Mistortunes never comes single, they
say, and believe it, and to prove it
Danls gun went off all of a sudden one
day when he was climbing fence, and
somebody found HIM the same day lying
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
ed to be to send him to the poor-house
I remember he sat out on big stone IN
the yard, hiding his face from everybody
in his torn jacket sleeve, and crying to1
the dog that Squire Jones had took away
'eause he SAID he was good bird dog,
and somebody or other had hus ed him
up quite sharp when he called for pap.
py'
"Old Mrs. Fox asked me if I didn't
feel to take him, but didn't mean to fly
in the face of providence by taxing that
child when l had tough work to keep
my own. SoJack went to the poor-house
I'm sure we have to pay taxes to keep it
going, and it's fair somebody should be
sent there once in az lille.
"Do you know the Brones? No? Well
that's curious, for they live only matter
of four miles away. Likely as not you We
heard enough of EN- to know that they
are awful close, but I'm free to say that
of all stingy, scraping, rich creatures
they are the very beat. I was sent fol
to come and nurse Toms wife when she
had her baby a couple of years ago. Tom
came over beforehand to strike bargain
with me, tried to tell Inc the work would
be light with Samantha, her niece, there
and asked me right out to take off 4
couple OF dollars in my price. But
knew the Brones, and they knew PIE, and
l went for my regular wages or not at all
You see, there is great deal to do on s
large farm like theirs, and they expected
me to be busy every minute.
II often wondered when I was there
what was the use of money if you couldn't
enjoy it. They certainly didn't seem to
get any good, so to speak, out of theirs
Their very table was mean, mean 70,
them who could afford better-sour rye
bread, rusty pork and the small potatoes
they couldn't sell. Though they had a
big lot of poultry none of it ever came on
their table, neither did eggs or such, fol
everything that could fetch a copper
went to mar let and it they lived like
that you can think what sort of vittles
JACK got! Yes, Jack, for I found Dan'l
Briggs Jack there.
"You see the first night when 1 see
that tall, shamblin' creetur shufiin' in
with his head dropp1n' forrards I mis-
trusted that I'd seen him somewheres be-
fore, and watched him while nd eat
his bread crusts and cold potatoes, and
after he'd gone out I asked Samantha,
who's he?'
"'Jacx, she says
"'Jack what?
"'Jack Briggs
"And then had it sure enough.
Tom got him out Of the poor-house
some time ago. she said, sharply: she's
half fool I hate him.
"Well, wouldn't blame any one fol
being half fool living on such food as
they gave him. Fat edges of lork with
out bit Of meat on them, cold potatoes,
and bread left to get hard and dry so he
couldn't eat so much of it. Bless you,
child, I'm not lying; I'm tellin' down
right truth; I've seen Christian folks
more than once play that trick on their
hired folks.
~ spoke to him next morning as he
was washing outside on the porch. 4
knew your folks once,' says I.
"'Eh,' said he, looking at me with
those dull, black eyes of his'n.
eyes, and l knew you when you
was little fellow; you've growed
considerable since. How did you get
along at the poo1house?"
81 had fits sometimes, and they fogg-
ed me sometimes
"'You don't say So says l, How long
have you been here?'
"'Quite SPELL
"'You look kind of peaked and vel
ler,' says l, don't you feel wcll?'
"He stared at me and real tears came
to his eyes, I've lots of pain here said
he, putting his hand to his side, sand nv
mead hurts sometimes.
"Four days after l went there, Jane,
that's Toms wife, got word that her
father and mother were coming down to
see t e new baby and spend the day
She was nightly fustered when she
heard it, for she hadn't bit of pie or
cake in the house and she wanted me to
make some. She said though it must be
apple pie and a cake that wouldn't take
more than an egg or two, and but little
butter, say a tablespoonful. I concluded
to make it as best suited me, seeing I
had fair field, Samantha having gone
to the village; and though James bed
room opened into the kitchen, her bed
stood SO she could not see the part of e
room where I was at work All the
same, she made her tongue do duty for
her eyes and kept telling me what to do
all the time till l clean lost patience, but
you may be sure then mixed things my
own way. No stale drippings out Of the
old yellow bowl in the buttery went into