The Princeton union., 1879-08-13
JACK.

"A morning like this, with the sun
q shinin', and the birds a singin', and
the posies a blossoming in those beds
down there seem to chirk one up might
ily," said Mrs. Zib, flirting her dust rag
vigorously. Its q pity you amt able
to be up and get peak at it. It'd do
you more good than medicine 'cording 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 so inquisi-
lively eager in her inspection Of some
passer by.
"It's that Hoke boy" she said pres
!, :ntly, withdrawing her head and proceed
ing to set in order the vials on the stand.
Il declare he is shaver to be driving
his own pony, a black one with pail
face and a-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 I'm sure, and is abou as sassy
as they make 'em, but then some folks
are able to make all sorts of fol-de-rols
for their children, and others are put to
their wits end to git bread for theirs,
and you can't help teelin' that lots is va
rious. Some do seem to git all the
plums in the pudding, and others can't
even git Whit at the crust. It's queer,
but 1 suppose it s right
She gave me an 1nterrogatlve glance as
she spoke, then spying some uneasiness
in the little week-old morsel 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 meditatively,
mot that he is anything out of the ordi-
nary run either, as can see, but some
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
'jr cuddlea him, and wondered whether
he looked like you or his father or his
grandmother or all the rest of 'em?"
"Mrs. lib, please hand me that baby
right away. want to kiss him.
II amt going to do any such thing"
said nurse peremptorily. "He's just
been fooled with enough this morning!
All them big girls in the family had to
have their foolishness over him before
they went to school, and I hain't count
ed how many times you've kissed him,
He'll take it easy enough on my lap
awhile. Yeller, amt he? Well, that's
the jaunder's; it makes 'em sleepy too.
I once saw baby just as likely for his
age as this one; but laws, he was blink
in and winkin' away IN 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 a
Whit at the pudding. He belonged to
the Briggs, Dan'l and Melindy, and the
belonging to them WANT mu>h 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
folks had been Just SO too, workin'
little on other folks land, doing an odd
job now and then, keep1n' 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 it want no use to make over.
Danl however, was the very cream of the
hull so far as slackhan ledness and down
Eight laziness was concerned. It Want
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 harv-
est or plantin' time, but generally folks
we're shy about hiring him; nobody likes
to pay man for settin' drummin' his
heels agin the fence or stoppin' to talk to
everybody who happens to 60 by. The
women folks said he u as a heavy hand
too, on the butter and the meat. He was
great one to go cunning; you'd see
him slouching along regular, two NANCY,
ribby hounds a followin after; such folks
must keep a dog, you know even if they
hain't nothin' for themselves
"Mclindy used to say sometimes that
she wished Dan'l was a little steadicr at
MS work, but if you went to blaming
him she always had some excuse for him.
He had 4 pain in his side, or the
Squire wanted him too work to hard,
or he had to take care Of the baby.
''ihere 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 It did seem to me fortunate.
for there want no gainsaying but what