The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-04-09
THE BABY'S PICTURE

MISS afetnuSa fepparu YVES CUT Ol
temper. She said she was "mad."
But it must have been q mild kind Of
madness, for her pleasant voice had only
O dash OF sharpness, and no fire flashed
from her soft brown eyes. But she was
ont OF temper; no doubt about that, and
no wonder. She had left her mite OF .
cottage early that April morning, and
gone over to New York to shop, and in
the very first store she entered-a store
crowded with people buying seeds and
bulbs and J Iants-her pocketbook, con-
tanning her half monthly allowance, had
been stolen, and she had Deen obliged
to return to Summertown without the
young lettuces and cabbayes and onion
sets and parsley and radish seeds that
she had intended the very next day to
plant in her mite OF o garden. And
every day lost in q garden in early
spring, as ryboGy knows, or ought to
know, is a loss indeed, and there's
nothing in tho world so exasperating to
an amateur gardener, as everybody also
knows, or ought to know, than to hear
from q neiehboring amateur gardener:
"Good-morning, Miss Peppard. How
backward you are this year! Your
ralshes are just showing, and we've had
n. least dozen day for three days
past. And our parsley's up, and our
onions doing nicely. And you used to
be So forward p
So Miss Peppard, who was a dear
little sweet-fGced, wonderfully bright
Old igdy, living in the neatest and most
comfortable manner Oh small income,
with faithful colored servant woman
few years younger than herself, q ro.y-
poly dog, tortoise-sbell cat, and three
BIRDS, had two reasons fer being sorely
vcye1: >he loss OF her money and the
loss OF the days which she had expected
would START the green things a-growing.
"All the money | had" she said to
Peteona-calei Ona for short-as she
rocked nerrously back and forth in her
rocking chair, her eyes sparkling and
her cheeks flushed. 81 only wish !
cnnll catch the thief. Ia send him to
jail as sure as gross is green"
Oats sho' elu:, Miss Peppar'"
Peteora alwas dropped the "d''-"an' it
d sarve en- zackly right, wen dey avar
ketched, tn be drag to dc lookup by dc
heels" Then after n slight pause,
which was Ona's way, she added all
aitcrthoupht: "Dono, dough; s'pose iey
might rs well take de pore wretch by de
head"
"Ail the money I kad," repeated
Miss Peppard; Extraordinarily dollars;
and I can't get any moro for two weeks,
for borrow never did and never will.
And there's the garden all laid out aud
ready for planting. and Mrs. Brown
sets out her lettuces aJd cabbage plants
tomorrow morning, and she'll be send
ing them here with her COMPLIMENTS
her compliments, indeed !--before ours
have begun to head"
eff she do, I'll frow 'em ober dc
fence" said Ona. "Better eat them,
dough, I guess. Her compliments can't
hurt 'em."
"And, oh ! my consciencel' Miss
Peppard went on (she could invoke her
"conscience thus lightly, dear old
ady, because she had nothing on it),
"baby's picture was in that pocketbook.
And cant get. another. Polly said it
was the last, and the photographer don't
come that way but once year"
"Well, well, you are pore soul, :"
sympathized Peteona, "to go an lose
dat ar picter-d dat lubly thing jas like o
borned angel. An yer sisters onliest
chile-'cept FIVE. Wish I had dat rob-
Der yere dis rlinnit; I'll box his ears go
he coulln't set down fur o week"
"He wouldn't be here long" said her
mistress. "Of all things in the wide
world, 1 hate thief. Ia have him pnt
where led steal nothing for year or
two at least"
"Might be she; OARS she robbers, "
suggested Ona; "an' dev's g.! wuss den
caterpillars. Caterpillars takes yo'
things right lore yo' eyes-Glcp't sneak
in 20 pockit. Take cup OF tea, Miss
PepDar'. Oars no use Of irettin' no
mo-. An de cats ben a-settin' on yer
skirt for half aA hour, wantin' you to
notice her, PORE thing. She JUS came
in off dc po'ch a minnit ago."
Miss Peppard took the tea, and spoke
to the cat; but she couldn't help fret.
ting, and she slept but little that night,
and a9oke the next morning almost as
vexed as ever, and denounced the theft
at intervals OF about half an honr from
breakfast until dinner, although Peteons
emphatically remarked: "Dar's no use
cursin' an swearin'. Miss Peppar'; can't
do no good. Wish / had dat robber
here, dough-"
But after dinner, for which Opa
served q soothing little stew and Ia cool.
ing cream custard. the old lady became
little calmer, and retired to her own
room to write a letter to her sister
Polly, who lived away off i'll Michigan;
aud she had just written: "And can't
make strawberry bed this summer, as
I intended, ena III have to wear my
old bonnet, and dear dear how l shall
miss haby's pictnre!" Peteona opened
the door sans cerenaonie, as she always
did, and walked in with n mysterious
air. "Pusson want to see you, Miss
Peppar'--man pusson. Bout boys
age. guess"
"Whst does he look like, and where
did you leave him?' asked the old lady,
laying down her pen, and looking lit
tie alarmed.