The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-08-28

kept out of all kinds of dirt and play,
and mischief of even the most harmless
sort, if he could have been so ''im-
proved" as never to forget, nor blum
der, nor ''bother," he would have been
boy after her own heart. JOHNNY
stood very much in awe of Aunt Jane.
lie performed the small duties she re-
CURED OF him quietly and obediently,
never thought of confiding trouble to
her. and regarded her smallest word as
Interchangeable. What he thought of her
largest one it would be hard to tell.
And now two weeks had passed away.
1t was ten O'Clock of pleasant moon
lit night. Johnny had lain awake long
after retiring for the night, gazing
through his open chamber-w window at
the clear, soft sky. Aunt Jane had
frequently cautioned him against leav-
ing his window up, for it was Just over
the low roof of the wood-shed, and
once, in the middle of the night, when
Will Brent had slept with him, two
strange cats had bounced in, tearing
and lighting each other, and awakened
the whole house. But this was one of
the many injunctions that Johnny
sometimes forgot" Tonight he had
been thinking over a great many
things, and at last he fell to wondering
If it were quite right to let the affair of
the pockets acquire the proportions it
had assumed. 1t had all come over
him afresh, how entirely his life at
school and among his friends was
changing, and he tried to resolve that
he would rise above it. But howP He
tried to imagine how Will Brent would
have laughed off such calamity and
made the best of it. But VIII was two
years older than he, and then such a
thing could never have happened to
Will, for he had mother; and mothers
never made their boys clothes without
pockets. Such thing was never heard
of before, nor read of, in all the annals
of boyhood. Johnny's heart was very
sad. He fell asleep, at last, still unre-
conciled.
He was awakened by some ones
pronouncing his name, in q loud,
squeaky whisper. He opened his eyes
in slow bewilderment. The moon was
still shining brightly, and there, close
beside his bed was the queerest figure!
A little, bent, and bumped old woman,
in peaked and ruffied cap, looking at
him through great, shining spectacles,
and smiling at him in calm, superior
way.
"Johnny,' she said, in a curious
whisper, 81 am your fairy godmother,
and | will take your clothes away, and
put some pockets in them, and bring
them back long before morning, if you
will be still, and say nothing tonight.
Promise. with nod, quick; if you speak,
the charm will breakr'
Johnny had read great deal about
fairy godmothers, and believed in them.
He gave the nod, and watched the
strange creature disappear noiselessly
through the window with his clothes.
He seemed to be still in some enchanted
land of sleep. 1t did not seem strange
to him that this thing should be, with
the moon shining on the floor, and his
dreams thick about him. He had not
stirred in bed, nor moved his head on
the pillow, and he remembered no more
until the morning sun was shining in his
eyes, and Aunt Jane was calling him to
breakfast.
He jumped out of bed. There were
his clothes hanging upon q chair, ex-
actly as he had left them.
He took them up with puzzled, in
credulous smile, at the thought of his
strangely vivid dream; but he could not
resist peering under the pocket-faps of
his jacket.
He sat down suddenly on the side of
the bed, rubbed his eyes, winked hard,
and looked again.
There aOere pockets W'ader the fGpsf
He sat as if stunned He looked
through the window into the bright,
glad sky. The swallows were darling
and twitterlng, the robins were singing
aloud for joy; and a pure, deep and
blessed thankfulness began to well up
in his heart. He examined the gar
ments over one by one. There were
seUen pockets in all; two side-pockets
and breast-pocket in the jacket, two
in the vest, and two in the trousers
He could hardly keep the tears back,
or refrain from singing aloud with the
gay robins; but he dressed and went
down to breakfast with new light in
his eyes, which Aunt Jane did not see.
How could he tell Aunt Janep And
nobody else in the world had ever
known! So he kept this new Joy to
himself, as he had kept his trouble, re-
gaining his lost rosiness and growing
happier every hour, until, at last, he
came home from school one day in such
a state of bulge, that Aunt Jane, who
had beheld him from afar, pounced upon
him with wonder passing description,
and he felt that concealment was no
longer possible.
Then he told her the whole, straight
forward story, as it had taken form in
his simple, believing heart, and she
knew that he spoke the truth. She had
learned long ago to put absolute trust
in his word.
She held him off at arms length, and
looked into his eyes full minute, in
utter, dumb establishment.
ITO whom have you been complain
ing about your not having pocketsp"
she demanded, when she could speak.
"To nobody, Aunt Jane. l never
let soul know. WAS ashamed"
And she knew that this, too, was
true.
After taking long time in which
to become composed, and to think the
matter over, she found herself SO far
from any possible solution of the mat
ter that She was half-dsposed TO ac-