The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1880-07-01
MUSTAPMA.
How He Took His Vacation ana what
Came of IL.

thought, care and worry have worn N,
out; need repose, for the hand of ex
haustion is upon me, and death ever
now lieth at the door,"
.Ant. he calleth his physician, who fell
MS Pulse and looked upon his tongu,
and said.
"Twodollansi" (For this was tb,
oath by which all physicians swore.
Of a erlty thou must have rest. Flc,
unto the valley of quiet and close thine
eyes in dreamful rest; hold back thy
brain from thought and thy hand
IRON labor, or you will be candidate
Tor the asylum in three weeks"
And he ht ard him and went out and
put the business in the hands of the
clerk, and went away to rest in the val
ley of q 'iet. And he went to his Uncle
Bens, whom he had not seen for 10
these fourteen years. Now, his Uncle
Ben was farmer and abode in the val.
ley OF rest, and the mountains of repose
rose found about him. And he was rich
and well favored, and strong as an OK
anqhealtby as an onion crop. Oftimes
neboasted unto his neighbors that there
Was no. lazy bone in his body, and he
swore that he hate lazy man.
+ And Mustapha wist not that it was
so.
But when he reached his Uncle Ben's
they received him with great joy, and
paced before him a supper of homely
Vlands, well cooked, and piled upon his
plate Ike the wreck of box car. And
WHEN he could not eat it all they
laLg he'd him to scorn.
And after supper they sat up with
him and talked with him about rela.
tives whereof he had never in all his
life so much as heard. And he an
swered their questions at random, and
lied unto them, protesting to know
Uncle Ezra and Aunt Bethesda. and
once he said he had letter from Uncle
George last week.
Now, they all knew that Uncle
George was SHOT in neighbor's sheep
pen three years ago, but Mustapha wist
not that it was SO, and he was sleepy,
and on y talked 10 fill up the time. And
then they talked politics to him, and
ne mated politics! So about one u'c!ock
IN the morning they sent him to
NOW the spare room wherein he slept
was rig mt und L the roof, an !, there were
ears and bundles of ears of seed corn
hung from the rafters, and he bunged
ms eve with the same, and he hooked
MS chin in festoons of dI led apples, and
shook dried herbs and seeds down his
pack as he walked along, for it was
DARK. And when he sat up in bed in
the night he ran a scythe in his ear
And it was so that the four boys slept
with him, for the bed was wide And
tnty were restless and slum bered cross
wise and kicked, so that Mustapha
sept not wink that night, neither
closed his eyes.
ana about the fourth hour after mid
night his Uncle Ben smote him on the
nack, and spake unto him, saying:
Awake, arise, rustic out of this and
WASH your face, for the liver and bacon
ls trled and the breakfast waiteth. You
Will md the well down at the other end
OF the COW lot. Take towel with
When they had eaten his Uncle Ben
spake unto him, saying: "Cone, let
us stroll around the farm"
And they walked about eleven miles
AND his Uncle Ben sat him upon a wagon
and ught him how to load hay. Then
The y drove into the barn and he taught
him to unloadit Then they girded up
their loins and walked four miles, ev en-
into the forest, ard his Uncle Ben taugh'
him how to chop wood, and they
wa ked back to supper And the morn
ing and the evening were the first day.
and M stapha wished that he was
dead
Ard after supper his Uncle Ben spake
once more and said: Come, let us have
some fun And SO they hooked UP a
Team and drove nine miles down to
Belcher's branch, where there was =
hop. And they danced until the second |
hour in the morning.
When the next day was come, which |
wasn't long, for already the night was |
far spent. his Uncle Ben took him out |
and taught him how to make rail f.nce. |
And that night there was wedding, |
and they danced and made merry, and |
drank and ate, and when they went to |
bed at three O'Clock Mustapha prayed
That death might come to him before
breakfast time.
But break fast had an early start and
got there first. And his Uncle Ben took |
him down to the creek and taught him
how to wash and shear sheep. And |
when the evening was come they went
to spelling'sthool, al they got home at
The hrst hour after midnight, aud Uncle
Ben marveled that it was so eally. And
ne lighted his ripe and sat up for an
hour, and told Mustapha all about the
Iorty lie bought last spring of old
M ,sey Stringer to finish out that north
naIf, and about the new calf that was
foaled last spring.
And when Mustapha went to bed that
morning he bethons hit him of a dose of
strychnine he had with him, and he said
ms prayers wearily and he ate it.
But the youngest boy was restless that
night, and kicked all the poison out of
MIN IN less than ten seconds.
And In the morning, while it was yet
night. they ate breakfast. And his
Uncle Ben took him out and taught him
how to dig a ditch,
And when evening was come, there
was n revival meeting at Ebenezer
Methodist church, and they all went.
ana there were three regu lar preachers,
md two eXhorters and Baptist evan
;elist. And when midnight was come
hey went home, and sat up and talked
'ver the meeting until it was bedtime. ,
Now when Mustapha was at home. he
EFT his des k at the fifth hour in the after.
loon, and he went to bed at the third !
ilopr alter sunset, and he arose not un j. {
ne sun was high in the heavens. So :
he next day when his Uncle Ben would ,
AXE him out into the field and show him =
take post and rail fence, Mustapha .
you'd swear at him, and smote him ;
1ith an axe helve, and fled and got him :
elf home.
And Mustapha sent fir his physician !
nd ours. d him. And ne sail lie was !
red IT, death, and he turned his face to
ne wall and died So Mustapha was
altered to his fathers.
And his physician and his friends q