Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-12-16
SITTING UP.s IN


I. SITTING up sYgf
go to bed, said little CiarenG ,Nand. h
burst into an outright fit of crying a
soon as his mother had said, Come, m,
little son, it is quite bedtime, you, mus
not sit up any longeE"N AA IN
II wish there was no such thing al
bed" sobbed Clarence, - 81 always bate
togo to bed; wish Iwere a man an(
I wouldn't evergo to- bed, if, L didn',
like; l would sit up all the time.'
Why You foolish little boy. Lgues:
you would soon be sorry enoughir yor
really couldn't go to bed"
| mo, mamma" urged the child, pas
sionately., 81 wouldn't be sorry . bit
1 know wouldn't; know it would be
just the incest thing in the world-'',
| Mamma paused a few minutes with
the, lamp in her hand, which she had
taken to- light him to, his pleasant lit
tie room that opened out of her own,
and where ClaEence slept, because he
was much. younger than either of his
brothers or sisters, and SO he was the
pet and darling of them ali. v,,.,
Mamma paused-what could she be
thinking of? She never used to stop to
think OF things, after she started to put
| him to bed. Clarence looked up in her
face. His surprise was greater still
when he sew her slowly set the lamp
down again upon the table. Her face
! was very calm, but little grave.
"Well.- Clarence" she said, Il am so
tired OF having you make this same
trouble SO often, when you are told to
! go to bed, that 1 have decided you shall
do as you wish tonight You need not
90 to bed" = - r
..What, not at /, allr' exclamed
Clarence, in, q tone of delight, '-really
true. mamma, do you mean L may set
up all night, this once"' %a2
Eyes, my son." said his mother; and
she looked just as if she meant it.
You may sit up all night, since it is
such dreadful thing to go to bed
"Oh, is MT it jolly! Thank you. thank
you, mamma. And now, let me see,
what shall do first? Only to think
wlrat grand old time 1 have to do
yerything in"'
SO the little boy got out his box Of
water colors and occupied himself a
long time in coloring some engravings
which his mother had given for that
purpose. When he grew tired of his
pictures he took up a storybook that he
liked very much to read over and over
again because the words were all short
and the letters were very large and
plain, and then the stories were so
nice, that every time he read' one over,
it seem just as good as at thehirst. q
While he was reading, his two sisters
left the room, and as they did SO they
each stopped and kissed him goodnight.
How queer it seemed to him to be
sitting there reading, like a big man,
after both his sisters had gone to bed.
He treasured himself by a glance at his
brothers, who we're also reading2 In-
deed, he Strengthened himself consid-
erably in his chair. as he turned to his
book, for wasn't he doing just what
Charles and James did in the, EVENING"
And it was nice to read late at nights
yes, he was pretty certain that he liked
sitting up. t. b. l-T,AfNN
. But somehow the story made his eyes
ache after a. while. and then, tOo,s he
kept gaping, though ne tried hard not to.
He began to feel strangely. This would
never do. He would get his kitten and
have some fun with yher. He, always
loved his kitten. He went out into the
kitchen and was astonished to find the
girl was not there and the kitchen was,
dark. ''Where could she be?'' 1T
flashed across his mind that she had
gone to bed.
81 don't see what in the void she
wants to 60 to bed so esf4y for, ~ grum-
bled Clarence; but calling his kitten,
she quickly sprahg out of the dark, and
he caught her up in his arms quite COM
forted. ~ I'm
When he returned to the sitting-room
his brothers had both gone to bed. And
they-hadn't said GOOD night 4, him.
Why did he feel SO badly about4 b His
little lip quivered. How strangely he
felt. about everything. The clock
struck eleven. Just as he had counted
the last stroke, his mother pushed her
recking-chair back from the table and
his papa folded up the newspaper and
with long yawn, as ID he were very
tired. he rose, saying pleasantly,
: . Good night, Clarie," went out OF the
room. = : So 2 erl't'sN> t9N
Mamma took the lampfrom the table
and set it up on the high mantelshelf
and turned the blaze down, just as she
always did when she went to kedt<i She,
walked to where Clarence sat with his
kitten in his arms, and stopping down,
kissed the little boy, and, saying
GOOD night" LEFT him alone!H oN1 -
Clarence did mot return his man1nia;s,
kiss-he wanted to, but something was
in his throat, and if he had tried, to- he
was sure he could not keep from cry
ing. '''h'i 'S'}5 y " N NSO >
When his mother had gone, he tried
to think of all the nice thing s.tha8Ahe
used TO imagine he wouid'dp If he GOULD
only sit up long enou2h. Somehow