Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1881-03-26
TROTTY,s MIsHAp.

"The baby's dreadful sick, and moth
er wants you to come quick
Aunt Rachel put down her sewing,
and looked first at little Tom Jackson,
who stood in the doorway, all out of
breath and much frightened, and then
out of the window to her nephew, Trot-
ty. who was busily engaged building a
snow man just then. ql. .ay
"Won't you Gomez" asked Tom,
anXiously. i'i NlH hi'n' i
g suppose l husband trust to-
Providence" replied Aunt Rachel, ris-
ing and putting away her work. But,
judging from the look ofanxiety on her
face, her trust in Providence" was
not very secure.
"There is no knowing what he'lltake
into that head of his to do,' she said to
herself, as she put ON her bonnet, look
ing Trottyward.
Aunt Rachel considered all boys as
unnecessary evils, and this particular
specimen of the species she regarded as
one of her greatest means of grace. Not
that Trotty was particularly bad boy,
but he a0GS thorough boy, going from
one piece of mischief to another with
untiring energy.
just at present he was stopping with
Aunt Rachel. The twins had the meas
les, the baby was teething, and poor
mamma, between them all, was about
used up. So Aunt Rachel had benevo-
lently taken Trotty home with her for
a visit. Es aa
1t certainly did seem very inconsid-
crate in baby Jackson to take this time
to fall sick; but, since she had, Aunt
Rachel could not in conscience refuse
her aid. So, with many a caution to
Trotty, who appeared to have not a
thought in the world beyond his snow
man, and many foreboding, she set
forth. .if \ 6l'.l
She had not been gone five minutes
before he conceived the brilliant idea of
arraying his image in her Sunday bon
net and cloak. as.
This seeming to him, an unusually
happy thought, he at once set about
putting it into effect, without for mo-
ment stopping to consider whether or
not Aunt Rachel would object. ''It'll
be the funniest thing that ever was"
he chuckled to himself as he rushed in
to the house. t... L,4..la,.
The cloak, lie knew, was hanging
in the hall closet, the bonnet was in its
box on the lower shelf of the china
closet.
Alas for Trotty! another unfucky
thought occurred to him as he opened
that door, and spied ON the top itself
numerous jars of preserves. Trotty
had one weakness, and that was plum
preserves, particularly Aunt Rachels,
and never in all his life had he any
thing like enough. There stood large
jar of it right in.front; did ever any
| thing look more tempting! .f io,.
Trotty deliberated a minute or two,
looked out of the window, down the
street. No sign of Aunt Rachel. Then
he looked up again. and minute after
he had the big family Bible in the chair,
and was climbing up. s9i BlWd} } Jssfl
He had his hand on the jar, and was
slowly working it along to the edge Of
the shelf, when something happened,
he never quite knew what, only down
came the preserves, chair, Bible and
himself, all in a heap on the floor. ;
Such looking child as he was--pre-
serve in his curls, eyes, on his jacket
and pants, everywhere but in his mouth,
and for the first time in his life he had
no desire to have it there. He was very
sure, in fact, that he would never want
to taste it again, no matter how long he
lived. . Qc et II
But what should he do was the ques-
ton he asked as he picked himself
slowly and sorrowfully up and surveyed
the scene. sit .htla aoa r-
"I-want- see, my mother" he
said, with queer little quiver in his
voice. le i
Then, after another brief survey. he
pulled his cap down over his, sticky
curls, put his hands, likewise sticky,
into his pockets, and went straight out
of the house, down the street, looking
I neither to the right nor left
Mamma had given the twins their
supper in the nursery, had undressed
baby and was rocking him to sleep
when the door opened, and queer liz
tie figure came rushing up to her with
outstretched arms.
"I-fought I'd come home," he
sobbed.
Mamma put the baby down in the
cradle and took the little wanderer up.
"How did you get here, my sonF'
she asked, helping him off with his
boots, and holding his almost frozen
little hands and feet in hers.
Il coined myself. l got lost two oil
free times, and | was awful tired, but ]
kept coming, cause l wanted youn
Mamma waited in speechless anxiety.
What had this little son of hers been do.
ing? Had he set, fire to Aunt Rachel
house. or rwhatP
"Well, dear, tell mamma all about
it," she said at length.
Il made a snow man. an Aun
Rachel went away, an | fought pC
dress it up in her fngs, you know; anC
Il saw the plum preserye-and--I--
didn't think tosay Get thee behind me
Satan, like you told me to -and slipped
guess, and-it-broked and spilled d
and came home to you"
That was Trotty's story, told will
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