The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1881-01-20

jim.

jim was sitting on the fence in
the most disconsolate mood mag
Unable.
Winter was coming on, and he
had holes in his pants, and q big
hole in his hat crown, and his hair
would stick up through it in quite .
comical fashion.
That tuft got SO sunburnt that
when his hat was off you could see
the patch of dusky, faded hair
quite plainly among the others
which was a deep nut brown
Jim wanted to go to school this
wiAtsr, but how could he tramp
three miles back and forth every
day, without shoes and stockings?
So there he sat on the fence,
bordering ways and means. He al
ways sat on that fence when he
wanted to think out any special diff
liculty.
The fence began in Squire Haw-
kins' fields-divided his meadow
lands from the pasture-it went
down to the stream and across it
like a bridge. and then on the other
sid cit divided Squire Gray's horse
and COW pastures.
1t was q queer place for boy to
do his thinking, but Jim always
went there and sat on the fence
right over that stream.
wonder he didn't tip over some
times, but he didn't; he just sat
there as if he had grown TO the
fence, AID Thought and thought
Really Jim was in 3 hard fix, and
it wasn't any wonder he had sucu
a long face this morning.
You see his father died in the
sprlng-that was the reason he had
black ribbons on his hat.
His father had been i'll q long
time, and that took all their money,
and Jim's mother took in washing
now, but she had the doctors bill
to pay, and SO Jim's boots and
stockings were out, and he hadn't
any likelihood of getting more.
There was little Betty to be taken
care of, too, if he never ha any
shoes.
But Jim wasn't going to give up
either shoes or school, if he could
help it. That wasn't his way.
Jim wouldn't have minded so
very much about school; he would
have hired out to do chores for
Spire Gray, or some other farmer,
but he remembered his father one
day saying to him:
"Jim, mind We git an eddication.
Eddication's ia fine thing, lad, an
veil niver make much i the world
wi'out it.
All through the summer, while
school Was closed, Jim had worked
and played by turns.
He carried clean clothes home,
and brought back dirty ones for his
mother to wash. He split
wood, and built the fire, and tended
Betty, and did everything his moth
er told him.
Then, when his work was done,
he would get eff with clear con-
science for q trolic
| told you it was autumn. AS
Jim sat there thinking, he saw
some beautiful crimson and yellow
leaves floating down the stream.
He sat still a while longer, and
then he did forget himself, for he
jumped right down into the water.
1t was only 3 foot deep, but it
splashed all over him. However,
that didn't hnrt, and by the time |
he had run home he was almost
dry.
Then he had a long talk with
his mother, but / won't tell what |
about.
After that he went off into the
woods and came back with great |
lots of MAPLE leaves, and sumachs,
and ferns, and acorns, anu pine |
cones.
He borrowed one of his mothers |
irons, and he invested in q sper-
candle, and he begged nee
dies, and cotton, and scissors, and |
be got some old cardboard boxes |
and then-he shut himself up in his
room.
After that his mother hardly saw
him of an afternoon, except when
be came to heat his iron, or to con
suit with her.
But in . week from that time you
never saw such room. There
we're wreaths, and crosses, and an
chors of autumn leaves. Some
we're done with spermaceti and
ZONE we're vanished.
I'll tell you how he fixed the
caves with spermaceti, though it's
/ secret. He had a hot iron and he
'ubbed it on his spermacetica candle,
md then he ironed the leaves.
He cut cardboards the right
hape and then he either sewed or I
,lued his leaves on.
Then he made some pretty brack- {
is, and wall pockets, and hanging r
covered them over with !
corns, and bright gravel stones, I
nd pine cones, and then vanished 1
hem over with copsl VarnIsh, and
GU wouldn't believe how pretty K
hey were, especially when he ar 1
anged bouquets Of leaves in them.
The next thing was TO sell them.
lie went to Miss Susan Benson's,
nd Annie CrashsW's and Squire
rays and Jul ge Dakin's, and all
rouad, and nearly every body
ought something.
You see, they'd all been thinking
that is, the ladies had-how much