Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-02-09

De
mother. and asked her how she felt,
and then they told her they'd come to
talk with her about the boys. Ebene-
ger, he was the oldest, he sat up pretty
straight at that, and looked at Deacon
Bowers. Deacon Bowers said ne
s'posed she couldn't do much with the
farm, and it was a pity the boys hadn
been brought up to be dependence Tor
her, but he guessed he'd take the farm
off her hands himself, and see to bind
ing the boys out to trades; that means
signing paper to give boys away I'LL
they grow up and learn to work. Dea-
con Bowers said:
sSiah Martins willin' to take
Jonathan and larn him shoemakln';
that's good payin' business, and don't
take no great O brains, and lsr Ell 10"
reckoned he'd take Ebenezer on ths
farm He's a stirrin' kind of man and
don't have no shirks about his PREMISES
but he's honest and a good proVider.
Mis- Bowers, she thought she'd take
Melissy, to help round and save steps.
She amt so spry as she was forty years
ago. We'd give her her whites and
clothes; though such CROWN gals eats
awful, and runs through new callker
in no time
.sAll this time Squire Hawkins, the
fat Selectman, kept tying knots IN the
end of his whip lash, and smoothing his
fur cap, and looking very red and un'
comfortable; and I should think he
might, to hear any body talk about tax
ing children away just as if they were
calves or kittens. Mrs. Lanman crled
and couldn't say word, but when
Deacon Bowers said that if the children
were off her hands she could take
room somewhere and live quite comfort
ably on the interest of her money, Eben-
ezer just got up and stood very straight
and looked that Selectmen right in the
face. and said:
1--WE are very much obliged to you,
sir, for offering to buy the farm: but my
mother does not wish to sell it. NY
brother and | can carry on the farm AMI
take care of our mother and Melissy.'
'sAnd then Jonathan got up, too.
and put one arm around his mother, and
said:
-. Yes, sir; we can take care of our
mother, and we mean to do it. Wen
show you that we're good for some
thing, and if we have been lazy we new
er will be SO again; so don't you cry,
mother
The fat Selectnan said: That's
right, that right, boys: stand by your
mothes. and tie Lord II stand by you,
and SOIL T.
But the little dried-up Selectman,
he was real mad cause he wanted to
buy that farm himself; and I'm just as
glad he didn't get it, for, don't you
think, those boys and Nlelissy went to
work like regular farmers, and they did
everything, and all the neighbors helped
them in having and harvest, and they
got along first rate. And the minister
lent them books and said they needn't
let their brains get rusty because they
had to work with their hands; so they
used to read and study evenings, and
talk things over together, and try To
find out about what they read. Well,
and after all the boys went to college;
for when Melissy was sixteen years OLD
they had a chance to sell the farm for
ever so much money, because man
wanted to have cheese-factory there.
Some people said Mrs. Lanman ought
to buy another farm withthe money, but
she said no, she was going to invest
that money in brains, and she went ito
the town where the college was, and
rented a little house, and sent both her
boys to college, and Melissy, too.
Jonathan, he got to be a doctor. just
the way he had planned, but Ebenezer
learned to be minister, a splendid
one, too, and his mother heard him
preach. Melssy didn't teach because
She had to take care of her mother, but
she was just as smart as if she had, and
after awhile she got to be our grand
ma, and that's nicer than teaching
school or being a doctor, either"
Jenny began this story just to Dora,
but pretty soon she turned around IA
little, and when she stood up to show
how EbeneZer looked at the selectman
she forgot to sit down again. and Just
kept on looking at the President and all
of us till she got through. Then we all
clapped our hands and cheered, because
she's such a little thing.
Tom Kelly was critic and he said the
story was pretty good for little girl,
but it didn't have any moral Susan
said the stories to tell didn't need to
have any moral; and, besides, it
wouldn't be fair to put one in, because
you couldn't skip it; but Chris Frazer
said he thought the best way to have a
moral was mixed all through, SO YOU
couldn't taste it, but it did You good all
the same. And he said he was never
going to make a fuss about foddering
the cattle and splitting oven-wood again.
though he believed the girls burned up
all they could just to keep him from
playing ball. So, after that, we took a
vote that there was a moral Christian
Union.