Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1882-03-25
A sTEAM CHAIR.
BY JIMMIE BROWN.

don't like Mr.. Traverse as much as
did. Of course know he's q very nice
man, and he's going to be my brother
when he marries Sue, and he used to
bring me candy sometimes, but he isn't
what he used to be.
One time-that was last summer
was always dreadful anxious to hear
from the pOstOffice, and whenever he
came to see Sue, and he and she and
would be sitting on the front piazza, he
would say, Jimmie, think there must
be letter for me; I'll give you ten cents
if you'll go down to the postoffice;" and
then Sue would say, "DOn't run, Jimmy;
you'll get heart disease if you do" and
I'd walk way down to the postoffice,
which is pretty near half mile from
our house. But now he doesn't seem to
care anything about his letters; and he
and Sue sit in the back parlOr, and
mother says l mustn't go i'm and disturb
them; and l don't get any more ten
cents.
I've learned that it won't do to fix
you affections on human beings for even
the best of men won't keep on giving
you ten cents forever. And it wasn't
fair for Mr.. Traverse to get angry with
me the other night, when it was all an
accidental least most of it; and don't
think it's manly for man to stand by
and see sister shake fellow that isn't
half her size, and especially when he
never supposed that anything was going
to Mapped to her even if it did break.
When Aunt Eliza came to our house
the last time, she brought a steam chair;
that's what she called it, though there
wasn'tany steam about it. She brought
it from Europe with her, and it was the
queerest sort of a chair, that would all
fold up, and had kind of foot stool to it,
so that you put your legs out and Just
lie down in it. Well, one day it got
broken. The back of the seat fell down.
and shut Aunt Eliza up in the chair so
she couldn't get out, and didn't she just
howl till somebody came and helped her!
She said she never wanted to see that
chair again, "And you may have it if
you want it. Jimmie, for you are good
boy sometimes when you want to be-"
So [ took the chair and mended it,.
The folks laughed at me, and said
couldn't mend it to save my life; but |
got some nails and some mucilage, and
mended it elegantly. Then mother let
me get some varnish, and / vanished
the chair, and when it was done it looked
so nice that Sue said we'd keep it i'm the
back parlOr. Now I'm never allowed to
sit i'm the back parlOr, so what good
would my chair do me? But Sue said,
"Stuff and nonsense! that boys INDUCED
now till he can't rest" So they put my
chair in the back pallor. just as if I'd
been mending it on purpose for Mr..
Traverse. / didn't say anything more
about it; but after it was in the back
parlOr took out one or two screws that
thought were not needed to hold it to-
gether, and used them for boat that
was making.
That night Mr.. Traverse came as u.s.
ual. and after he had talked to mother
awhile about the weather, and he and
father had agreed that it was shame
that other folks hadn't given more money
to the Michigan sufferers, and that they
weren't quite sure that the sufferers were
worthy object, and that good deal of
harm was done by giving away money
to all sorts of people, Sue said:
"Perhaps we had better go into the
back parlOr; it is cooler there, and we
won't disturb father, who wants to think
about something"
So she and Mr.. Traverse went into the
back parlOr and shut the door, and Talk.
ed very loud at first about a!whOle lot OF
things, and Quoted down, as they al
ways did.
I was in the front parlor reading,
Robinson CrusOe," and wishing could
go and do likewise CrusOe, mean A;
for wouldn't 90 and sit quietly in a
back parlor with girl, like Mr.. Traverse,
not IL you were to pay me for it. / can't
Sc what some fellows see in Sue. I'm
sure If Mr.. Martin or Mr.. Traverse had her
pull their hair once the way she pulls
mine sometimes, they wouldn't trust
themselves alone with her very soon.
All at once we heard dreadful crash
in the back parlor, and Mr.. Traverse said
Good something very loud, and Sue
shrIeked as If she had needle run into
her. Father and mother and j and the
cook and the chambermaid all rushed to
see what was the matter.
The chair that had mended, and that
Sue had taken away from me, had broken
down while Mr.. Traverse was sitting in
it, had shut up like jack-knife, and
caught him so he couldn't get out. 1t