News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1883-04-26

"Well, might ask you what you nave
in that box?" questioned the fat man,
his curiosity increasing.
Certainly" murmured the man with
the box, looking like the chief mourner
at funeral. There was a dead silence
for several minutes, when the corpulent
man spoke up somewhat impatiently;
"WeI, what is it?"
oIt is a mongoose," said the melan-
choly man.
"A mongoose, what's that ?" asked
the man with the umbrella, leaning over
and eyeing the box curiously.
cit is an animal that exterminates
snakes, replied the small man, pulling
his hat over his eyes.
''And what do you propose to do with
it?" asked the fat man, opening his
eyes until they looked like watch-dials.
81 don't propose to do anything with
If, " answered the other, nervously. cit
is for a friend of mine vino has the de-
lirium tremens, and wants something to
kill the snakes he sees.
''But they aren't real snakes, you
know" exclaimed the fat man, opening
his mouth until the other could see his
cork soles.
''No, that's true, said the quiet man,
getting up and putting the box under
his coat, 'GDut then this isn't a real mon
goose, you see.
And he evaporated ont of the door,
while the fat man stared thoughtfuIly
out of the window at the hickering gas
lamps
PECK's BAD BOY.
"They don't catch me on any of their
silver mines, as they did your father"
said llo grocery man 10 the Dad bog.
"But [ hope this will have some influ-
ence on you, and teach you to respect
your pas feelings, and not play any jokes
on him, while he is feeling so bad over
his being swindled as he has been by
the silver mine frauds"
''Oh,, l don't know about that. I
think when a man is in trouble, if he has
a good little boy to take his mind from
his troubles, and get him mad at some
thing else, it rests him. Last night we
had hot maple syrup and biscuit for sup
per, and pa had a saucer full in front of
him, Just a steaming. | could see he
was thinking too much about his mining
stock, ard thought if there was any
thing I could do to take his mind off of
it, and place it on something else, [
would he doing a kindness that would be
appreciated. I sat on the right of pa
and when he wasn't looking pulled the
table cloth so the saucer Of red hot
maple syrup dropped off in his lap.
Well, you'd a dide to see how quick his
thOnghts turned from his financial trou-
bles to his physical misfortunes.
"There was about pint of hot syrup,
and it went all over his lap, and you
know how hot melted maple sugar is,
and how it sort of clings to anything.
Pa jumped up and grabbed hold of his
pants legs to pull them away from him
self. and he danced around and told me
to turn the hose on him, and then he
took pitcher of ice water and poured it
down his pants, and he said the con
demned old table was getting 50 ricllety
that a saucer wouldn't stay on it, and 1
told pa if he would put some tar on his
legs, the same kind that he told me to
put on my lip to make my moustache
grow, the syrup wouldn't burn so, and
then he cuffed me, and I think he felt
better. It is a great thing to get mans
mind off of his troubles, but where
man hasn't got any mind, like you, for
instance"
At this point the grocery man picked
up fire poker, and the boy went out in
lrrry and hung up sign In front Of
tne grocery, "Cash paid for fat Dogs