Connecticut western news., 1883-01-10
A FEW STRAY JOKES.
WHAT WE FIND IN THE HUMOROUS
 PAPERS.
A Bad HRbit-The Baby's sAdventure-A Sad
 Christmas Eve., Etc.

Christmas Eve., Etc.
 A BAD HABIT.
 The habit some bold, bad men have oi going out between acts at the theatre tc some quis secluded spot where they can be alone to commune with nature | and eat clove, received set back in Des Moines, Iowa, the other evening. A gentleman residing in the city went tc the lay in the evening and took with him his little five-year-old boy. Between couple of acts the man left his little boy on the seat alone and went out tc t'see man" just n omont. When he came in he was surprised, as were those who sat near him, to hear the little boy ask: "Where you been, pa, out to get @ drink ?" The father sat Gown and his face turned red and he was sorry he had gone out. The little boy hed heard, probably, of men going put between acts for drink and he playfully asked his father if he had been out to get drink. The man was, probably, one of these jolly, good natured fellows, who occa- sionally take something just for socia- bility sake, and thinking he could meet some of his friends out at the bar aud enjoy social drink with them, he took his usual trip in that direction. But the little tive-year old had caught on, and the boy, whose father would not have grow up drunkard, or even knowing that his father ever drank drop for all the world, had tumbled to the fact that generally when men go out between acts it is to get drink. Fathers little think how in many ways they can set bad ex- ample before their little ones, who will early learn what it is to go out between ac.s with the boys.-Peck's S1n.
 JOHN HEATHooTE's SAD CHRISTMAS EVE.
 'Mamie is dying.''
 These were the words that the tele- graph-key clicked out upon the silence that had fallen upon the station of which John Heathcote was in charge. It was Christmas eve, and for nearly four hours the man had sat there, the only occu- pant of the little room in which his busi- ness as telegraph operator and depot master was transacted. He had listened in mechanical sort of way to the mes- sages that were flashing over the wires orders concerning the movements of trains, brief commercial messages, tell ing in terse language the state of the markets in all parts of the world, Christ mas greetings from friends and relatives who sought to make separation less pain ful by an interchange of kindly words and sentiments in the midst oi them all came those three words to his office-three little words that meant sor, row and desolate hearts in some house. hold on the morrow, that day when peace, and joy, and goodwill should reign everywhere supreme. And so, as John Heathcote placed the message in in envelope and sent it by his office-boy to an address with which he was not familiar, there was, perhaps, the sus- picion of tear glistening in his honest eye, and mayhap the hand that penned the address trembled little, for he had wife and children of his own, had John Heathcote, and it came to him with awful force how cheerless his life would be were one of the little pairs of arms that each morning twined so lovingly around his neck to be folded across a heart that was stilled forever, and the deep brown eyes to be closed in the dreamless sleep of death. And while he was still thinking there came again the nervous click of the instrument, and as he answered the call he felt instinctively that the message he was to receive would bring more bad news. And he was right.
 "Mamie is dead will be home in the morning." were the words that came to him over the wires, and then the tears in honest John Heathcote's eyes were plain enough, and he was not ashamed that he had wept at the sorrows of peo- pie all unknown to him.
 Wu6u bu6 uoIuAAS tIdAu 1IolA ouc West came laundering into the little town where John Heathcote lived, he was standing upon the platform. His hours of duty had ended some time be- fore, but he could not bear to leave until he had seen the man whose name was signed to the dispatches of the previous night. A sleigh had come to the depot, and the driver had said incidentally that he was to meet MT. Jones. When the train arrived, weary-looking man stepped from one of the cars, and the driver of the sleigh approached him. John Heathcote was standing within a few feet of them.
 "Good morning, MT. Jones'" said the driver
 "Goe5 morning, John."
 "So Mamie is dead ?" asked the man.
 "Yes," was the reply, in low, agonized tones "and she would have beaten 2:3O next season"
 > John Heathcote went away.
 THE BABY's ADVENTURE.
 The farmer and his wife came riding into town the other day in a big two- horse wagon, and the woman carried in her arms baby wrapped up in an old bed quilt. AS there was a good deal more bed quilt than baby. the little one slipped out and tumbled unhurt into a soft place in the street, and the couple logged on serenely unconscious that anything was wrong until beyy of small boys chased after them yelling:
 "Say, mister, you have lost some, thing"
 "Don't look round," said the woman nudging her husband "It's them city