The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-01-13
HOW NED WAS CURED.

"Please pull of my boots, mother"
said Ned Merrill, as he held up muddy
boot in front of his mother face.
''Where is your boot jack?" she
asked.
$3.50, split it up for kindling-wood to-
night" replied Ned. a..
'.Split it up for kindling-w wood! What
did you do that for? There are plenty OF
boards in the wood-shed."
Il was in a hurry" said Ned. ''and
to-"
you are the LATEST boy ever saw"
said Mrs. Merrill, as she took hold of the
muddy boot and pulled it off. You be
sure and make yourself new boot-jack
to morrow" =
Eyes, mother, I will" said Ned, as
he babe her goodnight and went off to
bed.
you'll ruin that boy" said Aunt
Louise, who had been sitting in the
room busily sewing. ''You wait on him
entirely too much" ...
His boots, you know, are rather
tight for him." replied Mrs Merrill,
land, being wet, were really hard to
pull of. | don t intend pulling them
off again. He will make boot jack to-
morrow"
Ned Merrill was boy who always
put off everything in the shape of work
until the last moment. The old adage:
':Lazy folks work best when the sun is
west" was true in his case. He had
the kindlings TO split for the fires. the
water to brin fro n the well, and the
COW to feed three times day; but his
mother often said that it was such
hard work to get Ned to do these things
she would rather do them herself. He
could easily have stepped into the
wood-shed and split up kndings
enough in few minutes to last three or
tour days; but he ALWAYS, as Aunt
Louise said, dreaded everything in the
shape OF work. He wo Id wait until
dark be ore he got about his chores.
and then he would split up h 8 boot Jack
or something else that lay near him,
saying: 81 can easily make another"
The next night, when bedtime came,
Ned looked all around the kitchen as il
he had lost something.
He has not made that boot jack"
thought Aunt Louise, as she saw the
boy try to pull off his boots on The chair
rounds and on the wood-box IL won
der what he will do" thought she.
Ned's mother was in the pantry, stir
ring up buckwheat cakes for break asst.
v hen she came into the kitchen she
said: Haven't you gone to bed yet,
Ned? l thought you went up stairs
long ago"
II can't get my boots off, replied
Ned in frettul tone.
"There knew you wouldn't make
that book-jack to day, when YOU said
you would,' exclaimed his mother
al forgot it, replied Ned.
"You didn't forget to go to Tom
Whit e's for your ball, or to 90 skating
with Willie Rounds; but you always for.
get to do anything YOU consider work. "
While Mrs. Merrill was talking, Ned
was Juggling and pulling away at his
boots, and soon word which he knew
he ought not 10 say escaped his lips, and
made the tears come in his mother's
eyes. She silen ly went to her boy and
pull ed eft his boot. While she was pull
| ing OIL the second one, Charles Brown,
neighbours son, came in to borrow
some Yeast. He looked W tn amaze
ment at Ned, as he sat in chair while
his mother pulled off his muddy boot.
Does your mother pull off your
boots, Ned?" he asked. "Why dom I
you have boot-jack? Your mother
must be very good. | would not dare
ask my mother to do such a thing for
me-"
Ned looked quite ashamed, although
he wa such a Sc fish boy that the fact
of his mot er's doing such menia
service 70 him was not what shamed
him; if was the thong that Char es
Brown had seen the transaction and re-
sented it.
The next day Ned seemed to have
fore often all about the event of the
evening; also, the making of the DO t.
is k. He went off skating with . crowd
If boys. without as much rs bringing
h s mother one pailful of water.
"Where is your oot-;ack, old fell
iowP' shou ed dozen voices as Ned
went down on the ice
- never heard of making boot ia tx
out of mother before" exclaimed
Harry Jones. MY m ther wou APP
PLY the boot to me externally, guess,
if stuck my muddy boots up into her
face"
All the afternoon Ned went by the
name of oot-jack." H. felt so i'll at
ease that he went home an hour earlier
than usual.
His mother met him at the door and
said: "Hurry up, Ned Ned was used
to this kind of welcome; his mother al
ways want him TO hurry up, and asked
him number of questions such as:
Ibid you water the COW this noon,
Ned?" or "Did YOU feed her?' II
have not drop OF water or a stick OF
wood in the house; why didn't you get
me some before you leftP' Ned was
used to such questions; but when his
mother showed him very nice box
(which the expressman left nj the house