The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1883-11-30

said, Let IL wait awhile and he
turued and patted me on the head,
aud said: When Johnny gets big
enough to earn something | shall
expect him to pay it. was ouly
nine then, but I'm thirtees now; |
remember ii, aud l remember
mother cried, aud said, 'Yes, Dea-
eon, johnny is my only hope aow;'
and | wondered and wondered
what work | could do. l really felt
as it ought 10 begin at once,
but couldn't think of anything to
do.'
swell, what did you dor |
asked quickly, for | was afraid he
would stop, aud | wanted TO hear
the rest.
swell, at first | did very funny
things for boy. Motherused to knit
socks to sell, and she sewed the
rags to make rag carpets and l
helped.n
"Howi What could you do n
"Well, the people who would
like carpet could not always get
the time TO make it. So | went to
the houses among the farmers an,l
took home their rags, old coats,
and everything they had, and oot
in the woodsbed ] ripped aud cut
them up. Then mother sewed them
aud sometimes 1 sewed some, too,
aud then l rolled them into balls,
aud took them back to the owners,
all ready TO be woven into rugs"
"But did they pay tor your
work Z"
"Oh, yes, we got so much a
pound; aud | felt quite like young
merchant when | weighed them
out with our old steelyards. But
that was only one way; we've two
or three old apple trees out in the
back yard by the wall, aud We
dried tue apples and sold them,
Then soue OF the farmers who had
a good many apples began to sen'l
them to us TO dry, aud we paid
them 50 many pounds all dry aud
had the rest to sell.'
"But you surely could not do
much In ways like these.r
"No, not much, but something
and we had the knitting.n
"Did you knit ~
"Not at first, but after awhile
mother began TO have the rheuma
tism In her hands aud the joints be
came swollen aud the fingers tsis
, ted, aud it hurt her to move them
Then | learned to knit; before tha
| wound the yarn Tor her. | hat
TO l. arm to sew little, too, fol
mother didn't like to see holes with
out patches.'
Aud he looked half smilingly al
the specimens Oh his knees.
"But you did not mend those =
said /.
"Yes. sir; but | was in hurry
and mother said il was not done u,
it ought TO be. They had just been
washed, and | couldn't wait fol
them to dry"
"Who washed them n
al did, and iIoned them, too.
can wash and iron almost as we'll IA
mother eau. She don't mean ,c
let me, but how is she going to hell
It'll She can hardly use her hands
at all, aud some days she cannot
leave her chair, 80 had to leart
to make the beds and to scrub the
floor aud wash the dishes, aud
can cook almost as well as a girl
"Is it possiblei | shah have &c
take supper with you on my way
back to the city aud test youl
skill.n
"lts a pity, my boy, that yor
haven't a sister.o
81 had Gne,n he said gently, "bu,
she died; and--if she had lived,
shouldn't have wished her to lift
aud bring wood and water, ant
scrub as poor moth always did
Sometimes l wish could hav,
sprung all the way from baby t,
man. It's such slow work grow
ing up: and it was while mothe
was waiting for us to grow up tlla
she worked SD hard.n
"Bu!, my boy, you cannot expect
to he son and daughter and m otbe
all in one. You cannot do the worl
for whole family.'
-" Yes, can; it isn't much, a nc
| am going to do it and the work
my father lett undone. Tn goiue
TO pay that mortgage, if l live.D
| "Heaven grant you may,r | said
fervently, under my breath i" foI
not many mothers have such son.
another don't know | mean to
do it, aud she is very anxious
should 60 to school, and mean to-
some time but know just where
the boys Ia my class are studying
. and l get the lessons ut home
! Mother reads them to me out of the
! book, while | am washing the dish
es or doing her work, and we have
| greaG fun. try to remember aud
i repeat it, and II We come to any
, thing We can't make ont, I take Il
over to the teacher in the evening
| she is very kind, she tells me-"
| Very kind | Who wouldn't b,
| kind to such a boy 7 felt the tearl
! coming to my eyes at such a sud
J den vison of this son doing girls
! work, while his poor old mother
, held the book in her twisted hand.
! aud tried to help him to learn.
! "But all this does not ear