Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1883-10-12
"Did yo COON wild the soursionY Y' sez

NluN u Nt hll AhuN bbih1A ANi Nv 'a''
'Wishermaydie, mem, sez I, it 'spect-
ed I'd kill i'm, SEE l. ! just give whack at
! i'm, an he's done fur, men,
eyed no business to throw stones at i'm
sez she
"'Wen men,, SEE I, If | was a swate,
peerty girrul like you, mebbo I'd be better
coomp'ny to mysilf, sez |, but divil one of
the 'scursion do know, mem l hadn't got
| the words out o my mouth whn she was
gone, an / had nothn' to do agin but to
sthroke the did baste, an feel the imptiness
ov me inside whin all ov suddint l seed
somepn shinin' in the grass, all gold an blue
| sthones, like the thing I'd seed ut her neck,
an l could ist see the wite harse's legs
through the thrays.
"As soon's liver sh tarted all the by's run
up at me to find out wat | was afther, an
| had ter bat one Teller over the hid to clare a
| way She led me power NV a chase, but jist
as she was a turnn into big yard all thrays
an floors, / caught up wild her an, sez /,
| Here's you buckle, SEE l.
IT'S = brist-pin, sez she, toornln' av 1t
over wild her wite fingers, an my mither give
! it me- sez she an yer splendid by.
'''l'm list the same feller was a spell ago
sez l. and list thin an ould gint comes up be-
hint me, an tuck q holt av me an turnt me
round, an sez he lookin at me like was
| baste out af a show, Who be you 2
| he u VIII Ahb hNhAnlohf oS1 oAS
quick afore | c'u'd sh'pake, an he's ran af-
ther me clean from tn park to bring me the
brist.pin mither give me-
'' Coon in an rist yersilf, sez he, puck
erin up his face, an radin' the way wild Missy
! in his arrums.
"Wishermaydie if iver seed a place like
that hooso was inside it, thried to twist me
| two fate out sight behint me, fur though I'd
! give EN- a bit av lick wild Marin Lanes
/ f.rN fa
| burnin' Tn ould gint seed me tuckin 'em
out av the r'ach av his eyes, an so he invited
me DOT in tn AIRY though it was jist all
| floors, an there a nagur by sh'quirted wa
| ther on me fate till ye Good see the freckles,
an thin | wint back to the hoose were jist
| dast do nothin' but sit on the idge NV cheer.
cam watts yer name Z! sez the ould gint.
" Brcktop,' sez l.
d" Is that all av it, an have yez no family
sez he.
"'All tho name | have is Bricktop, sez l,
an its all 1 kin do to git me own grub, bar
| rim family since Marin Lane axes tin c'nts
a night, fur all l drives good thrade wild the
4 Hem 'em, sez he why didn't yez kapo
the brist pin z
Because | amt durtty thafe ay the
world sez an thin he tuck me into grand
room, an had such atein' and drnkln, l
can't deschribe it to yez.
The three listeners smacked their lips and
swallowed sympatheticaly and Bricktop con
| tinued-'I was list holler to the toes av me,
au ate till the nagur, ,sez he, yell bust, sez
he an have ter be hooped like barl.
''When l was through, the ould gint jist
put his hid out tn settin' room door, an sez
be, Now good.day to ye, sez he, an II the
first av next month ye'd like to try workin in
the coonthry, jist come to my place on
w'bash Avny, SEE he, an I'll talk to yez
Bid him good by only
Just then the orchestra in the opera house
gave a final crash, and the boys sprang to
their feet.
"An' w'atn We be doin wild the she news-b'y
tmorrer z" asked Mike, who imagined that
Bricktop intended to infict summary ven
geGnce upon the girl himself.
None yer bzness, said Bricktop, fierce
ly. and the next moment the four we're shout
ing their papers on the outskirts of the home
hurrying crowd.
The newsgirl became Bricktop's protege,
and was at once nicknamed "Brlcktops Or
phin" She was indeed an orphan in the
worst sense, for her mothers death had thrown
her upon the mercless care of a father Of
whom rum had made something which was
neither man nor beast, but monstrous and
demonlike. Bricktop speedily became Anna 4
champion, even protecting her from her IA
ther, who came to her in the street and de-
manded money, and she repaid his kindness
with passionate devotion which Brcktop
appreciated, though it was expressed IN bad
grammar, and when September came he made
no attempt to go into the country, as be had
at first resolved to do, simply because he
would not leave her.
| 1t was an October day, fair and golden,
and the streets were crowded with shoppers
till one wondered where all the money came
from for them all to spend. Morning round
ed into noon, and Bricktop was dividing a
cents worth of dates with Anna, when there
was a sudden eddy on Madison street A
thin cloud of smoke putfed out OF fourth
story window The drivers of carts and car
riages whipped up their horses fercely, while
down CLARK street swept a hose.cart and a
steam fire-engine, drawn by galloping horses
aud manned by helmeted tiremen. Two
powerful bays, drawing produce-cart from
the country had never seen anything like II
in the green fields where they labored, and
stretching their necks out, dashed into wild
run toward State street while toward the
crossing from the south was coming phae-
ton drawn by white pony, and in which
was little girl apparently about eight years
old, and an old negro man, evidently unused
to driving in the city. stop! shouted a
burly policeman. But perhaps thinking the
command addressed to some one else, the old
man gave the white pony sharp touch with
the whip and in a moment was at the cross
ing. The running bays were almost upon
him, and the steam ire-engine frightened
him and so instead of backing when the
driver attempted to make him, the white pony
paved the air, when Bricktop, who had caught
a glimpse OF fair face surrounded by cloud
of golden hair in the phaeton, caught him by
the bits and backed him out of harms way,
But the road was slippery, and there was moi
time to save himself and Bricktop's sturdy
, back was crushed by flying hoofs and wheels
That night when the sun was going dowr
in a crimson sea of clouds, and sending VI
wreaths of gold and fire as If in farewell
Bricktop Law in a narrow hospital bed which
was screened with white curtains. Annt
7 crouched on the floor fearless and motionless
J her hand clasping his left one, for that had
; still some sense of feeling left in the fingers
A gray haired man and lovely little girl sa
I near 1t was Lily and her father.
as there anything can do for you 2 ask
1 ed the man in a broken voice.
Yes" said Bricktop, speaking with dim
5 Guilty, "The b'ys at the Coorners, sir-it ye't
git EN- DOT av it, an-Annie-she's nobody:
7 "pll take Annie home with me, and vii
find homes for the boys in the country /
they'll go, but that is very little. l should
like to do more.
4 aye have" murmured Bricktop. "Ye wa
kind to me. Nobody was iver so kind as
, she-'n you. l was kind to Annie-beoaus
= ye teached me-
|, The curtains parted to admit grave, gen
K tie hammered priest, for the wounded boy
brogue had made the nurse guess him to be
Y neglected child of Rome. A bright smile Ii
up Bricktop's strong face, and then shado'
. fitted over it.
"The Lord have mercy upon him, said tn
I priest, solemnly lifting his hand, "the lad ha
IS departed ~ y Examiner.
!, Luther as a Preacher.
. In the October Century Professor Georg