The daily Cairo bulletin., 1883-11-20
Old John.
Helen Wilmans.1

he came out, his queer old face was as limo
cent as baby's and he had not the least
idea what he had been "juggedn for
Why, John" said neighbor "you did
take the hog, didn't your
"Ya'as took il, but the widder and her
children was hungry, | was hungry my.
self, or lowed would be soon"
"But it wasn't yours
Don't know bout that THE cattle on a
thousand hills is mine, said the Lord, an I'm
one Of the Lords children
This was his constant excuse. Property
rights aud the boIstering up Of property
rights by law was all network of subter-
fuge covering up humauity's rights. Not
that he argued it this way; he hardly had
sense enough TO argue at all He was child
OF nature and lived as close TO nature as the
herds of the field.
He wotked when he could get work, and
when he could not, he boarded at the "wid-
ler's."
THE 'widder' was powerful weakly
woman The only thing about her that
seemed up to average was her appetite But
John asserted that SOMEHOW her "wittles
didn't do her no good Neither did medicine
seem TO help her She tried everything that
ever was advertised if she could raise money
to buy it, or if John could steal it for her,
and yet she was weakly.
The neighbors all knew John would steal
but it did no good to accuse him of it. The
accusation always had the effect of shaning
the one who made it, instead of John No
one could call him thief and see the honest
surprise and injured innocence of his homely
face and not feel rebuked
Damn YOU" said neighbor, clustering
because he felt selfaccused in accusing this
humble, patient and yet manly creature,
Damn you, didn't you take a side Of meat
out Of my smoke-house night sfore last,'
"Yaas, zur John drawled
''What did you do it for"
THE wilder was out o. grubn
why didn't you come and ask me for meat
like Christianf
"a Christian, zurF'
yes, Christian
"Aint We kind o tangled in your ideesl
Christians he'd all things in common, widder's
he'd as much as any"
But didn't you know that meat was
mine"
"Ain't you the LorisW
81 hope So"
And don't he intend for us all to hey
grub"
Yes when we earn it,
Il work when can get work, and the wild
der, she's one of the Lords helpless ones. Do
you low he'll throw OFF on his helpless and
bis pore"
"But still you should have asked me for
the meat"
See here, mister, you mought let me had
it, and then agin you moughtnt knowed
the Lord he'd it fur me, and kuowed he
hedn't 'pinted watchmcn tol;eep it from me.
So just naturally took H.
The man looked into the depths Of old
Johns clear blue eyes, way down TO where a
baby soul faced him in angelic innocence, and
he turned upon himself in dumb wrath, hum.
bled and worsted by the encounter, and
walked away pondering.
few days afterwards John went to hin
TO borrow his gun "He must kill som.
game he said, cor they would b.
out Of meat; side of bacon didn't
ast that family long, The man
tent him the gun and horse to ride. and
,aw no more Of him until the next evening.
What luck did you have," the neighbor
Skei.
"AIiddien, said John, "nothin' to brag on,
but got bit o meat such as it was"
The neighbor wondered little whv John
had not brought him piece, knowing that
he was as generous with his own things as
with other peoples but supposed he had only
killed fawn and that there was not enough
Of il to divide. But the fact was, John had
got tired Of bearing the continual anxiety
about meat and had determined to give his
mind rest for few weeks; SO he had killed
a 3-year.old beef belonging to the man of
whom he borrowed the gun and salted it
away carefully.
It is strange that the sly manner in which
he took the property Of others should fail to
put the seal of condemnation on his acts in
his own and his neighbor's eyes; but it did
not appear to do so. He wanted it; he knew
be would be opposed if he took it openly :;
moreover, it seemed beggarly to ask. There
fore he chose between existing evils and stole
it,
During the last harvest the poor old crea-
ture ever saw he worked like a sailor and
earned the best wages going. But the "wid-
der and young ones" were out of clothes: and
never drop of patent medicine had there
been in the house for months. So the money
melted down fast; but the children were well
provided for and the "mantel. tree shelfn was
crowded with choice assortment of bottles
and boSes-Ayer's Sarsaparilla TUFTS Pills,
Samaritan Nervine, Vinegar Bitters, Lind.
sey's Blood Searcher, Catarrh Remedy and
Cough Pastiles. Even Rough on Rats was
there, although invisible; poor old John be-
ing the kind of rat the whole business was
rough on. But John had no idea that this
family imposed on him, or that they were
under any obligations to him. And the family
were equally ignorant of the situation. The
widow bemoaned to her neighbors the natu-
raj generosity that rendered it impossible for
her to refuse house room to the "shf'less crit
ter" and the elder children were insolent to
him and guyed him numerically. All but
Sary Jane
Sary Jane was only years old and
cripple. She was the least mite of child
ever seen for her age, and had never borne
her weight on her dear little pale feet in all
her life Sary Jane could not have been as
smart As the others; at all events she had no
more sense than to love old John She would
sit close TO his head and keep the flies off
Of him as he took his MONDAY nap, and
would even shake her tiny fist at her big,
rough brothers when they tormented him in
her presence
John carried the liitle ono ON his shonl ldar