The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-07-03

could swim. They dared me to get
down there by the time they were in
the water. started down to get there
at the right time to find them all in the
lake, but could see nothing of them.
Away out toward the middle of the
lake. which was nearly half mile
wide, were a lot of black things bobbing
around, that looked as though they
might be school of muSkrats that had
been frightened away from the shore
What was my surprise when they be-
gan to shout to me. and learned that
the black punches were the heads of nv
boys. l just screamed and ran home
as fast as could, sure that every rat
of them-boys of them | mean-would
drown. 1t is queer feeling that tugs
at a woman's heart when she first be-
gins to feel that the little ones she has
so long protected are drifting out be-
yond her.
Well, here were boys to pillow and
boys to plant, boys to sow and BOYS to
reap, and boys left in the house to tease
for mothers shoe-strings to play horse,
when one December morning,
the thermometer twenty-eight de-
grees below zero, a paper and envelope
were brought to me. L took a pencil
and feebly wrote, to dear friends in the
East:
Its girl Its girl Lifts a
girl and it is mine. >
If there was an inner "holy of holes"
in nv heart that my boys had never
reached | did not know it. But this
dainty blossom, with her blue eyes and
golden curls, was an expression most
exquisite. Her brothers eyed her from
a distance, in fact, ''passed on by the
other side" They seemed to fear that
if they touched her she would bite or
break, which, was uncertain. This
only at first. A dear friend in the East,
the wife OF minister of an important
city church, hearing of the fruition of
my long-deferred hopes, sent to my
little one large package by express.
o, the dainty garments! Everything
little lady could possibly require for
outside adornment. That dear,
thoughtful friend very well knew that
the long reign of boots and brown
ducks had nearly untitled my once
skillful fingers for needlework that l
should require for my darling. With
strong sense of grateful love that
lady's name became my baby's s, and we
began, with one accord, to call her
Patty. What dear, good baby, was
the little Patty. If she could only see
something n1OCtng she would never
make the least trouble. l first noticed
that she felt peculiar interest in things
that had some go" in them one day
when she was about three months old.
her crib happened to be under the line
where was hanging the ironing. As
fast as finished a garment and hung
it, smoothly folded, on the line, it sci
all the others a-swinging; the motion
caught the baby's eye and kept her
quiet until the large ironing was fin
ished-- After that noticed, if every
thing was still, she grew uneasy. But
the flash and sparkle of the fire, the
rising of steam, the bubbling of boil,
| ing Kettle, the motion of ones hands al
work, and, as she grew older, the
waving of things out of the window in
the wind, would be all the entertain.
ment that she needed.
What an affectionate little thing she
proved to be. Her brothers had a great
fashion of kissing her hands. Hel
lovely face, framed by the most wonder.
full curls that ever crowned young
baby's head, attracted great attention
from strangers. But they were always
greatly amused when, on trying to
kiss her, she proudly drew her little
head back and offered her hands for the
salute. All, but that first summer was
a heavenly one, and the angels minis.
| tered unto us.
The second summer she began to
develop those qualities which have
puzzled us so much. In June her father
brought home litter of pigs, with theil
mother, of some choice breed. Wish
ing to give his prize stock every chance
| of perfect development, he gave hel
the freedom of the yards for a time
She was so well fed that she was very
quiet, doing no mischief. but mostly
living around the grassy places with her
| tiny offspring free to roam at will
Wherever went the little black pig.
there also went the little white Patty
They were very shy of her at first
scampering away when she came too
near; but her persistency soon con
quered them, and in less than three
days l found her sitting down beside
the mother-pig, with the little ones il
her lap and around her at play the
expression on her face perfectly beatiiic
One sunny day she had followed then
until completely tired out, and l founC
her almost asleep, her sweet head lying
upon the broad side of the great blacE
porker. The little ones were
trying to root her out of theil
way, as her position seriously inter
fered with their hungry intentions
Before her black friends were
imprisoned, there we're two calves tieC
in the yard where she could get to them
They, too, were afraid of her at first, bu
she soon conquered them, not, however
until she had been run over by them
wound up in their ropes, and stepped
on several times. She soon came t.
spend all her waking hours with the
calves. She learned by watching IL.
feed them how that thing was done
and she would carry them everything
she could reach. if not constantly
watched. ''Feed calfy'' were the frs
connected words she ever used. Wher
1 first knew that the Giver of all gooC
had blessed me with this girl, SHOOK
my index finger before Johns eyes anC
declared here was one child who would
not clean out stables. He gave supe
r;or smile, and replied not. But one
morning in early fall, before she wa;
three years old, had my answer He
called me to the window and pointed
toward the stables. Tom was throwing
out the litter, and Dick was tossing i
into pile. There was Patty. with g
brOken-handled stable-folk, helping
with all her little might. She could gel