Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-01-04
A BRAND-NEW YEAR.

-Wiutam Cullen Bryant.
A BRAND-NEW YEAR.
There were so many of them!-Tom-
my and Aleck, Jack and Jill (Jill's
name was really Geraldine, but every
body called her Jill because she and
Jack were twins, and always together),
Becky and Taddy and little Sam and
the baby, to say nothing of George
Washington Lafayette Robert Lee Lin
coin, Aunt Patra's boy, who when it
came to mischief was equal to all of the
white children put together.
Once it had been only a cause of re-
joicing that they We're so many; they
could have no end of fun by themselves
and they were so sorry for the little Fer
gusons. who were only two, and could
play hardly any rousing game at home
of a rainy day; and as for Thanny
Thorpe who had not one single brother
or sister, he always made them think
of the poor giant, Pewobbet, who was
shut up in an iron tower, and wept so
for loneliness that he trickled all away.
But, oh, dear! everything was sadly
changed now.
Papa had lost all his money, and they
had been obliged to leave their beautiful
home in the South, and come away off
to this little New England town, where
a house and some land had been left
them by a relative. and then papa had
died suddenly and they were left alone
among strangers and with hardly any
money.
Mamma tried to keep the tears out of
hnr nl-nS apI fo,1rbt ,,,.; ,~J ,o-,ol
for people. working sometimes far into
the night, and doing her best to carr
money enough to make them all COM
Portable. But there was a mortgage on
the house and the interest had to be
paid very often. and there were so many
of them And there was ':that boy
Linkum. That was what his old
NANNY always called him, and they
had all fallen into the same habit.
Llnkum wore out two pair of shoes
to the other children's one, and his
knees and elbows seemed to have such
a tondness for the open air chat they
wouldmake their way through the thick
est cloth in less than a fortnight.
And Linkum's bump of destructive
ness was developed to an alarming ex-
tent. He could not be trusted to take
anything into his hands that could bv
any possibility be broken, and he de-
clared himself that ifhe looked at a dish
it 'sdone fell over and split OPEN"
In the bottom of her heart Aunt Patra
was very fond of Linkum, but she was
always SAYING that ':dere was enuf moufs
to feeds widout dat lazy nigger's, an it
was high time dat he done went Off an
earned his own libln'."
ltmade all the children very sad to
hear Aunt Patra say that, for in spite of
his pranks they had great affection for
Linkum. He was devoted to them, and
always so good natured and merry YOU
must be feeling very badly indeed if Lin
KUN couldn't cheer you up. When
mamma was SO pale and tired that it
would make ones heart ache to look at
her, she would laugh, just as she used
to 40, at some of Linkum S droll sayings.
And it made her feel as badly as the chill
dren to think OF letting Linkum go away,
especially as she was afraid he might
not find people who would bear with his
troublesome pranks. But one day she
said she was afraid he would have to 90.
She had lost two of her music scholars.
and her eyes were beginning to trouble
her so that she was afraid she should
not be able to sew much longer, and the
interest on the mortgage was overdue.
AND a man over in Lancaster wanted to
hire Linkum to cut wood.
1t was the last day of the year, and
things did seem very sad. Christmas
had not been in the least like any Christ
mas that the children had ever known.
1t did seem a little too bad that Santa
Claus should turn the cold shoulder up-
on one because was poor. And now.
with all the rest of their troubles, they
must part with Linkum-poor Linkum.
who doubled himself up as if he were in
pain at the mere mention of his going.
and uttered most melancholy bowls.
Tommy, who was the. Oldest, and felt
himself to be the man of the family, al
though he was only twelve, shared his
mothers confidence, and realized what
sore straits they were in. He agreed
with his mother that since there was no.
body in the ncighborhood who wanted
to hire Linkum. he must 60, although
1t seemed almosttoo hard to be endured.
"Well, tomorrow is New-Year's Day:
perhaps something very nice will hap
pen,' said Jill. Jill read fairy stories,
and was always expecting things to hap
pen just as they did in the stories.
Sometimes things go on happening
just the same, if it is a new year.h said
Aleck. II wish this would be a brand
new year,"
1t did seem very sad that Linkum
should have to 60 on New-Year's Day,
but the man who wanted to hire him
came for him, and they all resolved to
put a brave face on the matter, for it
never would do to begin the new year
with tears. and besides, their tears gave
renewed impetus to Linkum's howlings,
which were really friphtful to hear. and