St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1885-10-10

of my going, and he would have en-
ioyed spending the week in the city,
seeing the sights and attending the
fair with the girls, very much. :"
''Oh, wall, never mind him this
time" returned her husband. '"He was
down and saw the fair all alone last
year, and it, your turn now, anyway;
besides he can come down any time
when amt too busy, and / wanted
you to go. It'll do you good to get out
little. You've worked hard all your
life, wife; both of US hes, so fur es that's
concerned, and now that we've got
enough to be comfortable on, why, let's
be comfortable; that's what I say"
Asfor Erastus, there was strange kind
offeeling hanging over him as he mount
ed his seat in the spring wagon, in which
they had all ridden down to the steamer,
and turned his horses heads homeward.
He had not expected to be lonesome when
they We're gone. On the contrary, he had
anticipated having a pretty good time
of it. Not that he did not love those
with whom he had always lived, for he
did love them all dearly, and, for aught
he knew, equally; and he expected to
miss the girls, who were to be absent so
long, very greatly indeed. But just
for the week during which they were
all to be gone he should not get lonely
he had thought. There was something
rather enticing in the feeling of abso-
lutte personal liberty; the thought that
there was no one, not even the members
of his own family, to throw any restraint
on his actions or to break in upon this
musings for a whole week. Besides, one
or two of his particular friends among
the young men of the neighborhood had
promised to drop in and spend the night
once or twice, and the cooking would be
but just for week. He had no doubt
but he could do it about as well and as
nicely as Aunt Martha or the girls.
And why not? Had he not seen it done
every day, and three times day, ever
since he could rememberp
lit was a pity" he had told them
when they had attempted to condole
with him over the prospect of having to
cook his own meals, "It was a pity if
twenty-one years of observation couldn't
enable man to cook a decent meal of
Yictuals, - and they had said no more
about it.
But now, as he turned his horses
heads away from the town and towards
home, there suddenly came into his
mind picture of the house and its sur
roundings, and this was followed by
the queer kind Of feeling of which |
have spoken, and which he did not ever
remember to have experienced before.
He could see the cottage with the
green blinds all closed as an intimation
to any passer-by that the family was
absent His old dog, which had come
with him all the weary way across the
before he reached the gate on his return
from short absences, ever since they
settled in the valley, would not do SO
to-day, for he was with him in the
wagon.
The dog had become too old and stiff
to take pleasure in following the wagon.
as a general thing, and preferred re-
manning at home with the family when
Erastus drove the fruit wagon to town,
but when he saw preparations taking
place for the trip to San Francisco, he
had pricked up his ears with evident
interest, and when thu entire family
came out to get into the wagon, old
Bose was close at their heels, and nei-
Their coaxing nor threats could induce
him to remain behind when the wagon
started.
Evidently he thought that another
journey across the plains was to be I'M
dertaken, and though much preferring
to lie in the sunshine and keep the
chickens out Of the front yard, to any
more laborious service, he would yet
have undergone any torture rather than
be separated from the family, and a
look of pain and mortified pride came
into his honest eyes when told by his
master that he must remain and watch
the house, and instead of obeying he
crept close to their feet and looked
piteously up as if begging them not to
leave him behind, now that they were
going away, never to return. And SO
they patted him on the head and called
him ''good fellow and s'braye old
dog and told him he should go if he
wanted to. Then his whole demeanor
changed. He gave a great bark and
showed his teeth in an attempt to laugh,
which can not be said to have been an
entire failure, and endeavored in every
possible way to express his thanks and
assure them that he was the proudest
and bravest dog on the Pacific coast,
and ready and able for any service that
might be required of him.
Then he started on ahead Of the
wagon, looking back every few rods to
make certain that he was leading in the
right direction; but before they were
half way to town he had dropped back
to the side of the wagon; then he fell
into the rear, and finally, looking back
and seeing how nearly The poor old feI-