The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1885-10-24

KARL MELVIN'S AUTUMN REVERE.


All day long the beautiful autumn sun.
light had shone down gladly and warmly
over the thin gray bcks of Karl Melvin,
''uncle karlo,' as the boys of the village
called him, and now as evening APP
preached its faint, far, streams of Grim
son shed IL me How halo around his dear
divine. Old uncle Karl loved to sit ont
under the trees in the mild October
weather, and hear tn. leaves ru>tl. to
the ground not t. look upon their beau
tiful pink and red and yellow tintings,
for his poor old eyes were too dim now
to see beyond the paper on his lap or the
played hide and seek with the sleek
black kitten at the foor of his chair.
They made beautiful picture, those
two together; .Jennles sunny locks of
gold and ripping childish voice con-
trasted strangely with the old mans
pensive smile and snowy curls, but both
uSdi tHS J" ZIG lull VI wal ulu anu
gratitude, and the beautiful gladness of
the days drifted down upon both alike as
softly and silently and purely as the
white, white, noiseless snow upon the
graves in the drowsy church yard beyond
the village lane. The shadows of even
ing were creeping about the old mans
form, just as Silly and calmly as the
pure gray shadows of death were failing
with the years upon the heart soon to
cease its patient beatings.
1t had been an exceptionally lovely
day in quaint old Olcott The morning
had risen in glowing, invigorating way,
and the scholars fingered a long while at
the door of the old school loath
to enter its dingy walls when the air
outside was SO inviting, and the depths
of the woods seemed so clean and cool
and pleasant.
Old Uncle karlo had come out under
his favorite vine and tree in the early
hours of the day and still sat there, as
said before, as the day drew to it's wane
and the shadows of the evening closed in
about the fields and hills.
1t seemed that his whole life had come
up before him that day. and each event
that had happened in it passed by AS the
figures in panorama. He saw himself
first in the cradle of the old farm house,
with great -grannie Melvin singing
and humming to him as her foot swayed
the old fashisncd cradle, with it's quaint
little slopiLg roof, backward and for
ward, to and fro, till at last the Sand
man came and he fioated off in slumbers
as full of dreams as the totteriEg old
crib out in the barn-yard of rich yellow
ears of corn. And then he thought he
saw himself boy, rOmping with old Jim
Hallet and Benny Newc,me through
cross grained Skinny Smiths pasture
and hiding under the richly laden trees
in the orchard. "Oh, those were glor-
ious days. thought weary old Uncle
karlo, "no rheumatism bound me then,
no dimness was about my eyes, no weak
ness in my arms and limbs, l could run,
and jump, and leap. and boiler, with the
rest of the boys, happy and free of heart
as lark. Alas, too happy and free to
last, too happy to last!r'
The old mans dreams carried him on
through his boyhood time of June to
youth and manhood and middle-age.
First, he saw himself, like Jacob of old,
carryi ing Rachel's pitcher from the we'll.
But this was not the Rachel of those
quaint old Bible days. This was only |
pretty modest Rachel Smith, mean old |
Skinny Smiths daughter, but just as
generous and free and noble as he was |
close and cold and misery.
"Oh. how | used to love her." thought
weeping Uncle Karlo, 'such peachy
cheeks, such merry ripping voice, just
like Jennie here when she peeps up in
my fla &c from the depths of her queer
little sunbonnet. Oh, my little one, you
some other old Uncle X .rlo will fall in
owe with you and woo you and win
you, and-.nd but, no, no. don't you
,ver treat him faithlessly, my child. then
lie cant lose you
From Rachel Smith the old man wan
Tered on to other scenes Of other days,
md his whole soul seemed too kindle as
,ividly as the sparkles of sunlight over
lis thin locks of silver, when he dreamt
If the days when he went down to battle
or the right in the cause of his country.
Oh! how well he remembered the kind
Kisses of mother and father and sister
md brother when he threw the rusty
nusket over his shoulder and swung the
title red handkerchief, filled with gin
,er-s snaps and cookies and cheese and
over the barrel of the gun,
waved his yellow neckerchief in the wind,
md trudged on down the road to the grim