Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-06-10
WHAT SHOULD NE HAVE DONE /


John, junior, usually addressed without
the prefix, was two years old December
Is, 1884. Visitors exclaim over him aa
q 'slove of q child;" his mother secretly
believes him to be perfectly beautiful:
mulatto Sally, who has nursed him
rom his birth, pronounces him 80
cherubim, IL there ever was one on
earth" Since q certain day last month
John, senior, considers him 80 handful %
On that day Junior, who had hitherto
been obedient to the ukase prohibiting
him from touching anything on his
fathers writing table, entered the
library, where that parsonage was at
work, marched audaciously mp TO the
desk, gnatched an open letter from under
the busy fingers and threw It upon the
door.
''Now 'Ook, papa |" calculated the
cherubim, locking his fists ct his back
and putting mp his lower lip in defiant
pout that made him into the lovelieat
picture his mother had ever looked
upon.
''Junior Is a naughty boy r. said the
father, iudicially. mo, mamma r. for
Junior must pick it up and put it back
On the table.
Cont I" uttered the angel smilingIy.
my lambI" (deprecating) from the
mother.
'Pick IL up, sir |" CmagisterialD from
the father.
Both Johns have bright brown eyes.
They met now with dangerous flash, az
when two rapiers strike full on the edges
Of the blades.
s'Junior- 'ont- -pick-it-up r. The
pout was angry; . small heel rang sharply
On the hearth.
John, senior, pulled open q drawer
and took therefrom q strip Of whaIebone
that might have been tossed there after
the fall dressmaking was over. Mother
aud child had seen IL once before. on q
dreadful November afternoon neither
had forgotten. They recognized it i'm
mediately, the one with paIing, the
other with reddening cheeks. A sibilant
sign out the awful hush that fell upon
the three at its appearance. The father
answered il
"My dear" lin ominous composure),
81 am going to see this thing through.
You had better leave the room. !"
John, dear, / am sure the darling
will"
"Obey me? So am I. It is q mere
question Of time. For your sake-and
his-you would do well to leave as.
He thinks you sympathize with him. -
Did she9 Her anguished gaze de-
voured him, standing erect before the
parent transformed into judge and lictor.
The beautiful eyes were wide and ablaze;
the baby feet we're planted firmly and
Tar apart on the floor; the baby mouth
was shut in hard line. She fell on her
knees beside him, gathered him into her
arms; her wall was out Of the depths OF
wrung heart.
"0h, my boy do what papa tells you
70 do Pick up that paper for mamma r.
Then (will she ever forget il p he
twisted himself loose from her embrace
and struck her full Ia the face, his own
inhamed with rage.
Go way, bad mamma Junior
sont r.
Weeping loud as she went, the mother
fed 10 the remotest recesses OF the
house, shutting the doors behind her,
not to hear the pursuing shriehs.
''Now, persisted the father, suspend
ing the punishment and speaking with
slow distinctness, sspick up that paper
and lay It on the table Doyou hear 2"
a mighty breath of relief escaped him
aa the child moved toward the letter.
"A sharp fight, but short one r. he
murmured.
Junior put out--not his hand, but
little foot. Catching the toe under the
edge Of the paper, he pushed it along to
bis fathers chair. there gave e q dex-
k<.~~.~ 0swA &1~nk wSlSn~av~ 53nq -.
seniors knee, and delighted at the ex-
plot, laughed out gleefully, the tears
arrested ct their fount.
John, senior, put the paper back on
the very spot where it had lain before.
''That won't do, young man Take
it up with your fingers Y
Again brown eyes struck IRE against
brown eyes. 1.-The chubby hands clutched
one another behind the stiffened spine,
and between the teeth came:
sJnnior thay he ont t.
The mother, through ell the closed
doors, heard the outcries that ensued.
them the stern tone OF command inter-
hitting the ground swell Of sObs.
ssPapa" (the blood yelling unseen
with every stab the parent dealt him.
naln will-whip--hi s-boy until -he
that-pape -with-his-
aia1i nnd-lays-- -on-the- tablet
Victory ct last Down dropped the
boy on his hands and knees, crawled 10
thc hateful object Of contention. de-
Hberataly bent his head. picked up The
letter with his teeth, crept in the same
doa-like fashion 20 his father, and laid
Che prize on his bootl
May the writer submit question to
the readers of this true story
What ought John, senior, to have
done - nbgh0od
A SMART colonel 81 an Irish militia
regiment was lntaly found fault with BY
The inspecting general for The Indifferent
shooting Of ais regiment The colonel
replied: 'Sir, / must explain that