The Opelousas courier., 1886-12-18

her not wisely but too well. With one
small smile she stirred my fresh spring
affections, and filled me with a new sci
of strange, thrilling hopes, and for days
and days l did not expect to recover.
AS the poet says:
II love the name of Mary Jane,
For once it was a magic sound to me-"
Her father was a cold, a~ustere, and
hard-fisted man. He owned a farm that
yielded two hundred cart-loads of small
stones per acre every year, without any
trouble but to pick them off the ground
and throw them in the cart, and yet he
did not seem to enjoy life. It might
have been said that / loved Mary Jane
because she was heir apparent to her
fathers farm, but such was not the case.
There was not DON in my young affec-
tons for a stony farm.
Mary Jane and metin the little brown
schoolhouse that nestled under the hill.
There had been wrestling for three long
years with my multiplication tables, and
Iyearned for sympathy. Perhaps Mary
Jane yearned for the same thing. She
looked at me one day when my heart
was heavy, and smiled, as if saying
''please exchange" and my real life
troubles began. My young affections
were plucked at a single pluck. I was
stabbed through by a two-edged smile.
Mary Jane aud I were soon drawn
closer by a romantic incident. One day
I fell in the creek that meandered by
the schoolhouse, and she rescued my hat
my new straw hat with a blue band.
She rescued it with a long pole, while /
rescued myself.
My passion for Mary Jane grew as the
days went by. She filled my thoughts
SO full that there was no room for multi
plication tables or anything, and I went
to the foot of my classes. My
friends noticed the great change that
had come over me, and expressed the
fear that I was studying too hard for
one SO young, and the attention of my
parents was drawn to me also, because I
began to take great care with my hair
md necktie, and to often examine my
upper lip for surface indications Of a
nustache. / was too young to have
'uch cares, but, alas! youth does not
cause to consider.
But to return to Mary Jane,.and it
always blissful to return to Mary
Iane after a long, cruel night of separa-
ion. Ny devotion was expressed by
ong-range smiles, smiled when the
.eacher was looking in another direction,
md they fetched back long-range smiles
a return, that seemed to pay me FIVE
lundred per cent. or the investment,
'hesc smiles relieved the long, tedious
in school, and wrecked my multi
tables. would go down to
hose tables with all my might, but in
alf a minute my eyes would leave them
u the pretty face of Mary Jane, and
rhen she would look at me and smile.
figures would all go off in a mad,
lad Whirl, aud I couldn't give the total
of twice times two.
Alb, those happy, happy daysi They
re gone. Time has stolen them. A
beral reward will be paid for their
and nc questions asked.
One day discovered that I had a
val. / could not have been more sur
rised and alarmed had I discovered d
ew continent. He was the ugliest boy
the county. When he had reached d
height he had stopped growing
and had her devoted his whole
me to spreading. They called him
putty key" They called him that for
lort-and thick. He came very near
ling taller when he wa lying than ]
hen he was standing. He was a much !
aaller boy than ], ii length, but id
idth he had the advantage Of me. He
ltranked me at the equator, but in the J
after Of neck and legs I was his
This ssputty-keg' was d bold, bad boy.
ae day as he went mefrily home from ,
hooi he caught my Mary Jane, knocked ]
q lid off her dinner-bas ket, unused
1 hair, and sisscd her. 10 this day !
lon't know how he did it. FEAR that !
ary Jane must have stopped 4 little. I
! do not clearly remember the subse- J
ent events Of that nnlucky day, but | I
. recall as many Of them rs / have 4
ice had use. When | collected nv ]
altered thoughts I was lying Oh my
ck Il the road, and ssputty-kegn was
on ne.
I had gone forth CALAMITY 10 avenge !
insult to the girl loved, and had 4
whipped " Boy whose head didn't
ne i to NV shoulders. That ID the
3 md The short u i. But there Vas !,
reat deal "a breadth ID sputtyskee
! IS he sat 90 las IA seemed ID weiga ];
u, ri tlis condition | remembered {