The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1888-06-29
MICKEY FINN'S DARBY.

Tom Connor was the blacksmith over
the hill Mickey Finn was In tho habit Of
running on errands for Tom, and so, when J.
Providence sent litter of pigs into Toms .
sty, he picked out the smallest, scrawni- Z
est, most mcasly looking pig In the litter (
and gave It TO Mickey. OF course, the boy
was delighted, and he ran home with the
, squealing little porker under his arm
Now, II there was anything of which Mrs.
Finn was fond IL was fresh pork, espe- I
cally when it was young and tender. But
she had had considerable experience with
animated pork In her day, and after look
ing at Mickey's acquisition with the eye
Of connoisseur she decided that the
chances of the pigs ripening into plump I
hams and juicy chops were very slim. The
economic, question having been disposed
Of Mrs. Finn evidently saw no value in ;
the pig from an ornamental or sentimental
standpoint, for she said
Now, Mickey, you take that rack O.
bones, wild no mate on its back, I Tom
Connor, an tell him he might be up e
betther business nor shown off his bones
and bristles on ye Faix, he might as
we'll be givin' ye a sthove CRATE. LUX at
| tn tail iv tn boneenl Musha, thare's no
more twist to it than there is in hoe
| handel"
But, mother, don't wnnt tn pig t.
ate l want t play wild himW
"Play wild pig, is It'll God save usl
Mkt yen want to be playing wild Feenan's
calf, so ye will. Oh, but you're O looney
| b'y yere out iv ye're sivin small sinses.
Play Wild pigi Och. did iver hear the
li1esl Play Wild a pig Mebbe ye'd be
putin pants on him an feedin' him vida
spoon, agra. It's quare lad ye are, me
BY, Wild yere ould divvil goats and that
black crow as has shiny beads In his head.
Well. well, an wantin' { make y'yer
| lv ye stead iv a dirty snake charmer or
| mauthering ragabones as ye viii be av ye
| don't sthop foolin' wild animalsl So, there
Now Mickey, take that pig back T. Tom
Connor an tell him T. Civ ye wan wild
pork on his ribs an fate worth picllin' on
| him. Now run, run ava.
Mickey picked up the pig tenderly in
his arms and went away over the hill. His
heart was heavy; but Tom Connor cheered
him up. ...t t..-.. ... ....Ii...... LID.
mickey" said he, "you an will make
pen for the porker foreninst th' forge,
an you can gather little grass an sthuff
fer him. Mebbe he'll get fat. Thin yer
mother'n be glad t hav' him. Wen call
the porker Darby" -... ...-...
TIE pen was built and Darby was duly
installed therein. Under tho fostering
care of the blacksmith and little Mike the
porker grew in size and plumpness, and
endeared himself to Mickey by his many
winning ways The pig became broad Of
back and strong of limb. Darby's ears
began to droop upon his neck and he was
very fond of being scratched between
them with piece Of old iron, And so the
days fed quickly by filled with the Joy of
content. There was no presage In the air
Of coming disaster; no kindly prophetic
spirit TO warn the boy and the unsuspect-
ing blacksmith of coming sorrow.
| Perhaps it's better that the veil
Which hides the future from inquiring eyes
Should not be rent ..Hr
And cen the thunderbolt should fail
| From yon unclouded sky
Than herald it's approach with awful crash
OF riven elements
But while the May days were slipping
away into the eternities Mrs. Finn had not
been idle. Her boys extravagant praises
Of Darby had awakened her cupidity
anew. Often while Mickey was at school
Mrs. Finn took sly trips over the meadows
to the sty. On each Of these occasions she
always took with her some choice morsels
which We're calculated to increase Darby's
girth, and to make his jowls droop with
fatness. Alas, however, Mrs. Film enter
tanned none Of those fine sentiments of
unselhsh love for Darby which animated
her son. She could see no poetry in the
corkscrew curl of Darby's tail as he
grunted with pleasure while gnawing last
years cabbage stump. Her finer sensibil-
tiles had been roughened by the sandpaper
of misfortune. Each pound Darby gained
meant not added grace and finely molded
proportion to her, but rather suggested
the salty pork barrel and the sizzling fry
ing pan. ...r,.J .r,r
During all this time Mickoy's old gray.
bearded billygoat was suffering the tor
ments of unrequited. affection. Day by
day the billy saw Mickey go by him on his
way to the pig pen. But once in three
long weeks did little Mike stop and gambol
with the goat Us he had been won't TO do
in the sweet old days before the coming
of the hated Darby. The goat seemed 10
were waning away from hsnl like the
twilight Of an autumn day" He didn't
pine and droop as less heroic spirit
would have done, but quietly waited cvi
IDENTIFY knowing that In the fullness OF
time revenge should be his.
- ,... Ill ..
Only little sunlit hollow In Stumpy
Field separated Darby and the goat. One
morning, while yet the grass was bending
beneath diamonds Of dew, the goat came
out Of his barrel and stretched his legs
He looked off over the valley at the mist.
fleeing up the rugged. sides Of Snake Hill
He saw the faint flush in the east grad
ually deepen into vivid blush of ros'
color. He watched the fight of a flap
ping crow as it rose from field of sprout
ing corn and perched IN the top of the bis
pine in Lindsley's wood. Inspired by th'
music Of blue bird that few on the fenc,
and sang him a morning roundelay, tn,
billy became frisky and bumped his back
Then he indulged IN o little practice buck
ing. While engaged In this Harmless
amusement the billy became aware sud
denly that he was a free goat. no lonec
bound by the CALLING clothesline. Th
billy, having satisfied himself that he wa
no longer captive, ambled over t
Darty's pen. The pig was asleep H
however, was soon awakened. There WI
q, battering ram at his gate. Once, twic
thrice did that implacable catapult hu
Itself against the frail pen. Then Il
hemlock groaned in splintering pain;
cracked, II broke Darby sprang to h
feet and squeal6d In fright. The hoofe
demon with blazing eyes and raggt
bangs full of hemlock splinters was in Il
pen,
Now, what avalls thy sleek and rounded bulk, o
porcine sybarteS
Better. far, If thou but hadst the gaunt and hollo
flank,
Tine washboard ribs, thy ieanness as of yorel
Then began an awful struggle. Urge
by the billy, Darby was forced out in
the field and bowled over and over dow
the hill. The billy attended strictly
business. No sooner did Darby get
his feet than he was called on In mo
forcible manner to lie down. When Darl
had once more got his trembling LEI
under him he made one supreme effort al
ran up the hillside. His ascent was IN
terialiy assisted by the goat. But Darl
was going toward the lime qualryt
headlong laundering flight Darby rush,
madly ON. The bushes fringing the brir
Of the preclpice We're parted by the ma
dened rush of thirty.fve pounds of al
mated pork. A faint squeal rent the a
Of the beautiful. May morning, there w
a dull aud sickening thud on the rocks b
low and