Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-03-15
B0UM-BOUM.

The child lay on his little white bed, DEATH,
pale, and looked with eyes made ell the bgge
by fever straight before him. steadily, anC
with the strange fzedness of the sick whC
already perceive what those who are vel
cannot see. The mother, at the foot Of tn,
bed, biting her Fingers so GS not to CRY out
anxious and toTnented with her suffering
watched the progress Of tie disease over thl
poor, thin face Of her little boy, and Tho
father, a fine fellow, though be was only &
workingman, held back in his eyes the tears
that burned on their lids. And the first light
OF the dawn, clear gentle, tho light of a fine
morning in June, came into the narrow bed.
room On the Rue dos Addresses, where lay
dying the little Francois. son Of jacques
Legrand and Of Madeleine Lcgrand, his wife
lie was boy of years. a blonde and rosy
little chap, who, not three weeks before had
been as lively and as clipper as a sparrow
But q fever had seized him, and they had
brought him homo, one evening, from school,
with his head so heavy and lis hands so hot.
And ever since no had been there on bis bed,
and sometimes in his delirium would say,
looking at the nicely polished shoes that his
mother had carefully SCI IN a corner: you
can throw them away now, little Francois
shoes Little Francois will not Wear them
any moro. Little Francois will not go TO
school again-never, negcr!7
Then the father would CRY out, CIVIL You
be quiet" and tho mother would go and
hide her face in her pillow. so that the little
Francois would not hear her wecp. Through
the night that had just passed the child had
had no delirium. But for two days he had
bothered the doctor by a strange sort of de-
roc la5 70,
death, as IL, though but years old. the
SEX boy had already experienced tho weari-
uess Of life. He was tired out. apparently.
silent, sad, idly tossing his weak head back
ward and forward on the pillow, unwilling
to take anything; having no longer a smile
on his poor, thin lips, and with his haggard
eyes searching, seeing no one knew what,
far Off, far away. There, above US, per
HNps," thought Madeleine, who shivered at
the thought When they wanted lin to
take his medicine, sons syrup may be, or
little beef Tea, he refused everything.
'Do you want anything, Fraincois'"
''No, want nothing"
You must get him out of this" said the
doctor. This torpor alarms me. You are
his parents, you should know your child.
Think Of something which may animate this
little fellow, bring back to earth the mind
which is roaming among the clouds" And
then he went away.
Think Of something's Oh, YES, beyond q
doubt, they knew him well, their Francois,
these good people. They knew how much
be WIS amused, the little fellow, when on
Sunday he would go and forage in the
hedges, and would come back to Paris on
his fathers shoulder. loaded with hawthorn.
jacques LegrGEd had bought for Francois all
sorts of images, and Re pat them on the
child's bed, and made them dance before the
wandering eyes of The little fellow, and all
ready to cry, tried to make him laugh
Now, do you see, It's the Broken Bridge.
Tra-la-la. And hero is general You re-
member we saw q general once in the Bots
dc Boulogne' II You will take your mcdi-
zine l will buy a real general for you, with
a cloth coat and gold eI.1ulettes. Do you
want him-thc general! Tell me-"
NO." replied the child, in the dry voice
which fever produces.
'Do you want pistol? some marbles? a
bow and arrowSl"
No" answered the little voice, almost
cruel in its distinctness
And to all that they said to him, to all the
jumping jacks, 20 al the balloons that thoy
promised him, the little voice-the parents
oil the while looking at each other in despair
"No! no, no."
But what do you want, then, my Fran
cois!" asked tho mother Come now. there
must be something that you would like to
have. What is it, Tell it to me. your
And she laid her check down on
the pillow of the sick boy, and she whispered
her request in his ear, as if it were a secret
between them. Then the child, rising in his
bed and stretching out toward something in
visible an eager hand, replied suddenly, with
q strange accent aud in an earnest tone. that
was at once supplicating and imperative:
Il want Boun-Boum."
Boum-Boum!
The poor Madeleine threw a frightened
look at her husband. What did the little
one say3 Was it the delirum, the terrible |
ielirium come backl
Boum- Bouml
She did not know what il meant, and she !
was frightened at these queer words, which |
yhe child now repeated with the viilfulreSs |!
II sick person, as il, not having dared until /
men TO formulate his dream, be would cling |
. it now with an invincihlo obstinacy
Eyes, Boum-Boum! Boum-Boum, Iwant |
Soum-Boumm
The mother had seized in her nervousness
)acques's hand, and said in low voice, as
hough she were out of her wits, What |
Toes that mean, Jacques. Oil it is all over
with him.
But the father had or his rough face a
mile that was almost happy. And : bewil-
Tered smile, also-the smile OF condemned
nan who detects 4 possible chance for lib
hnr ~ ,,-.fl !
he Easter morning when be had taken
francois to the circus. tie had still in his
arS the ch!ld's great bursts of jov. his
learty lauCh-the laugh of an amused
,oungster-when the clown, the splendid
down, all spotted with sold, with a spark
ing, many ColCred dress. on the back OF
hich was set a big brown BUTTERFLY. Der
orned his antics il the ring. ulaved tricks
II the riding master. or held himself motion
ess on the ground. his head down and his
eet il the air, or threw up to the chsr6e-
Ter his soft felt hat and caught it adroitly on
is head, and where the lnen formed pvrs-
nd; and at each trick, like the refrain If a
ong, lighting up his big, droll, bright face,
be clown uttered the same CRY. repeated the
anne word, accompanied. sometimes by a roll
drumS-Bounl-Boum,
DOCLn-Dputn! anu every clrle that IL came I
ound, Boun- Bouml the whole circus bursted
ut in braves, and the little one laughed
earliest Boum-Boum, II was this
cum -BoUm, the clown of the circus, the
ian who entertained good part Of the city,
lat he wanted 20 see-the little Francois
nd that he might not have and might not see,
scause be was there, sick and weak, in his
hlte bed!
That evening Jacques Legrand brought to
e child a jointed clown, with spangles
wed on all over, that he had bought at a