The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1888-09-14
Grandpa 1Ionroe's "Cryine Coat"

Rather young was John Monroe for a
grandpa He had just passed his 10th year
stone in the journey Of life, and the coming
Of the baby Winnie gave him an awakening
shock which was something of a surprise.
He noticed now, for the first time, that the
fires of ambition had burned down to gray
ashes. There were no northern lights on his
fancy's horizon, and he found himself looking
into his mirror for gray hairs. He found
them, too, in silver lines along his forehead.
They were SO plentiful that he could not pull
them oil out, and SO he was forced to let them
remain, grim warnings Of a coming crop of
gray. And with their coming hopes of great
achievements died and were buried with de-
sire and pride and hope. But Johns youth
was enewed in tho little Winnie. his sons
baby, and as the baby grew and emerged
from the long clothes period into that Of
short clothes, and began to lisp those little
household words which fall like music on the
ears Of parents. Mr.. Monroe's love for the
child waxed stronger and stronger. As love
begets love, the baby returned her grandpa's
affection, and SO it came to pass that when
Winnie was 2 years old, John md Winnie
wereinseparable.
Ono day on returning from his daily work
grandpa found Winnie crying. He went up
to the garnet and brought down with him an
old coat. This he laid upon the floor and,
calling the child's attention to it, said:
snow, Winnie, whenever you feel like cry
ing you must lie down upon this coat"
The child obediently threw herself upon
the garment and sobbed herself to sleep.
Afterward, when for any reason the tears
began to flow, Winnie took the coat from its
nail, laid it upon the floor, and wept out her
sorrow upon 1t. And SO the garment natur-
ally took the name of grandpa's crying coat
What hopes and fears, what soul hurts,
what heart burnings, what paroxysms Of
pride and passion were washed away by the
brine Of salty tears upon that old, faded,
worthless coati And with what awe did the
child regard It'll No sacrilegious a could
be laid upon 1t without awakening Q passion
ate objection from the child, and q long tale
at night to her grandpa Of how the garment
had been ruthlessly flung about during his
absence.
There came a day when the Goa failed to
perform the kindly Offices with which
grandpa had endued it. Winnie tossed
about upon it, and threw her arms over her
flushed face, but no relief came to her. A
malignant fever had smitten the child, and
dried the fountain Of her tears And In her
OeAA1Aum sue C8uoQ 1OT grandpa ana u4S cry
ing coat. When John came home that night
and leaned over the flushed face the tears
stole out of his eyes and ran down his brown
cheeks The light Of momentary intelligence
came back to Winnie's eyes, and feebly she
said:
"Grandpa, lie on the coat" ..@.~.
The coat does not hang in the garnet now.
It is carefully laid away in a trunk, and
~sprinkled with tobacco to keep away the
moths. Sometimes John takes it out Of the
trunk when the door is locked and no one is
looking, and handles it reverently. It is sus-
pected by other members Of the household
that he does SO, although nc one can say GER
tainly as to what John does when he Is in the
room. It is said when John comes out Of the
room hS wears q gentle, subdued air, and
that he ove around softly, as II. some ons
was asleep whom he does not wish to waken.
These indications, In connection with the fact
that the keyhole is plugged when he Is in the
room, has led Johns friends to suspect that
the coat is just as much entitled to its odd
name as ever it was.-New York Evening
finn