Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-11-29

my evenin' pipe, with mother a knittin'
close by. And one picture, think, we'd
both see: the picture of a merry black
eyed boy, whose voice had made the
sweetest music of our home. But what
ever we saw there was nothing said ;
for knew that mother had q
sore heart in her bosom along of
Jason. though I was some time in findin'
it out. Mothers apt to be close about
her troubles, though when she does break
out word'll contain whole book of
revelation as to her feelin's. I'd got to
feelin' little hard to'rd mother in them
days, for some way took the notion that
she was more vexed at the failure of the
Idee than at 1osin' the boy. You know
how tits when you've got a sore throat;
you keep swallowin' every few minutes
just to see if your throat IS sore, though
you know it is. Well, mothers silence
affected me much like the sore throat; I
kept wantin' to touch the sore spot I
knew was in her heart for that boy, and
kept sayin' one thing and another till I
said too much. After I'd done the mis- =
chief I was mad with myself for what I'd
said, and then got mad with her for not
bein' more spunky and talkin' back; so
things got sort of cool between US. If
we'd only talked it out It would have been
over at once; but stead of that we'd sit
silent till you could feel the quiet settlin'
down on ye like damp, cold fog goin'
right to the bone and marrow. It was
growin' along lords Christmas, and 1 was
sittin' alone by the fire-for we'd got to
livin' and doin' Independent like, not
waitln' on each other-and / was feelin'
as if Pd like to smash every music ma
chine in the house; for it seemed
as if the Idee was comm between
through many a year of shadow and sun.
Of peace and good will, and of all the help
and comfort pd found in the wo man
that'd never failed step at my side
since she put her arm in mine the day we
walked out Of church, man aud wife, to.
gether. No. says !, sooner than the
Idee shall come between us I'l1 adopt it
myself So, when next morning
hitched up and drove to town. I'd made
up my mind to find q real peace and
goodwill offerin' for mothers Christ
mas. I was in the store pricin' this
thing and that, when happened to open
what look ed like picture album Gas it
was), and no sooner had I opened it than
it began to play Home, Sweet Home
Ny first thought was that it was delu.
sion; I'd got the Idee on the brain.
shut the book and the music stopped; I
opened it again and it took up the tune,
that soft and sweet it might have been
fairy music. Soon as I'd figured out
what it was, / knew that it and nothing
else was the thing for mothers Christ
mas. So tra1ed for the album, and put
my picture opposite mothers in the
front Of the book, and Christmas morn
ing laid it out for her. She undid the
paper sort of Indifferent like, aud when
she saw the pretty, plush cover sh2 says
-speakin' sort of languishin' as ye do
when you're tired-.Im afraid you've
been kind of extravaganza, JASON She
opened the book, still careless like, me a
watchin' her like rooin eyein' cherr y,
and it began to play. You should have
seen her face, our pictures just opposite,
and the sweetest little tinkle Of II ONE
Sweet Home as il the medder- brook
had been takin' music lessons. I wish
you could a seem her. Elder, for it amt in
speech to describe how mother looked.
any more than it's in paintin' to picture
a soul. She just wheeled round to me,
that was standin' close and waitin', and
laid her head on my shoulder, as she did
on the day / asked her, and could feel
her tremblin' as she chung to me, who
couldu't do or say any thing, but hold her
close and stroke her soft, shining hair
and say: Mary dear wife, what's
troublin' YEP We both knew what it was;
for there we stood, heart to heart as we
hadn't stood in long time, not sayin'
much, but one heart q telegraphin' love
to the other, through our joined hands,
till we could fairly feel our fingers Jingle
with the message. There want no feel
ing of chill and fog that night, as we sat
by the fire, though whether it was the
hickory log that did seem to be doin' its
best to put on style for the occasion, or
whether 1t was OWN to the fact that
mother and me was sittin' pretty close,
like courtin' over again, only more
peaceful, it amt mine to say.
Anyway,we was both feelin' happy, in a
auiet resttul wav: aud rs we sat there to-