Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1889-11-07
FOR LITTLE PEOPLE.
MY CHuM TEDDY.

ssTeddy O'Rourke's my chum. you see.
An how it happened was, him an me
Was down at the dock with the rest that day,
A-loolsn' fur somethin' to come our way,
Fur shines, tell We, was precious few,
An we thought we could pick up dime or two
Along with some of the other chaps,
Luggtn. q feller's valise, perhaps.
cit was time the boat was a-gittin' In,
An Of all the crowd on the dock. who'd been
Waitln' fur friends, none took our eye
Like two who was standin' just close by
A lady. II ever was one, guess
You could tell as much by her way an dress
With a little girl who had bout the looks
OF them kids you see in the picture books,
With her big blue eyes an her hair like gold
s'pose she was four or five years old.
An blest il she doesn't tell Ted an me
How her pas on board an how glad she'll be
When he is home with 'em both again,
An Teddy he sees tho boat just then.
swell. the boat swings inter the slip at last
An, while they're busy a-makin' fast
With the passengers ready Almost to land,
The little girl loses her mothers hand,
When every ones crowdin' an pushin' hard,
An blamed If she doesn't fall overheard
I can't exactly tell how she does
Cause fore knows it, why, there it was
An then there folders a great. big splash
AS Teddy goes after her in a flash!
'"ralk about swimmin'. now, Ted kin swimi
Not one OF the fellers knows tops him,
Stay under the longest you ever see;
Dive about twict as high as me;
Go out so fur you'd be scart clean through;
Why. they amt thing at he dassent dol
More like duck, guess you'd say
II ever you saw him IN, some day
An, though the tide is arunnn' strong,
He strikes right out, an it amt so long
Fore he's clingin' with her to the slippery
spiles,
An she's sate-an' he just looks up an smiles.
An there's nothin' the matter with her 'cept
fright
While Teddy unhelped climbs up the beams
With the water a-runnin' from him in streams !;
An, while he's shiverin' kind o., there,
The little girls ma don't seem to care
At all fur the people a-standin' by,
But gives him a kiss an begins to cry;
An the little girls pa amt noways slow
In grabbn' his hand-an' he won't let 60;
While every body upon the pier
Just whoOps her up III a Dustin cheer,
An one of 'em yels out, after that:
Come, chip in, all of you! Here's the hatr
"An' didn't they! Well, now. they just did!
Teddy was alters lucky kid
An, while around with the hat they goes,
Every one reaches down in his clo'es,
An you'd laugh to see how the oil plug fills
With dimes an quarters an halls an bills,
Till at last it's a-holdin' so much tin
Looks's If the crown would just bust right in;
An they takes the money at they have riz,
An they goes to Teddy an says it's his.
"sWhat?' says Teddy. This amt all mine!
An you oughter have seed his black eyes shine,
An feels good at gives him a shove,
Fur knows just what he's a-thinkin Of
It's about his mother, who's purity old,
An that sister of hist the doctors told
If she only could so iur good long spell
Out in the country she might git we'll
An every one laughs cause he stares so hard,
While the little girls pa takes out card
That says where Teddy's to call next day,
And they goes in hack of their own away,
While some one tells Teddy to scoot home
quick,
An change his clos so he won't git sick.
'"That's about all-'cept Teddy D Rourke
Has got a chance, and has gone to work
In the little girls pas big dry-goods store,
An he amt a-shinin' 'em up no more;
An now he's a-goin' to free-school, nights,
An he's learnin' so at he reads an writes,
While tells him to keep on pegg1n away,
An he'll be a big duck hisself, some day.
An me? Oh, Teddy'll look out fur me
Teddy O'Rourke's my chum you see"'
Malcolm Douglas, IN St. Nicholas.