The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1889-12-19
LITTLE JOINTS CHRrsMuA.
81 JAMES wH1rocxB RILEY.


By JAMES wHIrccxB Riley
We got It up purpose, jos fer little Joints,
you know,
His mother was so pore &nd all, and hsd to man
Jes' bein' war-widder, and her pension mighty
slim,
Shed take in weavin ez work out er anything
fer him.
And little Joints was puny-like--but law the
nerve he had -
You'd want to kind O. pity him, but couldn't,
very bad
Els pants O. armyIblanket and his coat O. faded
Keep bintin of his father lrnv, and pity wouldn t
dol
So we col1ogued together, sonc't, winter
time, AT We
Jes' me and naother and the girls, and Wilse
John, jack and Free
Would jine and git up little Joints, by time at
Christmas come,
Some sorto' doin's don't you know, at would
su prise him sonnet
And So all on the quiet, mother she turns i'm
gifts
Some bIue-janes- and makes q suit and
then sits down and knits
A pair o little galluses to go long with the
And puts in a red-fannen back, and buckle on
the vest
The little feller'd ben SO much around our
And ben SIGH hep to her and all and handy as
could be,
sat mother couldn' tdo too much fer little Ohnts
She use to ies' declare at "he was meat-and-
drink to herl"
And Piney, Iide, and MadaIine they watched
their chance and rid
To Eountaintown with Lijey's folks; and bought
o fairy tales, with pictur's in; and got a little
pair
o. redtop boots at John-Jack said he'd ben
a-pricen there.
And Iide got him little sword, and Mada1ine
drum;
And shootin' Crackers awzy-dGyl and they're
SO dangersOmel
And Piney, ever time the rest would buy some
Shed take and turn in them and buy more can
dy fer the boy
Well, things-says-I, when they got back, your
pocketbooks is dryl
But little JChnts was there hissef that after
noon, so I
Well, all of us KEEP mighty raum, tel we got
him Gway
BY tellin him be shore and come tomory-
Chrismus day
And fetch his mother long with hima And
how he scud acrost
The felds-hiS tOW-heaC, in the dusk, JeS' like @
streak o frost !
His comfort 1uttern as he rutland old Uige,
don't you know,
A ju1npin' high fer rabbits and ,a-plowin' up the
snow!
1t must a+be'n most ten that fright afore we got
With Wise and John-Jack heIppin' us; and
Freeman in the shed,
And L1de out with the lantern while he trimmed
ChrisInus tree
Out'Of a little scrub-oak top SIT suited to a I'll
All night Idreamp' o. hearin' things a-skulkin'
round the place
And "OId Kriss" with his wkiskers off and
freckles on his face
And RENDERS, shaped like Shawn bosses at the
cOoper-shop
A-stickin' down the chfmbly, with their heels
out at the tOpi
BY time Sat mother got me up twas plum day
light and more
The front yard full of neighboCS all a-crowdin'
rOun the door,
With Joints mother leadin' yes-and little
Joints hissef,
Set up on Freeman shoulder, like a jug up Oh
the she'll
OF course can t describe it VIXEN they all got
in to where
We'd conferred up the Chri SINUS treeam all the
fxin's there
Fer all the shouts O. laughter-clGppin' han S
and crackin' jokes,
Was heap OF kissin' goin on among the women
folks
For, lo-behold-yei there they had that young
un-And his chin
A-wabblin' like and, shore enough, at last he
And-sich another bellerin', in all my mortal
days
Inever heerd er 'spect ter hear, in woes ap-
printed ways!
And nAother grabs him up and says: "Itis naore'n
he cam bear
It's all too student fer the child, and too SUI
prism l-There!"
~Oh no. it ain 't"-sobbed little Johnts-"I ain t
suprised-but I'm
A-cryin cause 1 We 5ched you all and knOwed
it all the tineI"