The Arizona sentinel., 1889-08-31
JOHNNIE'S LETTER.
He Communicates Some Very Startling IN
formation O His Absent Brother

JOHNNlE'S LET TER.
He Communicates Some Very Startling IN
formation to HIS Absent Brother
Johnnie was sick one day-nOt very
sick, but so that he had to stay in
the house. After awhile he grew tired
of all his books and playthings, and
didn't know what to do. His mother
suggested that he might write letter
to his brother Harry, who was away
at college. So he did, and this is what
he wrote:
DEAR HARRY: / have got sore throat, and
1 don't know what else to do, so am going to
write to you and tell you all the news. Our
house has been razed. Papl got some men TO
do it, and he says he is satisfied now. He is
thinking of ceding his land soon, and he has
promised TO let me have a few roCs to take care
of.
Maria died this morning and had SOM fun
watching her, for my throat is so bad can't go
outdoors.
Aunt Kate was here last week. Just before
she went away she gave mamma rap.
must stop now, for 1 smell the stake cook
ing and suppose dinner will soon be ready.
Your affectionate brother,
JOHNNIE CURTIS.
He copied it neatly and felt quite
proud of his letter as he gave it TO his
father to mail. But he was surprised
and puzzled when, two days later, he
received this reply to it:
MY DEAR JOHNNIE: am greatly shooeed by
the contents of your letter, which have just
received. 1t is so strange that mother dld not
say any thing in her last letter about this
trouble having come upon father. L suppose
she thought it would worry me, and indeed 1t
does, for insanity is a terrible thing. Poor
fathers mind must be considerably affected, if
he has had the house torn down, and wants to
give up the land he worked so hard to get.
Tell mother that 1 know about it, and, if she
should need me at any time, to send tele-
gram, and 1 will hold myself in readiness 10
start Immediately. 1 think I shall come. any
way, before long, for want to see how you are
situated.
thought Aunt Kate a perfect lady,
-and-I can not imagine how she couTu so- r"i '0-
get herself as to strike her sister,
Now, Johnnie, you must be good' ana not
give mother the least trouble, for she has
enough of that now. If 1 were in your place L
wouldn't say a word about those animals
father promised to give you and perhaps he
will forget about them. 1t wVult be much
better if he would, for 1 am sure he can not
afford to get them if he has ceded his land
away.
So Maria is dead Well, am sorry; she was
a very faithful servant. And you ought to be
ashamed of yourself, Johnn e, for thinking it
fun to see her die 1 wouldn't have believed
nv little brother could be so heartless.
don't understand he last sentence of your
letter. 1 never heard before of cooking a
stake, and DO not see how any thing dlSestl-
BILE could be prepared from one.
&c we
Your loving brother, HARRY
''Well, what does Harry have to
say?" asked Mr. Curtis, after Johnnie
had read the letter through.
why, l don't know. | can't see
what he means at all, said Johnnie,
with bewildered look, giving the let
ter to his father.
Mr.. Curtis read it, then looked up
with frown and asked:
What nonsense have been writing
to your brother?"
Johnnie disclaimed having written
any nonsense. and brought his slate
with the first draft of his letter still
upon it for proof
AIG6r Il cOInp npdflSOu VI CIi0 C"O lOOOCio .
Mr. Curtis began to laugh, and John
ME, somewhat nettled, said he wouldn't
write any more letters if every body
was going to make fun of them. Then
his father showed him that he had
written razed instead of raised, and
they looked for both words in the die
tionary.
So Johnnie learned that TGze means
to destroy, and raise to lift up. he
found, too, with his fathers help, that
he had used cedjng for seeding, rOeS for
roa0S, died for dyed, rap for Ordp, and
stake for steak, and so had really writ
ten something very different from what
he had intended.
He sent Harry another letter before
long to explain things, and he was
careful to look in the dictionary for
every word he was not sure he could
spell right.
After that he was very attentive to
his spelling lessons, for he saw that
mistakes in spelling might sometimes
make great deal of trouble. N. Y.
Advocate.