Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1891-10-30

ceased COW, which he carefully fitted
and sewed over an oak stick. This was
spliosd on TO Jolly's stub and really
looked first rate, in spite of the fact
! that yellow dog with perfectly stiff
red tail tipped with fly-brush, is 4
rather unusual sight.
Jolly was introduced to the family
and the merits of the improvement ex-
patiated upon. Just as the baby wad-
died up Mrs. Lazenberry presented the
rejuvenated Jolly with beef bone,
which SO delighted him that he wagged
his new tail with such vehemence thathe
Knocked the baby down and threatened
to beat his unfortunate brains out be-
fore the wagging could be stopped.
This led to the speedy detailing of Jolly,
Mrs. Lazenberry considering a large
dog with a club attachment undesir-
able.
That was the way it was with the
majority of Pink's inventions They
promised fair enough, but often man
aged to achieve the most unexpected
and sometimes distressing results.
PinlI's rabbit traps were the wonder
and admiration of the youth of the
neighborhood. But, it seemed as if
they had an unaccountable predilec-
ton for catching skunlls instead of
rabbits.
At one time, he constructed a COM
plicated attachment to the churn. The
only fault to be found with it seemed
to be that churning with the improve
ment involved an outlay of labor near
ly double that required to operate the
unimproved churn.
Pink's riding-saw promised great
things, but at the first trial it would
probably have sawn the young inven-
tor, himself, in two had he not been
rescued before it was too late.
1t certainly was an ingenious and
promising contrivance that he rugged
for rocking the baby by wind power
With the expenditure of no little time,
thought and labor, he rugged a wind
mill above the roof of the porch, to
which was attached an arrangement
that rocked the cradle nicely when the
wind blew gently. 1t promised to
make quite saving of time to Mrs.
Lazenbeyry. who could place the baby
IN the cradle on the shady porch and
let the mechanism rock him gently to
Sleep This she dia, one afternoon,
and when the trial was over no fault
could be found with Pinkney's crea-
ton.
But, upon the following afternoon,
the invention fell from favor.
The wind was mild, the day fair and
the baby sleepy, and so Mrs. Lazen-
berry placed the little fellow in the
cradle and ran over to Mrs. Shipley's
to borrow some yeast. Little Henry
Clay Shipley was threatened with
whooping cough, and, after the child
had been brought out to cough for the
sympatlHzing visitor, the ladies drifted
into q discussion of various childish
maladies and their treatment, and
from them to the gossip of the neigh
hood. Thus it happened that the
errand occupied an hour in accomplish
ing.
Meanwhile, the breeze was freshen-
ing preceptibly, and by the time Mrs.
Lazenberry started homeward it was
blowing briskly. She looked to dis
cover the windmill revolving merrily
and the cradle rocking at great rate.
The baby was being ratified from side
to side in a way that must have been
decidedly uncomfortable, and bowling
like good fellow.
The mother hurried thither at her
best speed, but was too late to avert
the catastrophe which followed. just
as she reached the gate, there came
sudden and harder gust of wind, and
the cradle gave one mad roll and hurled
the baby out on its head and off from
the porch.
While yet there was considerable un-
certainty as to whether the poor little
chaps nose was really broken or only
badly skinned, Mr.. Lazenberry up
rooted the windmill and reduced it, to-
gether with the attachment, to kind
ling wood. This, of course, happened
Lazenberry.
But, in spite of such drawbacks,
Pink continued to invent and his par
ents to prophesy a triumphant future
for his genius
BY the time that Mr.. Lazenberry and
his ague were approaching the Uncle
Darby Hicks cure stage, Pink was
deep in the greatest effort of his life.
This was an attempt made for the spe-
cial benefit and pleasure of his afflicted
father-a kind of wheeled reclining
chair or vehicular couch
Not being an inventor, I can hardly
describe intelligently the wonder,
there not now existing its like to which
l might refer Two old cultivator
wheels of equal size placed side by
side and connected by an axle, small
er wheel for steering purposes ahead,
low-hanging couch. swung beneath
somehow, a crank arrangement and
other contrivances of which only Pink
knew the name and nature-that,
briefly, was the invention. The opera
tor was supposed to recline at ease on
the swinging couch, and, manipulating
the proper parts of the mechanism, go
trundling gently along.
1t had been some time since the vic
tim of the ague had been able to go
about the neighborhood, but, as the in
vention took shape, the family felt
sure that it would enable him to take
little excursions without fatigue and
be the means of cheering him up con-
cry. Finally, the masterpiece was COM
pleted and the time of trial at hand,
finding Mr.. Lazenberry in mild way
interested in it as much as an ague-at-
ficted man could well be interested in
anything but his own woe
Desiring to make the trial excursion
as easy and pleasant as possible for his
father, Pink decided that he should
ride down the nearby slope, keeping
to the smooth road down the gentle in
cline and across the little bridge that
spanned the gully at its foot, stopping
as soon as he liked on the level be-
yond. Thus he would have little to do
but guide the machine, as it would
practically run itself down the slope.
Mr.. Lazenbury left his easy chair.
crept out to the starting place and
stretched himself on the low-swung
couch with an ''um-ah!' of mild salts
u