The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1893-06-30

"'Fhe devil, then
"Thcn whack the devil
They tell on the pasteboard dragon and
beIabored him. The sun poured down on
the mayors throne, md his mother, who
sat By bis right hand, wondering ut his
sense, gave him water to drink from the
bottle. They brought a third case--a boy
who bad been caught torturng COW, He
had taken a SAW and tried 10 saw OFT one
Of her horns while she was tethered in her
stall
The mayor leaped from his scat
"Kil himw he shouted; take him of
and Kill him" His face was twisted with
passion and he lifted his stick. The crowd
4 lell back for second, but the old woman
4 leaned forward and touched her son softly
on the leg. lie stopped short, the anger
died ont of his face and he shivered.
"No," be said, 81 was wrong, neighbors.
The boy is mad, think, an tbs terrible
lot to be mad. This is the DEVILS doing
out o. doubt. Beat the devil"
"Simme,n said one Of the crowd, the
sins o. Gantick be wearin out the smoky
man at u terrible rate"
Aye answered another, "his nanghti-
ness baln,t ekM to Gantick" And this
observation was the original Of proverb
still repeated, ''As naughty as Gantick,
where the devil struck for shorter hours. !"
There was no cruelty that day on Drag
on's moor All the afternoon tho mad
mayor sat in the suns eye and gave judg'
ment, while his mother, from time TO
time, wiped away the froth that gathered
on his lips and moisteued them with water
from her bottle From first 10 last she
never spoke word, but sat with a horror
in her eyes. and watched the flushed cheeks
OF this grown up, bearded son. And all
the afternoon the men Of GanticlI 5rayed
the devil into shFeds.
said there was no cruelty on Dragons
moor that day But at snndown the mayor
turned TO his mother and said:
"We've been over hasty, mother, We
ought to ha' found out who made the devil
what he Is.
At last the sun dropped, shadow fell
I on the brown moors and crept up the
} mound where the mother and son sat. Ths
brightness died out Of the mayors face
! Three minutes after he hung up hi
! hands and cried. "Mother-my head, M
' headr'
, She rose. still without word, pulled
4 down his arms, slipped one within he
e own and led him away to the road, Th
q crowd did not interfere; they were buryinI
Z the broken dragon, with shouts and rougl
o play
I A woman followed them to the road an
+ tried TO clasp the mayors knees as b
g staggered.
& His mother beat her away.
|. "Otf wi your she cried; "'tis your n
: proach he's bearin."
}. She helped him slowly home. In th
/, shadow Of the cottage the inspired loo
d that be had worn all day returned for
h moment. Then convulson took hin
II casting him on the floor.
% All o'clock be died with his head on be
4 lap.
y She closed bis eyes, smoothed the wril
70 kles on his tired face, and sat watching hi
is for some time At length she lifted an
laid him on the deal table at full lengti
of bolted the door, put the heavy shutter O
N the low window and began toiight the fir
le For fuel she had heap Of peat tury'
b. and some sticks. Having lit IL, she set
Il. crock Of water TO warm, and undressed Il
st man slowly Then, the water being read
y, she washed and laid him out, chafng b
u. limbs and talking to herself all the while
u "Fair, straight leg" she said; "beaui
ii full body that eaped in my side, forty yea
"a back, aud thrilled mel How proud wa
i'd Why did God make you beautiful"
All night she sat caressing him. Al
~ the smoke Of the peat turyes, finding !
yd exit and no draught to carry them up Il
ar chimney. crept around and killed b
he quietly beside her son.-Q. in Argonaut.