The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1893-01-21

amt pertickler, but there's some things
he likes. You'll see to it he has his flap
jacks for breakfast ?'
Land, yes, he shall have his fapiacks
Don't you worry, grandpa.
Daniel kept his resolution; Sonny never
went again to Miss Peters's school. Every
day the old man labored faithfully with
him over spelling book and reader, trying to
call to mind, for loves sake, the forgotten
learning of his youth. The two would
watch gleefully Miss Peters hieing in
angular majesty to the schoolhouse of a
morning
''There's madam" Daniel would say,
chuckling, and poking Sonny. Couldn't
spell syzygy, could she, Sonny, hey ?''
However, as the time wore on, old Dan
iel took less delight in his part of school
master Not that the duties pertaining
thereto were too onerous for his pains-tak-
ing affection; but the position itself grew
to be an unstable one Sonny was mild,
sweet. tempered little fellow, but he disre-
garded entirely his grandfather's orders in
the matter of education. Sonny, disobey-
ing, with his sweet, smiling little mouth,
and his gentle, innocent eyes, was per-
plexity.
II can't do nothin' with him, the poor
old man confessed, one day, to Hannah
Price. eHe won't learn his lessons; but
there don't seem to be no sense in scoldin
of him fort, when he's so pleasant about it. "
It's turnin' out jest the way l thought
'twould," said Hannah. "You'd better
make up your mind to send him back to
school, grandpa.
"Who's that goin' by ?" said Daniel
"That's John Stebbins. If you want
Sonny to amount to"
"John's goin kinder lame, amt he u
'sI don't know. Is he? l heard lately
he wanted to marry Mrs. Bancroft, and
she wouldn't have h i'm"
"Silas Bancrofts widder ?"
aYes."
Daniel sat staring out of the window at
the limping, gray bearded, round should
cred man passing up the road. Just then
Miss Peters came out of the schoolhouse,
and the two saluted each other stif1y
Suddenly Daniels old round face twitch-
ed, and all its hard seams deepened with
laughter.
"Whats the matter, grandpa 2
sob, nothin', nothin r' But he still
chuckled.
Some weeks later, Hannah came over to
his house one afternoon with piece Of
news.
'Guess what 1 heerd this morning,
grandpa, said she.
The old mans eyes twinkled. "How
should l know what you've heerd, Han
nah ?"
"Well, you can send Sonny to school
again before long, L guess. Miss Peters is
going to be married. /"
Guess knew that afore you did"
"How did you know p
"Oh, knew. John Stebbins' the one
amt it?7
Now, how did you know, grandpa 2"
"Well, me an John talked it over a
leetle aforehand. .
Grandpa Price, what do you mean n
"Well I'll tell you, Hannah, if you
won't say nothin' bout it. 1t kinder
struck me, you know, when you said that
bout Mrs. Bancroft's not havin' of him
that Miss Peters would make him a good
wife,"
II nevern'
Daniel ehuckled between his sentences,
as he went on:
$50 one day kinder dropped over there
to see if he didn't want ter sell a leetle OF
his trash wood, an l spoke bout it, kinder
easy. | said somethin bout its bein'
pretty hard for him gittin' along the way
he was, alone An then | sorter joked
him bout gittin' married. Lots of nice
girls round here, says 1; there's Miss
Peters, says L I'm kinder afeared Of
her, says he she looks as if she might be
pretty high-spirited No, she amt, very,
says l. she looks leetle that way. but she
amt. She's jest as gentle as lamb.
Well, l kinder praised her up, an see he
listened. The next Sunday night
watched, an l see him go home from
meetin with her.
"Now, Grandpa Price, amt you asham-
ed of yourself? You know she won't
make any kind of a wife for him.
@Oh, p'rhaps she will, Hannah, Bein'
in love works miracles, you know, some
times"
Daniels scheme proved successful; that
was Miss Peters last term. The old man
was exultant. He peeped slyly in the
window on the last day of the school, after
the pupils had gone. He intended to
crafty his malice-which was well temper
ed by good nature, after abby few
facetious remarks to her on her approach
ing nuptials. He was nonplussed, how
ever, to see the teacher with her head on
her desk crying; and he withdrew softly.
81 wonder what on airth she was cryin'
for, he thought His simple old mans
imagination could not conceive the true
cause of her grief-that this poor, elderly,
pock-marked, hard-tempered woman, was
weeping over the tender, shamefaced ro-