The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1893-09-05

take but few words before Abe was
ready to set right down, then and there,
and let anybody do anything he was a
mind to with his misfortunate eyes. No,
he wouldn't wait till the old folks come
home He didn't want to ask no advice.
He wasn't afraid of pain nor of what
anybody could do to his eyes-couldn't
be made any worse than they were, what
ever you did to 'em. Take 'em out and
boil 'em and put 'em back if you had a
mind to. only go to work. He knew he
was Of age and he guessed he was master
Of his own eyes-such as they were.
Well, there wasn't nothing else to do
but go ahead. The doctor opened up his
killing tools and tried to keep Abe from
seeing them; but Abe, he just come right
over and peeked at 'em, handled 'em and
called em splendid" and so they were,
barrtn havin them used on your own
flesh and blood and bones.
Then they got some cloths and basin
and one thing another and set Abe right
down in chair. (No such thing as
chloroform in those days, you'll remem-
ber.) And Squire Cation was to hold an
instrument that spread the eyehd wide
open, while Ephe was to hold Abe's head
steady. First touch of the lancet and first
squirt of blood, and what do you think?
That ornery Ephe wilted and fell fiat on
the floor behind the CHART
esquire, said Brainard, ''step around
and hold his head"
II can hold my own head, says Abe
as steady as you please. But Squire Ca,
ton he straddled over Ephe and held his
head between his arms and the two ham
dies of the eyespreader with his hands.
1t was all over in half a minute, and
then Abe he leaned forward and shook
the blood off his eyelashes and looked
straight out of that eye for the first time
since he was born. And the first words
he said were:
''Thank the Lord! She's miner
About that time Ephe he crawled out
doors, sick as dog. and Abe spoke up.
Says he:
'Now for the other eye, doctor"
"Oh," says the doctor, WED better
take another day for that"
''All right, says Abe, 'tif your hands
are tired of cuttin you can make another
job of it. My face amt tired of bein
cut, can tell you"
well, II you're game, am"
So, if you'll believe me, they just set
to work and operated ON the other eye,
Abe holding his own head as he said he
would and the squire holding the spread
or. And when it was all done the doctor
was for putting bandage on to keep
things quiet till the wounds all healed
up, but Abe just begged for one sight
at himself, and he stood up and walked
over to the clock and looked in the glass
and says he:
$50 that's the way / look, is itp
Shouldn't have known my own face
never saw it before. How long must l
keep the bandage on, doctor?"
"Oh, if the eyes amt very sore when
you wake up in the morning you can
take it off If you'll be careful"
wake upl Do you spose can sleep
when such blessing has fallen on mel
I'll lay still, but If l forget it or you fol
one minute this night I'll be so ashamed
Of myself that it'll wake me right upl"
Then the doctor bound up his eyes
and the poor boy said "Thank God" two
or three times, and they could see the
tears running down his cheeks from un
der the cloth. Lordl 1t was just as
pitiful as a broken wing birdl
How about the girl? Well, it was all
right for Abe-and all wrong for Ephe
all wrong for Ephe. But that's all
past and gone-past and gone. Folks
come for miles and miles to see cross
eyed Abe with his eyes as straight as 8
looms leg. DIR. Brainard was great
man forever after in those parts. Every.
where else, too, by what heard.
When the doctor and the squire come
to go, Abe spoke up, blindfolded as he
was, and says he:
doc, how much do you charge
Teller for savin' his hfe-making a mar
out Of a poor wreck-doin what he
thought never could be done but by
dyin and goin to kingdom comet"
"Oh," says Doc Brainard, says he, "thaf
amt what we look at as pay practice
You didn't call me in-I came of myself
as though it was what we call clinic.
If all goes well and you happen to have
barrel Of apples to spare, you just send
them up to Squire Cations house in Chi
cago, and I'll call over and help eat 'em. =
What did Abe say to that2 Why, sir
he never said word, but they do say
the tears started out again, out from
under the bandage and down his cheeks.
But then Abe he had 5-year-old pet
mare he'd raised from a colt-pretty az
picture, kind as kitten and fast as
split lightning and next time Doc came
down Abe he just slipped out to the
barn and brought the mare round and
hitched her to the gate post, and when
Doc came to be going, says Abe:
Don't forget your nag, doctor; she's
hitched at the gate"
Well, sir, even then Abe had the hard
est kind Of time to get Doc Brainard to
take that mare, and when he did ride of
leadim her it wasn't half an hour before
back she came hckety split. Doc said
she broke away from him and put for
home, but / always suspected he didn't
have no use for a boss he couldn't sell nor
hire out, and couldn't afford to keep in
the village-that was what Chicago was
then. But come along toward fall Abe
he took her right up to town, and then
the doctors practice had growed SO much
that he was pretty glad to get her, and
Abe was glad to have him have her, see
ing all that had come to him through
havin eyes like other folks-that's the
schoolma am | mean.
How did the schoolma'am take itf
Well, it was this way. After the cuttin
Abe didn't show up for few days, till
the Inflammation got down and he'd
had some practice handlin his eyes, SO to
speak. He just kept himself to himself,
enjoyin himself. He'd go round dom
the chores, singing 80 you could hear
him a mile. He was always great on
singin, Abe was, though ashamed to go
to singin school with the rest. Then
when the poor boy began to feel like
other folks he went right over to where
the schoolma'am happened to be boardin
round and walked right up to her and
took her by both hands and looked her
straight in the face and said;
''Do you know meS"
Well, she kind Of smiled and blushed,
! and then the corners Of her mouth pulled
down and she pulled one hand away.