The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-03-19
BOY AND RATTLE.
A Picture OF Home Life with Half m
Hours Exposure.

A Picture OF Home Life with Half m
Hours Exposure.
They were all sitting in the library.
the mother, her two grown-up daugh-
ters, her son-jn-law and her boy, Ches-
ter. who was "going on twelve" One
of the girls was sewing. the other was
playing chess with the son-in-law.
The old lady herself was reading the
Bible.
Chester, as usual, was making nui-
sance of himself. He had a toy watch
mans rattle, and every now and then
would set it a-going just to torment his
sisters and brother-in-law.
Chester, DEAR" pleaded the unmar-
ried sister, won't you please stop that
noise?"
II amt maxim no noise" answered
the young reprobate, and he was not
lust then.
A minute later he gave the rattle an
other whirl, and then it was that his
married sister demonstrated.
Chester" she said. 'I should think
you would be ashamed of yourself to
make such racket when you know
how its disturbs us"
81 amt maxim no racket" answered
the boy, and he was not.
But the sound of his words had bare
ly died out when he made a noise with
the rattle that seemed almost as loud
as bunch of cannon crackers could
make.
Then the son-in-law spoke up. Look
here, Chester" said he, what are you
making such an Internal hubbub for?"
81 amt maxim no Internal hubbub. :"
replied Chester, as he folded his hands
across his breast and took on an in
jured look.
Thirty seconds later that old rattle
went Crack, crack, crackety-crack, !"
again making noise louder than ever.
The the old lady said something.
She had been sitting there apparently
absorbed in her Bible, and one would
have said that she hadn't heard any
noise at all But it seemed that she
had heard at least some of it. for. turn
iEg to Chester, she said: Don't crack
that rattle any more"
81 amt crackin' no rattle" said the
boy.
A shade passed over the old lady's
face and she made a motion as though
she would put her Bible down, but she
didn't do it, but went on with her read
ing.
Presently Chester let off another
round.
The old lady closed her Bible, taking
pains to put mark in it, took off her
spectacles and slowed them away
in the leather case. got up on her
feet and shook out her apron, and gave
little pull to her waist to straighten
out the wrinkles in it. Then she
walked over and took Mr.. Chester by
his right ear and said in the sweetest
and gentlest way possible: Come,
Chester"
Chester followed his ear. and in
course OF time reached his mothers
apartment just over the parlor.
1t wasn't long before the two sisters
and the son-in-law heard boys voice
yelling. owl ow! she's KILN me-"
and the cry, with some variations, was
kept up for about five minutes.
Soon after 1t stopped the library door
opened again and il came the old lady
looking as placid as cup of tea She
said nothing and nobody spoke to her,
though all cthere watched her. She
proceeded at once to her seat by the
table. put her spectacles on, took up
her Bible, and began TO read.
The daughters and the son-in-law
exchanged aglances and smiled. The
son-in-law was very near laughing
aloud, but his wife restrained him
But she didn't restrain him nor her
self when ten minutes later the old
lady. having finished her chapter, put
her Bible down again, went over to the
corner whence she had dragged Ches-
ter by the ear, picked up the young
watchman's rattle off the floor, and
tossed the thing into the CRATE fire.-N.
Y. Times.