The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1893-09-08

Little Lottie came to stand in his life
in place of all he had lost, and he took
comfort in her, calling himself ian ould
grandmother while he buttoned her lit
tie gowns or washed her pretty little
hands and face for her.
'tSay, Carlo" said the signora one day
this was when Carlotta was about 6
years old-'wad you say eef we geev-a
Clotta to Meester Pad fO' wife wan day,
eh?'
''Indade, me RESPECTED mother-in-law,"
Pat had replied, laughing, ''sure ye're
too late shpakin! Lottie an mes engaged
six months, come Moody Graw."
And so it gradually came about that he
called the pretty dark eyed child ''me
swateheart," me intinded," ''me fu-
ture' and the like, while she would al
ways leave her father or mother to go to
Woona, her best baby effort at his name
in the early days when he was Mr.. Roo
ney in the Di Carlo household.
Within the last year, however, while
as unfailingly attentive and gentle, he
called her only Lottie, and any allusion
to the old jests was wittily turned aside.
In the evenings, after dark, Pat gen
orally formed one of the family circle
on the banquette about the doors, flavor
ing the conversation with his invariable
humor and mirth.
Usually at about o'clock the little
father would jump down from his bar
rel, and rubbing the leg that had ''gone
to Sleep hop around limping while he
closed in the fruit shelves, took down
the lantern and prepared to lock up the
shop.
At his first movement Pat hobbled in,
carrying his chair with him, the signora
following and bending over her sleep
ing bundle with maternal ''Sh-h-h!' as
she passed in.
Finally, just before entering himself,
the father called: ''Toney PasqualeI joel
Anita! Neekr' and crowd came rush
ing noisily in from the congregation of
children half way down the block, one
or two of whom generally pursued them
to the door for last tag" and ''good
night" while voice or tvTo from the
IUll4AIoSt LII Carlos from within would
always a uswer, ''Sleep tight"
AS they focked in, passing the little
old father standing in the doorway, he
looked proudly upon them and grunted
his approval. They were a royal lot,
and they were his.
The scene reminds one of familiar
barryard grOup-a little game rooster, a
fine Brahma hen and their brood of
handsome chicks. The diminutive but
pompous father struts around with a
most important, proprietary air, and
fattering himself forgets to look at the
mother. So it was with little Di Carlo.
Men and ROSTERS are so thoughtless!
1t was true, Carlotta was a beauty, and
every one said she was the image of he1
father, and so she was-his image in
spired, and the mother was the inspira
ton.
If the little husband reminded one of 5
rooster, q rooster who never crowed, il
was not so much because the wife per
sisted in doing the family Growing as
well as cackling as that it pleased him
to sit by and smoke while she toyed with
his prerogative. One always felt thai
the crow was in him and that he had full
confidence in the size of it. Such is the
value of reserve.
In Difference to Pat the language OF
the evening circle was usually English
But though he had never attempted the
Italian speech or protested a comprehen
sion of it ii years of such familiarity
with it as the shop afforded had opened
the doors of his understanding, and moth
ing less than subtlety of meaning as fan
beyond the Di Carlos as himself would
have eluded him now.
A sort of delicacy forbade his reveal
ing this to those who sometimes chose tc
speak in his presence without inviting
his participation.
tho "A
the shop had been for some time an ole
man, Pietro Socola by name. for whom
Pat had always felt an instructive dis.
like.
| During the past few months SocoIs
had become a frequent guest, and while
( he sat on box at the fathers side in the
! evenings and spoke in low tone in Ital.
| ian he was observed to cast frequent
covert glances toward the daughter, Car.
lotta.
Now. Socola was rich, according to the
| Di Carlo standard, and a widower, and
so Pat was not supersuspicious in inter.
preting these glances as ominous Of
meaning to Carlotta.
The suspicion quickened his hearing
but the most assiduous eavesdropping
/ had as yet disclosed nothing to confirm
I his fears. Gossip about the men on the
Iuggers or at the Picayune tier, discus
! sions as to the rise or fall in prices OF
fruit or oysters, interspersed with long,
tobacco favored silences, seemed to con
stitute all their social intercourse, and
yet why did the ugly old fellow keer
looking at Carlotta?
Socola was of the one essentially home
ly Italian type. His blue gray eyes and
reddish hair were bereft of any leaning
toward beauty by a heavy, swarthy skin,
while the entire absence of upper front
teeth gave a touch of grotesqueness to his
: ugly visage. Short necked and square OF
build, he hadneverthelessa stoop, produc-
ing an effect as if his face arose from his
chest. The edges of his grizzly red mus
! tache were further colored from the to
bacco which he perpetually chewed, and
his hairy little hands bore about Their
blunt finger tips similar suggestions Of
! the weed.
Socola was plain as well as distin otly
deficient in the subtle charm which we
call personal magnetism.