St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1893-05-06
Soy AND RATTLE.
4 Picture ~ Home Life with Half "a
Hours Exposure.

Hours Exposure.
! They were all sitting in the library
the mother, her two grown-up daugh
! tiers. her son-in-law and her boy. Ches
ter. who was ''going on twelve" On,
. OF the girls was sewing. the other wa.
playing chess with the son-in-law
The old lady herself WAS reading tn,
Bible.
! Chester. rs usual, was making Q nui
sance of himself. He had 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
uoise?"
II amt maxim no noise," answered
the young reprobate, and he was moi
lust then.
A minute later he gave the rattle an
other whirl. and then it was that his
married sister demonstrated.
Chester she said. ~ should thinl,
you would be ashamed of yourself to
make such racket when you know
how its disturbs us"
II 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 noise with
the rattle that seemed almost as loud
rs a bunch Of cannon crackers could
make.
Then the son-in-law spoke mp. Look
here, Chester" said he. "what are YOU
making such an internal hubbub for?''
~ 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 my
noise at oil. But it seemed that she
had heard at least some Of it. for. turn
ing to Chester, she said: Don't crack
that rattle any more"
II 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 of another
round.
The old lady closed her Bible, taking
pains to put mark in it, took of her
spectacles and slowed them away
in the leather case, got up ON her
feet and shook ont 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 gcntlest way possible: Come,
Chester"
Chester followed his car. 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 q boys voice
yelling. ''Ow! ow! she's killin' me-"
and the cry. with some variations, was
kept up for about Eve minutes.
Soon after it stopped the library door
opened again and in came the old lady
looking rs placid as q cup of tea. She
said nothing and nobody spoke to her.
though all tthere 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
tglances and smiled. The
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
whence she had dragged Chcs-
ter by the ear. picked mp the young
rattle of the floor, and |
tossed the thing into the CRATE fire.-N.
Y. Times