Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1893-11-14
JESSY.

body had ever seen.
Bogus, though he had toiled at his work
for 20 years, had not yet published any por-
ton Of it, but his manuscript, neatly copied
and arranged on shelves in the recess of a
window, contained material for no less than
10 folio volumes. The first treated Of the
error Of being born-the root of all the
others.
The following ones related to the mis-
takes of little boys and girls, youths, men
Of mature age and graybeards, and those
of persons belonging to the various profess
sions, statesmen, shopkeepers, soldiers,
cooks, publicists, etc. The last Volumes
which were still unfinished, dealt with the
errors of the republic, which result from
the sum total of individual and profession
al blunders.
Bogus had not made the mistake of mar
rying. He lived alone in his cottage with
an old housekeeper named Kat-that is
Catharine-whom he called Clausentina be
cause she came from Southampton.
The philosophers sister, whose mind
was less transcendental, heaping error Oh
error, had loved dry goods dealer, mar
ried him and given birth to little daugh
ter named Jessy.
Her final blunder had been to die, aftel
10 years of welded life, thus causing thu
death of her husband, who could not sur
vive her loss, Bogus took the orphan
home, partly from pity, partly from thu
hope that she would furnish him good
example of childish errors.
She was then years old. During tn
first week she spent with him she did moth
ing but weep. On the morning Of the frs
day after that she said:
II saw mamma. She was dressed all il
white and had flowers in the folds of he
gown. She scattered them over my bed
but couldn't find them this morning
Give me mammals flowers"
Bog noted this error, but remarked in hi
comment that it was IN innocent and pleas
ant one.
Some time after Jessy said to him:
Uncle Bog, you are old and ugly, but
love you dearly, and you must love me-"
Bog took up his pen, but acknowledging
after some mental conflict that he no Longer
had youthful appearance, and that he hat
never been very handsome, did not not,
down the child's words. He merely said:
"Why must love you, Jessy3"
Because Pm little"
"Is it true" Bog asked himself, "is il
true that children ought to be loved? Per
haps it may be, for they are certainly ir
great need of it. That would excuse the
common error Of mothers who give theil
little children their nursing and their love
That chapter in my treatise must be re
vised"
On the morning Of his birthday, coming
into the room where he kept his books and
papers, and which he called his book store
be perceived delicious fragrance and saw
a pot of carnations on the window sill
There were only three blossoms, but they
were bright scarlet ones, on which the sun
shone radiantiy. Everything in the learned
room looked cheerful-the old armchair,
the black walnut table, the backs of the
ancient tones in their fawnskin parch-
ment and hogskin bindings. Bogus, who
was as dry as they, began to follow their
example. Jessy, hugging him affection
ately, cried: Look, look, Uncle Bog.
That's heaven" She pointed through the
leaden cased panes at the light blue of the
air. '"That is the earth, the blooming
earth" She pointed to the pot of carna-
tions. "Then down below, where the big
black books are, is hell"
The big black books were the 10 volumes
of the 'Treatise on Human Errors" ranged
in a row under the window. This mistake
reminded the scholar of his great work,
which he had neglected for some time to
walk about the streets and parks with his
niece. The child discovered thousand in
teresting things and showed them to Bogus,
who had spent little of his life out of doors
He opened his manuscripts again, but no
longer recognized work which he had done
when he had neither flowers nor Jessy.
Fortunately philosophy came to his aid by
suggestingtl etranscendent idea that Jessy
was not wholly useless. He put more and
more faith in the belief that she was neces
sary to the economy of his work.
One day while rejecting upon this sub
ject he found her threading needle before
the window where the pot of carnations
stood, and asked what she was going to sew.
Jessy answered.:
Don't you know that the swallows have
gone, Uncle BogS" .....
Bogus knew nothing about It, as the fact
was mentioned neither by Pliny nor Avi
cenna.
Jessy added:
kat told me yesterday"
kat" cried Bogus, 1.-THE child Is talking
about the worthy Clausentina."
kat told me yesterday: The swallows
had gone earlier than usual this year. That
means an early and severe winter That's
mt Kotc sold nd
in her white dress, with halo round her
hair, only she had no flowers like those she
wore the other time. She said, 'Jessy, you
must take Uncle Bog's fur lined greatcoat
out of the trunk and mend it, if it needs re.
pairing / woke, and as soon as got up
l took the overcoat out of the trunk, and al
there are rips in several places I'm going
to sew it,"
Winter came and fulfilled the swallows
predictions. Bogus. in his greatcoat, with
his feet close to the fire, was trying to re-
wise certain chapters in his treatise. But
whenever he succeeded in reconciling his
new experiences with the theory of univer-
sal evil Jessy upset his ideas by bringing
In mug Of nice ale or merely letting him
see her eyes and smile.
When summer came, uncle and niece took
long walks in the fields, where Jessy col.
lected' plants, which he named and she ar.
ranged in the evenings according to their
During these excursions she
showed keen intelligence and charming
One evening while she was
spreading on the table the plants which
they had gathered during the day, she said
10 Bogus:
Nov, Uncle Bog, know by name all
he plants which you have showed me-
Here are the ones which cure and those
which relieve. want to keep them SO that
can always recognize and describe them
% others Ineed big book to dry them in. +"
"Take that one," said Bog
And he pointed to the first volume of the
Treatise on Human Errors"
When 1t had plant on every page, the
,ext one was taken, and in three summers
he scholars masterpiece was converted
-, a \