The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1893-06-24
A NANkEEN JACKET.

MY lIlenuS MAKE IuH oI my weakness
for yellow.
I confess that I adoreit, n~otwithstand-
ing that I have good reason to detest it.
Truly, human nature is a bundle Of con-
tradictions!
/ love yellow because of a certain cpl
sode in my life which occurred when I
was but 5 years of age. l love nankeen
above all on account of a jacket of that
material which played in that episode
an important part.
Our school. which had been placed I'M
der the patronage of St. E.lZabah. was
q mixed one-that is TO say. ZIP to the
age of 10 years boys and girls worked
and played together. In spite of occa-
sional quarrels the system, on the whole,
worked very well.
had not been eight days at st. Eliza
beth's before | fell in love. Do not laugh.
I loved with all the strength of my child
nature, with a love disinterested. simple,
sincere.
1t was Georgette whom | loved, but,
alas. G~eorgette did not love me.
How much | suffered in onsequenc
l. ASCA ~ AlN Iii q IA WI IlCi y. SlltItIllS
many tears and racking my brains to find
some means Of pleasing the obdurate fair
one. Labor in vain, a thankless task, at
8 years of age or at 80.
To distinguish myself in my studies,
to win by my exemplary conduct the en-
comiums of the sisters Dulorre-all this
made no impression upon cruel Georg-
cite. She made no secret of her prefer
ence for a dull, idle, clustering fellow, 8
years old, who won all the races. who
could fling a ball farther than any one
else, carry two huge dictionaries under
his arm and administer terrible thumps.
This hero was rightly nicknamed Met
a-Mort.
knew what his blows We're like. hav-
ing been the Involuntary recipient Of
some of them. Some do, l say: | had
the road to the fair.
And Georgette had only laughed!
Obviously it was absurd to think of
employing physical force against my re-
doubtable rival, and intellectual superb
ority in this case awaited me nothing. I
determined thereforet to annihilate Meta
Mort by my o~verpowering magniticeucc.
Naturally our parents did not send Us
to school attired in our hest clothes. On
the contrary, most of US wore there our
Oldest and shabbiest garments. ConSe-
quently l opined that it would be no diff
fcu4t achievement to outhliine all my
schoolfellows.
should have to coax my parents into
loosening their purse strings aud get
them to buy me a beautiful new Jacket
1t took me Il very long time to dceid,
what color this jacket should be. | men.
tally reviewed all the colors of the rain.
bow. Red tempted me, but I doubted
whether a jacket of that color wonld b.
attainable. Should it be blue. green
indigo, violet? No. Not one Of those
colors was sufficiently striking.
l paused at yellow. That might Go
It Is . rich color; there is somethin.
sumptuous and royal about it. Summer
was approaching. decided ti~nall,upol
q yellow jacket of nankeen.
Without delay | set t. work on m,
school garments. Fl was n work of de
struction. for / wanted to make then
appear as disreputable as possible.
elyly enlarged the holes. wIenched Of
the buttons and decorated my person
lavishiy with spots and stains of Al
kinds.
In what l judged to be An oplortun
moment I timidly expressed my desire
I had to do more. much more thai
that, before | could obtain my will.
begged, stormed. grumbled, sulked.
became almost i'll with hope deferred
At length, for the sake. of, peace. m
parents granted my eccentric wish.
1t was a proud moment for me whel
for the first time | arrayed myself i
that respondent nankeen jacket won a
the cost of So many struggles. Standn
before the mirror | surveyed myself I'D
miringly for a full hour. was grant
superbl
"Ah, my Lord Meta Mort. you wi,
find yourself oussesl at last! Ny shinin
jacket will soon snatch from YOU III
prestige acquired by your stupid. lru,
force. G~eorgette, astonished. fascinated
dazzled and delighted, will run towar
me, for ] shall now be the handsome.
boy insAAe school. Mef~a-Mort will wre
for chagTin. as have SO often wept +,
jealousy and modification"
Alas. for my rose colored anticip;
tionsI Twas greeted with a broadsid