Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-06-06
THE LITTLE CHAP.

The Little Chap had been humored
from the time he was born, but he was
such fascinating Little Chap that no.
body could help humoring him. He was
stubborn, he was headstrong, he was
naughty, if you like, the Little Chap,
but in his very naughtiness there was
something really captivating which
won your heart, but played the mischief
with your dignity. When he stood be-
fore you with his legs far apart, his
hands in the pockets of his much
patched trousers, and the magnitude of
his defiance so out of proportion to that
of his tiny body, you were altogether
at disadvantage, and I am not sure
but that the Little Chap in the innocent
slyness Of his heart felt that you were
at his mercy. A little patched cherub
like him, with tousled blond hair and
an enormous sense of his own impor-
tance, would have been no mean antag-
onist to Hercules himself, and so secure
was he in the consciousness of his valor
that he would not have been afraid to
tackle Hercules.
The Little Chaps father, Amund
Myra, was carpenter by trade and
lived in one Of the loneliest mountain
valleys of Norway. His wife, Kari, had
presented him with five daughters be-
fore it occurred to her to present him
with a son, and his joy at the last ar
rival had only been equaled by his dis
gust at the five previous ones. The Lit
tie Chap took instant possession of his
father heart, which had been kept pur-
posely vacant for his reception. When
the nurse brought him on the evening
of his arrival upon pillow and placed
him across Amund's knees, the carpen-
ter freely forgave his wife her five past
delinquencies in consideration of the
Little Chap for this was not the usual
infantile vegetable that simply fed and
slept. 1t was quaint and sturdy little
personality, that took in the world, his
father included, with slow, wondering
gaze, and seemed to do a vast deal of
profound and solemn thinking. Amund
could not rid himself of the impression
that his son viewed him rather critical
ly, as if he were debating with himself
whether, Oh the whole, he liked his ap-
pearance and found him fairly saisfac-
tory parent He was very much afraid
that he did not come up to the Little
Chaps standard. He was absurdly anx-
ious to make as favorable an impression
as possible. There was something pecul-
iary wise and venerable in the Little
Chaps aspect as he lay there upon the
pillow. "What tremendous secrets that
Little Chap must know" mused his IA
ther, ''if he only chose to divulge them
secrets of the sun, and the moon, and
the great unknown from whence he
cameP'
And thus it happened that from the
hour of his arrival the Little Chap came
to be regarded as person of tremendous
consequence. 1t was impressed upon
him from the time he lay in the cradle
that he was boy, and that boy was a
superior kind of creature, who had moth
ing except certain accidental points Of
anatomy in common with girls, which
latter species had been wisely created
by the Lord to wait upon him. He was
not very big before Amund, who could
not bear to be separated from him, got
into the habit of taking him along when
he went out into the valley to do job.
There the Little Chap would sit
proudly perched upon his fathers shoul-
der, bundled up in scarfs and with fur
cap that was much too big for him pulled
down over his ears He was not a talk
ative child, but there was slow and
old fashioned kind of gravity about him
which made everything he said infinite
ly droll. He took himself very serious
ly and allowed no trif1ing with his dig
nifty. He took much satisfaction in the
thought that he was helping his father,
and Amund rather encouraged the idea,
giving him hammer with which he
pounded nails into piece Of board and
occasionally mashed his fingers. And
all day long, while the carpenter
worked, whether indoors or out of
doors, the Little Chap bustled about
him, sat in the shavings whiting
sticks Or Clipped the edge of the plane
by running it into the heads Of the nail,
which he drove in wherever conven-
lent place presented itself.
But whatever mischief he got into,
whatever tools he ruined, Amund re-
garded it only as a fair price which he
paid for his company. And never once
did he scold the Little Chap, but grave
ly explained to him why he must not
do such things, as if he had been a
grownup man. And the Little Chap
would listen gravely, with a quivering
under lip, and when the kindly homily
was at an end he would lie very still,
with his head buried in the shavings,
feeling terribly humiliated at the
thought Of his delinquency. The next
day, when Amund started out, carrying
his tools in bag on his back, the Little
Chap would meet him at the door, and
with dubious and anxiously expectant
look would ask:
'May help you today, dad?''
"Yes, Little Chap, you shall help me
today" Amund would answer heartily,
as he lifted him up on his shoulder.
'How could dad get along without
his Little Chap?"
Many time, too, when his comrades
whistled for him under the window,
and he was sorely tempted to accept the
invitation to join in their games, the
thought would occur to him that his
dad needed his help, and gravely he
would go to the door, and with droll
sense Of responsibility explain that he
ID to help his dad.
Thus winters passed and summers un-
til the Little Chap was s years old. He
tyrannized over his sisters, as usual, and
accepted their worship as nothing but
his due. He was a sore trial to his
mother on account of his stubbornness
and because he was $50 hard on his
clothes.'' But to his father he was a
stanch and loyal friend-I could almost