St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1894-05-26


That neither had y cent.
Dorothy Chaplin, In Truth
MRS DECKS NEW LEAF.
How Tommy's Sickness Taught
His Mother q Lesson.
Mrs Deck was troubled about many
things. She craved the newest fashion
In sleeves. not only for herself. but for
her little girls, and wanted to have
every sort of dish and silver appliance
fancy has invented to clutter the table.
and enrich the shopkeepers. She be.
lonRed to two missionary societies, and
TO the musical and literary clubs. and
she delighted in giving dainty after
noon teas. and little dinners. Mr..
Deck often said. with smiling pride,
there was nothing slow about sally.
and chen hc would give an odd little
sigh ns if he unconsciorsly regretted
his Sally's ability to keep up with life's
procession. But no one noted that
sigh. unless it was little Tommy,
whose quick ears and sharp eyes noticed
everything.
Tommy was so often called an awful
boy, it Is probable he had his faults.
To sail on mud puddle on bobbing
bit of board. he would scour the little
city over. and if there was ticklish
job of tree climbing necessary to the
rescue of some fellows kite. Tommy
was always the boy to undertake it.
He would tuck nails in the pockets of
his Sunday clothes, and drive them
into impossible places with the potato
masher, if no other hammer was
available, and the times he had flooded
the house from the bathroom and
given himself the Group and twisted his
ankles skating could not be counted.
But Tommy never told lies. He never
even told tiny ibs when by so
doing he could have saved him
self unpleasant punishment Tommy's
eyes were big, and the sort of gray that
often looked black. His hair was
brown and rs thick ON his head as it
could be without being solid, and over
his nose was thick sprinkling. OF
freckles The little boys all liked
Tommy. and 30 did the cats and dogs.
and SO did Miss Bramhall. his teacher,
though he was stupid in number work.
But his sisters usually spoke Of him as
- little plague" and his mamma,
without being aware Of it, felt him to
be great hindrance to everything she
wanted to do. II she was practicing
sonata, he would break in upon the
adaRio by beginning to sing After the
Ball." to the best Of his ability He
besct BY some demon Of unrest, steal
to the stairway and take that cppor-
tunity to slide down the baluster rail,
and leave upon 1t etchings drawn by
his buttons. II she were studying q
page of Browning. or trying to write
an essay upon art, it did seem rs il
Tommy always chose the moment
that would disturb her most to play
wild Indian with q select party of
friends. Just under the window. So it
fell out that by degrees Tommy fell
more and more to the charge of Molly,
the nurse. and consolcd himself when
in trouble by visiting the fuckers. who
lived Just around the corner in brown
house Mrs Tucker somehow kept
bread in the mouths of her brood of six
by washing; and what she called
days works" At night they gathered
about her. and the one lamp. and in all
Shorcleigh there was not . happier
group She was busy at something al
ways. patching usually. but it was
wonderful the amount of work she
could get through with swsrmed upon
by six pairs Of arms, and talked to by
six eager tongues
The literary club was going to hold
its annual banquet at Mrs. Decks, and
that lady determined to make the occa-
sion one long to be remembered.
s.There may be costlier ones by and by,
when Shoreleigh is great city," she
told Mr. Deck. ''but there shall not be
. prettier one"
s.Well," asscnted Mr.. Deck, $50 it
don't cost too dear, Sally, I've nothing
TO say. do not mean in dollars, for
you are always sensible about spend
ing them, but yourself. You spend
yourself too lavishly sometimes" Mrs.
Deck only laughed at this. and
went on to the florists and spent the
whole morning deciding whether she
would have roses or chrysanthemums
for decoration.
..Chrysanthemums is newer. num-"
said Mr. Higgs, rubbing his hands to-
rether 80 they rustled. ''An' you gifts
areat variety. Take this ere white
Looks like = big dahlia. an this ere
white again ere like . mop o air .
droppin' back from gals face, an
this zero ono again is piled up like a lot
q thin-sliced cabbageA an this one
again are like . sunnower for its
shapes, an pink an white. or orange,
or-then again all lavender pink. or all
rold color is 'andsome. Roses amt
what you can call old. but they amt
NO ways new. though amt one IS is
too ready to force my opinion. Ladies
knows what they. has and what they
wantA"
While Mrs. Deck listened to Mr..
Higes. Tommy was busy far away
sailing mud paddle lake with Harry |
Tucker, for it wss Saturday. and when |
- wcns home Mal)se was too hpey d.