The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-06-12
THE LITTLE CHAP.

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 We're altogether
at a disadvantage, and | am not sure
but that the Little Chap in the innocent
slyDss of his heart felt that you were
mt his mercy A little patched chorub
like him, with tousled blond hair and
an enormous sense of his own impor-
tanco, would have been no mean antag-
onis& to Hercules himself, and SO secure
was he i'll 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
presented him with five daughters be-
fore il occurred to her to present him
with 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
fathers heart, which had been kept pur-
poesJy 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 carDen-
ter freely forgavc his wife her five past
delinquencies III consideration of the
Little Chap, for this was not the usual
infantile vegetable that simply fed and
slci1, 1t was Il quaint and sturdy little
personality that took in the world, his
father included. with slow, wondering
gaze, and seemed To do vast deal of
profound and solemn thinking Amund
could not rid himself of the impression
THAI his son viewed him rather critical
ly, as if he We're debating with himself
whether, on the whole, he liked his APP
pcnrallcc and found him a fairly saisfac-
tory parent. He was very much afraid
that h. did not come up to the Little
Chaps standard. He was absurdly anx-
iOus TO make as favorable IN impression
a.s possible. There was something pccul-
larry wise and venerable in the Little
Chaps aspect as he lay thu:c ,.i.ol i.i1
pillow. "What tremendous secrets that
Little Chap must know, " mused his IA
theT, If he only chose to divulge them
-tscretS OF the sun, and the moon, and
the great unknown from whence he
c0lne!'
And thus it happened that from the
hour OF his arrival the Little Chap came
to be regarded rs ii person of tremendous
consequence Ii was impressed upon
him from the time he lay in the cradle
that he was boy, and that a boy Wa. 4
superior kind of creature, who had moth
ing except certain accidental points of
anatomy III common with girls, which
latter species had been wisely created
by the Lord TO wait upon him. Ike was
not very big before Amund, who could
not bear 10 he separated from him, got
into the habit OF taking him along when
ne Went out into the valley to do job
There the Little Chap would sit
proudly pcrched upon his fathers shout
der, bundled up III scarfs and with fur
cap tliat was much too big for him pulled
ativc child, but there was slow and
old fashioned kind of gravity about him
which made everything he said infinite
ly drOl He took himself very serious
~ and allowed no trihing 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 a 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 ont Of
doors, the Little Chap hustled about
him, sat in the shavings whiting
sticks on Clipped the edge of the plane
by running it into the heads of the nail,
which he drove in wherever Il conven-
lent place presented itself
But whatever mischief he got into,
whatever tools he ruined, Amund re-
garled 1t only as a fair price which h,
paid for his company. And never ono,
did he scold the Little Chap, but grave
ly explained 10 him why he must mo
do such things, as if he had been
gUwnup man. And the Little Cha,
would listen graycly, with "a quiverinl
under lip, and when The kindly homil,
was at M end he would lie very still
with his head buried in the shavings
fcoling terribly Inundated at tin
thought of his delinquency. The neX
day, when Anund started out, c...ry:m:
his tools III IA bag on his back, the Lift!
Chap vcald meet him n The door, an,
Win "a Gahious and G:!Xiously cXrectan