The Newtown bee., 1894-08-03

went sadly to his heart, know, to part with the little fellow; but one mouth less to feed was an item in his household.
 The first day I had Tom all to myself. I think some of my friends would have been surprised, if they could have seen me seated on the floor playing with my boy, such little chubby despot as he was.
 Miss Perkins-that is my name-was considered rather a proud, dignified per- son by her neighbors, have been told. If so, my Toms baby fingers soon pluck ed the pride from her heart, and planted love in it's stead. Once I overheard the remark that l was spelling the boy. Well, I took it rather to heart, because, you see, did so wish he should grow up good man.
 A few days afterward, as 1 was doing bit of weeding in the front garden, I | saw John Rowly, a gentleman who boarded at Mrs Greens, coming up the | street, carrying his hat under his arm, and Wiping his face-which was the color | of boiled lobster-with a large silk | handkerchief As he came up to my l gate, he said, 'sWhere's that Tom of | yours, ma a'am?'
 My Tom!'' 1 ejaculated.
 Yes; your Tom, ma'am nice boy | l he is to own. Bounds! ma'am, he'll 1
 land in State Prison before long. The
 impudent rascal, to meddle with my
 shaving apparatus"
 Your shaving ap-pa-ra-tus '' repeat ed, mechanically. Then, as it occurred
 to me that u razor naturally goes with
 shaving apparatus, exclaimed, "He
 hasn't meddled with the razor Is my I Tom hurt, John Rowly?"
 Hurt! 1 wish l only had him at the
 end~of my cane; then we'd talk about
 hurt, a'am," John Rowly replied, hot
 ly.
 'sBut, John Rowly, what has my Tom
 in the wrong," 1 added, rather tameiy.
 "Done! Go and look at Mrs Greens
 baby.''
 With these parting words, John Row. iy walked away, leaving me staring at
 him, feebly repeating the words, Mrs Green's-baby." Visions of a baby girl
 lying bleeding from a cut of razor flit-
 ted before me. My Tom! Of course it was an accident
 s'I say, aunty, was he dreadfully mad i? I saw him coming, and lodged behind the house." So saying, my Tom seated
 himself on the doorstep and commenc- ed to whittie diligently away at a piece , of wood. There was new WiDkle-hawk !, in the sleeve of his jacket, and about a yard of lining hanging loose; but his face
 was as serene as d May morning. s'rom." l said, putting on my severest [ look, "what is all this about Mrs Greens
 little girl?'
 , He stopped whittling, but the roguish
 twinkle ln his eyes deedened as he <, answered.
 = "Look here, aunty, I'll tell you all - about it. This morning. Mrs Green ask c ed me if | ouldn'J play a little while
 with Fife, as she was dreadful busy. So tue and Fife played bit in the gar t den, when l thought what fun it would d be for ne to make Topsy of her, I "A what?' l exclaimed. l IA Topsy. Don't you know-black 5 her up, like the mins5Tels. Fife said she }, wanted to, so we was going upstairs to g find the stuff to black up with. Mir Green had box of blackiug in the attic ', 1 saw him put it there last week. Then n you see, aunt, MT Rowly's door was n open. | didn't touch nothin'; only put Il little blackin in his basin; he neednI , have made such fuss l; the brush wa: u an old thing. My! but you ought tt have seen Fife. Wasn't it just fun ?, though"
 ,t The merriment died out of his eye: :, as I said, Don't you know it is very N wrong to go into peoples rooms ant 'e meddle with their things?" Then, be n thinking myself of what had overheard ,r about spelling him, 1 added, aS sternl o as 1 could, "To morrow's half holida, V you will spend in the house." l daret 2, not look at him, or l am afraid 1 should n have relented.
 d The next afternoon, of the two, 1 thi nl
 T kt, h1n LII was afraid that perhaps 1 had been to-
 harsh; perhaps his dead mother woult
 have thought of better way to win he
 boy from his mischievous pranks. Bein, .d in this relenting frame of mind, l toll the cook she might as we'll let us have U some doughnuGs for supper. Tom wa y. very fond of doughnuts, and it did m s, good to see him eat large plateful o e. them. Tom was never troubled with in 'e conclusion that boys legs are hollow Id hence their capacity for disposing 0 es m,re food than any one else. ,a If there was one thing Tom liked bet = ter than another it was to go swimming e- Now, 1 was mortally afraid of the water l having had brother drowned, and
 forbade Tom going near the river, afte 1s 1 had found out that he was in the habi
 of doing so. 1 even threatened him wit
 II ot dread of his body being brought home t h. me cold and stiff from watery grave ,a However, as he had given me his wort ~ he would not go, felt quite easy 0 ot that score. What was my asJonishment it one afternoon, to see him coming up tn ve path to the house, dripping like soake
 umbrella. If I hadn't been so take
 aback at the sight of his condition, 10 would have occurred to me that folk " didn't go in swimming with their clothe h. on; but hadn't thought of anythin af but that he had been in the water, an oA might have been drowned. cl- 1 dropped my knitting, and, going t ed the door, said, ssTom, you have been at the river, and 1 shall have to keep m =. Word." Then 1 waited a moment hopin 7y he would deny it,. How the child coult ad though, with the water that was dripl es ing from his clothes leaving a pudd he where he was standing, is what 1 did nc ., stop to think about then.
 - .All right, aunty," was all he said. He stood up and took the whippin ng without fiinching, never could hay . given it to him if it hadn't been for tf ,.o fright that was upon me, and that no must stop his going to the river at an ay mind, and it was kind of relief to m ,,t when Mrs Daply, a neighbor, steppe ', in. She hadn'G been ea,ed long whe II. she said, .sThat Tom of yourn is quite us hero; there's no end of talk about it. in My Tom? What about my Tom?o ,is exclaimed, anxiously, wondering Whs ,u next they would come to tell me abo, y my boy.
 in ..Why, you don't mean to say lat hasn't told yous"
 en ssTold me what?s' asked, quite in l. ftayrft