Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1894-12-20

(COpyTlSuL by N'>>N-' c. tc- Il news
paper Union)
/ say, Ben! Isn't this beautiful? It's
just like a glory of gold and silver
and all the pretty colors a fellow can
think of, and all in a blaze Of light
that makes it shine like stars.
My! But won't lots Of boys and
girls be happy tomorrow, and men and
women, too?
Two newsbOys were crying their even
ing papers, Evening Herald! all about
the great explosion down in the coal
mine" Evening telegram! all about
the great explosion and they had halt
ed now just in the blaze Of the great
plate glass window filed with the BRAY
cry of Christmas goods; a grand har-
mony of light and color And poor
little Jack had the soul of an artist,
though he was only a little ''newsy,"
environed by meagerness and poverty
and fairly revealed in all this wealth
and beauty. He would have gone with
out his dinner any day to feast his eyes
on the beautiful, however unattainable.
"Oh, yes" answered his companion,
Its just grand, but who cares for dolls
and gauze angels and silver stars and
such truck? Tomorrow up at the
lunch rooms we are going to have just
loads of turkey and mince pie, lots of
good things. / think they are awful
good. I'd rather have them than all
the shine in that big window.
"Oh, yes, they are kind up there,
and the faces of some of the women
are lovelier than any 1 have seen since
mother died" But it's for us all.
That's all right, but don't you ever
wish there was somebody to care for
you special? Not just because you was
one of that great hall full of hungry
boys they are such good friends to-,
but because you are Ben Saunders,
and they have an interest in Ben Saun-
ders; special, you know.
L know, Ben, you haint never had
Iobody, no folks, / mean. and / s'poSe
you don't think so much about it.
Now, you see, l can remember when
father was alive. Father was brick
layer, he was, but he was sick lots of
the time and we We're awful poor, but
he was good, and [ tell you he never
groaned half so much about his pain
as he did because he couldn't do for
us as he wanted to.
1t seemed to hurt him so about moth
er He would look at her, sorry like,
and say: Poor Elsie! poor little moth
er; I wish | could make it easy and
bright for you" BY and by the fever
got thick round where we lived and one
morning father couldn't get up, and
they said he had the fever
Well, he got worse and worse, and
when / went up to the bed to see him,
he didn't know me at all, but just look
ed at me, oh, so wild, and said: There
were so many boys there, and they
all looked ragged and hungry, he could
not take care of them all, but, MOTHER"
says he, do the best you can for little
Jack. Jack would make man if he
only had the chance. I've tried, I've
tried, God knows" and then he shut
his eyes and looked tired, and never
said anything about me again. Next
morning he was dead. Oh, dear Ben;
you don't know; you can't know.
| had two little sisters, Lefty and SUI
sic, and | had the loveliest mother,
Handsome? No not like some of these
grand ones that are all dazzle till they
fairly make fellows eyes blink. but
just lovely. Why everybody loved
mother. / never loved nothing nor no
body as l loved mother and l guess up
in Heaven the angels love her too.
Well, after father died there was
something in her eyes that had new
err seen there before. Kinder deep and
sorry as if she was looking way off for
something she couldn't find here.
Well, 1 went to selling papers, and
mother, she just did splendid she work
ed and worked and seemed to love us
more than ever, but all the while there
Ill l.. ID,,l
ON pretty well and when Christmas
came she tried to make it just as it
had always been.
/ don't think there was so much tur-
key and mince pie as there will be up
yonder tomorrow, but then you see it
was for us, special because she loved
us.
/ saved little money and got Lefty
and Susie some dolls. They weren't
much dolls side of some you see in
there. but oh you ought to have seen
how glad they were and how their eyes
shone. Why l do believe they were
Just as glad as if they had had one of
them i'll there, with real Gully hair and
all silk and spangles.
But father was not there and we
couldn't be real glad, nobody but Lefty
and Susie, who were such little things.
BY and bye the diphtheria came and
Lefty was sick, and they sent me up to
the lodging house, and when 1 went
back they were both gone; both my
sisters The house looked so empty
and mother was there all alone, and
that look you know told you about in
lmr eyes, only worse, she stretched out
her arms and laid my head in her lap
and we both cried together long time.
Then she said well Jack, / will try
10 put it away and not pile the clouds
any thicker on your young head" You
see she fo rgot herself and thought spec
ial of me in the midst of that awful
trouble.