Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1896-12-24

December night pairing and cutting up
a great, knobby, sweet pumpkin, for
pies. an be dinged to gosh ef /
wouldn't give millsin' of the Jersey
cow fer ther cyester stew termorrer
down ct the church jest ter know what's
ken over thet boy Jake Of ourn. He
bain't seemed like hisself fer d year
> past; not, thet l am perticalor anxious
thet he should, fer ef ever youngster
he'd a change of heart and. manners
- withouten. the help of revival be-
lieve cts him. He hessant given me q
sassy word fer weeks end Ia'most git
!, lonesome and humsick to hear him saw
me OFF short er snatch me up sudden jest
ter hev the chance ter say sumthin ag-
graydtin TO him and call him an ongrate-
full scamp thet don't know when he's
well OFF and continner riling him end
not low him ter sass back, cos I'm his
father. / reckon the boy hain't always
he'd u picnic and frosted cake and lin
ming aid liyin' end workin' fer me eff
am his dad, end me es should be his
best friend end show him thet love
him the best next ter you. He made me
ashamed O. myself end Jake's honestly
greater then he thet taketh city, es
the Scripter says, fer when he ken gov
ern his temper round me, es see myself
now, he'sgot the stuff in him wuth hev
in'. Somethin' IS kun over him--there's
no blindin' yer eyes ter.thet. He seems
ter be liyin' outside of hisself-fer other
foxes like-fer me end you most per-
ticulerly-es II ct were a pleasure for
gettin' OF his own wants and notions.
You've noticed, Dorothy-of course you
hey--fer I've hearn you thank him a.
dozen times--how yer wood-box is al
lus filled without yer askin' end the
q water drawed, end the back stoop swept,
: and the chickens drinldn' crooks kept
full, end the .aigs fetched in, end the
sour milk kerried outen the cellar, end
q snarl o. things done fer you what
afore you alters he'd ter do yerself er
nag Jake and argy end coax till you'd
druther ten times over do it yerself,
end liker es not you'd hev ter then when
alls said'n done.
Hes cheerful end chick about his
a work es a cat bird cheemering round
her nest in a alder bush, es if he were
gain continually onto n Christmas din
ner, end he had seat next to the turkey
end brown gravy. r'Tother night hearn
him tall<in' ter the cows when he didn't
suspicion there was nobody aroun', end
he told old Boxy thet he'd never kick
her, again ef she'd fergive him end said
lot O. things to the 'tother ones thet
!. cudn't hear, .ner didn't want ter hear
fer felt like was stealn' list'nin'.
Eyer night j saw him end the Eaton
boys end the schoolmaster settin' on
the bridge over Sogger run. They was
power busy talkin' about sumthin,
specially the teacher, and when KEN
up they looked kind of upsot like end
dandered off about the crick end the
crops end corn husl,in', end eny gump
could see ct wasn't what was onter their
minds. .s@ a. T.
"Asspell bacl--end not long spell,
either I'd a sed they's n-plannin' some
onruliness, some chico mischief that nd
make folks swear es air in the habit Of
swearin'. Some one would like es no find
ther two-hoss wagin onto the top of ther
barn termarrow mornin', er her smoke
house onto ther front stoop. But hain't
n-worryin' now. Them youngsters he'd
sumthn' onto ther minds besides lark
in end cussedness, end we shell see,
LII >halI -
fcller sed."
And with the last ring Of pumpkin
pared and cut up and put TO stewing in
the big pot on the kitchen stove Uncle
Sluman took down the wooden boot
Jack, drew off his dusty, wrinkled
stogies, hung up his wammus and vest
and retired leaving Aunt Dorothy Jane
to undisturbed thought Of her boy Jake
and her pies. 4..as
Nothing very startling ever happened
nj PIunkettville. 1t was prone to dead
leyelness in events. A monotony of
situations was the rule. A funeral, u
marriage with it's attendant chivaree, a
barn raising or a corn husking or par
ing bee were the dizziest heights its oc-
currences attained, and between these
events and designations there were likely
TO be long intervals of unbroken quiet,
and so this recollection Of mine par
takes more of the pastoral than story.
II would be pleasant as well as profit
able to write good deal about this
schoolmaster that Uncle Slumaa Able