The advocate., 1896-12-23

~
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 thestufF in him wuth hev-
in. Somethin' s KUN over him-there's
no blindin' yer eyes ter thet. He seems
ter be livin' outside of hisself-fer other
foxes like-fer me end you most per-
ticulerly--es if ct were pleasure for
gettin' Of his own wants and notions.
You've noticed, Dorothy-Of course you
hev-fer I've hearn you thank him a
dozen times-how yer wood-box is al
lus filed without yer askin' end the
water drawed, end the back stoop swept,
and the chickens drinkin' crooks kept
full, end the aigs fetched in, end the
sour milk kerried outen the cellar, end
a 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.
He's cheerful end chick about his
work es cat bird cheemering round
her nest in a alder bush, es if he were
gain continually onto a Christmas din
ner, end he had seat next to the turkey
end brown gravy. Tother night hearn
him tallIin' 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
a lot O. things to the 'tother ones thet
] cudn't hear, ner didn't want ter hear,
fer felt like l was stealin' list'nin'.
"Yer night saw him end the Eaton
bows end the schoolmaster settin' on
the bridge over sogger run. They was
power busy talkin' about sumthin,
specially the teacher, and when I 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.
IA spell back-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 moTnin', er her smoke
house onto ther front stoop. But l hain't
a-worryin' now. Them youngsters he'd
sumthin' onto ther minds besides lark
in end oussedness, end we shell see,
mcbbe, what we shell see, es some cute
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 of his dusty, wrinkled
stoges, hung up his wammus and vest
and retired, leaving Aunt Dorothy Jane
TO undisturbed thought Of her boy Jake
and her pies.
Nothing very startling ever happened
at Plunkettville. 1t was prone to dead
levelness in events A monotony of
situations was the rule. A funeral, a
marriage with it's attendant chivaree, a
barn raising OF 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 unbrSken quiet
and so this recollection of mine par
takes more of the pastoral than story
It would be pleasant as we'll as profit
able to write a good deal about this
Schoolmaster that Uncle Sluman Able
saw on the bridge over Massogger run
talking with the Eaton boys and Jake,
but space forbids but one line of
thought now. He was a sort of all
n.......A ...o..hnA 20 Ahn nninh hnrhnnl