The herald., 1896-04-19
station at . quarter tae nine in the mornin
Bit little did A eleoD a, NIGHT,

station at quarter tae nine in the mornin
Bit little did A sleep a. nicht.
ABBOTT hauf-past-seven, when was jus
gettin' oot bed A heard knock at 'oor oot
side door, mither answered the knock an il
"is Jimmy ready, Ma, the cullen's in bee
yet answered mither, bit what dae ye want
wi him sac early, he's going tae Dunoon
| an the boat dis'na start till atween nine
and ten o'clock" "Duuoon" sed Watty,
he's goin' tae Lunnon wac
"What," shrieked ma auld mither, "tae
Lunnon. oor Jimmy goin' tae Lunnon" 6
the last o. this sentence was delivered il
ma room.
"Timmy here's watty Mcfarland at the
door telling me yir goin' tae Lunnon this
mornin'-is that true?" Watty hoo he'd
his senses an thocht aboot this time that
| he micht catch a hacking cough if he stood
there over lang. 80 he hied himself tae the
station tae wait Developments.
"Yes mither, am goin tae Lunnon wac
Bob Smith and Watty Mcfarland, we hev
got oor tickets an we're goin' " finally sed
wac an air o. determination.
"Deil step yell stir DOT this house the
day AM ma cullen wait till yir father comes
hame for his breakfast, A'll see that he'll
thrash the life oot O. ye and leave ye mair
deed than leevin' for deceiving us the way
ye hev, that's what ye bocht yir travellin'
bag for, l jaloosed there was something un-
canny goiu' on in your devilish heed. A
cullen no ID years auld yet thinking o.
goin' tae Lunnon. Dae We forget what oor
minister sed twa Sundays ago in his grand
sermon about evil places; he sed there
never was a body that cam back frae Lun-
non hauf as guide as when they started,
that it was nae place for respectable folks.
an that there ives mair evil an deevel-
ment tae be seen in Lunnon in broad day.
LIGHT than in ony ither part o. the warl.
Wait till yir father comes hame, he'll Lun-
non ye''.
Saying this mither left ma room AM Iosh
what sicht O thinking did an among
ither things, wondered If Watty was near
by. A kind O. wanted tae see him just
that minnit. Ma mind was made up, A
was goin' tae Lunnon il A could only get
DOT the hoose, that was the difficulty. A
opened the window an took measurements
but drew in agin mair than ever disconso-
late. A was goin', an it juist wanted three
quarters o. an 'oor afore startin', 30 ben
tae the kitchen l went wi ma bag in ma
haun a. ready tae go. There A found mith-
er with her back agin the inside O. the out
side door keepin' ma father frae gettin'
out. She was too excited too hear ma
father knock. Again father knocked; the
door was opened; in come father. He
could'n ma have been mair surprised il he
had been struck wi LIGHTNING. He looked
at mither, moo greeting as if her hert wud
break an then at me; finally he sed,
"What's a. this aboot?" Between the sobs
come ma mither's vice, "He's goin' tae
Lunnon." Father was speechless for q
minnit, an his look ut we made me think it
was best A should say something.
began, "Father, ye medina be a'feer'd
O me, am auld enough tae ken what am
daeing an whar am goin'-the excursion is
only for twelve days and hev tae come
back then, that's surely no lang" While
A was speaking father was comfortin'
wud see that A stayed at hame." Hearing
this A took time by the forelock an seein'
an opportunity A bolted out the door an
niver stopped rinning till ! got locked up
in the carriage whar Bob an Matty were
anxiously waitin'."
There was delay in startin', 30 A kept
cot q O. > sich, bobbin' up moo an then tse see
rinnin' alang the platform an lookin' in
every carriage o. the train. Finally he
cam tae mine, an feelin' kind o. secure,
stood up. He look'd at me. A could see
he had been greetin'-the first time A he'd
ever known ma auld father tae shed tear.
Jimmy" he said. peaceably. Tin few
minnits ye will be on yir long an perilous
Journey. Be careful o. yirsel, bit laddie.
wud sooner hae lost ma RIGHT haun than !
that ye he'd deceived yir auld mither an |
me. Hoover, we bath furgee ye an !
mither sends her blessin' tae ye an hopes |
yell come back name the worse"
Ma hert ives over flu tae say word. |
"Weel. Jimmy" continued father, "A !
maHp IafE gas gas. , back &. tae xork. Is there ony-
"Ye micht bring me drink o water
father, am awful thirsty" Nae sooner |
he'd A uttered ma request than he was gone.
only to return in q minnit wac hot cup o.
coffee an twa sandwiches, which he got at
the eatin' hoose in the station, an haund-
in them in thro' the window tae me he sed,
"Tak this; it will be better for ye than
cauld water, seein' ye he'd nae breakfast
this mornin'."
This act o. fathers made new laddie O.
me. If A could hev' got oot the train the
minnit A saw the gray-haired auld man
maxim for me wi the steamin' coffee an
sandwiches, an seein' his cen a. bunged
wac greetin A wdd hae din it, but A could
nae. A minnit mair we he'd kissed guide
bye, an as the train moved slowly AVA
looked oot o. the window an waved my
handkerchief tae father till A lost sicht o.
him.
The first stopping place got cot the car
riage. bid guide bye to Bob. sed naething
to Watty, an waited for the train back tae
Glasco'.
got hame the nicht O. the same mornin'
A he'd started, an moo, when twinty years
hes gone by, A can liken ma reception that
NIGHT only tae the hame comm O. the prod
sOo1 oh