Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1896-01-20

into basin, and then pouring the
hot broth upon it. "I'll brush it up
a. bit the while you eat your dinner.
There it is all ready, and just as you
like it, but mind now, for it is SO hot;
you know you said yesterday it was
not hot enough, but take care not to
scald your mouth.
ON take care-yes, Aggy, yes, III
take care" the aged man said, peeylsh-
ly, and as If impatient at being warn
ed He ate his broth in some haste,
and, between the sups, kept reltera-
ting as his shirt sleeve attracted his
attention, "Whar's my coat, whar
did | put my coat?'
1t was too evident, eyesight was not
the only sense which was rapidly fail
ing the old man; that deficiency would
hardly have sufficed to render him
oblivious of the fact that his daughter,
while she brushed his coat,
and with needle and thread re-
paired some flaw in mis- waistcoat, and
smoothed the old necl1erchief with
her iron, was making her dinner off a
piece of dry bread, moistened by sips
of cold teafrom themorning's teapot.
The broth was finished all too soon,
and the basin would rapidly have
found it's way to the ground, had not
Agnes in time intercepted and guided
the shaking hand to the table.
''There, father, now it's all ready,
and I'll bring you water and things;
you'll have wash, won't your"
In monotonous chant the old man
repeated his daughters words, while
she fetched water and soap, and, with
a little assistance, her father made
his toilette.
There was something to be done be-
fore the visit could be made, but
Agnes had no trouble in sitting the
poor invalid's impatience; he had by
this time forgotten all about his antlc-
ipated pleasure, and sat quite still,
croning over the verse of an old song
which his daughter had purposely
hummed to secure his attention,
while she proceeded to make the re-
CURED alteration in Mrs. Grejous
cap; that finished, she went to
her cupboard, took thence a
small quantity of sugar, a remnant OF
cocoa, and some slices of bread and
butter she had previously cut; these
set on plate she took it in her hand,
pinned the cap to her side, and then,
approaching the old mans side, she
said
Nov then, father, please we will go
DOWN.
go down, Aggy? yes; go down;
whar' s, whar's my -" he began, but,
glancing at his arm, became satisfied
that the question was needless.
She said nothing, only guided him
the more carefully down the darkened
kitchen stairs, and, when half way
down, Agnes called, softly
eve are coming, Mrs. Grejous"
The next moment the tall, bony fig
ure Of the landlady appeared at the
door.
'Ah, that's right, come along! mind
howyou come, old gentleman, for
them tiles is as uneven-I tell my
Tom of it every day, and every bless
ed night of his life he's a-goin' to set
lem straight! but, lor'! when he do
come in, It. nothing but his birds, and
his birds, though they do eat their
heads off, and nothing forit, as say
DUU SCrGaulI1 duQ I'LL OI1C
can't hear oneself speak"
Perhaps this might account, to
some extent, for the fact that MrS
Greious was increasingly talking, and
that so much of her talk consisted OF
repetition of that which had already
been said again and again.
The chief object in Mrs. Grejou,s kit
chen-not over clean, by the way-was
the long green cage, Of home make, the
most amateur device imaginable, but
constructed with an eye to the con-
venience and comfort Of it's inhabi-
tants, rarely surpassed by more sight
ly productions.
There were a great many perches, OF
various heights, lots OF green stuff,
and various receptacles for clear water
and seed; and certainly Mrs. Grejous'
dodgers might have envied the little
prisoners their advantages of cleanli-
ness and space.
It was quite a colony, OF some
twenty canaries, including the very
young members, occupying, with their
parents, portion of the cage appro-
priated to their especial use.
Immediately under the cage was a
high chest, or press, and that was
Toms bed; and on the chest, at this
present moment, knelt Tom, busily
engaged in bestowing sundry bits Of
sponge cake upon his nursery.
Hearing the well-krown voice en-
ployed otherwise than in scolding,
Tom turned round III some surprise,
and displayed the good-humored face
of lad somewhere about fourteen,
dark OF complexion, healthy, but
not rosy; kindly blue eyes; a mouth
rather large, but, in it's merry smile,
only exhibited a set of white, even
teeth; square, firm chin; and nose,
that matched so we'll the rest Of the
features, one never questioned it's par
ticular order. His well-shaped head
was covered with thickly-curling brown
hair, and we'll set on slender neck,
which, as we'll as the figure, formed the
only noticeable exception in the lad
to the class of which one may meet
fifty such in an hours walk, for even
tho 1oo1z Of bnpact frnndO ON that ShOOn