The Van Buren press., 1896-06-06
4 LITTLE HEATHER.
BY MONTGOMERY NJ. FOLSOM.


boy. | was, for fact, you may be-
lieye it or not; used to hold down my
head when grace was being said; l
knew the Ten Commandments and the
Lords Prayer by heart, and l was u
child of many virtues.
Jack was as mean as the old scratch.
He would cut his eye around at me and
try to make me laugh while the blessing
was being asked; he would stick pins in
the little boys as they Rnelt at prayers;
he would rob birds nests, and when
demonstrated with would say:
why, my gracious, let the old fool
bird go lay some more aiggs, she's got
the whole summer and faint much
trouble to lay few little old aiggs like
them"
We used to read tales in our reading
books about how bad boys came to bad
ends, and Jack would laugh at them.
"Shuclis!" he would say, them old
book men can't fool me. What makes
gran'ma kill chickens ON Sunday, if It's
sin to go in washin'? ! notice one
thing: oil brother Kicl<lighter al us eats
MIGHTY baorfv and If II WIG n Gin IN kin
'ons IA Lo sin ~ oo4 ,om Tbov oo,,,t
scare nobody"
All, the dear little old frlcllled face!
Worlds would e,iva IN baro n co,,,o no.
t,,,oo,, mo nd +ba cur, IN, ORC 7 ,oool,
the vale of shadows.
lie would whip the stufing out of
| boy for my sake. | remember once a
foiIo, oa1iod MO ..,,or,,,,,n W. ,,.oro
co,,ina Ln,,3a Fron, c,.ndot-sol,ao1 md
I'D rasol,.od ,,,t q, ,.o-o,,f ~, :, i,,s,,1t
~, o1,,,o,,;o,,4 90 ,.o,.ol,,,,o. ~,
.bo 49,. or,5 ~ H. ~. ,,-o,,15 I,o,o
oono ur,,,n;shed hnt Co.. fao1,
what Aid he da9 He iii onto fol-
low, o,,a ho nol+aa bi4, IN 4ba b,,,r ~
tha oo,. o,d - H., IT,, 81 ..,,aI, .
tbrasI,ino, TINT bav ra,.or totod before
trbo+ ,yas Iaol..s eth No foolish
,css ,ban+ hin 1Io r-.s of that n.r-
ticpl,r tyno of nrlipass that denotes
,nssnd,ess snd orini,,,l q,
nsed 20 nrov for Iael, whom the
,,roaobor ,,,onld ta1l nc r., ,,ra, for all
tbosa whom, ,yo tbopgb+ Needed onr
nrarere 1,cl, ,-os cntt;pg = ioooed
aJ,, an tho l.cl, Of tbe cont ,Ubili' 7 .yos
,ravi,,,r for bic conversion
Al tba days tbe aaIden davs when
Tho snn,rners seemed On Iopr + won
dor II tho e,,,n,no,s of ,,orad;ee will NOT
nossess that same sweet delicious
! iinpering when the natbos and the nas-
sion of mortal life are mast?
Sometimes dream Of lack. now
Tho otber NIGHT don't know wbot got
into me. but I dreamed that we were
rambling along the banks of one of
those winding southern rivers, whose
languid waters were murmurinp. whis-
periny. Gsping among the reeds and
PUSHES
There was A. flash of shining sand
around the lend. and we came to a place
where there was n thicl1et of cypress
saplings. saw one that would make
the finest sort of a fishing pole, and
Jack went to cut it for me. 1t grew
right on the bank of a slough of black
water, on whose sheeny bosom the
tupelo gum berries were afloat.
l was timid-good boys are not al
ways brave boys-and Jack went TO cut
the pole for me. l saw him open the
little old rusty barlow knife, and he
reached far over the treacherous bank,
He had cut it most in two, whers
there was crash.
splash"
The spray flew upward in shower
and blinded my eyes, and when l
opened them-Jack was gone!
| was sitting up in bed gasping,
struggling, choking, in my efforts to
call help. Such dreams are our lives
made up. Sometimes as sit gazing up
at the summer heavens | am startled
by the illusion that l see that boys
face through rift in the clouds.
Jack was bad boy Pepper Joe
used to shake his head and mutter'
Il tell you, dat boys sho' ter come ter
some bad end"
Then he would point to me and re-
mark:
But dar's a chiew attn be somebody.
OATS err good chile, de Lawd knows he
is. an folkll make much er him wen he
pits ter be a prowed up man."
l was so pitifully pious in those
days. The fact is, think was not
well. The chariot wheels of time rolled
noiselessly on, and poor old blind Fate
sat in the doorway Of the future,
with her palsied fingers untangliug
the skein of destiny, her withered lips
all the while grooming those weird
! ,..4.- ...L,-o acboos now and then