St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-12-26

December night pairing and cutting up
. great, knobby, sweet pumpkin. for
pies. e"rll be dinged to gosh ef l
wouldn't give a milkin' of the Jersey
cow fer ther eyester 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 . year
past; not thet am perticalor anxious
thet he should, fer eff ever youngster
he'd change of heart and manners
withouten the help of q revival be-
lieve cts him. He hessant given me a
sassy word fer weeks end almost 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-
eravatin to him and call him an ongrate-
full scamp thet don't know when he's
well OF and continner riling him end
not low him ter sass back, cos I'm his
father. 1 reckon the boy hain't always
he'd a picnic and frosted cake and linn
ming aid ivin' end workin' fer me ef
/ am his dad, end ne 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 q city, es
the Scripter says. fer when he ken gov
ern his temper round me, es see myself
now, he's got the stuff in him wuth hev-
in. Somethin' 3 KUN over him-there's
no bfindin' yer eyes ter thet. He seems
ter be livin' outside of hisself-fer other
foxes lke-fer me end you most per-
ticulerly-es il ct were a 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 il al
lus filled 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
. 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 iker 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 Christmas din
ner, end he had a seat next to the turkey
end brown gravy. 'Tother night hearn
him talkin' ter the cows when he didn't
suspicion there was nobody aroun', end
he told old Boxy thet he'd never kick
her again eff 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 stealin' list'nin'.
"Yer night 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 1 KEN
up they looked kind of upset like end
dandered off about the crick end the
crops end corn huskin'. end eny gump
could see ct wasn't what was onter their |
minds.
"A spell back-end not a long spell,
either, I'd sed they's a-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 |
harm termarrow mornin', er her smoke
house onto ther front stoop. But hain't |
now. Them youngsters he'd |
onto ther minds besides lark
in end cussedness, end we shell see,
mcbbe, what we shell see, es some cute
teller sed"
And with the last ring of pumpkin
pared and cut up and put 10 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.
Nothing very startling ever happened
at Plunkettville. 1t was prone to dead
levelness in events A monotony of
was the rule. A funeral.
marriage with its attendant chivaree, a
barn raising or corn husking or a par
ing bee were the dizziest heights its oc-
cusrences attained, and between these
events and dissipations there were likely
10 be long intervals of unbroken quiet.
md % this recollection of mine par
takes more OF the pastoral than story.
Il would Be pleasant as well Is profit
able to write , good deal about this
that Uncle Sluman Able
~ on the bridge over Nassogger run
kn1king with the Eaton boys and Jake.
hat space fofbids but one line Of
In6oaeAt now. He was sort Of eli
Ssoan1 prophet to the neighborhood
- ~ the. rather commonplace peo-
- = land Of better and wider liv-
eetolly to The boys and the
q NJ oehool had N heen !