Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1897-11-17
ALL II COMFORT 1 HAVE HAD THESE
TEN YEARS.

ALL THE COMFORT 1 AVE HAD THESE
TEN YEARS.
1t was a little shanty, sitting back
some thirty feet from the street, at the
proximity of which not a few aristo.
cratic souls in that quarter reyolted.
In the front yard were the mingled
glories OF sweet peas, oleander, the ger,
aniums and Marshal Mel rose, with
about two dozen heads of thrifty cab
bages and several short rows of pota.
toes.
The proprietress of this place was q
faded little woman, with the scar of a
frightful burn on her cheek and neck
very lame, and at the time of this &C.
count one eye vas swollen nearly shut
from a recent bruise.
She wore a no. colored calico dress,
with hair once golden, but now faded
and gray, loosely knotted on the back
of her neck. As l passed | heard a
voice say: IF We wud ioike some of
me flowers come right in an help yer.
self. Take all We wants"
thanked her, entered the garden,
and picked as sparingly as she would
allow me. l had visited her once be-
fore when she was very sick.
Your flowers must be a great Joy to
you" [ said"
"They's all the comfort Dive 'ad
these ten years" she replied.
How is that?' l said. II do not un.
derstand you"
"Sit down here on the porch while |
wraps the shtems of yer posies wild a
wet paper, or else they'll wilt before
We gifts home wild EN-, and Oil tell ye
me history, if ye loike."
There's wan think" size said i'm
pressively, THAT as made my loif a
burden to me. Yes. two thim."
bad luck and whisky. Wan of thin
alone is bad enough, but when We av
to contend against two O. them We
might as well give up. Not that OF liver
dhrunk a glass o. whisky in me loif.
It's me men folk whisky played the
mischief wild. First me father, then
Micky, and now Larry. 1t always
samed as if the only rason they liver
got out of bed sober was that they
might go to bed dhrunk again.
me father was the worst of all. Oh
had three younger sisters. Win we
were children niver was there enough
of anything in the house but blows an
curses an' about wanst in ivry six
weeks the year round that ould sinner,
me father, wud turn us out, mither
and all, to spend the night in rain an
snow, frost or thaw, jist as it happened
to come. We used to snuggle up against
the pigs to kape from freezin'. Olive
'ad a tenderness for pigs liver since,
Thay's a couple av thin now in the
back yard.
when | was thirteen the cholera
broke out here in -. Maybe We were
ould enough to remember it ~yerself.
Well, n by one me little sisters died,
an father AMI carried them in their
little coffins to the graveyard. Then
me father took the cholera and got so
bad that for about twenty DAYS he
could nather get drunk mol curse me
mither.
1t was the first time in all his mar
ried life he had been sober so long, an
a blissful relate it was to me mithe-.
AT last, wild the help O. the saints, he
got out again, an OF went out to ser.
vice. l worked hard for q long time
an saved u bit o. money, when one
day Larry Malone came an told me
me mither was sick.
"Oi Gave up me place an hurried
home as fast as liver l could to take
care o. me mither, God bless her. It's
me belafe to this very day that she
might have recovered if she 'ad tried
to. But you see, she was completely
worn out by the hardness of the brute.
IVAN night when | was alone wild
err, she called me to the bedside an
said: Kathleen, Dim dyin' and yez
go for yer father Poor mither, l
could see by the sthare av her eyes
that she was dyinh Sure, l said,
Yer out av yer head, We know We are,
fer if father was here he would not let
We die in pace 'Oi name what l say
she said colly. 'Oi can't die widuut
furgivin' him all his manenees to me
an the children, the BLACKBOARD, an
LAWN him me blessin'. Foind Kath-
leen, If yez can, an be quick about it,,
too So off | sthartedin the dark alone.
l found me father in a saloon, for OF
knew where to look, and we were goin'
home wild him cursin m;ther fur dyin'
an me fur not dyin', when he gave me
O fearful kick on me hip an over |
went wild the breath knOckad ont ~ ma