The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-08-07
A|RHE EAlNIEYaE7Q |NIE


eight-year-old boy of one of the
neighbors.
"Gran'ther Brown wants YOU" he
said, briefly, with boys lack of cere-
mony and profitless indirection.
A sudden shadow fitted across
Mrs. Pitkin's happy face. Wants
met" she repeated. What does he
want of me, Sammy"
II dun no." replied the boy, run
ming his bare toe shYly along the
edge of the doorstep. HE wants to
see you"
"Did he send you to tell me that2"
Yep"
Didn't he say anything else9"
"Said to tell you he wanted to see
his little Georgy graduate.
ooh" The shadow, as of sudden
great disappointment, deepened on
Mrs. Pitkin's flushed face. But she
stepped back into the pantry, got two
cream cookies, and handed them to
the little messenger. "You're a good
boy, Sammy" she said. "Thank
you"
With joyful whoop the boy was
off across the yard and over the fence
before Mrs. Pitkin could get back to
her work. Then he dropped down
behind a tree and proceeded to de-
YOUR the cookies.
How suddenly the peace and
beauty of the June afternoon had
been disturbed and overloaded for
Mrs. Pitkin! A sore struggle was
going on the good woman's heart
how sore and how relentless none
may know who has not had some ex-
perience Of the agonies of New
England conscience in strait be-
twixt stern, self-sacrificing duty, and
overweening desire. Sammy Will
liams's message had suddenly ro-
minded Mrs. Pitkin of poor old dot
ing Gran'ther Brown, the self-ap-
pc inted godfather of little Georgia,
since tn Q child was first able to tod
die down the path across the pas
ture to the old mans cottage in the
lane. 1t had been case of love at
first sight between the old man and
the child-of ever increasing wor-
shipful devotion on the part of the
man, though of late years the girls
expanding life had somewhat weak
ened her affection for him. 1t was
strange that none of the family, not
even Georgia herself, had thought of
poor old Gran'ther Brown on this SUI
preme occasion. For weeks, no doubt,
the old mans loving, trustful heart
had been anticipating the Joy that
would be his when Georgia's gradu-
alton day came around, and he should
be taken to the school house-per-
haps by his pet herself-and per-
mitted to contribute his share of en-
thusiasm to her success. Never once
did doubt enter his mind lest he
should be forgotten or overlooked.
Surely some of them would come to
get him ready, to guide his tremb-
ling old arms into the stiff black coat
and waistcoat, to tie the long "chok-
err" and button the old-fashioned
CATERS garments he had treasured,
even in his utter poverty, for just
such days as this. And now the
bright summer morning had passed,
and the sun had begun to slope
westward, yet none of them had
come to prepare him for the great
event.
About one o'clock the old man
had hobbled painfully out into the
lane, hearing the sound of girlish
voices and laughter in the distance,
and had seen the barge pass down
the main road toward the village.
Then he knew that Georgia had gone,
with her mates, to the ol-house;
but though his heart sank within
him, he began straightway to make
loves excuses for the girl. She had
not forgotten him, but, lacking time,
had hidden some other attend to his
needs and bring him to the school
house. He would wait little while;
he would not be too exacting or i'm
patient. 1t still lacked two hours of
the time when the exercises would
begin.
So Gran'ther Brown sat down on
his doorstep to wait. But when a
half-hour passed and approaching
footsteps brought only little Sammy
Williams, rustling through the grass,
the old man was fain to beg the boy
to take his message to Mrs. Pitkin.
And something in the old mans face
moved careless little Sammy, in a
way he could not understand, to