The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-11-05

Trumbllng LOUDLY over Jeremiah iulc'
ness, and urging him to the under,
standing of his fast-coming manhood
and its chief duty-work.
"Worh" thought Jeremiah, sarcas-
ticallv. as he listened to the good old
mans s.rmons Must | become 4
money-grubher like my commonplace
fellows here? No, never; there is 4
something within me that tells me that
the immortal spark lives and burns in
my bosom.
Jeremiah had read many biographies,
and in this case he found an analogy
b,tw cen himself and other great men.
Their fathers did not understand them,
and had prosecuted them with that
never neverceaslng urging to money
grabbing and prosaic work.
At last Jeremiah decided that he
was born to he 4 poet. Had he not
read in the lives of the poets of their
sensitivcness to nature, and was it not
the case with him! Did he hot see
depths Of loneliness in the sylvan
glades, the budding trees, the misty,
vapory beauty of the Blue hills, that
no one else in Euphony saw! Yes, yes;
decidedly he was poet.
Jeremiah set to work. He purchased
gold pen, with the finest of writing
paper, and commenced to give special
attention to his hair, or. rather, to
cease attending to it, for he carefully
retrained from going to his barber.
"Gracious sakes! Jerry" said his
mother, at last, "why you are the aw-
fullest looking object. Dye want the
neighbors to start out and say the
Grcenleaf's Jerry is fool?''
Jeremiall gave his mother wither-
ing glance, and ros" from the breakfast
table with as dignitied manner rs his
country education had taught him, at
the same time rutiling his ragged au-
burn locks with picturesque move
ment of the hand, which he had stud
led before the mirror. He stalked
from the room majcstically, leaving the
family looking at each other in aston
ishment, the elder Grccnlcaf gazing
tiXedIy ut his wife with stern plance
of disapproval as he mentally decided
that in her family somewhere there
must have been an idiot, for in his
there had been nothing but the shrewd-
est of Grecnlcafs, succeeding father to
son in the most approved fashion.
Mrs. Greenleaf caught her husband s
eye, and looked up meekly. "Ezekiel,'
she asked, timidly, "shall | send his
coffee to his ROOM"
"No. Deborah" replied her husband
"a little fasting will be good for his
constitution. And tell him. once for
all. we have no room in this house for
idlers. Next Monday morning he goes
to work, or he quits"
And, as he finished, Ezekiel Green
leaf, with unusual perturbation, pushed
aside his halffinished breakfast, and,
rising from the table, crushed his hat
down on his head viciously, and left for
his business.
Meanwhile Jeremiah was up in his
room, seated ut deal table, trying to
commence an epic, for an epic he had
decided his first work must bc. All
around him there were sheets of paper
with his own name written in every
conceivable style of handwriting. He
was hunting for subject, mentally de-
Gliding that of the worlds epics his
should be the greatest. Not Homer
or Virgil or any poet that ever lived
had such difficulty as he had in finding
Il subject. What subject WAS there
anyhow in American history to tag an
epic on. Still. Jeremiah WAS not dis
couragcl. He determined to find one
as he went along, no matter how ditli.
cult the quest, and forthwith, with Il
beating heart. he ptnned th,' opening
lines:
O.,e moonl ght ng',t the e.
He had thus far proceeded when
Mrs. Grecnlcaf, unceremoniously open
inc the door, entered, followed by the
tweive-ycar-old Ezekiel
Jeremiah at once rutilpd his hair. af.
ter his studied hardcsque manner, at
this untimcly intrusion, and met his
mothers gaZa with something very
like contempt. Just rs the inspiration
had seized him, of course the family
must interrupt.
"WeiI, mother" he said, intcrroga-
lively, with vexed impatiencc.
Say, Jrrcmiah,' commenced his
lo.h r. rs she SIT herself down on his
bed with creaking and groaning OF
timhrrs that heSpolc her obesity, Its
| about time We gave mp that scribbin'
and too, tt honest work. Yer father
/
says that, unless We 90 to work in tn,
yard, We can git.
Go to WORK in tn yard.
Jeremiah stared aghaSt. At mo
ment when the epic was about to be
written. must he be told this? &c
to work in his tath;r's building-vard
Growl and grub like all the other low
ly residents of Euphony! Never il
the worlds history Of downtroldel
genius had there been an instance o
| unappreclatlon As great rs this.
:. y I.rnnia ,rn H., w,rl- in fla,