Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-08-11
A MOTHER OF FIVE. "
By BRIT HARTE.

She was mother-and rather OK.
emplary one-of five children, although
her own ago was barely o. Two of these
children were twins, and she generally
alluded to them as "Mr. Amplach' s
children, referring to an exceedingly
respectable gentleman in the next set
Element, who l have reason to believe
has never set eyes on her or them. Tho
twins were quite naturally alike--hav-
ing been i'll IA previous state of existence
two ninepins-and were still somewhat
vague and irrelevnte below their shout
ders in their LONG clothes, but were also
firm and globular about the head, and
there were not wanting those who pro.
fcsSed to seq in this an unmistakable re-
semblance TO their reputed father. The
other children were dolls of different
ages. sex and condition, but tho twins
may be said to have been distinctly her
own conception. Yet such was her adj
mirablo and impartial maternity that
she never made any difference between
them. Tho AmplaCh children was
description rather than "A distinction.
She was herself the motherless child of
Robert Foulkes, Woodworking but
somewhat improvident teamstor on the
express route between Big Bend and
Reno. His daily vocation, when she
was not accompanying him in the wag-
on, led to an occasional dispersion of
herself and her progeny along tho road
and ut waysido stations between those
places. But the family was generally
collected together by rough but kindly
hands already familiar with the ham
ding of her children. | have very vivid
recollection of Jim Carter trampling
into saloon after q five mile walk
through "a snowdrift with an Amplach
twin i'll his pocket. "Somcthin ought to
be done, he growled, "to make Mary
littlo more careful o. them Amplach
children. | picked up ono outer tho
snow Il mile beyond Big Bend. " "Gud
bless my soul - said Il casual passenger,
looking mp hastily. II didn't know that
Mr.. Amplach was married" Jim wink
ed diabolically at him over his glass.
"No more did l." he responded gloom
lily, "but you can't tell anything about
the ways q them respectable. psalm
singin iayhirds. " Having thus dis.
posed Of Aiuplach's character, later ON
when he was alono with Mary, or
Meary, as sho chose to pronounce it.
the rascal worked upon her feelings
with an account of the infant Amplach's
suiferings i'll the snowdrift and its az
onized whisperings for "Meary, Meary"
until real tears stood in Mary's blue
eyes. LET this be Il lesson to you, no
concluded, drawing the ninepin dexter
ously from his pocket, 'for it took nigh
quart of the best forty rod whisky
to bring that child to-" Not only did
Mary firmly believe him, but for weeks
afterward Julian Amplach, this IN.
happy twin, was kept in "a sumnolent
attitude in tho cart and was believed to
have contracted dissipated habits from
the effects of this heroic treatment.
Her numerous family was achieved
in only two years and was in succession
to her first, which was brought from
Sacramento at considerable expense by
MIR. William Dodd, also teaulster,
on her seventh birthday. This by one
of those rare inventions known only to
child's vocabulary, she at once called
Misery - probably a combination of
Missy" as she herself was formally
termed by strangers, and Missouri"
her native state 1t was an excessively
large doll at first-Air. Dodd wishing to
get the worth of his money-but time
and perhaps an excess of maternal care
remedied the defect, and it lost flesh
and certain unemployed parts of its
limbs very rapidly. 1t was further re.
duced in bulk by falling under the
wagon and having the whole train pass
over 1t, but singularly enough its great
est attenuation was i'll the head and
shoulders, the complexion peeling off
as u solid layer, followed by the disap-
pearance Of distinct strata of its extraor-
binary composition. This continued un.
til the head and shoulders were much
700 small for even its reduced frame,
and all the devices of childish millinery
IA shawl secured with tacks and well
hammered in and hat which tilted
backward and forward and never ap-
peared ut the same augle-failed to re-
store symmetry, until ono dreadful
morning after an imprudent bath the
whole upper structure disappeared,
leaving two hideous iron prungs stand.
Ing erect from the spinal column. Even
IN imaginative child like Mary could
not accept this sort Of thing as "a head
Later IN the day Jack Roper, the black
smith at the Crossing, was concerned
a5 the plalntive appearance before his
forge of little girl clad in bright
blue pinafore Of the same color as her
eyes, carrying her monstrous offspring
IN her arms. Jack recognized her and
instantly OWNED the situation. "You
haven't" he suggested kindly, "got
another head at home, somethin left
over;" Mary shook her head sadly.
Even her prolific maternity was not
tqual TO the creation of children in de-
tail. Nor anything like a head" no
persisted sympathetically. Mary's Low.
ing eyes filled with tears. "No nuffen."
lyon couldn't" he continued Thought
fully, "use her the other side up: We
might got fine pair o. legs outer them
irons" he added, touching the two
prongs with artistic suggestion. "Now
look here He was about to tilt the
doll over when small Cry of feminine
distress and swift movement of ma.
tronly little arm arrested this evident
indiscretion. Il see" he said grayely.
"Well, you come here tomorrow, and
we'll fix up somethin to work her. "
Jack was thoughtful the rest of tho
Say, moro than usually impatient with