New-York tribune., 1899-12-17
GOOD MOTHER BALLOON.
A CHRISTMAS STORY BY MRS KATE
UPsON CLARK.
,,o,, TUE FORMER PUPILS OF THE OLD BRICK
scHooLHoUsE SHOWED THEIR d'Nii-
rUpE FOR PAST KINpNEssEs.


mrhere was n little lame one that useo ~
q s,9ht Of" said Mother Balcom mus'neH. d..
"I remember him WE'LL reJoined farniei -.
shall who had dropped in for frenuiy o"", 49,
49,, iono,y old woman. He used to hVe III tiio
little brown house on the e"e' "
..-rbev we're dreadful poor" went on Mother Ds'.
con, rocking comfortably. Il knit MN pan
h,ue stockings once. / recollect no" pau "o "
when he found that had made EN- Oh " ''e
never thinking you see, that he was oliie'e!'' i.
other boys one has to be smaiier ',ie ~, - -
said I remember how he kind o winKed ms eyes
ord b,s lins trembed a little mite. He TOOK OH MS
snoes and showed me how withered up one Oh MS
feet was II was enough to make you cry ""''
q new stocking for him right on
.I should think you would have oeen SICK must
of the time having parcel OF schooi chiiuie Gil al
yays running In 30. and doing for em as you ala;
but you seemed 10 stana IL anu b''" " ~ ~
chucked Farmer Pershall.
",rhere wasn't any other house handy laugheo
the good old woman. 1T would have peen pretty
mean in me II I hadn't let the poor chlldreh III
when they wanted a drink Of water, or their hahos
got cold playing. Sometimes when thought they
didn't have enough to eat at home, would give
.em a drink of milk or a cracker, and tell 'em not
N tel, the others for naturally couldn't feed 'em
all That little lame boy now! I don't know but
he would have starved II hadn't tended 10 MIN
that way. Yes, Il does look ike snow. Neu
most oughter have snow for Christmas. Mr.. Per-
shall Thank Mrs. Pershall for that pumpkin pie
I'll be making an apple custard for her one OF
these DAYS. | wish sometimes that l had nearer
neiRhbors I miss the children since they built the
new schoolhouse down TO the village, and shut up
this old one; but since my niece came to live with
me three years ago I get along first rate. can
knit and read the papers as well as ever could
Afraid? Mercy, no Mr. Pershall. Why, haven't
an enemy in the world that know of-and there
Amt much here to tempt thieves'-the old lady
looked laughingly around her comfortable but plain
sitting roonl-"and you know most all the neigh
horhood have been to school to the brick school
house here in the old days, and I'm Mother Bal
com to every blessed one of 'em. They wouldn't
hurt their mother. l guess"
The good farmer said goodby and drove off up
the hill toward the village. AS he went he pom
dered
II suppose" he thought. that Mother Balcom
has got enough 10 live on-just about. She's got
her pension as a soldiers widow. and the poor
little place here, and matter Of 5000 or 5000 In
the bank She don't need anything to keep her
from starving or freezing: but she's hard on TO
eighty and I don't believe one of these hundreds
OF children that she's tended to- as she says,
ever gave her thing unless 1t was some checker
berries or n bunch OF flowers or some little thing
like that. I've a great mind to go around among
the neighbors and to write to a few of the older
girls and boys and II We can't make sort OK
a Christmas celebration for her There's that lit
tie lame boy, His name was John Slater.
He moved to Philadelphia, and my wifes cousin