The age-herald., 1899-10-08
LETS PLAY"
How Julia Had Fun All by
 Herself

Lets Play" was scarcely heard during the ensuing weeks. for all were very anx- tous. Poor. brave little Jack suffered ex- or,rciating pain from the inflammation and the other eye becoming sympathetic 1t was feared he would became totally bind. Aammas sober, tearful face when the children caught glimpse or her ohiy ii- creased their solicltude.
 Children have wonderful elasticity or spirits. however, and pretty soon Julia was again playing and having" fun,' though compelled to engage in her pastimes all alone. Ned had returned to school ana sne missed her constant companion, Jack, very sorely indeed
 He was growing better at last, and one day he begged mamma to allow Julia 10 come in and talk to him. Julia, being chatterbox, had been kept out during HIS illness.
 Mamma consented, provided he would oil- ly listen and allow Julia to do all the taih- ing. He agreed to this and mamma lay down on a cot to rest while Julia entertain ed the invalid.
 You are to just begin now and tell ihe every blessed thing you have been dolhs while I have been shut up in here. You are having all the fun and l cant never have any at all, any more"
 There was a slight quiver in the sturdy little mans voice. and Julia came very near letting him know that she was crying for sympathy, but she bravely dashed away the tears which the bandaged eyes could not see as she answered brightly 0 "Oh, its pretty bad, Jack, wifout you, but then l has fun some days, when l plays like you are well and out there wifi me-. 1T guess 1t will always be a play like, , for l can't play and have fun much 1T am blind' And two big tears rolled down his checks
 'Oh, Jack, dear, you mustn't. It will make your eyes worse. You shan't be blind. You shall play nice soon; see if you don'tl'
 q don't know Anyway tell me what you do That's next best to doing 1t my self"
 T will tell you des zackly if you won't cry nor talk a spec. You des play you are Julia now CT 'havin fun
 'Its a poor way to have fun to try to play you have two good eyes and see every thing so beautiful when 1t Is all dark and you can't see blessed thing. mos ruth CT be dead"
 'tOh, no; deed tis very nice when you can't do things sure huff to des play you can. One day when I wanted you to play VII He so Ddu l ueS pldyeu ny DtSSlt lNulH was Jack, en she pulled my curs en poked her finger gainst my nose, and she made ! me a wagon wifi some spOols en a box. 'Course only des played she did, but twas heap of fun. I dot some chairs and played they was lots and lots of horses, and we went visitin en l lief some cards wifi my name to show the folks l had called. An some places I went In en say: I'm very glad to see you, Mrs. Jones; are you well? How are your children? You mus come to
 
 home and Jack would as' me for some m'lasses and a biscuit an I say, You eat m'lasses and biscuit all the time. but des gave 1t to my Jack, what was des Bessie Ruth
 played twas big wagon and put all my dolls up there, too, and we had heaps of fun, tause we was goin to a picnit en, oh, Jack, des had the bes' lunch, what all got wasted on the ground, tause my horses runned away.
 "An' den one time I dressed up in silk dress made outen table scarf on a towel en went to a concert, and my dolls and kitty and pup was the folks and was the ban en We had des a spendid time. Its lots of fun to do things I played l was lady doin' callin' wunst, tause mamma wouldn let me do to see Maudie and Bessie. I put chicken feather In your sailor hat and tied nurses apurn on hind part afore for a trail and I was Mrs. Brown callin to see Mrs. Johnson, who was the tree. She was very nice deed she was, and handed me some Treatments. An den I played that yellow butterfly what passed was a lady with silk dress doing to my house, n so I des had to do.
 'Den I play'd Susie's doll was you wifi her eye hurt, n I was mamma nursin' you and pettin' you en do 1t made me powerful sorry. really 'joyed that mos of all.
 ''Oh, has fun all the time. can play I am the teacher, and stands up sticks for the childurhs and made desks outer chips. en its fun to see how smart puss is when I teach school. She won't help me teach do she does look so wise like she knows so much when I teach her to spell real ly bleve, Jack, she knows more than do, n I'm mos shame to teach her, but when dress her up in Miranda Ellen's dress en rock her to sleep. She is a real nice, in' cent baby, and its fun, but she Is very bad bout takin' her close off soon as lay her down in the bed
 "An' has fun doin' on the train cars to New York and Boston. An l read some. I spec it des as much fun to play you read as 'tis to read shury huff, for den you can read des what you like bes'. So I reads bout de fairies en bout de angels en bout de brownies, en don't read tall much, but good childen 'cept when my own childrur are naughty, en I reads to en
 "I has fun when play I'm bird or 2 chicken, only don't let cook ever catcl me to ring off my neck. That's very bad T know 'tis, cause when play I'm chick en I fink sometime I hear cook come t' catch me. Imp! 'ough! I des wounldn' kill the poor chickens.
 "If you tant have Jack and Ned you tar play like it., en if you tant have take an tandy, n do places its mos es good to play you have so has fun, lots!'
 Mamma, who had listened in spite of her self to Julia's way of having fun, thought she had talked enough for one morning and