Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1899-05-11
THE SILENCE OF SIMEON SAYLES.
By j. l.. HAIR noun.

Whether he grew tired of it or not,
Simeon Sayles said all he had to say in
writing from that time forth. His only
reply to his sisters ridicule and re-
monstrances was written in these
words:
"You sed you wisht I'd shut up my
mouth and keep it shut, and I'm
a-going to do it,.
He bought little blank book, in
which he kept pencil, and all his
communications to the world and to
individuals were made through the
medium OF this book and pencil.
The neighbors said that the
Sayleses always were a queer lot, any
how" that some of Simeon's ancestors
had been rather eccentric, and that
Simeon himself had never seemed
quite like other men. No matter how
true this may have been, his sister
Myra was thoroughly we'll balance;.
woman, with large fund of strong
common sense, and her brothers freak
caused her great secret modification
and distress, although she had de-
clared at the beginning of it, 1T will
be an actual rest to me to get rid of
your eternal scolding!"
But Simeon had not scolded 'eter-
nally," as Myra felt obliged to confess
to herself in her reflective moments.
He was, indeed, somewhat inf rm of
temper and sometimes gave hims elf up
to prolonged fits of petulance, but
there had been DAYS and even weeks
at time when Simeon had been as
serene of mind and as companionable
as any man.
'This freak Of his is harder to put
up with at the table than at any other
place or time" his sister confessed to
a sympathetic neighbor Sometimes
1t just seems as if I'd fly. There he
sits as mum as a grindstone. Some.
times try to rattle away just as if
nothing was the matter, but 1 can
never keep it up very long. I've tried
all sorts of little tricks to catch him
unawares and make him speak once,
but he won't be caught. One day,
just when ned come in from the field,
l smelt something burning so strong
that 1 said, Il do believe the house is
on fire, and he opened his mouth as
if to speak and then clapped it shut
again and whipped ont that abominable
little book and wrote, 'Whare?'
Il was so put out that I flung the
book clear out into the gooseberry
bushes. 1 really doubt if he ever does
speak again in this world, and the
prospect is pleasant for me, isn't it?"
The two lived alone in the old red
farmhousein which they had been born
so years before. They were without
kith or kin in the world with the ex-
ception of a much younger sister
named Hope, who had married pros
porous young farmer and had gone
out west to live. 1t had been time
of great sorrow to them when this
pretty, young sister had married Henry
Norton and gone from the old house
They reioiced in her happiness. of
course, and were quite sure that Hope
had ''done we'll, but it was none the
less hard to give her up.
She was only u years old at the
time aud so much younger than her
brother and sister, that their affection
for her was much like that of a father
and mother for an only child. They
had lavished the tenderest love of
their lives on Hope, and their affection
had not lessened by her absence. In
the years since they had seen Hopes
pretty face and heard her CHEEKY voice
they often talked of her.
Myra had always stood as strong
wall between Hope and harm or trouble
of any kind, and this loving thought
fulness had kept her from writing a
word to her sister about their brothers
strange silence.
81 wouldn't have Hope know it for
anything" Myra had said; sit would
worry the child 50. And there's no
danger of Simeon writing it. He'd be
ashamed to-"
During all the fall and through one
whole long, wretched winter the iron
willed Simeon kept his resolve not to
speak, and decided shake of his head
or written "No" was his reply to
Myra's often repeated question, Don't
you ever intend to speak again?"
One day in May neighbor, coming
from the town, brought Myra letter
that gave to her troubled heart the
widest thrill of JOY it had known for
many day. Hope was coming home!
She had written to say that she would
arrive on Wednesday'of the following
week with her little girl of three years
and that they would spend the entire
summer in the old home.
Catching up her sunbonnet, Myra
ran all the way to the distant field in
which Simeon was at work, holding
the letter out as she ran and calling
out before she reached him:
80 Simeon! Simeon! A letter
from Hope! She's .coming home!
She'll be here next week with her lit
tie Grace. that we've never seen! Only
think of it Hopes coming homer
Simeon was plowing. He reined up
his horses with jerk and opened and
shut his mouth three or four times;