The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1901-02-28

AS a QeIlHedCOr Oh lTlSH character ErneSt
Jarrod has had but few equals. His Mick
ey Finn" stories have been read throughout
the entire English speaking world, and
have everywhere been popular. The late
C. A. Dana said of them: "They contain
the most admirable delineation of char
acter, together with rare felicity in the
description of the woods and fields" The
following story is taken from one of Mr..
Jarrold's books recently published by
Higgins Co., Chicago.
The air of Cooney Island palpitated
with the fervent heat of day in
July. The hot air radiated up from
the meadows and the dusty road like
heat from a furnace. Even the chick.
ems sought the shade of friendly
trees, and the locusts lazily chanted
their midsummer threnody as Mickey
Finn came down Murray street with a
tattered geography, worn spelling
book and a thumbed first reader un-
der his arm.
The boys face shone from it's re-
cent application of soft soap and wa
ter, so that the freckles stood out
like spots of brick dust on either side
OF his nose. He had stone bruise on
one OF his toes, and was forced to
walk on one heel. As he limped along
the roadside, half mile away in the
hazy perspective he could see the lit
tie red schoolhouse in the hollow,
with its monotonous suggestions of:
Observation-Disclosures? Yes-the-
dog-can-catch-the-cat."
In fancy he heard the dreary iter-
alton of the schoolroom, and saw the
blank white walls speckled with pa
per "spit-balls." He was hot and
tired and dusty, and his toe hurt.
The truth was, that he had asked
ms mother to permit him to stay
away from school, and she refused to
allow him to do so. Mrs. Firms at
tention had been pathetically drawn
70 the sore toe, and she had said that
tne injured member would not hurt
MIN any more at school than at
nome. And SO the boy looked cross
and felt ugly towards the distasteful
eodicatlon,' which his mother forced
upon him. As he limped along the
dusty road, he looked off over the
meadow and saw the naples and
pines in Lindsley's wood whispering
% each other, as they waved in the
oreeze which blew fresh and cool
from the Hudson river. These whis-
pers Mickey interpreted as coaxing
invitations, which sounded to him as
follows:
Tome, little Mike, and lie under our
protecting branches! Here you will
nnd the tender birch bark and the
juicy sassafras root! Upon our
snady hillocks hidden by glossy
green leaves, hide the red winter
greea berries awaiting your coming!
me tree toad will sing his little song
,or you, the bubbling spring is dis
.,lilng sparkling liquor for your
hlrsty lips, and the shady coverts Of
our sylvan dells await you!"
With these enchanting voices in his
eur the temptation to play hockey
was q strong one. The tempter of
men came to him with the LIQUID
melody OF birds, the soft wooing of
huttering leaves, the rustic of the
pines thin fingers, and the gurgle of
ofooks. And as he stood in the dusty
ROAD and looked down into the hol-
.oW at the sun beating fiercely upon
ne windows of the little red school,
nouse. and realized how sitting was
.ne AR inside, what wonder that he
hesitated!
inen the reproachful face of his
,M other rose before him. AS little
M,ke loved his mother and feared her
eoake more than he did her heavy
aand, the thought of her grief inn
psiiea aim onward toward the school.
nat ne could not shut out of his men
sai sight the picture of the cool par
suise In the wood where the little
aHe rppled in the sunlight. and
enese, lag below, ran the wide reach