The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1903-07-31

IL guess | amt never told you about
Harry Sylvester. Miss Dorothy He
hasn't got only one leg, but his mother
says he makes up for il in hands. |
can't ever see any eXtry ones, but Of
course she'd ought TO know. Poor Mis-
Sylvester! She has things enough 10
make her feel bad. DIR. Gordon says
Harry's father was poorer N one OF
Jobs eats when they first come here,
an now he's gettin' TO be four handed
man. Seems as If somethin' kept hap
PENN to him all the time, don't it?
Now Harry's had his leg cut off, an
prob'ly he'll be four handed, too. before
he gets through with il. | was thinkin'
that p'raps Mis- Burleigh ID send him
some of them drums if anybody spoke
TO her about il" her frank eyes full Of
sympathy.
I'm afraid you don't quite under
stand about the drums at Mrs. Bur
leigh's, dear" said Miss Wagner faint
ly. suppose we sit down here by the
brook and rest awhile"
Everybody likes Mr.. Burleigh," re-
sumed Electra after according what
seemed to her sufficient time for a
graceful change Of subjects.
Aunt Octayia used TO say that he'd
gise you his eyeteeth if you asked for
'em. | never quite believed it when she
said ii, but | went over there once to
do an GRAND. an l was plannin' to
speak TO him about it," She burst into
Il roguish laugh at the recollection. dis
playing TO advantage her own teeth,
safely past the transition period and
now cleaning in even whtenesS.
when | got there, Miss Dorothy, he
didn't have a tooth i'm the world, except
some that was up on the kitchen shelf
in cracked tumber an so | run home
an told Aunt Octayia somebody ii ask
ed him for 'em an got EN- That was
ever SO long ago, when | didn't know
any better.
Il love my Aunt Octavia dearly, but
she's queer sometimes. She don't like
dreams very we'll | had a real bad
dream once when | was n little girl
Seems as if mother didn't have father
then, but l don't know sure, for I was
such "A little girl.
But mother an me ii been havin'
nortle good time in the evenn'. poppin'
corn an tellin stories an all that, an
she het up my feet in front of the stove
an said Two little pigs went to mar
ket' on 'em before she put me to bed,
an then afterwards | dreamt that
heard mother cryin'. OF course
thought I'd walked up You always do
think you've walked up. don't you, Miss
Dorothy. when you get to dreamln'?
Il see mother lookin' drettle sober.
settin' down front of the bureau an
handlin' over some papers she took out
Of a box. Then | dreamt she kissed
square thing that was kinder shet up
in her hand an cried an cried, just as
| did when | cut my finger with the
chopin knife.
II told mother about ii the next day.
She laughed at me an said little folks
mustn't imagine things. an then she
went into the kitchen to stir her cram
b'ry sauce. as smilin' as could be. But
just as soon as she'd got out of hearin
up jumped Aunt Octayia an grabbed
holt of my shoulder an shook me as if
was Il tabeclOth. an she says, Don't
you never tell your mother that dream
again as long as you live an breathe
There's lots of things makes her nerv-
Gus. Mother amt never nervous"
satisfied ripple in her voice.
at-ia
once she went on in a gentle flow of
Renaissance. Il was stayin' over to
her house while Uncle Silas sugared
off"
She threw a pebble into the brook
and watched the widening circles on
the water with an air of reflective spec
ulation.
what was the secret. Electra z" ask
ed Miss Wagner after a moments ST.
lence
"Oh, yes" still looking at the water
and speaking half absently. Il was
lonesome for mother one night after [
got into bed, an auntie left candle
burning, but twas little bit of one,
an it sputtered. | said, Now | lay
me- just as if mother was there. Then
the candle sputtered again, an | be-
gan TO say, our Father They heard
me then, an they came runnin up
stairs in a nortle hurry, an Aunt Oc-
tavia says: You little screech owl,
you'll scare me into fits. What under
the canopy are you shoutin' that way
for
That was worse n the candle for l
didn't know what she meant, but | told
her that the prayer said, 'IIollered be
thy name, an that was why I'd been
hollerin
"Then Aunt Octavia said. Il don't
know low it strikes YOU 81, but | do
b'lieve there's somethin' lackin' in the
upper story
Uncle Slas said there wasn't. He
said he'd bet a cooky 'twould come out
all right in course of time; better wait
an see.
Il guess | went to sleep after that,
but some time-mebbe twas the next
day-auntie told me we'd have a Sc
cret. Then she got me TO promise |
wouldn't tell n Twin soul about the