The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-04-24
Career Of His Fathers Son.

band of whom she had plainly stood in /
considerable awe. before dying had con- /
siderately bequeathed to her his living |
image slightly more manageable /
FORM Like most women, Mrs. Hayes /
was prone TO concentration, especially /
In matters of the heart and two 50 ex- /
actly of 4 kind might well have proved (
an embarras de richesse. But. LEFT with /
only one, and that a small one. she re-
established herself in her native village /
and contentedly applied herself to the l
Washtub and the ironing board for the |
maintenance Of herself and the little |
Johnnie until he should be of an age TO
realize her great expectations OF him /
and prove himself the man his father /
was.
Just about a clever scholards too,
explained Mrs. Hayes to any one who
cared to listen.
None Of her friends and relations had
seen this wonderful man OF hers in the
flesh; she had met him in London while
IN service there. and had only returned
to the country at his death. But they
were not allowed to forget him, and the
tale of his numerous attainments was
told and told again. He had left only a
very few pounds worth Of furniture
behind him, but, according TO his wife,
he had been most too clever tOr nOu-
ey making-one of those men so top
heavy with brains that they cannot
cOn1 enienuy stOoD to pick ny q mere
weekly wage And, them he had died
quite young, before he had been given
his chance" A common abOrer
farm hand, keeps himself from the time
he IS released from school. but it is no
toriOus that men of talent take longer
to start themselves in independence,
some times the tWenties see them still
only thinking of doing it, the thirties
surprise them with the task unaccOm-
pnshed Every one knows that brains
take longer to develop than Industry
or at any rate. all Mrs. Hayes inu-
mates knew it, having had the theory
set forth to them in homely language
many times And ne never had his
chance, you understand me-" she would
end was just snapped off like a bud
as the frost catches"
But Johnnie, lucky boy joined his
mothers robust constitution to his
fathers intellect, so she averred. and
the constitution, at any rate, seemed
quite in evidence And, if they wanted
TO see what his father looked like let
them look at Johnnie, said his mother
his living picturel"
Judged thus by Johnnie. his father
seems to have had a sturdy stumpy
figure a. round. blunt featured face.
powerful white teeth. a shock of stub
by. sun blcached hair. and prominent
light blue eyes that were wont to stare
unblinkingly during a conversation at
whatever object first met their gaze
all this added to curious reluctance
TO say a word more than The absolutely
necessary. A common enough type in
that neighborhOOd. yet not even that
neighborhood's preconceived idea of d
son Of genius.
But, if any smiled. they were kindly
folk and took care to do it only behind
the mothers back
During Johnnie's passage from a
heavy baby into a healthy. hearty boy
Mrs. Hayes was spared half the pangS
Of motherhood. She gave away the
last of his petticoats without n sigh;
with her own hands, to an accompani-
ment of smiles instead of tears, she cut
close the mop of hair which had always
refused to respond to her efforts to en-
tIce it into curlS- She was in such
hurry for him to attain mans estate.
and to show forth to a wondering world
the heritage his father had left him.
that she hurried him with all her might
through his early years. Johnnie never
grew out of his clothes like other boys.
He was forced to turn them up, the
trousers half way to his knees, and the
sleeves to his elbows. before ne could
move in them, and they were always
beyond patching before his limbs over
took them. When he was five years
old she publicly announced her inten
ton of calling him John" as a weight
Ter and more fitting name. But he was
so Enthusiastically johnnie" that no one
could remember to follow her example,
and half her time she only managed it
herself to end sentence started too
nimbly with a Johnnie" that had
slipped out"
AS sooh as he could toddle Johnnie
went to school and continued to go
daily until the extreme limit of age
when schooling is compulsory on the
youth Of England Once laboriously es-
tablished in a standard" he showed a
marked dlsincln2tion to leave it. and
the utmost prodding never advanced
him beyond the boTderland of the
fourth" But his mother blamed the
school and her want of means to send
him to a better one not Johnnie. OF
course. what any yOkel learned would
not he the learning to tempt her hus-
bands SON Johnnie received subtle
nattery from her instead of blows for
his slow progress. He met it. as he
met most things, with the impenetrable
stare of his light blue eyes His opin-
ion of himself would have interested
good many people by this time. but his
silence remained unbroSen or that
point as on so many others
There followed the usual little Difficult
~ in fitting the village genius with
means Of earning a livelihood Mrs.
Hayes refused to contemplate anything
whereby honest sweat" might he
caused to flow from her sons low, hair
matched brow. Most Of the men about
her worked out of doors, or at some
humble trade. and nothing of that kind,
she had decided years ago, would do for
Johnnie With great difficulty and some
delay. she obtained him employment at
the village grocer S-1ust while he look
ed about him. He was to keep the
books as his chief occupation, and she
made great deal conversationally of
the glory of those books. Johnnie made
very little of them except to blot them
freely. He seemed all the while he sat
over them to be struggling hard to do
something requiring great expenditure
of noisy breath. but the result failed to
satisfy the grocer.
He took his dismissal stoidly. if with
a lingering shortness Of breath.
Don't want to stay. sir" he blurted
out at last: but could you say-could
you say as''-
I'm say I think you're deal too
clever for this Job. my boy" said the
kindly grocer. "if that'n suit your" And
he winked jovially
Thank We. sir" said Johnnie. simply.
and very slowly and solemnly returned
the wink with one prominent blue eye.
And that was the only cleM 70 the hid