The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-08-13
RIP VAN WRINKLE.

Rip an Wrinkle lived IN a little village
upon the Catskill Mountains. The houses
In this village wero built OF yellow
bricks brought from Holland. having lat
tice windows and gable fronts and sur
rounded with wnathercocks. lie was a
very good-natured hen-pccked husband.
He was n descendant OF the Van Wrinkle.
who figured so highly In the days Of
Peter Stuyvesant. He had a wife and
several children. Ills wife was very
quarrelsomo. She qunrreled with Rip nll
tho time for being so lazy. His children
were as ragged and Wild, as II they
belonged to nobody His son Rip In
herited his habits. and wore the old
clothes OF his ather. lie. had a little
farm which used to be kept UP very.
nicely but 1t had come to nothing. Tho
fences were all down. TIe was such n bad
manager TINT 1t had all dwindled away
from him. acre BY acre, until Just Il mere
patch Of Indian corn and potatoes We're
left. It was in the worst condition Of any
farm in tho nelghborhood. All Of the,
children loved him; he would tell them
stories and teach them to fly kites and
shoot marbles He would attend to
.overybody's business but his own. lie
would do things for the ladies IN the
nelghborhood that their husbands would
not do, but would never do anything for
his own people. He would go to the VII
lage inn, and talk with Nlcholari edder
and Van Bummel and read old news
papers months old lost by some traveller.
One fine autumn day his wife had been
quarrellng with him, so he took his gun
and dog and wandered upon tho highest
~ ot OF Mountain ETh hunted
until he got tired, and then lay down on
tho grass when 1t was most night; he got
up with n heavy sigh ana started back
+ to tho village. He heard somebody call
Grip Van WInklc!" rip Van Winkle!"
Flo looked around, but saw nobody, and
started again, but he heard tho same
voice call. "Trip Van Winlsle Rip
Van W!nslel'' Then he looked and saw
IN old man coming with a keg of liquor.
and asked him to help him carry It. When
they got to tho place where they We're
going, he told rip to take drink. Rip
took tho drink, and 1t put him to sleep,
and no slept twenty years. When he
nwoke no thought he had just been
asleep ono night. His dog was gone, his
gun was rusty, and no could not under,
stand 1t. Then no started for the village
again. 1t was juar after the Revolution,
and everybody wAs very busy. lie went
back to the old house where he lived, Mo-
body was there and It had most fallen
down, Then no went to tire Inn, but could
find nobody that no knew. nor nobody
that knew him. "Alas'' cried Rip. ~
am only u poor old man. n native OF tho
place. He says: where's Nicholas We'd
der2' They told him that he was dead,
Then he says, "Where's Van Bummel2'
Tile went or TO war, and now lie Is in
Congress-" Rips heart died away. and no
says, Does nobody here know Rip Van
Winklo?" He saw q woman In the
crowd who had child In her arms, and
no heard her call the child RIP. ITo asked
her "What her name was and what hcr
fathers name wns She told him Rip
Van Wrinkle" Then, he asked her,
"Where her mother was?" .Oh. she, too,
Is dead,' lIe thcn caught her In his
arms and said; " am your father"
After his ret,rn he lived with his
daughter tho rest of his DAYS. and did
what suited him best He had nobody
to quarrel with hlm,
MARY LOUISE TYUs.