Middletown transcript., 1906-07-21
| BOTTLE BABY
HENRIETTA q: ROWE

eyes Of his sisters, to whose anx
ions inquiries he calmly explained
thai he'd been lighting with
Tom Blake and licked him, too,
added the young bravo In so tri-9
umphant a tone that Miss Amelia
felt it necessary tu assume u
sternness that she was far from
feeling
But didn t you remember, Boy,
that we have always forbidden
your fighting with other boys
Boy admitted that he did re-.
member, but that the provoca.
ton was too great to be settled
in any other way He didn't
name the provocation. which was
no less than an impudent COM
-lnent upon Miss Betty who had
just passed them on the street !:
Hi, Betty Martin. tiptoe fine
Couldn't get husband to suit her mind Z
hummed the saucy youngster.
Miss Betty didn t hear him, but
Boy did, and forthwith pitched.
into him, and gave him such d
drubbing that he never after
wards was heard to indulge his
poetic tastes at the expense of
anyone belonging to Jack Martin.
But the lad had been warned
repeatedly against such indul-
gence Of his animal passions, and
it was really necessary to inaict
a punishment that would serve
as a warning in future. So, for
whole week, he ate his daily
rations of bread and milk, with
out SO much assa crumb Of the
cakes and tarts for which his
boyish soul yearned, while the
sad faces of his sisters, as they
ate without the smallest relish
their share of the withheld dain-
ties, was really the worst part Of
his punishments
Away down in his heart the
youngster never regretted the
thrashing that he had given his
rude schoolfellow, but he did re-
gret bitterly the unhappiness
that he had caused his sisters,
while even this simple lesson in
self-control had it's part in the
formation of the character of the
future man.
The years slipped by, and now
A -
the boy was fast growing into
young manhood. The days were
near at hand, as the sisters sadly
realized, when he must leave
them to enter upon the college
life, to which he looked forward
with the eager longing of youth
and inexperience, while in their
hearts were mingled the dread Of
parting and the natural desire Of
every loving woman's heart to
see her own "respectic like the
lave"
TO be sure, the house would be
terribly silent and lonesome with
out him, but to feel that he was
among his peers, and was making
a name and place for himself in
those ancient halls of learning
from which SO many great and
noble men had gone out to bless
and enliglften the world far over
bore to their lnselfsh souls the
l'ainsof pafting. Not for an in
stant did they dream that. amidst
Edll these new and delightful SUR
roundirgs, his heart would grow
cold to them. Still, everything
would be so different, and per.
haps
I'm afraid we're rather old
fashioned and behind the times,
and it would be dreadful to have
Boy ashamed Of US.
Miss Betty caught her breath
with a sob.
! think, she added, that it
would kill me.
Miss Amelia nodded sympa
thetically.
Perhaps we'd better join the
Sappho Club, she said thonght-
fully. Miss Garvin has been
urging US TO join for theiast three
winters.
Miss Betty Frightened visibly.
That Clue had been the object of
her secret longings ever since 1t
was started in their village but
Amelia well, Amelia had her
own IDEAS ia regard to female
education. and she had pro-
nounced it q fad, 4 that, like
Others Of its class, would soon
dieout. So Miss Betty, obedieat
as ever to her sisters viii, had |
stined her own desires in that |
direction, with a regretful sigh
that nobody heard or needed.
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