The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-10-25


not DO d widow with scaldlng tears Of
grief chasing each othor down your
cheekSg.
Eyes. life Is q risk. but we should not
Do sad over IL There came pretty near
being an awful dos iight IN front Of
the house half an hour ago, wish you
had been here to sick the little dog On.
"0h, what's the useT he said az he
nibhled at a piece OF bread and turned
hts nce away. when | am thinking
ot how my dear old mother died do you
think I want to hear about dog fightsi
Yes. she she died"
tBut you were only four yoara old
then, and you are forty-eight now.r
A Misses His Mother.
1T doesn't make any difference. My
poor mother was called home. | can't
20 to see her. and she can't put her low
ing arms around my neck and call me
her cherub, as she used to. Had con.
gestive chill and passed right away,
And my father Is dead. too, and my
brother Jim Is dead. | tell you there's
grief and sadness abroad In the land"
Mrs, Bowser looked at him for full
minute across the table and snifted At
the atmosphere suspiciously and thsn
saidsa
erin sorry about your father and
mother and your brother Jim, but Of
course you couldn't expect them to keep
right on living. have lost my own IA.
ther and sister, as you must know"
'DThen why amt you sadG What are
you talking about butchers and dog
fights for3 Here we SIT in the best OF
health and surrounded BY happy influ-
ences. and not two blocks away there
are houses Of mourning. ! tell you,
Mrs. sBowser-I tell you
But before he could tell her she rose
up from the table, and he followed her
upstairs. She wanted to do something
to eject change IN him, and she be-
gan to play with the cat, but after tax
ing two or three turns across the tloor
he said:
"And my sister Mary is dead, and my
Uncle. Jim, and my Cousin Betty~yes,
lead and gone. don't .s'pose could
ind their gravestones " set out to
look for them dead and gone, and you
are playing with that blamed old yaller
cat as IL nothing had happened"
She Refuses to Mourn.
.'But what do you want me 10 DOR.
she retorted. rs It going "a bring the
dead to life II sit down and weepT'
"Hark to thatT be exclaimed after
moment and without having an
swered her question There il a ped
dler shouting WateFmelonsF sat the
top of bis voice! Just hear himI''
HWhy, you have heard hlm every
evening for days and days, He has
got watermelona to- SELL Probably
nine out Of ten of them are as green
aa grass, but let him sell them if he
can The more cholera morbua the
better for the drug stores and dockora." "
"But the cry goes right to my heart"
protested Mr.. BowseE aMy poor fa-
ther died after eating a watermelon
and my Uncle Jim because be hadn't
any teeth to eat one With The pad.
der knows Il and Is hollefing TO add
70 my grief
eDon't he childish, Mr.. Bowssr. The
man doesn't even know who lives here
Did / tell You that ! wanted 70 set at
my houseeleanlng next month";
aAnd now he's yelling Gooeeber-
riesRs
''Well, let him yelk"
''But l tell yOu he knows that Bow
ser lives here. aud he wants to spite
me BY adding to my grief 1t was
gooseberry tarts that killed my sister
Mary and plain gooseberries that
killed my cousin Betty. Betty ate four
quarts Of 'em right down and next day
was no more"
Fl don't wonder at It. But let's talk
about something more cheerful DO
you think the next congress Is going to
take up the tariff question:
Stirred UP BY Song.
Mr.. Bowser might or might not have
answered the question, but before he
could get around to It a hired girl in
the next back yard who was taking
clothes of the line commenced singing
at the top OF her voice:
elm Scarlet town, where / vas born,
There was q fair maid dwelling,
And she was known both far and near
As lovely Barbara Alien"
Great snakes, but must submit to
sdisY groaned Mr.. Bowser as he start
sd up. Here come home loaded
down with grief and sadness, and a
peddler must yell 'Watermelonsp and
'GooseberriesF at me from the front
and a hired girl must warble song at
me from the backT
"But have patience" counseled Mrs.
BOwser. '"These people know nothing
Of your sadness. See, the peddler has
driven on and the girl has stopped
singing. Let me ask you q question,
please. Did you partake Of any fall
tonic todayT'
"And my sister died after eating
gooseberry tartsT' he murmured as he
wiped his eyes anew.
Answer my question. Did you have
any fall tonic this afternoon2 Did any