Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1908-05-21

glad to give love, the other starving
to receive it. Little by little the child
opened her heart, sure of sympathy,
and Miss Clarissa was learning what a
strange and unnatural product an Or
phan asylum child is.
Luella's mind was so full of queer
fancies that Miss Clarissa was not sur
prised that stormy night when u
story opens that the child's thought
should turn as it did and to hear her
ask if it wouldn't be mice to have a
lot Of dead folks all your own"
Dead folks, L%uella?" she asked.
YES" answered the child simply;
"grandfathers and grandmothers and
aunts and u%ncles, all your own, with a
high fence around to keep folks out.
All, it must be so nicer Luella's face
grew bright at the thought.
Eyes, dear" Miss Clarissa said soft
ly. 81 know what you mean. To have
ones dead together is a comfort"
"But, Miss Clarissa, do you think it
would be wicked to adopt grandpa
theirs if they'd been dead so long they
had no one left? There are two sol
diers of the Revolution in the old part
of the graveyard, and they have no
II to love them and take care of
them, and they'd make such nice
grandfathers for me if you think they
wouldn't object Do you? want
some dead relatives So" The near
sighted eyes were dim with tears.
HII1,o r +horSD ocl-o1 Mice Cu,,;.
sa.
cone is Captain Jonathan Martin.
and the other is Lieutenant Thomas
Edmunds, and they died before 1907
mo" said Miss Clarissa in answer
to the child's inquiry. "The Martin
family are all gone. and the last Ed
munds moved west years ago. There
is no one living who would care, and
as for the dead, 1 don't think they'll
object, but what good will they do
you?"
"Ah," said Luella. with fervor, "they
will be such a comfort to me nights.
can make stories up about them aft
er l go to bed. and l can take cart of
their graves and put wreaths on them
on their birthdays, and perhaps you
will have the headstones Strengthened.
and will clean and scrape them, and
then on Memorial day they will put
flags and flowers there, and | shall
feel so proud and $3.50 respectable"
So with Miss Clarissa's consent and
aid Luella Alice adopted her GRANDPA
theirs.
All through April the child worked
every pleasant day after school hours,
patiently digging up witch grass and
weeds from the neglected mounds and
the graveled walk that ran beside
them. Miss Clarissa had the sagging
headstones Strengthened, but it was
Luella who laboriously scraped and
cleaned them till the old inscriptions
were plainly legible.
There, too, the first wild flowers were
carefully transplanted. and on Sunday
afternoons Miss Clarissa and Luella
often walked there, and the child show.
ed with delight the improvements made
during the week.
Il gave Grandfather Martin all of the
cowslips, for he was so fond of them.
you know. Grandma says he always
kept a bowl of them IN the sitting
room table while they were in bios
son." The child lifted her eyebrows
significantly and whispered. make be-
lieve."
"But Grandpa Edmunds liked violets
best, so I've given them all to him"
The child ran on. full Of mythical
tales Of these pseudo g~randfathers who
had died more than a hundred years
before.
Royton. like many old towns in New
England. was rich in Revolutionary
lore. and in her graveyard were buried
several Of those who by dying had