Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1909-05-07
THE HEART OF
McCLOSKY's BOY.
An Easter Story by AdeIine Teskey.


He was brought up in small country
village and was, therefore. unacquainted
with the advantages and artificialities of
the city. He knew by the touch of his
bare feet all the interesting hooks and
corners around his home within a radius
of five miles. More than once he had
acted as guide to city people who were
spending their summer in the village,
when they were willing to follow his
lead through marsh ard over fen. to see
the dams which were built by the beav-
ers when the country was newer The
whiffs of fragrance from the clover
meadows, the halleluiah chorus of the
million bees in the apple blossoms, the
fiddling of the grasshopper, the fling of
the cricket, the songs of the birds and
the laughter of the brooks were all
familiar joys to him. He loved all the
living things in the whole hearted unre-
served way in which boy can love. He
| could discern the footprints of the fox.
the weazel, the ground squirrel or other
marauder which visited the hencoops of
the village; and he often chuckled in
his secret heart at their sly maneuvers.
But more than anything else in Gods
| outdoors, McClosky's boy loved the birds.
He had climbed trees almost as soon as
he could walk, to peep into the nests; he
had carried the young birds many a
time in his smutty little hands to save
them from the eats; he had put them
back intheiT nests when they had acct
dentally fallen out; he had learned to
initiate many of their calls, and knew
more about their faS chatting ways than
any other boy in the neighborhood. 1t
was his delight to listen to the pewee's
zone sweetly solemn thought" rising up
with the night mists; and when it grew
darker, the whippoorwill's plant, or
the startling WHO'D 90 900" of the owl.
He even had, ON more nights than one,
heard bird songs in his dreams.
There We're occasions on which he had
wished that the schoolhouse would burn
down-he had dreamed several times of
looking on that delightful conhagration
and thus allow him at least the space
of time that it would take to build an
other sehoolhouse, to live in the bird
world. But despite this delinquency, he
had made admirable progress with his
studies; when but IS he had passed all
the examinations which admitted him to
a higher grade school than w1.s to be
found in the village. The sehoolmaster
was very proud of his prodigy, and as
the boys parents were poor, he succeed
ed III getting some of the well-to-do
people interested enough in the lad to
send him off TO the. city school
The boy was to enter the city school
after Easter, but as the village school
master was going to the city the Satur-
day before, it was thought that the boy
should accompany him and have his as
sistance about procuring boarding
place. The schoolmaster returned that
evening, leaving the lad among strangers
for the first time in his life.
McClosky's boy had been brought up
to go to church, so, the next morning be.
ing Sunday, he donned his one white
shirt, which his mother had warned him
to keep for such occasions, brushed his
suit that had to serve alike Sundays and
week days, and was ready
As he was walking downstairs from
his room, he heard the lady of the house
say: This is Easter Sunday, and every
woman will have on new Easter hat or
bonnet" Somehow this piece of infor-
nation had depressing effect on Nc
CIosky's boy. and he said within him.
self, IF they're goin' to be so ALTERED
dressed up, | won't 60" So. when he
thought himself unnoticed, he slipped out
of the house and wandered off to make
friends in this great lonesome city with
the eats and the dogs, and the birds-if
he could find any.
He had not gone far before he heard
music There is in music something
that trayerses the ear as a door. the
reason as yestibule, and which goes
| yet further" With MeClosky's boy it
had gone further" He found himself
strangely tranquilized and attracted. He
entered the church from whence the
sweet sounds were proceeding; pushing
one of the doors covered with crimson
cloth which opened from the yestibule
into the audience room, he discovered
that the audience had not vet assembled,
and that an old gray-haired man was
playing the pipe organ. The attractive
power of the music kept growing strong
er and stronger, and he crept quickly and
silently into one of the back seats.
1t was the first time McClosky's boy
had ever heard pipe organ, and the
deep, subtle melody touched chords with
in his being of which he never before
udu bt6U CONSCIOUS. L ne instrument
sang, laughed, wept, prayed and agonized
under master hand, and MeClosky's
boy thought of home, mother heaven
and all the good and beautiful things
that had ever come into his life; and he
wished, yea. longed, to be better than he
was
This mood was dispelled by the ineom-
ing congregation. He soon found him
self seated behind an exceedingly we'll
dressed throng of men and women. He
could scarcely see the organist any
longer, being n stocky little fellow. with
plumed hats and high bonnets obstruct-
ing his view He had to crane his neck
painfully to catch glimpse eff the min.
ister 1t required such an effort to keep
his mind on the sermon, when he could
not see the minister, that he gave up the
attempt, and turned his attention to
what he could see
The birds and wings on the women's
bonnets and hats were the most notice