The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-07-04

iscent smile that wrinkled his face into
a Whiskered hemisphere of humOr, Tn
| bleeged ter admit tibet Mary Frances
/ he'd mighty few morals them days. She
didn't need 'em, God bless her, Fer
/ morals, mister, air sOmethin' we older
/ folks gifts from feelin and fearin' sin in
us. Bet Mary Frances never felt wrong,
an she want afeared ter 'sociate freely
with all her inherent thoughts. An
! them lies she telled were Jest tales she
made Outen tn abundance of her happy
heart Thets how come me to take up
/ fer her.
"Arfter listenin' ter her little yarns.
| hit come ter me at last thet she want
nOthin' bet er genius an them were
just her young inspirations workin'
out
Now. thar's one kind of stock yo'
! can't breed, misteT-geniuses. Nor yo'
/ can't train 'em up ter tn mark of thet
/ high calm. Fer ez I kin see, they air
accidental Anyhow, thar want no ac-
cOuntin' fer Mary Frances. Her mother
were common, same ez tn rest of us
here in tn valley. an her father were
ike I telled yO' t'other day-er bo11ed
fool. Yet thar she were with her fac
ulttes keyed up so high she knowed
things she never larnt, an felt mo an
!
tel ez pulitzer tale ez tibet little sal
What they got in their minds hain't
thern; they recollect hit outen books an
seCh- Bet them sparrOW-taile1 notions
of hern grOwed up in Mary Frances.
They were alive, horned Of her speret, so
ter speak"
The old man arose, tottered like an
ancient Brownie to the shelf above the
fireplace and drew from behind the
clock bit of crumpled paper. yellOwed
with age and marked over with hero
glyphics which here and there threat
ened to be real letters.
Tibet We're her first poetry" he said
handing II to his guest. ITO be sho,
20 can't read hit, becase she wrote hit
atore she could write; bet them signs
stands fer words an evry line rhymes
ez good ez eff they have been wrote by
Socratese. I've heerd her sing bit many
times:
''Mer heart is like tn bamboo berry"
he hummed softly. Tibet were tn fust
line, an cherry were at the end of tn
next. bet 1 can't recOllect how she got
hit thar.
well, sir ez time went on. what with
Partheny naggin', an Bud takin' no no
tice, Mary Frances staid here more'n
she did at home. SO I began ter feel
responsible fer her. Bet raisin' er
genius hain't no easy matter. Fer they
foller no law, jest keep on actin match
el, whichever way that air. On seem
how she were predestined, me and
Marthy made much of her and praised
all she done. Onct, I recOllect, when
she were gOin' on 10, she wrote er turri-
bic tale. / knowed cartain then tibet she
had tn gift, fer. bein' too tender-heart-
ed ter kill a chicken, she'd put in more
bloody deeds an you'd find in tn whole
history of er war An settin up o.
nights ter read it ter US, she'd git so
Skeert of her own dOins thet she das-
sent sleep by herself.
Long erbOut this time she begun ter
git prutty. Yo' never hev saw anything
happen so fast. She jest come out an
blOomed erbove herself ] don't know
how she 0nOwed when ter do hit, but
she tucked up ali that cOrn-tasseI har
an got er long legs in under her frock
ez natchelly ez er bird begins ter sing
an preen itself in the spring. Bet in
place. o. runnin' wild over the valley ez
she We're used ter dOin'. she'd set Up
prim an silent all day like she were
waltin' fer company. So she were.
thought KNOWN, in one of them long
dreams young people heV thet fOreteIls
EN- Of love. An when 1 seen how she
wa mt made fer hard work same ez we
all DeJ Ter JOY an HneneSS- i prayed her
dream mOut come true. Bet hit didn't
mister. TIL awful mind Of God air fur
Their from our little plans an tn east
air from the west.
Mary Frances was Is thet summer.
in still gOin' ter school down thar in
Brasstown. though 'twan't no use, fer
she knoWed mOre'n tn teacher could
think already. One day she brung a
stranger home with her He were young
and an strapped an bUckled up IN leg