The Newark journal., 1910-12-30

cred ms yellow dog into his pinafOre and hugged
 'Cept Nitodemus an myssef.o he said.
 Great-grand came up the hall.
 'Is you been a bad boy. dreat-dran 9" he said Is you all shutted out?"
 Great.grand sighed
 Seems like this horse just will run away" in doleful tone and I've got a bone in my foot and I can't run after him
 In wink he was after the rampant steed Captured and mounted. rode 1t lordily hither and yon. and when at last he came back from the breath, less miles We had slipped down the back way and at stairfoot waited
 Slowly. with dignity, he dismounted. put his steed in stall. came back to stair-head, and, legs astride and head thrown back, surveyed us from the heights of remembered injury. Be. side him. perky, tongue lolling out, Nicodemus squatted
 Long legs gathered 10 his chin. great-grand ranged himself on the top step and twinkled
 Yes. sirs, quoth great grand : "shutted us all outt3
 Our baby nodded confirmation and Nicodemus yawned in our faces.
 Men mys Nitodemus an mys dreat. dran." he said An mys dreat-dran is dot bone in his foot an needed to kiss mys muyver."
 But for three long days the library ddoor remained locked
 And regularly. after each mornings breakfast. he mounted the stairs and tried the knob and cogitated to Nico, demus. and poked broom straws under the door
 Christmas eve We sat about a great open fire. Great-grand loved to dig and delye in the red-charred logs and imprison the swarms of rosy bees. Fascinated, I would watch the swirl. ing upfed sparks, wondering what phantasms of youth he saw all-beauti. ful in them. what faces went past in that rosy mirage that his own should wear so tender an answering look Into eyes he alone was seeing. Some. times our baby would come 10 stand between his knees, head leaned against his shoulder. and from within the encircling arms watch Sometimes he would straddle one old knee and snug his head under the down-leaning old chin. gold hair and white hair com. mingled. and hand over the old hand. help the poker that prodded and piled the embers And the wide eyes seemed to be seeing with the old mans vision. ing. so united he would sit
 Christmes eve We sat about the great open fireplace Great-grand sort. ed and piled his red-charred logs. Grandmother was watching, lost in idleness. Grand father had gone down cellar for apples and in my lap my baby was telling me secrets. We listened beyond the singlngs of the flames: beyond the delicate soft sing. ing and the signing and the daughters of them. the wind in the chimney. From the end of the new backlog the saps distilled, all the summers rains and dews and green growings in their whicker-whicker. We had hated 10 shut out the skies. so divinely near they closed in upon earth. with their starry strands garlanding the rim of hills. Our baby had seen his first me teor-a feathered trail of ethereal fire and soundless splendor as the me. teor burst and biggened into a globe of slysian azure, and went out And the black violet skies seemed vet deepler black with that blue glory memoried against them. and the stars palid and cold And my baby won. dera4 f there might not be another Christmas baby. in that blue elcrr He wondered whether. fl we'd go out. We might not find a few boys and girls and babies that got left over. when tod forgot who had asked to have some left al their houses. He wished Ae'd been there that night at the OK. CTS .nn. to see the little child. Sos
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