New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1914-11-18
''shucksl'. said Simeon.
Sold I" tan Ebenazer.

\ / - y +
"shueksy. saA Simeon. 80 a,s !,
'so6T taM Ebenezer.
why, | don't know,t' said Abel. ~
/ Kind OF like to see It through the glass.
It looks like It was bigger light than
+ we give It credit for"
its big enough light said Ebe.
neEer testify. It was his own plant at
the factory that made possible the
towns three arc lights, aud these had
been continued by him at the factory's
closing.
No use making fun Of your friends
| oyesight because you're all Of twenty
minutes younger than them Simeon
! grumbled. Come on. Abel. 1t must
be gettin' round the clock
| Abel fingered.
| "A man owns the hull thing with a
glass o. this stamp" he said. How
much does one like that cost?" he in
quired.
III sell you this one begun Eb-
.enezer; wait q week or two and
may sell you this one" he said. Il
amt really looked through 1t myself
| yet
Not much after this the two went
away and left Ebenezer in the dark
! yard.
! He stood in the middle Of his little
| grass plot and looked through his glass
again. That night there was. so to say.
nothing remote about the sky save its
distance. It had none of the reticence
T, OF clouds. 1t made you think of bed
/, OF golden bells. each invisible stalk
, trying on its own account to help for
ward some spring. AS he had said. he
! did not know one star from another.
nor planet for planet with name
had been years since he had seen
| the heavens SO near. He moved about.
looking. and passed the wall Of leafless
! lilacs and nulberries. Stars hung In
bis boughs like fruit for the plucking.
| They patterned patches Of sky. He
/ looked away and back. and it was as
/ If the stars repeated themselves. like
! the chorus Of everything
you beggars.'' Ebenezer said. Jaw.
full dressed up. amt you? 1t must be
! for something up there-it amt for
I anything down here. let me tell you
He went up to his dark back door
/; From without there he could hear
!; Kate Kerr. his general servant. who
| had sufficient personality to compel the
term ''housekeeper." setting sponge for
bread with slapping. hollow sound
/; and force, that implied frown for
every down stroke Of the iron spoon
!! He knew how she would turn toward
] the door as be entered. with her way
| of arching eyebrows, in the manner
| of one about to reclte the symptoms
OF change for the worse-or at best
| to say about the same" to everything
In the universe And when Kate Kerr
spoke she always whispered on the
faintest provocation.
| "A sudden distaste for the entire In
side of his house seized Ebenezer He
! turned and wandered back down the
little dark yard. looking up at the high
field Of the stars with only his dim
| eyes.
There must be quite little to know
. about them" he thought. III anybody
was enough interested
Then he remembered Simeon and
Abel and laughed again in his way.
81 done the town good turn for
| once, Hdn't l 2" he thought: 1--WE fixed
folks SOS they can't spend their money
! fool!"
Two steps from Ebenezer's front
/ cot "a GironOs, nH hal n.y. ssknnl. xY-rr,,
| an. She had long. shawl over her
| head and she was humming some
faint air Of her own making.
| Coming to the meeting, Mary q Sim.
con asked as they passed her.
no" said Mary Chavah. Il started
| Tor it, But It's such nice night I'm
! going to walkearound."
Things are going to 60 your way
! to that meeting, guess" said Simeon
Amt you always found fault with
! Christmas?"
"They's a lot o nonsense about It. !"
Mary assented. Il dent ever bother
! myself much with 1t. Why?'
\ II dunno but we'll al come round
to your way Of thinking tonight said
I simeon. n -
For just this year!v' Abel Ames call
ed back as they went on.
You can't do much else. guess"
said Mary. Everybody dips Christ.
mas up out Of their pocketbooks. and
II there amt nothing there. they can't
Dip
i The men laughed with her and went
/ on down the long street toward the
! town. Mary followed slowly under the
| following elms that made great golden
! shades for the dim post lamps. And
/ high at the far end Of the street down
which they went hung the blue arc
! light before the town hall. center to
i the constellation Of the home lights
/ and the shop lights and the street
I lights. all near neighhors to the stream
and sweep of the stars hanging a little
higher and shining as by one sun.
\ sassa go - ss.A - a.. "a - - se - s.....