Newspaper Page Text
6 (320) ~ . THE
Our Boys
( i
HOW NICE.
How nice 'twould be if knowledge grew
On bushes as the berries do;
Then we would plant our spelling seed,
And gather all the words we need
And sums from off our slates we'd wipe,
And wait for figures to be ripe.
And go into the fields and pick
Whole bushels of arithmetic.
Or, if 1 wished to learn Chinese,
We'd just go out and shake the trees.
And grammar then in all the towns,
Would grow with proper verbs and nouns;
And in the garden there would be
Great bunches of geography,
And all the passers-by would stop
And marvel at the knowledge crop.
?Selected.
THE NIGHT WATCHMAN.
BY W. IT. O.
When Ben was brought into the home he was
a big round ball of fluffy brown and white fur,
with glistening eyes and everything that went
to make up a beautiful Collie puppy of six
months old.
Mr. Thompson had listened to the childish
pleadings of his little daughter, Virginia, for
a playmate and he wisely selected this handsome
puppy from among many others of a different
variety that the salesman of the "Pet Shop"
had shown him.
Virginia's mother, however, was not so enthum
AIFAM 4 h /vn /V P A A
aiaaui; uvci tuc ui ucii iiilu tilU iiuuiu ua
her little daughter was, for she knew only too
well the mischievous nature of dogs of that age,
and realized that a double burden would be
added to her already busy life. The delight of
her little daughter partly atoned for her disappointment
and she resolved to do all in her power
to help train Ben and Virginia to follow the path
of duty and yet enjoy themselves to their hearts'
content as they grew up together in life.
The large garden adjoining the house was
ideal for Ben and Virginia to romp and play in,
but Mr. Thompson's well-cultivated flower beds
suffered greatly from the rolling exercises of
Ben, and it was only after several whippings
that Ben found out to his sorrow that he had
done wrong.
In the home Ben was oftener in trouble, as
he seemed unable to pass anything without shaking
it, and his master's slippers and overshoes
gave him his greatest joy in his frolic of tearing
and chewing up things in the house.
Mr. Thompson's exasperation was allowed
tr? nnss nnnntipprl hv his wifp ns slip rompmhprpd
how, when Ben was brought home, her husband
had promised to train him; and Virginia and her
papa had agreed there would be very little
trouble in doing this.
Ben soon realized, however, that his master
was growing sterner and it was not long before
the dog learned to be obedient and responded
quickly and faithfully to his master's commands.
Virginia seemed to think her dear companion
was scolded entirely too often, and many of the
liberties she allowed Ben her mamma reproved
I1U1 iUl.
One bright afternoon Ben and Virginia were
in the garden together, and as things seemed
very quiet outside, Mrs. Thompson looked out
of the window and saw Virginia with her basket
on her arm, while she was busily picking the
blooms off the flowers and filling the basket.
44Why, Virgin ra, you must not do that; your
papa does not allow anyone to destroy the flowara.
If you want flowera go to the nearby woods
and gather them."
I
PRESBYTERIAN OF THE S<
and Girls
i i
( i
Virginia tossed out the blossoms she had in
her basket, and in anger started for the woods.
She told Ben she was going to hunt the castle
where the fairy godmother lived and where little
girls could do almost as they pleased.
Ben wagged his tail and barked at his little
mistress, delighted as he was with an opportunity
to romp in the woods, but quite unaware of the
foolish trio his lovinsr companion was entering
upon.
They walked on and on but no sign of the fairy
godmother's castle appeared and the path soon
led into thicker woods, yet Virginia was certain
they would at last come to the castle and she
urged Ben to follow, as he had been running
back and forth, barking at Virginia and trying
to persuade her in his mute way to retrace her
footsteps.
The sun was slowly sinking in the West and
the gathering darkness began to frighten Virginia.
Tier thoughts went back to her home and
her dear mamma and papa, and now she started
to cry out for both of them.
Ben tried to lead her back horn, but Virginia
insisted that she knew the way, and in her wanderings
and excitement she strayed completely
from the path and was lost. She sat down exhausted
tired and hungry, and it was not long
until she was fast asleep.
Her mamma had hunted in vain for both of
them, and when Mr. Thompson arrived home in
the evening he found the little community all
astir with excitement over the loss of his only
daughter.
His neighbors soon joined him in the search
through the woods, and when they were about
to give up they heard the faint bark of faithful
Ben. Hurrying their footsteps they soon came
to an open space in the woods, and there lay Virginia,
fast asleep, and the noble dog watching
over his misguided little mistress.
Tender hands soon lifted her up and carried
her home, and her mamma and papa decided it
would be better not to awaken her, but to put
her in her own bed and her mamma would coll
her in the morning at usua1.
When the morning er.aie mamma and Ben hurried
to her room, and when Virginia was thoroughly
awake she threw her arms lovingly
around her mamma's neck and said: "Why,
mamma dear, 1 had the loveliest dream last
night; 1 dreamed that angels came and picked
me up and carried me home and put me ii. my
own little bed; and then they told me tuat the
best fairy godmother on earth was my mamma,
ana i reaiiy ao Deiieve it. ?ine rretoyw.nan
Banner.
ANNE LUCY'S LESSON.
'' Oh, mother, you haven't sewed the buttons on
my brown dress yet, and I asked you, too, ever
so long ago," complained Anne Lucy petulantly.
"Yes, I'm sorry to say I forgot about it, but
bring it here now, dear. It will take but a
minute," replied her mother.
"Sew on buttons! Can't Lucy sew on buttons!"
"Dear me, no! She couldn't sew them on so
that they would stay until they were buttoned!
When does the child have time to learn to sew,
with her school work, music and club meetings?"
It was grandmother who had asked the question,
and Anne Lucy blushed as she overheard
) TJ T H [March 6, 1912
the question, and her mother's ready excuse in
answer.
Grandmother wisely refrained from making
any further remarks as Anne Lucy brought her
dress to her mother, and hurried out of the room
again.
Anne Lucy often felt that grandmother did
not always approve of her, although she never
said anything in criticism. This was the grandmother
for whom she was named Lucy, and, as
Anne was for her other grandmother, the two
names could never be separated, much to their
bearer's disgust. This was Grandmother Lucy's
first visit to her son's home, and Anne Lucy was
particularly desirous of making a good impression
upon her, as she had been promised that she
might return with her for part of her summer
vacation.
Fortunately, the good behavior lasted, and the
promise was kept, so that at last Anne Lucy re
veled in the queer, old house so filled with curious
things. She was allowed to roam at will as long
as she always put everything hack in its place,
and was careful not to break anything.
The bright days were spent out in the orchard,
where a detachment of British soldiers had once
camped, or down by the spring, which marked
the signing of the Indian treaty, while the rainy
days were spent in exploring the house from attic
to cellar.
"What countless treasures were to be discovered,
enough to satisfy any girl's desires! Out
from the dark corners of the attic she dragged
spinning wheels, a queer, little, old, wooden
cradle, powder flasks, funny, high and uncomfortable
hard helmets and a hair trunk. From
xL- 1 1- 1 A- ? * ' '
me ranens nung pone uonnets ana noop SKirts,
while the most beautiful old-fashioned dresses,
in which one might dress up, could be found in
the cedar chest. Then, when one grew hungry,
there was a bag of butternuts, and an old cannon
ball with which to crack them, in a bushel basket
under grandfather's work bench.
Downstairs, as well, Anne Lucy found much to
interest her. There was the cool, damp-smelling
cellar, where the row of milk pans stood, and
when the butter was made, Anne Lucy was allowed
to assist in the churning and refresh herself
at the end of the process with a glass of
buttermilk and a doughnut from the stone crock
in the pantry. The pantry was such an interesting
room, for it had been a kitchen. There
was a fireplace in it, with a crane for roasting
and a hole in the floor for baking. Grandmother
could remember when it was used, and how she
used to have to watch the turkevs or eeese that
were hung before the fire.
Then how pleasant it was when an unusually
cold, stormy afternoon would prevent any prowling?
in the orchard or attic, and grandmother
and grandchild would draw up to the open fire in
the living room, the former with the knitting,
and the later with?questions.
There was a large cabinet in this room filled
with a great collection of curios; coral, agate and
star-fishes; moss that the reindeer live on in
Alaska; cups, fans and silks from China; shoes
from Japan; hideous idols from India; old
parchments, samplers and bits of embroidery
handed down from generation to generation. It
was about the contents of this cabinet thaa Anne
Lucy found so many questions to ask. and errand
mother kindly answered them with stories of
where this or that came from, or how she acquired
it.
One afternoon, Anne Lucy, in looking through
a box of odds and ends, came across a small
piece of embrodiery not more than three or four
inches long. It was mounted on black satin, and
below it were written the words, "Worked by (
Lucy Underwood, aged seven years, 1830."
\