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Entered according to Act of Congress, in June, 1868. by J. W. Burke & Cos., in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the So. District of Georgia
VOL. 11.
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
A BIRTH-DAY PRESENT.
■m& -
I)
V-i ' ' Mi. at^er had been doing
something else when he wrote
to Mr. Burke for Crandall's
Building Blocks for me ! I wish he
had thought of something else to give
me on my birthday ! He said this mor
ning that they would afford me endless
amusement. If he had said endless
vexation, I think he would
have come nearer telling the
truth. I’ve been trying for
the last ten minutes to make
a house like the design I see
on the card, and I can’t
make it.”
Albert was seated upon
the floor, the blocks scatter
ed in dire confusion around
him, when he gave vent to
•these impatient words. As
he ceased speaking, he rest
ed his left arm on a soft
cushioned chair which sat
near him, and gazed with
angry brow upon the blocks.
His mother sat near an
open window engaged in
reading. She possessed an
amiable disposition, and was
far too mild and gentle in
her government to control
her wayward boy. As Albert stopped
speaking, she looked up from her book
and in the mildest accents, said :
“My dear child, how ungrateful you
are for your father’s nice present If
you possessed more patience, you might
easily build a variety of houses.”
Albert hastily said : “Yes, you and
father are always telling me about my
want of patience. I wish I didn’t have
any more to fret me than Tom Brown
has. He’s always in a good humor.”
“ My dear child, it is because he is
most of the time actively engaged in
some useful work. When his mother
permits him to come over here and play
with you, he enjoys it to the fullest ex
tent, for it is the only recreation this
poor boy has. Your life should be far
MACON, GEORGIA, JANUARY 30, 1869.
happier than his. His home is an hum
ble one, while yours is elegant. We
should thank God for having bestowed
so many rich blessings upon us. It is a
heartfelt enjoyment, this lovely day, to
sit by this open window, shaded by its
rich, heavy curtains, and view this love
ly landscape, now burnished by the
glowing sun. I feel that my mind has
been elevated and ennobled by reading
this delightful book which I hold in my
hand, while I inhale the breath of these
odorous flowers, placed near me on the
stand, I feel like praising God from
whom all blessings flow.”
Albert’s mind had wandered off from
his mother's conversation. A glimpse
of the dinner table, in the adjoining
room, set with its rich China, made him
think of the nice plum pudding that he
was to have for dinner. Again he spoke
in. angry tones:
“Why don't father come along to
dinner? I am tired of waiting for
him !”
Here he was interrupted by Tom
Brown calling to him to come out and
play with him. In an instant Albert’s
discontent vanished. He bounded out
of the room and joined Tom, who stood
near the portico holding a swing, which
was fastened to a limb of a tree that
grew near.
Albert enjoyed the exhilerating exer- j
cise of swinging. At last, both weary,
they sought the cool, pleasant room
where Albert’s mother still remained.
Tomquickly noticed the building blocks
and bounded towards them. The first
thing that he did was to examine mi
nutely the various designs represented
upon the card. A few minutes after
wards, he had built a neat barn, and
enclosed it with a fence. Albert soon
became interested, and obeying Tom’s
instruction, he soon made a nice little
cottage. By the time his father came
home from his long ride he was all
smiles, and ran to him and said :
“Oh, father! Tom and I have had
such a nice time together building
houses. lam so much obliged to you
for your nice present. It will afford me
so much amusement!”
His father threw his arms around him
and bent down and kissed him, then
said :
“We parents have much to thank Mr.
Burke for. He not only furnishes
healthy food for the minds of our chil
dren, in the columns of the Weekly,
but he also offers them many handsome
premiums for getting up clubs for his
paper, and these are a source of unfeign
ed delight to them.”
Bella Wilburn.
Trinity Station , Ala.
BETTER THAN NO EXCUSE.
xyjS N the reign of James 1., of to
bacco-hating notoriety, the
boys of a school acquired the
habit of smoking, and in
dulged it night and day, using
the most ingenious expedi
ents to conceal the vice from
their master, till one luck
less evening, when the imps
were all huddled together
round the fire of their dor
mitory, involving each other
in vapors of their own crea
ting, lo 1 in burst the master
and stood in awful dignity
before them.
“How now,” quoth the
dominie to the first lad;
“how dare you to be smo
king tobacco ?”
“ Sir,” said the boy, “I
am subject to headaches, and
a pipe takes off the pain.”
“ And you ? and you ? and
you?” inquired the peda
gogue, questioning every boy
in his turn.
One had a “ raging tooth ;” another
colic; the third a cough—in short,
they all had something.
“Now, sirrah,” bellowed the doctor
to the last boy, “ what disorder do you
smoke for?”
Alas! all the excuses were exhaust
ed, but the interrogated urchin, putting
down his pipe after a farewell whiff and
looking up in his master’s face, said in
a whining, hypocritical tone:
“ Sir, I smoke for corns /”
..<».*
The French have discovered that the
white of an egg given iu sweetened wa
ter is a sure cure for the croup. The
remedy is to be repeated until a cure is
affected.
No. 31.