HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1908-10-29, Page 7Pastimes of Nan
and Dan
,6 611 DON'T believe you cure one MUG$p bit, l)an, as to haw my Uat-
lowoen party will (urn out,. ex-
•olahnea Nan, half petulantly, belt
.smllhngly. "'Cause you haven't Offered
0. teeny, weeny idea for malting tt alto-
gether 'dltteront'—and you know that's
the only party I caro to glee."
"Oh, yes, I bare, Nuc,," Dan replied;
"and I have a schema .that I dunk
you'll ilnd rather attractive."
1'er
I e Dan went to his workbox and
gs?iC Ci rci
j,
AN ACORN TPA SET
'drew forth a little tray, upon which
were several tiny articles.
"A tea set, as 1 live! And everything,
teapot, UO3,csewers and all, mnee from. -
.arorns! Dan, you're poslllvely wonder-
ful. But what has tills to do wan my,
party""
Nan's big brother smiled. "Don't you
sea?" responded he, "L'm going to get
.you a number of acorns that are still
soft, and you'll have an acorn. party,
Your .guests will be provided with keen
knives, and then they must make all the
little fancy articles they pesslbly can
COLLAR, WITTrl PENDANT
from the acorns. The one who does the
very best will receive this tea set for a
•0)r1z0.".
"That will just be lovely!" cried Nan,
,jumping up and flown in her glee.,
it really wns a good Idea for a party,
She girls and boys whom Nan invited
enjoyed themselves hugely, and they
had no end of fun. Some of the articles
were so crude and looked too funny for
stnythlug; while others were made very,
'very skilfully, Baskets, necklaces,
c
Out to the barn SWAM lade Weald
go, not long before this
Wino,
t'retending there to winnow
corn; three swings they'd
make before
They'd sop the fano they wished
to see—or else they'd try
once more.
And English boys and girls dis-
port themselves in merry
style;
They apples pare and roses
twine, 'shout disbelief or
guile;
At mldolght, 'round the walnut
tree throe times they slowly
pace,
And then, up in the branches,
soon they for tho loved One's
face,
In Irish farmhouse skewers swing,
suspended from the calling;
But 'tls the apple, not the candle,
that Goya go a -stealing;
Trull Wondrous are the tales they
tell of women.. dressed In
white
'Mout warriors In armor black
and terrifying quite;
While those belated travelers
once used to whistle shrill,
Or sing a song right lustily to
keep the goblins st111;
Nor must we e'er forget tlto. carte
—"dumb -cake," I think, 'tie
known --
Which colleens of the Emerald
Isle make carefully alone,.
So that at night they'll dream of
"him"—aud then the wedding
bell.
And on and on I :night keep talk-
ing, but I could not tell
You halt about All Halloween, its
customs and Its signs,
Its magic most uncanny—all
within these few short lines.
e Witc
ALT'S heels drummed vlgoroualy
0P00 the low box en which he
sat, the while staring thoughtfully
at Ike Jones, Iko was too busy shell-
ing cern to observe Ms frlend's Intent
look, hut, as though In answer 10 Blly'e
unspoken queetlon, he Anally said:
"1 really don't know what us 'Bloody
1tobbera' '11 do tomorrow in the way of
IIollowevs slants. Seems to me we've
tackled 'bout everything, and we ought
to do something that'd surPrisc People.—
eemetbing entirely new."
"The best wny to surprise people
would be to leave out our tricks," re-
plied Billy, "Why, it's a fact that old
Mother Jones is so afraid of our cut-
ting up a racket 'round her plane, that
81103 gone out o' town un a vlsit,"
es Gift
Laborers and men employed about thel
ra11read were tempted, tae.
Billy and Ike .were Reunited to 000,
late In the afternoon of the following
day, that a great heap of coal now las'
unde'nealh the cttu00pmn• Truly, the•
target had drawn ninny s11o10,
Jubilant over the serene of theirplan,.
the
5 deckled ad [1 help
Mother r Janes still
more. As was rustenary on this day,
Vegetables disappeared in eoneiderable
quantities from the farms in the outly-
ing country. But this nlgbt, Instead of
serving the usual purpose of ammuni-
tion for battering against doors and
windowpanes, the choicest of the Vege-
tables were stowed away in an old has -
het and placed upon Mother Jones' door-
step.
;i!.c4":?'... ,7u:"+. aY. 9]F.Srry riY.r•`iit :k'.w�',. f:.+3e
wHEN heathen font in ages
Past great fl'ieadliness
d10 shote
With suints dwelling far above,
aud some wile lived below,
A festival they always gave, at
harvest time each year,
Inviting goblin, wttch and elf to
sharp 1n the good cheer;
And to this time, thought spirits
now all hidden are from sight,
A night we give to Shadow Folk,
as surely 'tis but right.
In masks grotesque and costumes
weird, we dance the hours
away.
Or practice quaint old customs,
with a laugh and manner
gay;
The mystic circle round the earth
does bind us all together—
A superstitious girdle covering
each ciinme,, each weather,
Among the Scots, the lads and
lassieS Halloween do spend
A. -cracking nuts—'tis "Nut -crack
night" from twilight to the
end
Of day; and many nuts are burn-
ed together, side by aide,
While if they rest thus peace-
fully a glrl will be abride,
But if a nut will leap away, just
so the lad will go;
Then, too, a lass, blindfolded and
with step of measure slow,
Her way dons make to a cabbage -
Patch, where she pulls up a
stalls,
And thereupon in flushed excite-
' meat quickly home she'll
walk
To look upon her treasure; for
the root, the shape, the size
All tell about a husband in a
manner omen -wise.
Mirrors are handy for the lass
who'd look back o'er her
shoulder—
Perhaps walk .backward out of
doors, If she's a trifle bolder,
With candle and with mirror
held, while muttering a
rhyme,
�Ming
Vent res of ir
those nen you must rescue the Illy.
Carry a large quantity of provislons,
for Aury is in dire need of them,"
That night Francois mustered his re-
lief party and started for the City of
Aury. By forced marches he arrived
within a short distance of the allies'
outposts late In the afternoon of the
•OTHER ACORN MANUFACTURES
:inmates, watch charms, earrings, pend-
ants, rings, bracelets—'most everything
,they ,made.
And when, at the close of the evening,
the first prize was awarded, and lots of
,other acorn souvenirs which showed
:ban's clever workmanship were distrib-
uted, the girls and boys voted it the
,most entertaining Halloween party they
:had over attended.
Following Custom:
Edith (playing "house")—I'll be mam-
ma, and Willie papa while little Sue
and Charlie will bo the llables.
Willie (a moment later)—It's about
time to whip the e(tlldren, ain't it?
STAGGERING Into the presence; of
the marshal, the dust -begrimed
courtier gasped:
"1 ant bidden to inform you, slr, that
the allies are storming Aury, and that
the city can hold out very little longer.
Already the food supplies aro', exhausted,
so that starvation threatens 'tswell as
the enemy. I spent some ttr$e getting
through the besiegers' lutes; {{herefore,
not a moment must be lost if the city
is to be saved."
"You have done well," replied the
marshal. Then, turning to an orderly,
he commanded
'Tell. ColonelRobaut I wish to see hint
at once."
A few minutes later the boy ofncer,
Colonel Francois Reheat, appeared and
saluted the marshal.
Rebaut," said the marshal, "you
have proved yourself so resourceful in
the past that I am going to intruet you
with a very important mission, Take
Colonel Mereler's regiment and advance
immeI cannot youta largernforce. Aury.
w, 11p 11.
t
llf�
r
u_�Q lQd Qii 44
e"t
l�
n
.
T I il IMO i
fti
tho spurs to his horse, he galloped to
where the man stood,
"Do you think you can provide us
.with 500 pigs immediately? I will pay
?'eu well for them,"
The peasant stared, and then promised
to do his best for the officer.
Not more than a few hours had passed
before droves of pigs began to pour Into
the camp. Francois rubbed 'his hands
together gleefully.
"Tonight is Halloween—just the right
time to give the enemy 11. scare."
When nightfall had long since de-
scended upon the oamp, Francols or-
dered that each of five soldiers should
p0111 the ears of a sturdy hog, The poor
animals squealed and grunted plteouslY.
And the other pigs, having been treed
of their bonds, no sooner Beard these,
agonized yells than they rushed fran-
of ter
tically from the camp, guidedby the
French soldlers In the direction Frattcolo
wished the animals to go.
Right into the camp of the English
and their allies rushed the frightened
porkers; throwing down tents, scatter-
ing small arms and creating the wildest
disorder.
"Witches have changed the pigs of
Frenchmen into real hogs!" cried the.
English in dismay.
Taking advantage of the .eonfuslon,
Immediately after the pigs followed
Francois and ills soldiers, hewing a way
directly through the camp of the enemy,
Relentlessly they pushed on. np to the
very gates of Aury, where they and•the
pigs were welcomed wlth greatest joy.
Francois had. saved Aury with a drove
of hogs,
following day.
Meantime he was cudgeling his brains
for some plan whereby he could effect
a reseue. With the small force at his
command it was clearly Impossible to
make a direct attack, and since the
enemy were already aware of his ap-
proach, there was little hope of sur-
prising them. M•Iounting his horse and
accompanied only by an orderly, he rode
about the camp. An he .neared the lino
he heard a sentrychallenge a peasant.
Drawing closer, be observed the coun-
tryman oak permission to sell a tat
porker which he had with him. All at
once an idea came to Francois. Putting
WHEN THE OLD WOMAN CAME HOUSE
Ike Iaughed. "We'b miss her lots,
too," said he. "'Member how she came
out and scolded us last year when we
threw corn at her winders? But I say,
E's really a shame to treat the old
woman like we do, She's as poor as a
mouse, you know, an' has an awful
hard time to get along; and I guess
that's what makes her so cross and
crabby."
"Why Can't Ws do something to help
tbo old soul?" was Billy's query.
They were rapt in thought for sev-
eral moments. Suddenly Billy leaped
to his feet, and, followed by Ike, dash-
ed from the corncrib, shouting:
"I've got it! I know of a dandy thing
to do:
:"loaner Tones' home was a tumble-
down cottage which stood not far from
. a railroad sidtng, where therewas a
great deal or shifting of freight and
coal cars.. To this place IltIly and his
chum repaired. When he satisfied him-
self that the old woman had gone ho
nailed an old rusty saucepan to the side
of the cottage, Then he and Ike climb-
ed up the bank to the railroad tracks,
where they picked. up pieces of coal
and proceeded to use the saucepan as
a target.
Soon other "fellers" came along. They
also indulged in the sport, deeming it
great fun to try their marksmanship.
When the old woman came home the
next day she could hardly bodeve her
eyes. She had hoped against hope that
"those wicked imps of youngsters" wouht
not do a great deal of harm. And here
they had done her a really great service'.
Tears stood in her eyes as she inspected
the gifts made her, and ever afterward
no member of the "Bloody Robbers"
passed by without receiving a cordial
greeting from her, -
Of course, the boys were greatly
pleased, although they pretended to
think it a matter of little consequence.
Just to hide 111s real feelings, Ike re-
marked:
"We're Makin' so many friends among
our old enemies that after while we'll
have nobody at all to plague an' tease."
.But he didn't. mean It, any more than
did the others who apparently agreed
with him. -
Had a Cowcatcher.
While at the park Dot had been given
a ride on the elephant,
mother!"
home. e exclaimed
has a cowcatcher on in front."
Still Warm.
After watching a turkey gobbler for
801110 minutes, Tommy exclaimed:
Look, mamma, the old gobbler has
had kis fan up for half an hour, and
his Lace looks Just as red as evert"
)16169,17/2Filii2freifelleg,
;firENTLEMEN," said SIr Edmond
�._8 Andros, haughtily, "It is by
the king's command that I ask
your charter."
In vain the colonists argued for their
rights. Andros could not be ..moved
from his demands. The faces of the
mea about lint grew set and tense in
expression, and their eyes gleamed
sternly. Significant glances passed from
one to another.
Suddenly' the lights, which had been
flickering unsteadily, blew out. Only a
moment were the occupants of the room
in darkness, for quickly the candles
were relighted, but in that single mo -
Ment the attitude of the colonists had
changed. Now they looked triumphant-
ly, scornfully into the face of the man
whom Charles II had appointed Gov -
earner or New England, as he demand-
ed abruptly:
"I must have the charter,"
"Very well," calmly replied thocolon-
ists.
Bat the precious Connecticut charter
was not to be found! Surely some elf
const have spirited it away upon this
eerie Halloween.
fi ND tonight would be
_ 1[- Halloween, when spirits
would walls and witches
incl elves and goblins would disport
themselves in mischlevous fashlon.
Gordlo wondered If goblins Over did
'kindly things. There were so many
oleo, deeds theyy could do, you 4tiow,
it they only would. leer instance,
there
wast
itsOor plainer aLor
p bust o 't11
n
0
mantel which lacked arms rind a body
and didn't n t have one single bit of clothes.
.Chen the portrait Ot Ills uncle showed a
hand telssIng and the poor follow iladh't
a hair on his head; white leiclo, tine
dachshund, Ce'tainly ought to have
longer legs—there was no doubt- about 1E,
T110 more Geordie thought Of these
little lc!ndnoases the goblins could do
the more he became convinced that they
100011011'1 do them; for hadn't Nurele
told hint goblins weregood for nothing
but food 1
alali
hr !t s? Now If he were
only solve sett or a hobgoblin, he'd be
onlytoo
glad I
ad t0 do overY Chhtg cauls he 1
for people 1 It
I low without a moi
nen '
t s 9 t site-
i
tion.
Perham; he could do so/nothing
right now. He decided to try, anyway.
So upstairs Geordie tramped, Presently
she reterned with his father's silk hat,
h pair Of trousers and sllppere, togell or
Miry, IJtt[c
with hls mother's long gloves. The hat
he placed jauntily upon the heed or the
poor bust, Then 110 stuffed the trousers
and attached thein to the bottom•of the
bust, while he fastened the bottoms of
the' trousers in the suppers. After thls
he hungthe l
t bag gloves to the poor
figure, Arranging g the elething Very
carefully .he stepped back to note the
effect, tC Certainly kalnlY the
Gust looked d m
tmlt
more comfortable end pleased with 1115
self,
Now•for Fldo, Two noire of stout boots
were at hand, These the tdild-hearted
boy tied to doggie's feet, so that ride
wee raised to the height nature really
,.11.8.3:
should have made him. But Flee was
SO puzzled that he couldn't Imagine
whist It was all about, Ito stood quite
patiently while Gleorcllo fastened a cord
to his collar nnd'ploaod the end in the
hand 00 Mr. Bust, •
1\ asn't there something else ile could
do?
Alt, Yes! Uncle Frederick at oho l
ud
have a new head of hair and a Maud as
snit. 1001
t no Geld scalp he pasted 7 1 d tong
black wisps taken from a brush he
ioUnd in tato closet;. and black paint en-
abled him to mace the hair nice and
thick:. Afterward It wns an easy natter
to Melt a glove to the canvas in tete
place whet° the hand should have been.
lin
Thoroughly satisfied with himself and
itis work, Geordie now suntmvned the
rest of tine family, bidding tltent some
and SOS what the Halloweens goblins
had done,
The amity came. Ana truly ti
i
ey were
aetottislletl at the kindness of the gob-
lins, s, Inde
0d, they were mom t
slOn3
abed
than pleased, leather was very angry—
e0 angry that one littleh
lin goblin we,
know of received a sound spanking,
Tills Is probably 1115 Only gad 111 that
ever received a spanking, though I
s'poso lots of then. deserve It. But
Geordie really didn't believe he de-
served It.
The elf, however, must have been
well known to the colonists, as well as
the document's hiding place, for two
years later On. the year 16130) when An -
HID THE CHARTER
dros was seized at Boston and sent baall
to England, the charter was taken from
a hollow oats tree in which it had Iain
concealed. And the charter so accent-
modatingly saved by the self -same eat
remained In force until 1313.
ti: