Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 December 1891 — Sewing Aches. [ARTICLE]

Sewing Aches.

Jessie sat down by her mother to sew. She was making a pillow-case for her own little pillow. “All this?” she asked in a discontented tone, holding the seam out. “That is not too much for a little girl who has a work-basket of her own,” said her mother. “Yes,” thought Jessie, “mother has given me a work-basket, and I ought to be willing to sew,” and with that she took a few stitches quite diligently. “I have a dreadful pain at my side,” said Jessie, in a few minutes. “My thumb is very sore,” she said in a few minutes more. “Oh, njy hand is so tired!” was the next. Next there was something the matter with her foot and then with her eyes, and so she was full of trouble. At length the sewing was done. Jessie brought it to her mother. “Should I not first send for a doctor?” said her mother. “The doctor for me, mother?” cried the little girl, as surprised as she could be. “Certainly. A little girl so full of pains and aches must be ill, and the sooner we have the doctor the better.” “Oh, mother,” said Jessie, laughing, “they were sewing aches. lam well now.” I have heard of other little girls besides who had sewing aches and pains whenever their parents had an v work for them to do. This is a disease called “selfishness,” and I hope none of my little girls are afflicted with it.—Christian Inquirer.

Tact Is the Tiling. Tact is one of the first qualifications of a business man, says the New York Recorder, and the following little incident in the history of one of the most successful merchants shows a development of this trait early in his business career. Coming to New York from the country, without friends and with very little money, he found his wav to “lower Wall street,” and, walking into the store of W. & Co., passed back into the counting-room and waited modestly and patiently till he should attract the attention of Mr. W., who was at the moment busily engaged with some friend. At last the frank, open face of the boy attracted his notice, and he addressed him with: “What can I do for you, sonny?” “I want a place, sir.” “Well, what can you do?” The boy answered eagerly; “Most anything, sir.” Mr. W., partly for a joke and partly to rid himself of the almost too confident boy, said: “Ah, ah! Well, just go out and boi row me a couple of thousand dollars.”

The lad placed his hat on his head, walked out of the store, then passed slowly down Front street till he came to another large store in the same line of business, our friends of the past, Messrs. S. C. & Co., then with a bold but honest look he walked up to the head of the house and said: “Mr. W., of W. &Co. sent me down to borrow $2,000.” “He did, my son? How is business up at your place?” The boy, having seen the appearance of large shipments, answered quickly: “Very good, sir!” “Two thousand dollars, did you say? Will that be enough?” “Well, $2,000 is all he told me, but if you have plenty I think he would like it if you sent him $3,000. “Just give this boy a check for $3.000 for W. & C.,” remarked Mr. S. to his cashier. The boy took the check, and with it returned to Mr. W., walking back into the office with an air of successful pride, and said: “Here it is, sir.” Mr. W., taking one look at the check and then at the boy, said: “Young man, come in here; you’re just the one I have been looking for.” And giving him a desk he set him to work. In the Mall-Box. In a warm bed in an old soap-box in the cellar old Tabby kept her three little black kittens. But sometimes when she sprang into the cellar window and went to the box, she found it empty. Then she always went up stairs to the sitting-room to look for her kittens, and she was sure to find Lulu playing with them. Lulu was only four years old. and she liked to play with the kittens better than her dolls. She would dress them up in the dolls’ clothes, and take them to ride up and down the room in her little carriage, and put them in the dolls’ bed and try to sing them to sleep. Lulu was very fond of her little cousin Amy, who lived in another part of the city, and came to see her sometimes, and she thought she would like to give Amy her kittens. So one day she put the three kittens Into her apron very carefully an 4 car-

ried them to the street corner, on which stocd a big mail-box, painted red. It was for packages and newspapers that could not be put in the little box. Lulu had very often seen her mamma put packages in there to send away, and she thought that in order to send the kittens to Amy she had only to put them in the box. She lifted the lid, and dropped the kittens in one by one. Then she ran home, very happy over what she had done. When she. had played with her dolls a little while she went up-stairs to her mother, and asked if five o’clock had come yet. “It is almost five,” said her mother. “Then Amy will almost get my kittens,” said Lulu, for she had heard that the carrier came every day at five o’clock to take up the mail. Her mother asked her what she meant, and when she heard that the kittens had been put in the mail-box she laughed a great deal. “I think we had better go out, and see if they are still there,” she said to Lulu. They reached the mail-box just in time, for the carrier had opened it and taken the kittens out, and verj much surprised he looked. He was very glad to put the three mewing little creatures into Lulu’s apron, and she carried them home again, where Tabby was looking for them and growing very uneasy. Amy was given one of the kittens the next time she came to see Lulu, but she carried it home in her arms, and did not try sending it by mail.— Youth’s Companion. At bedtime little Willie was saying the usual prayer at his mother’s knee, and having got as far as “If I should die before I wake” hesitated. “Well, what’s next?” asked his mother. “Well, I s’pose the next thing would 4)e a funeral.”