Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 98, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 August 1909 — An Irreparable Loss. [ARTICLE]

An Irreparable Loss.

The teacher of the primary school, in looking round the room after the children had taken their seats, saw a new face. It pertained to a .little boy. She called him to her desk. “What is your name, dear?” she asked him. “Tommy Hunter, Ma’am,” he anwered. ' “How old are you, Tommy?” “Six, going on seven.” “Yoh don’t look over five,” she said, after a careful scrutiny. “I shall have to ask you to bring me a certificate of your age.” “Bring you what, ma’am?” “A statement from your parents. You may stay here this morning but when you go home at noon ask your mother to write me a note telling me when and where you were born. Don’t forget it. Tommy. You may go back to your seat.” After the noon recess was over and the children had reassembled in the school room, Tommy presented himself at her desk, flushed with triumph. The glow soon faded from his little face, however, as he felt in his pockets, one after another, and failed to find the note his mother had written. He began to cry. “What is the matter, dear?” asked the teacher. * , “I —I’ve lost my—my excuse for bein’ born!” sobbed Tommy.