Judge — July 22, 1882 — page 7: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE JUDGE, REQUITED LOVE. I nave heard the gay music of insect and bird, Whose myriad voices sweet echoes have stirred, Bat, ob, there is nothing entrances me 80 As the song of the dear little brown mosqui-to! I have fancied he loves me—-the sweet little thing!— So tenderly fanning my brow with his wing, Then kissing my cheek with a passionate glow, ‘As if be were not a mere brown mosqui-to! Do I love him in turn? Oh, yes, to be sure, With an ardor of sentiment none the lesa puro— Bat Instead of fond kisses, I give him a squeeze, As I breathe in his ear, “Come again, if you please. a. winrTe Paixe. That Quiet Picnic. BY BRICKTOP. I THwk I am justified in writing up that picnic, for I was there as an invited guest. | Yes, Booster, who was head and front of | the whole affair, gave me a special invitation, and it was so good of him, too. Booster weighs about three hundred pounds, with a heart well proportioned to his body He is a wealthy merchant, with a fat wife and two very pretty daughters, and also son named Bill, who is about twelve or thir- rs of age, and a born thorn in his fath- Brick, my dear boy, come with us. It is to be only a little quiet family affair, said he, in that gruff, but somehow pleasant voice of his. ‘ You are working too steady for such hot and trying weather as this, and am I. Why, only a single day out in the ountry will make us feel like new men, It will almost cause wings to sprout on our shoulders. Will youjoin us 2” “Of course I will,” said I, “That settles it. There will only be you and I, and Bob Sprouts, and Joe Slinger, and haifa dozen ladies. I know a quiet spot up on the Hudson, where we can lay off with a hamper of wine and provender, backed up by a box of fine Havanas, that will simply | charm you I wanted to be charmed that way, of course, Thad not indulged in anything of the kind this year, I felt particularly grateful for the invitation, The day arrived, and we set out in | riages for that quiet retreat on the Hudson, | taking a colored servant along to attend upon the little party, and a hostler to look out for the equines, who were to be left some distance away from the scene of the proposed festivi- and on reaching our destination we all started ccross a lovely field, full of life and perspective happines Yes, it was a beautiful ficld, but there was also a beautiful Durham bull there, and he appeared to have chargeof it. At all events, the women folks didn't like the looks of him, and declined to be assisted over the fence. “What a lot of ninnies !" exclaimed Boos- ter, with impatience. Why, that’s a thor- ough-bred Durham.” “Yes, that's what's the matter,” suggested Bob Sprouts, who was evidently inclined to look at the situation in the same light as the ladies did. “Why. ‘ou big overgrown duffer, a genu- | ently he joined me. ine thorough bred bull never molests any one ; didn’t you know that ?” “No, I must acknowledge that I did not know it. On the contrary, I had some ex: perience with a thorough-bred Durham once,” replied Bob, laughing. “Oh, pa, they are jus one of the Miss Boosters. “Yes, they are so bad that they named a brand of horrid tobacco after them,” said the other. “That's so, Betsy,” said the hopeful son, taking a package of cigarettes from his pocket and proceeding quietly to light one of them, | “But can’t we go around and avoid the | animal?” asked Mrs. Booster. “Yes, of course we can,” said Joe Slinger, who evidently wanted to prolong the walk, as he had taken it upon himself to escort the youngest daughter. | “Oh, bah! [ never saw such a lot of scarecrows in my life. Tere, Brick, let’s you and I go over there and show them that there s no danger,” said he, turning to me. Being a very brave man, I of course said all right: we'd show them how foolish they were to be afraid of a thorough-bred bull. “Don't do it, pa !” the wife and daughters | cricd, but this only made him ail the more determined to go, as it did me, for I wanted to show Betsy Booster how quietly superior I e Slinger, who was doing more of | an I thought neces “Go it, pop !” said the hopeful son, lean. | ing against the fence and placidly puffin, abomination. ‘The bull, in the meantime, was standing in the shade of an apple tree doing his best to fight off the flies, but evidently watching our movements. | But Booster and I were no cowards. Ie | did not get over the fence so quickly as I did, however, on account of his greater weight, but his son was there to boost him, and pres- awful !” exclaimed “There, don’t you sce he don't mind us?” | he called back to the party. “But he will, 1 am sure of it. Come back {" called his wife and daughters, implor- ingly “Go it, pop! He won't touch you,” the boy. . * Of course he won't. Come on, Bill.” “You bet I'm with you, pop,” said the boy, climbing nimbly over the fence. Meantime we had walked several rods towards the old thorough-bred, who did not seem to let anything disturb his fly tighting, dit began to look as though we had the laugh on Sprouts and Slinger. Indeed, the younger Booster was calling back to them, and to convince them what cowards they were, he walked towards the animal, shouting and swinging his hat. But this was evidently a mistake, and w taken by the bull as a challenge, for, giving a defiant bellow and hurrahing with his tail, he lowered his business end and came charging towards us. I could have killed that boy, but didn’t have time to do so just then. The young ras- | cal skipped, and was on the safe side of that | fence in a half of no time, while the situation | said | self so a dan, A BATH-ROOM IN THE “HENCOOP” FLATS, “howe in thunder” he bathe Brown wants to know family was shouting for him to ran for his lif and putting in a variety of sensations which made matters even more intere But Booster and I were doing the best that in us lay to get out of that inclosure without being assisted by Mr. Durham. Happy thought! There was a convenient apple tree, with limbs near enough to the ground to make them available, and calling t my fat partner in danger to follow me, [ went up that tree, two steps at atime. “Come on, Booster !" I yells 1, bracing my- to be the better able to assist him in climbing into a place of Thad done, He meant busir and so evi- reached just as Thad got him about halfway up out of er. ‘That accommodating Durham at once began to assist me in getting my friend up into ths tree, but there was this difference. He was pushing while I was pulling, and he was using the ends of his horns to do so with, causing Booster to bellow even louder than he was doing. However, we managed to get him on top of the first limb and out of immediate da provided he held on good and that wasn't the of it, for the bull, in ren- dering the assistance he did, had torn the big basement entirely out of Booster’s pants, and he was a sight to behold as ke sat perched there upon that rough and knotty limb, Meantime, the others were trying to divert the attention of the bull in the hope of provid- ing a chance for our escape. But Booster didn't want to escape. He thought he showed to better advantage where he was, for it would never do to appear in company in that fract- ured condition, so he ordered his family to move around the field, and sent his servant for the proprictor of that bull. We remained in th tight. But for two hours be- secured, and then nothing would induce Booster to rejoin his family. He sent word for them to go on and enjoy them. selves, while he and I took a team and made rapid work of it back to New York. And thus ended Booster's quiet little pic of which, by the way, he has never spoken since. But he has changed his mind regard- ing the docility of thorough-bred Durhams. comicbooks.com