Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1833-1861, 1856-10-31

THEsroRY OF A cLAssMATE.
At an early age | lost my father,
and as he left US with but little Of this
worlds goods. IL soon became neces-
lsary that | should ind some employ.
ment. was. then thirteen years oI
aye, aud not very stout or strong;
but yet with a will to do any thing
that could be found for me 10 do. Al
length my mother made arrangements
with carpenter by the name Of Nor
ris. and I was taken into his shop as
an apprentice. With him | remained
two years. bat at the end Of that
time l became so worn down by the
hard work imposed upo me. that my
mother resolved I should not remain
there any longer. Ny sister Lucy.
who was two years older than myself.
had long detected my failing strength
and il was mainly through her sf-
forts that was removed from the
place. for should never have com.
planned.
was now 6fteen-tall. slim. and
pale. and l knew that l could not
stand any sort Of work whish taxed
my physical strength to any great ex-
tent. A Mr.. Joseph Evered. who
kept dry goods store near by, was in
want Of q salesman. and through
my sisters influence l obtained the
situation. Mr.. Evered had a dau III.
ter, Julia. about my own age. who
was very intimate with Lucy, and Il
was by her intercession with her faith.
er that Lucy, gained her point.
Twas duly installed 10 my place,
and I was soon happy and contsnted;
for my employer was kind. and an in.
iimacy sprung up between myself and
Julia. which afforded me purer bliss
than l had ever before experienced,
Thus matters passed on for a year. and
II the end Of thai time my health was
restored. and / had so far gained upon
the confidence Of Mr.. Evered. that he
now intrusted me with some Of bis
most important business. Only one
thing troubled me. l was not receiv.
ing such wages ss my services entitled
me to. In fact was in debt. l had
purchased a suit Of clothes Of tailor
in the neighborhood. and was owing
for them. The tailor wanted his mon.
ey. and ! promised him he should
have 1t at certain time; but thai
time came and passed. and ! could
not pay him. He threatened, and
promised anew. o. how many times
| wished l had never bought those
clothes. 1 could have got along
without them. and I resolved that
never again would buy anything
that could not pay for on the spot
But that did not help the case.
One evening sat alone in the store,
II was Saturday evening. and the day
had been busy one. We had sold
great quantity Of goods. and the
money drawer was very we'll filled--
Slowly demon rose before me, and
began to advise me. He pointed to
tbs money. drawer, and whispered
There are the means for paying
your debt" knew that Mr.. Ever
ed had no knowledge Of the amount
Of money there. for he knew not how
much was sold. could have taker
tifty dollars and he might never miss Il
for | had sold great quantity Of stuff
which he had no account Of. I had
promised the tailor that he should
have the money that very night. and
| had planned to get Mr.. Evered u
advance me the necessary sum. | hat
not been spending money foolishly
but from my poor pitiance ! support
ed my mother. and that ate II all up.
For q long while sat and looked
upon that money drawer. and all the
while the tempter was persusding me
l knew that young clerks often did
such things. and that sometimes ne
ccssity compelled them to it--at less
so I then thought. How could mee
my creditor again without the money
I could not: and at length | resolved
would not. | arse and went to tho
drawer. | opened Il. and saw III,
bank notes that had been fairly Jam
ed in there. counted out twenty
dollars. Ny hand trembled. and ny
heart beat quickly. l thrust the note'
INTO my pocket. and then hsstenet
back to my seat. and ere long after
ward my employer entered.
"Well. Charles" said he. 81 CUES
We will shut up now"
! arose and went out. and put vi
the shutters. and when | came bacl
found Evered engaged in counting
the money. As Iapproached hin. h
eyed me with a sharp, searchin!
look. and trembled like an aspen.
"What ails you 2" he asked.
Nothing. sir" answered, trying
TO compose myself.
"But there must be somethin,
the matter; you look as pale as
ghost,
IL am tired" I said.
"Well. we'll. you have worked har,
to-day, and you may 60. I'll atten'
to the rest"
With a desperate effort to compos
myself, l thanked him for his kind
ness. and then seized nv hat and lei
the store. The fresh air revived m
somewhat. and I hurried on to th
tailor's. / paid him my bill. and ia
moment my heart was lighter. bu
it was only for moment. When
reached the street again. the though
Of what l had done came upon m
, with an overwhelming force, and
, was miserable. When reached HON
, | professed to be sick, and retired q
, once. But my mother, sick sn
weak herself, came up to my bed. an
wanted to 6x me some medicine
r She gave me q simple preparation
!: drew up the clothes snugly aroun
me. and having kissed me. she said:
BE careful. Charles, for 'twoul
be painful indeed to.have you SICK
God Laac cd hloss vo, lood usrht