The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1872-08-02
Miscellaneous.
TIE THREE WISHES.
AsTORY WITH AN OBVIOUS MORAL,

Once three little boys named Tom,
Dick and Harry, sat on fence, talking
over their hopes and aspirations of life,
and gazing into futurity, and chewing
gum, and enjoying themselves, except
Tom, who was trying to smoke cigar
cite, and just at that precise moment
was beginning to feel unsteady about
the stomach.
While they sat there who should
come along but one of those old philan-
thropists, who, with a gingham UNI.
brella and nine fingers of Grape on his
high hat, was all the time aggravating
small boys with moral conundrums.
so, as he saw these three chaps, he went
at them with his usual catechism
and he laid his hand on Toms head,
which Tom had just combed in order
to distract agirl who lived next to him,
and this benevolent being said:
"Thomas, my son, what is your am
biton in life? What do you want to be
when you grow up?"
| Tom felt miserable on account of the
cigarette, so he only answered:
"All l want is to get rich."
An expression of pain passed over the
aged mans face and he turned to Dick,
who had taken the gum out of his
mouth and had ii in his hand.
"And Richard what do you want
most in this life ?"
Dick said he was going to be a great
man.
More suffering appeared in the good
old fellows face as he said to Harry:
"And, Harry, what is your ambi-
tion ?"
ITO be good, sir" replied Harry.
| Now, 1t is the regular conventional
thing in all the books, when a boy an
swers in this noble manner for the
philanthropist to shed silent tear, and
to fork out thalf a dollar as the reward
of virtue. But this man, with bomba-
zine on his hat, disappointed Harry by
simply wiping his nose with red
pocket handkerchief, and stating that
Harry was on the right track, and had
chosen the only course that could make
him happy.
And this was precisely where the old
customer was wrong, as we shall see.
Tom, for instance, started out to gel
rich; he stole from his partner about
four dollars week, and played marbles
for keep and cheated and worked hard
and saved up and got stingy and mean
and never gave cent to any sick Grip.
pie in the street and refrained from
alleviating the sufferings of any lonely
widows and orphans who were starving
to death in the garret, and disgorged
no funds for the benighted heather in
Africa, who, he said, ought to be be-
nighted, and were better off when be
nighted. And when the collection was
taken up in church on Sunday he al
ways put half dollar on the plate and
took out seventy.five cents change, anC
considered that sharp financiering. Ant
as he got older he speculated in oil ant
took his friends on the ground floor o
his company which smashed up aftel
Thomas had made his profits. Ant
then he started a bank, and when h,
had got half million dollars in it h,
failed and embezzled it, and went Il
Europe to take a tour for his health, fo
he had obtained his desire to be rich.
One would think that this wicked
man would have been filled with re
morse and anguish, and would hay,
reflected how unsatisfactory riches are
after all, and how clear conscience i
better than the wealth of Croesus; and
then looking upon his gold, he woult
have considered it mere dross tina
could not bring happiness, and then h
would have sighed for the purity an,