The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1873-02-20
BILL WILSON'S CONFESSION.

'''OHef SJOT hIdFCH,
BILL WILSON'S CONFESSION.
The boyish frolic which am about TO
relate-said Bill, locking rather melan-
choly-seems a much more serious niece
OF business, looked at through the inter
Venlng years, than it did at the time TO
me. indeed, am not sure that the au-
thorities over there would consent to look
at 1t in the light Of a boyish frolic at all :
although think that what happened to
the old woman, my mistress, was a GOOD
thing for her, as it certainly was for ev.
cry one else, and as for the old man, he
was, always saying he was ready to go,
and if he went little sooner than he
supposed he was going, it could have
made but little difference to him. He was
my second master. He lived on Severn
street in Clerkenwell, and his place of
business as well as his residence was
tall, brick building, standing all alone, a
dairy where the cows never saw daylight
being on one side, and bowling-aliey on
the other. How long he had lived there
the Lord onlyNknows. The name over
the window-"James Macdonald. Print
er,"-was printed in very old-fashioned
characters, and almost invisible, from the
dusty accumulations of many wears.
passed his shop one particularly bright
morning, which perhaps accounts for my
seeing the bill in his window, which read
thus:
"Boy wanted, must be the son of industrious
parents, Scotch preferred must be able to read
and and write, and be strictly moral and upright
When l first cast my eye on this bill |
had my hands stuffed into my breeches-
pockets, and was whistling "The girl |
lett behind me-" but the moment | read
thn hill | Irayy my, 30, a.
cts, and began to hum a Presbyterian
hymn,-for | was born hypocrite, and
lying with me was natural gift,-and
then l rang the bell. 1t was answered by
good-deal worse-looking boy than was
though he was considerably larger.
"Wot do you want?" said this young
ster, eyeing me with great jealousy, for
my knees were not patched as his were,
neither did | wear cordurOys.
II want the place wot's vacant" said I,
confidently, "rm virtuous and upright
lad"
so, you are, are you," replied the boy
sarcastically; ''wellL, you won't do, COS
"I'm as big as you be-" said |, getting
ready to run if he showed fight.
II can fight you with one and" he
replied.
''And can fight you with one hand,"
said old Macdonald, coming up behind
and giving him blow which knocked his
head against the wall. "COme in, my
boy" he said to me, ''you look like nice,
pious boy. Does your father drink"
"No, sir" said |, "and he goes to
church, regular ~ 1t is possible that this
was not, strictly, the truth.
'And you go with him, l suppose"
continued the old man.
eyes, sir" 1 replied, "and l say my
prayers every night like good boy"
Neither was this, perhaps, strictly the
truth.
"Then think you are the boy want"
said the old man. 81 want boy that is
willing to make himself generally useful
for his food and lodging for the first six
months, after which | will pay him a
trife, and if he serves me faithfully for a
year or two L may apprentice him, in
which case" said my master, patting me
kindly on the head, che will become, in
course of time, a gentlemanly compositor,
and perhaps be able to save enough to
take him to America"
This was prospect sufficiently glori-
GUS. l have always blamed old Macdon-
aid, for exciting my imagination too much
at first. 1t was singular fault for a
man of his years, but he paid the penalty
for it.
"I'm sure Pm willing" said l to him,
seeing the good impression l had made,
''all | want is chance to say my prayers
regular"
My master looked at me searchingly
when | made this remark, but, apparent
ly convinced of my sincerity, he said :
~ am glad to see you so thoughtful,
william; you are very nice boy. Now
we will go up stairs"
Accordingly, up stairs we went and
there l saw the old woman, my mistress
"a shrunken, dried-up wisp of humanity
But she had bright, keen eye that rest
ed on me the moment entered the room.
"James, she said, sharply to her hus-
band, "don't have anything to do with
that boy; he's hypocrite; he's false to
the backbone he's capable of poisoning
his mother"
don't know what made the old lady
speak of pious boy like me in that way;
but L know how 1 felt and what /
thought.
"All right, old ooman," thought, "if
was only big enough to pitch you out
of the winder; or if hever gets chance to
burn you up alive!" That's what thought
and thought it with more intensity, per-
haps, than most pious boys would have
been capable of. The old man looked at his
wife, rather astonished at her observa-
tions, and said:
Nonsense, my dear, he is very nice,
pious boy, and his father and mother
don't drink, and go to church regularly"
81 don't believe word of il" said Mrs.
M, and ther, shaking her fist at me, she
said, so, you good-for-nothing wretch
f" 1 want to be a good boy" l said,
me ekly; but the thought of burning her
up alive came into my head stronger than
ever, and it kept coming into my head in
spite of me.
"Your mistress will show you what to
do" observed old Macdonald, trotting
down stairs with look of disappointment
on his face. My mistress surveyed me,