Richland beacon., 1873-03-29
BILL WILSON'S CONFESSION.

-o''tOAT SgO -NHtN.
BILL WILSON'S CONFESSION.
The boyish frOlic which am about tC
relate-said Bill, locking rather melan.
chOly-seems much more serious piece
OF business, looked at through the inter
vcning years. than it did at the time 10
me. indeed, am not sure that the all.
thOrities over there would consent to look
at it in the light of boyish frOlic at all
although | think that what happened to
the old woman, my mistress, was 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 90.
and if he went a 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 a
tall. brick building, standing all alone, a
dairy where the cows never saw DAYLIGHT
being on one side. and a bowling-alley on
the other. How long he had lived there
the Lord only knows. 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 years. |
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
lad
When first cast my eye on this bill
had my hands stuffed into my brecches-
pockets, and was whistling 1.-The girl |
left behind me-" but the moment read
the bill drew my hands out of my pock
cts, and began to hum Presbyterian
hymn,-for was born hypocrite, and
lying with me was natural gift,-and
then rang the bell. Itwas answered by
a gOOd-d 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.
81 want the place wOt's vacant" said |,
confidently, I'm virtuous and upright
lad"
80, You are, are yOu," replied the boy
ssarcastically; well, you won't do, COS
you amt big enough
"Tm as big as you be-" said |, getting
ready to run if he showed fight.
81 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 likea nice,
piOus boy. Does your father drink?'
"NO, SIR" said l, "and he goes to
church, regular ~ 1t is possible that this
was not, strictly, the truth.
Sand Won VO with him / SI1OpOSp -
continued the old man.
"Yes, SIR" | replied, land [ 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. " | want boy that is
willing to make himself generally useful
for his food and lodging for the first six
months, after which l will pay him a
trifle, 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, "he will become, in
course of time. 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
man of his years, but he paid the penalty
for it.
'I'm sure Pm willing" said to him,
seeing the good impression had made,
"all l 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 -
II am glad to see you so thoughtful,
William; you are a very nice boy. Now
we will go up stairs"
Accordingly, up stairs We went. and
there saw the old woman, my mistress
"a shrunken, dried-up wisp of humanity
goodness only knows how old she was
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 l felt and what
thought.
"Xll right. old ooman." thought, ''il
WAS only big enough to pitch you out
of the winder: or il hever gets a chance tC
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 locked at hi!
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 90 to church regularly
IL don't believe word of it," said Mrs
NJ, and the, shaking her fist at me, she
said. 80. you good-fOr-nOthing wretch
~ want to be a good boy" l said
m5ekly: but the thought of burning he
up alive came into my head stronger thai
ever, and it kept coming into my head il
spite of me.
"Your mistress will show you what t.
do" observed old Macdonald, trOttint
down stairs with look of disappointment
on his face. NV mistress surveyed me