American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-05-23
HOW HARRY BOUGHT A SEWING.
MACHINE.

| ter, when L saw little BOY coming INTO
the store whose face attracted my atten
| ton at once. 1t was not very handsome
| face, but it was earnest and bright; q
strong, good face, if ever l saw one. The
boy was poorly Clad but his clothes were
| clean and whole.
| MAY 1 see the bOss?" he asked.
| az am the boss" l answered; what
can do for you?"
al want to ask the price of Il irst-rate
sewing -machine-not fancy one, sir, but
| good worker"
"Well, sir" I said, az can give you a
good machine for sixty dollars"
Sixty dollars! Well, MYSTERY said he,
earnestly, &C can L work one out? l have
every afternoon from half-past two. till
SEVEN and | can run errands or do any
work about the store. You see, sir, this
| is how it is: Father died two years ago,
and mother, she wants me to stay at school
| for a year or two longer, but she has to
work awfully hard to keep me there.
Father was bricklayer, and mother owns
the little house he almost built himself.
but that Is all. She sews, sir, and she
could make twice as much if she only had
machine. But we never can spare sixty
dollars, sir, so thought l would see if |
could earn one"
But it would take you long time" l
said, "if l gave you a dollar week it
would be sixty weeks"
"Will you give me that?' he said, his
eyes fairly dancing. 81 can come all day
Saturday,
"Can you? Suppose we say dollar
and half? and if you do well you can
have the machine little less than the
retail price,"
You see | was interested already in the
boy, with his honest, frank face, and re-
solved if he was faithful in his duties to
keep him along. So we made an agree
ment, he to give me all his spare time out
of school, to credit him each week with
a dollar and fifty cents toward the pur-
chase of machine.
Every day he came, punctual to the
minute rain or shine, and he was 1.-The
most prompt and reliable GRAND boy |
ever employed. Little by little the dollars
rolled up on the account until, one even
ing in the fall, the door bell rang and in
walked Harry Cummings, my GRAND
boy.
a found this SIR" he said, "when l
was sweeping out the store" and he hand
ed me a roll of bank notes | had thought
was safe in my pocket
90 Please see If 1t is all right, sir, he
said 1t was under the counter"
l counted the notes, two hundred dol
lars, and then, taking out one twenty
dollar note, said:
Il should have offered a reward for
this, Harry, if you had not found it. But
YOU have earned the reward,' said, put
ting down the twenty dollars Will
you take it or pass 1t to the machine
money!"
"Minei all that! Oh, sir, pass it to the
machine You see I'd have to tell mother
where l got all that money, and the ma
chine is to be suEprise."
never spent twenty dollars with so
much pleasure in my life. This was a
great lift on the machine, and this after
noon when Harry came told him to pick
one out for his mother.
We selected a tirst-rate one, HANDSOME,
too, and | promised him one of our best
teachers should go to show his mother
how to work upon it. When it was on
the cart, ready to go, invited myself to
go with Harry and see it delivered lie
had asked me to write a note telling his
mother the price was honestly earned,
and told him | would tell her.
So away we went, and when we reached
the little house the cart was Just turning
the corner of the street. Harry opened
the door very softly, and the men lifted
the machine into the parlor. Then Har
ry led me to II small sitting-room at the
back of the house, where pale woman
in a widows dress was sitting, sewing
busilv She rose and offered me chair,
and told her had come to see II could
obtain Harrv's services in the store at i've
dollars week You should have seen
the bows eyes.
He can go to evening school," | said,
land | will see that he has some time to
read and study. | cannot spare him
now, having had his services so long"
"My afternoons and Saturdays, mother"
Harry said Il told you | was not in
mischief, | was earning you present.
Come and see"
And he danced fairly into the parlor,
his mother and | following.
ITS yours" he said, dancing round
the machine; call paid for, and lessons
on it, too Amt it splendid?'
His mother was as delighted rs he eN-
pected, and that is saying "A great deal.
"Oh, siri" she said to me, " he's been Il
coed son since his poor father died.
Every morning. summer or winter, he's
up and makes the fire while Pm dressing,
and while get breakfast he brings up
all the coal for the day so | won't have To
go into the cellar; and every step he can
save me he does But how he ever made
all the money 10 buy "A machine out OF
school hours | cannot understand"
81 got "A dollar and IA half Il week,
mother, for crrands, and ten or twenty
cents extra when there was snow to clean
off the sidewalk, or any other odd Job,
and Mr.. Weston gave me twenty dollars"
d" No, YOU earned that as well ms the
rest" | said; and his mother fairly broke
down and cried when told her about The
roll of money.
Tomorrow Harry becomes my GRAND
boy, and know he will be a faithful one.
There is the making OF Il noble man III