The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1879-11-25

HOW tom BECAME A CON.
GREssAAN. ~-
& ~ Z "a
Tho was I. It'd fellow mone =.
Ney Hglaud sllss years 20, - the
are many f6w. whose parents weFl
poor. He could not remember the
tune when be MORE shoeaand afockingl
in the summer. Sometimes in the
winter, when he. v.s obliged to walk
three hiiess 10 school. and wade
through snowdrifts that did not melt
'uutif fheiast OF MY, ana WlSl
sqpA as his father bsd rsieessA. ed q
p@S OF shoes that Slipped up and
down every sep be took. Neverthe'
less they were shoes and stockings ;
and he was infinitely .proader of them
than any king iving-is of his crown.
Que day as Tom was Flooding along
with his Old s|ip-shoss, putting from
exer,ion and blowing his blue finger'
to keep them warm. there came
dashing down the hill a sleigh such a
the youngster had never seen; no,
indeed. aSr even dreamed of. And
the horse! Tom stopped blowing, &C
istense was his admiration, of the
elegant creature that came foamine
and tossing its daintily arched neck
right and left.
!, Tom sprang aside ct the very lasi
moment, and a. he sank up 10 his
chin in the light snow, tore OF his
old cloth cap from his head and
hobbed up and down as IL he ssre ia
the presesce. Of the President. r
Jump on behind, nv lad. " shouted
the rider; Jump on behind" And
Tom did Jump on at the peril Of his
life, and away they went. tearing
along at a great speed until over
vent the sleigh, and ont vent the
riders and ,budaloss, and things gen.
orally. ~
Tom sprang 10 the horses head.
and cIinging to the bit, the tips OF
his great cawhide shoes touching the
snow, asked if the gentleman va,
hurf. -~
Not bit of it. nv lad" said he.
shaking . himself free Of tho STOW,
''only warmed upa little. Whats
the damage
Nothing. sir, that I see." returned
Tom. bis-landsome face glowing With
good huoor - he yielded the horse to
it's owner.
Swell, then, my lad, get 10, and
yell try again. = You are going "a
school. | zee" added the stranger q
he gathered up the reins.
How FAR" szic,-s.G eaF
..Guess it Is about two miles from
here" arssc
The gentleman turned and looked
into his face. and then glanced oil
over Toms figure. even to his feet.
He sees my Shoes" thought Tom,
proudly. to himself, giving his feet .
shove forward to make certain that
they should be seen.
! The gentleman did .ee them, and
smiled in spite of himself a be
glanced to Toms face.
He then kindly pulled the warm
furs around the boy, and. pulling
his cap over his eyes. shouted. go
along, Nell!" And the chestnut mare,
now thoroughly .sobered, meekly
commenced the ascent of what was
known whereabouts a. the long bill.
She was evidently accustomed to
having her own way. for she syailed
herself of every little chance 70 rest,
and did not allow herself to be pressed
forward until the whip was applied.
Tom wondered what had possessed
the creature a few minutes before.
He scratched his head on the right
side and then on theleft, and finally,
his Yankee curiosity getting the
better of his dif6dence, he asked:
1T YOU please, sir. what was it that
made the mare run ?"
"a stump" replied the gentleman,
with n smile. ''Nell is little aristo-
cratic aud SHES at such plebian things.
She does not know that a stump Vas
the making Of her master"
Tom scratched his head again, and
all over. Then out came
the question: "How could stump
be the making of q man I"
MY lad" answered tho stranger,
the white surface of the
snow with his whiplash. Il was q poor
boy, and my father could not afford
to send me to school. We worked
very hard, but used to study
evenings BY the light Of the fire, and
learned the whole of the Latin gram.
mar by the light Of ore pitch knot"
For a moment Tom sat perfectly
till.
Then he asked, a. If ashamed Of
his ignorance
please, cir, what's . Latin gram
mar ?"
This last question aroused the gen.
leman, and becoming sensible that the
title fellow at bis side was thirstiug
or knowledge. be very kindly went
'ver such parts of his history % be
bought would be of interest to him, !
md ended by saying that be was q |
member of Congress.
The last announcement almost took
be lads breath away. He had heard !
f members of Congress. but be had !
n idea that they we're myths. whom |
obody ever saw. Perhaps the ave
nth which Tom regarded him % he
lanced up sideways into bis face,
the gentleman. for hs said
milling