The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-07-03
aadessatr gatelligeaeer.
Undressing Little Ned.

Undressing Little Ned.
'sThere is Whisky Bill,' who used to
drive that old white horse in front of a
twenty-five cent express wagonf' re.
peated the man in tone of surprise.
eyes"
''Well, now, it's a curious case," he
slowly continued. "We all thought he'd
gone to the dogs, for sure, for he was
drinking pint of whisky day, but a
few months ago he braced right up, stop
ped drinking, and now I hear he's in
good business and saving money. 1t
beats all, for the last time / saw him he
seemed half underground" .
When you go home at night and find
that all is we'll with your own flesh and
blood, do you 60 to sleep reasoning that
the world must care for itself? DO you
ever shut your eyes and call up the hun
dreds of faces you have met during the
day, and wonder if the paleness of death
will cover any of them before the NOR
row? When you have been attracted to
q face, even it be o strangers, do you let
it drop from memory with dreams, or do
you call it up again and again as night
comes down, and hope it may not lose
any of its brightness in the whirling
mists of time
So "Whisky Bill" was hunted down.
An inquiry here and there finally traced
him to a little brown cottage on o by
street. he sat on the step in the twi.
light, burly, broad-shouldsred man of
fifty, and in the house three or four chill
dren gathered around lamp to look at
picture book.
aYes, they used to call me Whisky
Bill, down town." he replied, as he moved
along and made room, "but it's weeks
since I heard the name. No wonder
they think me dead, for Pve not set eyes
on the old crowd for months, and don't
want to for months to come"
"They tell me you have quit drinking.
One could see that by your face"
"I hope so; haven't touched drop
since February. Before that was half
drunk day in and day out, and more of 8
brute than d man. I don't mind saying
that my wife's death set me to thinking
but didn't stop my liquor. God forgive
me, but was drunk when she died, half.
drunk at the grave, and I meant to &c
on regular spree that night. It was
low down, sir, but I was no better than 8
brute those days.
"And so you left your motherless chill.
dren at home and went out and goi
drunk?"
'No. I said I meant to, but / didn't
The poor things were crying all day, aud
after coming home from the burial ]
thonghtto get 'em tucked away in bed
before Invent out. Drunk or sober ]
never struck one of 'em o. blow, and they
never ran from me when j staggered
home. There's four Of 'em in there and
the youngest isn't quite fouryears yet.
got the elder ones in bed all right and
then came little Ned. He had cried
himself to sleep and he called for mother
as soon as woke him. Until that night
/ never had that boy On my knee, to say
nothing of putting him to bed, and you
can guess these big fingers made slow
work with the hooks and buttons. Ev.
cry minute he kept saying his mother
didn't do that way, and mother done this
way, and the big children were hiding
their heads under the quilts to drown
their sobs. When / had his clothes of
and his night-gown on / was ashamed
and put him down, and when the oldest
Tsaw tears in my eyes and jumped out OF
bed to put her arms around my neck, ]
dropped the name of Whisky Bill right
then and forever"
"And little Ned?"
"Mebbe I'd have weakened, but for
him" replied the man, as he wiped his
eyes. After got the child's night-gown
on, what did he do but kneel right down
beside me and wait for me to say the
Lords Prayer to him! Why, sir, you
might of knocked me down with feath-
er! There was, mother and father to
him, and I couldn't say four words oi
that prayer to save my life! He wait
ed for me to begin, as his mother always
had, and the big children we're waiting,
and when took him in my arms and
kissed him, called Heaven to witness
that my life should change from that
hour. And SO it did, sir, and I've been
trying hard to lead q sober, honest life,
God helping, no one shall call me 'Whis-
Ky Bilp again"
The four little children, little Ned in
his nightgown, came out for goodnight
kiss, and the boy cuddled in his fathers
arms fer a moment and said:
"Good night, pa-good-night, every
body in the world-good-night, ma, up
in heaven-and don't put out the light
till We get to sleepP-Detroa Free
Press.