The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1879-03-25
The Best Thing a Boy can Have.
slI,HERn, mother! I've worked the

n ihob NoJ - SNaho W WO'N AOs
Belnap He's the crossest, hatefulest
man that ever lived Just because
Mrs. Barry lifted her eyes from the
cap that was lying ut her feet to the
flushed and heated face of the speaker
"That will do, my son. If you have
concluded not TO work any more for Mr.
Belnap pick up your cap and put 1t
where it belongs"
That low, even tone and quiet man"
ner had a visible effect upon Arthur
Picking up his cap, he hung 1t upon its
nail, back of the door.
Full of his imaginary wrongs, he COM
menced again, though in more sub
dued tone and manner.
You see, mother"
Before you say anything further, get
me pitcher of cool water; and while
you are at the pump, dash some of 1t
over your face, head and neck. You
don't know how much better it will
make you feel"
Mrs. Barry had trained her children
to prompt and unquestioning obedience,
thereby saving herself and them great
deal of trouble; and without thought
of doing otherwise, Arthur took the
pitcher and went to the pump, out of
which, in spite of his plug, sparkling
water dripped all the day long.
Holding his head under the cool, re-
freshing stream for some minutes he
gave the brown curls shake that sent
the drops flying in every direction.
Then filling the pitcher he went in.
1t was maxim of Mrs. Barry's
that if she wanted her children to be
gentle and polite she must be gentle and
| polite with them; so she took the glass
of water from Arthur's hand with just
as pleasant thank you as if he had been
some other woman's boy.
Then she drew forward q chair, which
mute invitation Arthur accepted.
"Now L want to tell you about it
mother, and Pm sure you won't blame
me at all. 1 was a little late this morn
ing, and old Belnap-"
"Who ?"
"That's what the boys call him,
mother"
| I'm very sorry. hope my son, who
have been better taught, will set them a
better example. 1 suppose they don't
speak of him in that way when he is
| where he can hear them?"
"Oh no; they wouldn't dare tol"
"And yet they are so mean and cow
ardly as to call him so behind his back!''
Now Arthur had thought this Won
derfully smart in Will Guernsey and
John Dill, who were in the habit OF
speaking of their employer, among
themselves, as "Old Belnap," or ''the
old man." but he was manly little fell
low, despising anything mean or coward
ly, and his mothers words gave quite
another complexion to it.
"Well, Mr.. Belnap, then. He was as
cross as bear, just because was little
bit late. Said that boys who wanted to
work for him must be punctual. And
then when case of goods came, and he
couldn't find the hammer, he charged me
with mislaying it, And when said
had not touched it, he knew better.
and there it was, all the time, right un-
der the desk, where he had put it him
SELF"
g 1t is great misfortune to be so for
getful."
But he needn't have been so cross
about it,"
{" 1t is greater misfortune to have a
hasty temper. Perhaps he was never
taught to control it when boy"
:" don't care 1 think it's real mean
for Belnap to treat me sol Don't you,
mother?"
{" 1 think you have not told things
exactly as they were"
why, mother?"
"Not Intentionally, my son;
should be very sorry to believe such a
thing of you as that. But there are
various ways by which people form the
habit of speaking untruthfully, and
one of these is by exaggerating. Don't
you remember my showing you an in
strument, looking through one end of
which made everything seem twice as
large, and through the other they looked
SO small that you could scarcely see
them at all Now, we have just such
an instrument in our minds. We look
through the large end at the faults of
other people, making them seem twice
as large as they are, and through the