The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-06-04
Undressing Little Ned.
detroit Free Press.l

Detroit Free Press.
ssWhere is Whisky BILL who used to
drive that old white horse in front OF %
cent express wagon?'' repeated the man in
tones of surprise.
YES"
swell, now, it's curious case" he slowly
continued. I'VE all thought he'd gone to
the dogs for sure, for he was drinking pint
of whisky a day, but few months ago he
braced right up, stopped drinking, and now
1 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 well with your own flesh and blood, do
you go to sleep reasoning that the rest OF the
world must care for itself? Do you ever
shut your eyes, and call up the hundreds of
faces you have met during the day, an
wonder il the paleness of death will cover
any of them before the morrow? When
you have been attracted to q fact, even if it
be strangers, do you let it drop from
memory with your dreams, or do you call
it up again and again as night comes
down, and hope it may lose none OF its
brightness in the whirling mlsts of time?
So whisky Bill' was hunted down. An
inquiry here and there finally traced him to
on the step in the twilight, burly, broad
shouldered man of so, and in the house three
or four children gathered around the lamp
to look at a picture book.
"Yes, they used to call me Whisky Bill,
down town." he replied, as he moved along
heard the name. No wonder they think me
dead, for I've 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"
81 hope so: haven't touched drop since
February. Before that was half drunk day
in and day out, and more of a brute than a
man. l don't mind saying that my wife's
death set me to thinking, but I didn't stop
my liquor. God forgive me, but 1 was drunk
when she died, half drunk at the grave, and
I meant to go on q regular spree that night
1t was low down, sir, but was no better
than brute those days
"And so you left your motherless children
at home and went out and got drunk"
mo. / said meant to, but didn't. The
poor things were crying all day, and after
coming home from the burial l thought to
get 'em tucked away IN bed before 1 went
out. Drunk or sober I never struck one of
'em blow, and they never ran from me when
1 staggered home. There's four of 'em in
there and the youngest isn't quite four years
yet. I 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
l never had the 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. Every minute
he kept saying his mother didn't do that
way, and mother done this way, and the
big children we're hiding their heads under
the quilts to drown their sobs. When had
his clothes off and his mig htgown on I was
ashamed aud put him down, and when the
oldest saw tears in my eyes aud 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 childs nightgown OF, 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 have knocked
me down with feather. There l was,
mother and father to him, and couldn't say
four words of that prayer to save my life.
He waited and waited for me to begin, as his
mother always had, and the big children
were waiting, and when l took him in my
arms and kissed him, 1 called Heaven to wit.
ness that my life should change from that
hour. And 80 1t did, sir, and I've been try.
ing hard to lead sober, honest life God
helping me. no one shall call me Whisky
BitP again."
The four little children, little Ned in his
nIghtgewn. came o1t for a good night kiss
and the boy cuddied in his fathers arms
for moment, and said:
Goodnight, pa-good-night. everybody
in the world-good-night ma, up In
Heaven-and don't put out the light till
we get to sleep!'