The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1879-01-01
A NEW YEARS STORY.
on, HOW JOE STERLING woS HIS WAY TO A
POSITION IN THE WORLD.

POSITION IL THE WORLD.
Dirt appearance In the Cairo Bullctin)
To have seen Joe Sterling stumbling
about the store of Sampson and Sturges no
one would have suspected him of being a
hero IA little, short, beard!ess fellow, with a
peaked face, and shoulders that stood ont
sharply wearing never a plume, nor scarf.
nor slashed velvet douOiet, like the hero Of
romance aud clvalry, neither epaulets and
gold lace ike the military hero, neither
broadcloth and beaver like the gentleman
hero Of the moral drama, but attircd with
severe simplicity in a well-worn pepper
and salt" suit, that pinched about the
shoulders, and was too short about the
sleeves, his sallow complexion effectively
set off bya sky-blue necktie--a tie which
Filkins, spruce felow-clerk, who support
ed o dictionary, had stigmatized as "paren-
NAL his cpf-buttqns not mates. Oh. but
Joe, blessed be the world on its New-Y Years
Days, if it had more like you!
Who Joe was, where he came from in the
morning, where he went at night, inter-
ested neither SIMPSON IL Sturges nor
Filkins. The latter had, one evening,
invited him out to witness the presentation
of that glory OF the drama, m. X. of
c. Exposed to be followed by
''the side-splitting farce of Cairo Quaran-
tine;'" but Joe had politely declined MUIR
muring something about other duties that
detained him at hom3. Thcreupon, FiIkins
had lifted his eyebrows, and mad. no more
advances. He had never found young men
with "dutics" congenial companions.
BY 10 80, New Years morning, Joe had
completed his marketing among the shops
and stalls on Eighth street, and, with his
basket swung on his arm, had begun trudg-
ing bomeward. He kept a sharp watch, MS
was his wont, to lett and to right, to see if
there WAS anything he conld do for any
body. When one is on the lookout for
something of that nature something gcner-
orally tnrns up, and it was hard n to eleven
when Joe turned into that sloppy, dccayed
old street, which he had turned into req.
larly every night since he had been in Sur
gcs employ.
He was growing dreadfuly tired of that
street. 1t wasn't busy street. Nothing
ever seemed to stir in it, except tired men
and women, going out and coming in from
labor. Nothing ever went up on it moth
Ing ever came down. The old wooden
just gathered II few more ichens
and sank a little. from twelvemonth to
twclvemonth. 1t wasn't cheerful street. |
II sometimes seemed to Joe as if all the |
tired, and discouraged, and sick, and cross
in the city--all the people dcspairing
enough to he wretchcd, and yet not despair
ing enough to give up u kind Of automatic |
'ifort, had gathered themselves together
here. Joe began whistIing as he entered |
is precincts. md whistlcd Justify, Just as
,oys do who have courage to keep up, until
he came alongside the decrepid wooden
building that held his "homc."
Up two flights, and turning to the left, he
inter ID a small room, the atmosphere of
which was charged IN about equal proper
ions with the oior OF moldy wallpaper and
# some kind of pungcnt inimcnt. A mid
lie aged, unhappy-looking man, with his
Get and legs stretched out on two chairs,
eclincd before the window. Ills guy
rcsslny gown was wrapped tightly around
lis body, and gray shawl was swa,hed
bout bis limbs and feet.