St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1880-06-12
SWINTON'S STORY.

81 often compare myself to that wide
spreading tree out yonder, when I think
of the unconsidered acorn from which it
sprang.'
Then turning to me with a frank
sparkle in his eyes, Swinton drew his
chair closer to mine, so that we might
both face the glowing Christmas fire
and he said somewhat abruptly: IL
never told you the origin of my fortune.
Light one of those Russian cigarettes
with Laferme's name on them and
will do so now. 1t will just last till
Kate orders us off to bed.
q was, as you know, a founding
and never had any education worth
speaking of. 1 had neither sixpence
nor friend. l was simply a human
wait, and if l had thrown myself over a
bridge and been drowned any day be-
fore l was five and twenty, nobody
would have inquired what had become
of me. | was an active chap, too, and
got odd jobs which kept me alive. |
am certain l was not unhappy. Healthy
life never is so, and hungry young fell
low who lives on sixpence a day and
earns it, after all only follows the adj
vice which an eminent physician gave
to his best patients. | was a keen-wit-
ted lad, moreover, and think | should
have got on sooner if | had had a chance,
but then never did have chance, or
even half one. l beat the London
pavement with my feet till ! knew every
inch of it, yet L never found anything
but now and then hired horse to hold.
1t was always hired horse, for gentle
men were generally attended by grooms
in my time, and commercial travellers
horses stood without holding.
- The best part of my income came
from running errands for the beadle of
public company, of which l am now
chairman. He was beadle of an au-
gust presence, and it was his duty to
stand at the office door with an impos-
ing staff every time one of the directors
or the secretary went in or out. To
these ceremonial functions he added
little private business of his own, and
undertook to provide messengers for the
establishment. His charge was sixpence
a message for short distances and one
shilling for longer ones. He paid me a
penny in both cases, and affected such
hazy ideas about time and space that
knewI should get nothing if l asked for
more. Plenty of street Arabs would
have been glad to cut me out; and, in
deed, soon acquired a sort of favorship
among them from the regular nature Of
this employment, considering myself as
one of the company's servants. The
height of my ambition at that time
would have been to have had shiny
cap with band of silver lace around it,
and to have been able to say; Yes, sir,
directly, SIR to Alderman Dumping,
who was great light in the concern.
II must have been gaunt, lantern
checked lad when I was moving about
one Sunday afternoon at Hyde Park
corner, near Tattersalrs. The compa-
ny's office was, of course, closed on that
day, and was on the watch to see if l
could pick up any odd coppers. But 1
had hard time of it with the red jack
cts, who were the regular men who did
odd jobs for noble sportsmen there
abouts, and who punched my head with
distressing vivacity whenever they
caught me trespassing in their dig
gings. had almost given the thing up
for that day, and was slouching along
with black eye and a sore nose, toward
Knightsbridge, when l saw weak,
knock-kneed little fellow strapped to
clumsy sort of truck, and pulling away
with all his small might and main. 1t
had got some sticks of furniture piled
upon it, and hair trunk broken in the
middle, with a splintered cover. Still
tie load was far beyond the child's
strength. and the sweat streamed down
his face as he dragged hard at it to lit
tie purpose. Therefore, although was
very hungry, and more or less out of
sorts myself, I began to whistle, and.
putting my left hand carelessly to the
truck, took the weight off the boys
shoulder, and set in trundling along
briskly enough for anything.
"'Now, then, Spi lor, what are yer
hup top said the little man, gasping out
the indignant words as well as his spent
breath would let him. He was proud
boy, and would not have begged for
anybody's help: but l suppose there was
something in my manner, or perhaps in
my whistle, which treasured him, for he
said something about his father, and
mother being both sick abed,' and then
took my help without further suspicion
or resentment. Poor people soon fra
ternize, and aid each other oftener than
the rich, SO that what was doing dare
say seemed to him quite natural.
81 pushed the truck indiferently
about half mile till we got ito the squalid
home where the child lived; helped him
to hand down its contents to a shrill-