The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1881-12-15
THE BOY WHO WAS NOT 'SENsIsI
TIVE"
BY ANNETTE L. NOBLE.

Two boys, almost young men, were
standing before a closed shop-door in
earnest debate. 1t was. halfhOliday,
and Ned Grey was teasing Morris Park
er to go with him on barge up the
river to the firemen's picnic.
mo, Ned; there are, as you say, some
grand fellows going, but you know we
| can't keep away from Tom Aliens set I;
he won't let US; and they all drink"
"You need not care for that; you
boast that you amt afraid to say Nor
81 don't mean to boast about it; but it
is true can say No to an invitation to
drink any hour of the day or the night"
"Well, you aren't sensitive, and l am.
can't bear to set myself up for some
body with extra-fine notions and so seem
/ to cast reflections on other people !;
| and it hurts me to be made fun of
and sneered at. You never seem TO feel
that; some folks never are sensitive. It
| is good; wish had been made that
way" sad Ned.
Morris colored; he considered him
self, and with reason, boy of quite as
much fine feeling as was Ned, who
many times had spoken in this way.
perhaps you would not think some
things worth feeling now if you had
felt more in the past-if you had felt
half what have"
Tell US your life, Methuselah," said
Ned, with careless laugh.
| "Sit down a minute, then, on that box,
and l will,'' said Morris; and Ned sat
down.
az was born in G., fifty miles
from here. My father was an educated
| gentleman in the fullest sense of both
words. He was a lawyer. But he
drank. For years he managed to con-
ceal it from everybody but mother. She
did everything for him a woman could
do, but if she had not had small prop
ferty secured to her in a way he could
not appropriate she would have come TO
| want. By the time / was nine years
old realized that father earned little or
nothing and that mother spent hours
| crying alone in her room. ] had the
loveliest little sister Bess you ever could
imagine. I never saw any picture half
so pretty. She had long, floating yell
low hair and the strangest blue eyes,
with long, jet-black lashes. Father was
very proud of her, and always kind to
US both; but then we had never seen
him drunk. When he came home
intoxicated mother must always
have got US out of the way.
Well, one day she had gone away
from home, and father returned at q
very unusual hour. He was going on
our town. Bess and teased to go, and
he took us along just as we were-Bess
with her little straw hat stuck full of
flowers, 1 remember, and her pretty
hands all strawberry stains. We got to
L early in the day and father at
tended to his business. We followed
him up and down long stairs until we
were tired and hungry, for il was q hot
June day. About noon, Bess said she
wanted something cool 10 eat-some ice
frozen pudding; she meant ice-cream.
Father discovered then that he had only
q little money in his pocket He had
come of on in haste, and cur tickets had
taken his extra change; but he had
enough for a cheap lunch for us all, he
said. He looked about and saw a saloon
and took Us in 1t was cool and neat
just like all those places; they make me
deathly sick when glance In even now.
They were Just out Of ice-cFeam, the
waiter said, but had sent for some.
| Wouldn't we wait a minute? He asked
father to have q drink of something.
From the little knew l was alarmed,
and little Bess, too, WAS quick enough
to begin begging him away. Papa, papa.
do let US go on; by the other corner /
saw such a nice cake, and / am very
hungry; we don't want the cream so
much as cake and meat, papa
at wasn't any use; he had found q
man he knew standing at the bar, and
they drank together, and father forgot
he hadn't much money and paid for all
they drank. They talked and laughed.