St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1881-08-20
Jimmy Browns Terrible Mistake,

StaiFS all tne afternoon, and | am eX-
peclng father every minute. 1t was
just AFTER one O'Clock when he told me
to come up stairs with him, AMI lust
'hcE Mr.. Thomp on came to get him to
90 down town with HIM, and father said
I'd have to excuse him for u little while
and don t on 90 out OF that room till
come back. SO | excused han. and he
hash come back vet; but I've opened
one OF the pillows and stuffed N, ciothe,
iuIl OF feathers, aud don't care much
how soon he comes back nUN
1t an awful feeling to be wtjtinr I'M
stairs for your father, and to know that
YOU have done wrong. though YOU really
dIdn meaa to do ST. much wfon : Won
have done. am wiling to own that
nobody Gu hit to take ANYBODY s,clothes
when he 5 III swimm Hg. but ANYHOW
they began i: first, ant thought lust
rs much rs could be that the clothes
We're theirs.
The real boys that are TO blame are
Tom Wilson and AMI Willett,. \
week ago Saturday Joe Hamilton and I
went in swimming down at the island.
It's beautiful place. The island is all
full OF bushes, and on one side the water
is deep, where the big BOYS 90 in. and
on the other it is shallow, where we fell
lows that can swim very much where
the water is more than two feet deep 90
in. While Joe and | were swimming.
Tom and AMI came and stole our
clothes, and put them in their b yat. and
carried them clear across to the deep
part of the RIVER. We saw them do it.
and we had an awful time to ret the
clothes back, and | think it was lust as
mean.
Joe and said we'd get even with
them, and | know it was wrong, be-
cause 1t was q reVtngetul feeling. bat
anyhow we said we'd do it and don't
TIL nix revenge is so very bad when YOU
don hurt a fellow, and wouldn't hurt
him for anything. and just want to play
him trick that is pretty nearly almost
quite innocent. But | don't say we
did right and when We done wrong
I'm always ready to say 50.
Well. Joe and | watched, and last
Saturday we saw Tom and AMI 90
down to the island and go in swimming
on the shallow side; so we waded across
and sneaked down among the bushes,
and after awhile we saw two piles of
clothes. So we picked them up and ran
away with them. The boys saw US and
made a terrible noise: but we sung out
that they d know now how it felt to
have your clothes carried off, and we
waded back across the river, and
carried the clothes I'D to AmzI's house,
and hid them in his barn, and thought
that wee got even with Tom and AMI.
and taught them a lesson which would
do them great deal OF good. and would
make them good and useful men.
This was in the morning about noon,
and when | had nv dinner thought
I'd 90 and see how the boys liked
swimming, and offer to bring back
their clothes if they d promise to be
good friends. | never was more aston
ished in my life than | was to find that
they We're nowhere near the island. |
was beginning to be afra d they d been
drowned, when heard some men call
ing me, and | found Squire Meredith
and AMI Willetts father. who is a
deacon. hiding among the bushes.
They told me that some villains had
stolen their clothes while they were in
swimming, and they'd give me fifty
cents if | d 90 up to their houses and
Get their wives to give me some clothes
to bring down to them.
| said didn't want the fifty cents;
but l d 90 and try to find some clothes
for them. | meant to 90 straight up to
Arnzi's barn and to bring the clothes
back. but on the waFaI met AMI with
the clothes in q basket bringing them
down to the island and he said: ''Some-
bodv's goin to be arrested for stealing
fathers and Squire Meredith clothes.
| saw the fellows that stole 'em, and
I'm going to tell' You see. Joe and
had taken the wrong clothes. and
Squire Meredith and Deacon Willetts,
who had been in swimming on the deep
side of the island, had been about two
hours trying to play they were Zulus,
and didn't need to wear any clothes,
only they found it pretty hard work.
Deacon Willets CAME straight to our
house, and told father that his unhappy
son-that's what he called me, and
wasn't | unhappy, though-had stolen
his clothes and Squire Meredith's s; but
for the sake of our family he wouldn't
say very much about it, only if father
thought best to spare the rods and
spoil a child, he wouldn't be able to
regard him as man and q brother.
So father called me and asked me if |
had taken Deacon Willetts' clothes, and.
when | said yes, and was going to ex-
plain how it happened. he said that my
conduct was such, and that was
bringing his gray hairs down, only
wouldn't hurt them for fifty million dol
lars and I've often heard him say he
hadn' a gray hair in his head
And now I'm waiting up stairs for the
awful moment to arrive. | deserve 1t,
for they say that Squire Meredith aud
Deacon Willetts are mornhalt eaten up
by mosquitoes. and are confined to the