The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1882-05-18
MOGGs' MONKEY.

dis real name was Phil, and he was a
boy of about ten years of age; blue-eyed
golden-haired. lithe of limb and grace
full, and as unlike monkey as it was
possible for boy to be.
As for Moggs, he was Phirs father,
and his real name was Moggridge,
though no one, not even his most dis
tant acquaintances, ever thought of call
ing him by it.
lie was street acrobat, and coniuror,
and earned a scanty and precarious liv-
ing by performing on a square of carpet
set in the roadways, attired in a
gorgeous fiesh-coIored costume, with
spangles, while his head was bound with
a fillet of gold braid.
When Phil was quite little fellow,
almost a baby, he had taken part in
these exhibitions; had been tossed about
like ball by his father, and led around
among the spectators by his mother to
carry the hat and beg for coppers, in
which latter line of the business he mad
always been highly successful
When Nloggs had first started in the
public exercise of his profession, he had
possessed quite a respectable company
OF performers; he had poodle who
could walk on his fore paws, dance on
his hind legs, march like a soldier, and
shoulder . musket, and a monkey who
was one of the cleverest and most anus
ing Of his kind; but, in the course of
time, the poodle had been stolen, and
the monkey went off in a consumption
and died, ard Moggs and Phil were left
TO carry on the business alone.
1t was then that the boy came out in
a new character, and acquired the name
bywhich he was ever afterwards known.
''Moggs' Monkey"
He had mask like monkey's head.
and used to clap it on over his own sun
ny face, and then, donnine u little red
cap and a jacket TO rhiol, had been art
fully fixed long monkeys tan, hA
would go through all poor Jacko's 5
tricks, as nimbly and cleverly as the de-
funct animal itself had done.
1t used to draw crowds of lookers-on
but for all that the business was q poor
one. and the father and son had alto
gether very liberal allowance of ''hard
time.n Perhaps it was this which made
the poor draggle-tailed wife age prema-
turely, and at last, following in the
monkeys steps, 90 off in a rapid con-
sumption and die, to the great grief of
the husband and child, who wept sim
cerely over her grave in the poor quar-
ter of a crowded London cemetery, and
then went drearily back to their daily
toll of tumbling and conjuring, feeling
as though they were becoming very
small and forlorn band indeed.
Phil missed his mother terribly; they
had loved each other passionately in
their poor common way, and the boy S
heart ached for the love and sympathy
which had so frightened his hard bit
ter life.
For. despite his gay dress, his pink
stockings, and spangles, and his laugha-
bic monkey disguise, it was often very
dreary life indeed.
There were days when the wind was
| cold and keen, when no sun shone, and
| the roads were wet and muddy, anC
| when, Of course, it was eminently uu
| pleasant to have to go out in his light
breezy costume; days, too, when he haC
| to wear a merry face, and tumble about
feeling dreadfully hungry and misera
| bic, and times when the public were
stingy and indisposed to bestow theil
! coppers, and the police harassed them
! and drove them about from pillar to post
until they were ready to drop from NOR
| titication and WEAKNESS.
Yet still they stuck together, anC
loved each other, and hoped for better
| times, and then all at once into Phils
heart there crept something warm ant
| bright, which nestled there, and made
a rosy glow of happiness in the midst O.
| his blacklist troubles.
The fact was that Phil fell in love.
Yes, though he was only boy o
ten years of age, he fell as hopelessl,
and earnestly in love as though he hat
| been twenty, and romantic into the bar
| gain.
His idol was a little girl of nearly hi
own age, the daughter of q stage-car
| penter, who lived in the rooms next hi
| own: brown-eyed, dark-haired lassie
full of life and fun, and with heart a
warm and true as PhiFs.
They were playmates, when they hat
any time for play. and they always sym
| pathised with each others woes, ant
shared each others joys-whether they
came in the shape of halfpence or ap
pies, cold pudding or cake.
In short, Jennie reciprocated Phifs
affection, and they had plighted thei
troth, one moonlight Sunday night, il
the attic which was Pills home.
They had promised to be true to eacl
other, and love each other for ever, evel
when they were grown up, and Jenni
was to be Phirs wife and trudge afte
him through London streets, and carr
round The hat for the money as Phil
mother had done.
And when in their childish innocenc
they went to their two fathers, VIII
were playing at cribbage by the tireside
they were quite hurt and offended becaus
the men laughed. Indeed, Moggs laugh
ed so heartily that the tears ran dow
his cheeks, and vet his laugh ended in
sob, which sounded rather like crying
as he bent and kissed first Jennie an
then Phil.
"Well, wen," said Tom Brown, VIII
was Jennie's father. .sthis beats evers
thing l ever heard on. The dramar ism
anythink to it. And so you're going t
be my son-in-law. young feller?'
Phil nodded grayely,
"And you're thinking as my Jenni
is going on the everlasting tramp wit
you, Ell? 1t won't do for her. Phil; she
die on it in month. You must strlk
out better line afore you marries N
SrL Now don't you think I'm rightg