The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1882-04-13
LITTLE CARROTsON's HOLIDAY.

III III 14hAAahO tJON - AAOA4aD-AAs
Mr.. Cutbill was a busy LAWYER, a
bachelor and not very fond of children,
so that his married sister, who lived in
the country, made a mistake when she
wrote to beg that he would provide q
day and an evening" amusement for
little CarrotsOn, who was returning to
Westminster School after his Christmas
holidays The boy was due at his tutor $
house in Deans Yard on a Wednesday;
but Mr.. Cutbill's sister suggested that if
he came up to London on the Tuesday
her brother might make him spend an
agreeable day and take him to see a
pantomime afterwards. Little Carrot
son was not related in any way to Mr..
Cutbill's sister, but he was the son of n
friend of hers, and was said to be an in
tclligent boy, well worth knowing.
Mr.. Cutbill consented to entertain the
youth, and little Carrotson accordingly
arrived at the lawyers private residence
in Cover street one january morning,
towards half-past nine. 1t was raining
hard, and Mr.. Cutbill thought it would
never do to take the boy out of doors in
such weather He would be getting
wet feet, catch cold, aud so forth; be-
sides, the lawyer was absolutely obliged
TO 90 to his Office for two or three hours;
80 It's nOOAl do = I'll ibLNOu lltl'i BtClA ia
stalled opposite Il cup of coffee and
sausage, Mr.. Cutbill said to him, in
tone that was meant to Ire paternal:
4" Look here, James; can l trust YOU TO
be n good boy while | am out? / shall
be back for luncheon. and then I'll take
you to see the waX-wOrks, and in the
evening wei 60 to Drury Lane. So, as
you re going to have two treats to-day,
hope you'll keep out of mischief"
''Oh. certainly, if you wish it," said
little Carrotson, cycling the lawyer with
some surprise.
IF you'n mind not to leave this room,
and not to play with the fire, I'll see if
] have any picture books.
Don't trouble yourself, sir" an
swered the boy, on whose chubby face
there was a slight flush Of offended dig
nifty. There's a friend of mine who
lives in the neighhorhood, and | thought
of going to hunt him up"
sclf?''
"Wel, he's fourteen
1t was so long since Mr.. Cutbill had
been boy that he had forgotten all the
habits of the species and the manner of
addressing them. In the red-hcaded,
blue-eyed, merry-faced lad before him
he saw only n mere childwh wanted
TO go and splash about in the rain, per
haps, to make mud pies and to be run
over by cabs. . No, L must positively
forbid that he said. Z" lou are under
my charge to-day and must do as l tell
YOU Think what your mamma would
say if you were brought home on a
stretcher." Then, suddenly, a happy
thought occurred to Mr.. Cutbill Why
should he not set the boy to do q little
useful work by way of making the time
pass? He had read somewhere that
boys enjoy n half-holiday better than a
whole one; so he darted out of the room
and returned with his washing book.
Look here, James; I'll see how you
can do sums. just go through this
book, add up all the weekly accounts OF
the past quarter, and then divide the
total of the number of weeks so as ia
get at the average of my weekly eXpend-
iture. If you do all that correctly by
the time l return, and without making
any blots, I'll give you half crown K
spend at school,
Having said this, Mr. Cutbill retired
thinking he had hit upon an ingenious
device for keeping his charge out OF
mischief. Little Carrotson's face was 8
picture.
Public school boys have strong expires.
sions for describing such men as Mr.,
Cutbill; they call them ''howling snobs."
The egregious cheek of forbiddine
CarrotSon ''to play with the fire" anC
the utter villainy of compelling him to dc
sums in n house where he had come as
a rucst in holiday time. could only bt
matched by the impudent offer of half s
crown to one who had no less than foW
sovereigns in his pocket The whole
thing was indeed so "rich'' that after
a brief spell of speeches. Indignation
Carrotson laughed He took up the
LAWYERS "beastly'' washing book, and
got through the work set him in half an
hour, after which he added some sup
Elementary averages of his own. He
computed how many shirts Mr.. Cutbil
would wear in the course of a lifetime,
supposing he lived TO the age of seventy,
and how much he would disburse in
getting his socks washed during the
same period. and so forth, but these cal
culatiOns only amused him for another
half hour. Then he yawned, stared out
of the window, and was startled by the
postman's double knock What devil
Of vindictiVe mischief was it that made
him whisper then " BY Jove, I'll just
answer the old cad's letter for him
Little Carrotson skunk into the pas
sage and found four letters in the box.
He left one, in case n servant should
come up and collect the delivery but
the other three he carried into the din
ing room where he bad been working.
The breakfast things had not yet been
removed, and there was some water in
the slop-basin, by means OF which the
boy speedily ungummed the three en-
velopes. 70 ny that he felt tho slight
est compunction at what he was doing
would be Incorrect; he thought only OF
having lark, and paving out old Cut
bill for his snobbery.