The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-06-16
THE BAD BOY.
Ipeck,sS Sun

q hear your Uncle Ezra is here on a
 visit." said the grocery man to the bad
 boy. ." suppose you have been having
 a high old time. There is nothing tha,
 does boy more good than to have a nice visit with a good uncle. and hear
 him tell about old times when he and
 the boys father were boys together"
 Well, don't know abou; it, said
 the boy, as he took stick of macaroni
 and began to blow paper wads through i;
 at woodsawyer who was filing saw outside the door. When boy who has been tough has got his pins all SCI to reform, don't think ii does him any
 good to have real nice uncle come ,o
 the house visiting. Anyway. that's my
 experience. have backslid the wors, way, and it's going to take me month.
 after Uncle Ezra goes away, to climb up
 to the grace that have fallen from ft
 IS darn dscouraging, said the boy as he
 looked up a, the ceiling in an innocen,
 sort of way. and hid the macaroni under
 his coat, when the woodsawyer, who had
 been hit in the neck, dropped his Saw
 and got up mad.
 What's the trouble: Your uncle has
 the reputation where he lives of being
 one of the pillars of society. But you
 can't tell about these fellows when they
 ge, away from home. Does he drink ..a
 No, he don't drink, but as near as
 can hgurc II ke and pa were about the
 worst pills in the box when they we're
 young. don't wan, you to repca, il.
 but when pa and ma were married they
 eloped. Yes, sir. actually ran away, and
 dehed their parents. and they had to
 hide about week for fear mas father would i'll pa so full of cold lead that he would sink If he fell in the water Pa has
 been kicked over the fence, and chased down alleys dozens of times, by my grandfather when he was sparkling ma. mother couldn't do anything with her. though she is awful precise now, and wants everybody to be good. Why. mas mother used to warm her ears, and shake the daylights out of her, but it didn't do any good. She was mashed on pa, and there was no cure for her excep, to have pa prescribed for her as a hus- band, and they ran away. Uncle Ezra told me all about it. Ma haint go, no patience with girls now days tha, have minds of their own abou, fellows, and she thinks their parents ought to have all the say. We'll, maybe she thinks she knows all about it. But when people get in love 1t is the same now as il was when pa and ma were trying to keep out of the reach of my grand fathers shotgun. But pa and uncle Ezra and ma are good friey. Is, and they talk over old times and have a big laugh. guess Uncle Ezra was too much for pain joking when they were boys, cause pa told me that all rules against joking were suspended while Uncle Ezra was here, and for me to play anything on him could. told pa I was trying to lead different life, bu, he said wha; l to do was to make Uncle Ezra think of old times, and the only way was to keep him on the ragged edge l thought if there was anything could do 10 make it pleasant for my uncle, it was my duty to do It, so fixed the bed sla,s on the spare bed so they would fall down at A. NJ. the frs, night. and then re- tired. At two o'clock heard the awful est noise Tn the spare room. and howl ing and screaming, and went down and met ncle Ezra in the hall. and he aske,i me what was the matter in there. and 1 asked him if he didn't sleep in the spare room, and he said no. tha, pa and ma was in there and he slep, in their room. Then we went in the spare room, and you'd dide to see pa. Ma had jumped out when the slats first fell. and was put ting her hair up in curl papers when we got in, but pa was all tangled up in the springs and things. His head had gone down first. and the mattrass and quilts rolled over on him, and he was almos, and VIC had to take the bed stead down to get him out, the way you have to unharness horse when he runs away and falls down. before you can ge, him up. Pa was mad, but Uncle Ezra laughed al him, and told him he was only foundered. and all he wanted was bran mash and some horse linimcnt and he would como ou, all right. Uncle Ezra went out Tn the hall 10 se, q pail of water to throw on pa, cause he said pa was ahre. when pa asked me why in blazes didn't tix the otfer bed slats. and told him didn't know as they were going to change beds. and then pa said don't le, i, occur again. Pa lays everything to me. AAS sS e"S itoSk ehAiSCstoiS isau CNcf saw. He told me to do everything Uncle Ezra wanted me to do. and then. when l helped Uncle Ezra to play .ke on pa. he was mad. Say, l don, think this world is run right. do you: haven, go, much time to talk to you 10 day,
 cause Uncle Ezra and me are going hsh- ing. bu, don't it strike you ,ha, i, is queer that parents trounce boys tor doing jus, what they did themselves. Now. have got friend whose father is a lawyer.
 That lawyer would warm his boy ii he should tell a lie. or associate with any body that was bad, and ye, the lawyer will defend man he knows Is guilty ot
 stealing. and get him clear and take the
 money he got from the thief. who stole it.
 to buy the same boy a new coa, to wear
 to church. and he will defend man who
 committed murder. and make an aryu-
 ment to the jury that will bring tears to
 their eyes. and they will clear the mur-
 dcrer. Queer, ain't k. And say. howis
 il that we send missionaries to Burmah.
 to conver. them from hrathSp;Sr, ,o1