The Democratic advocate., 1883-05-26
The Bad Boy Still Alive.
Einlu Isck,x iSnR.

as he came into the store with his face
black and shining. 81 don't want any
colored boys around here. White boys
break me up bad enough.
90, Philopene, said the bad boy, as he
nut his hands on his knees and laughed so
the candy jars ratified on the shelves. 9 ou
didn't know me. am the same boy that
comes in here and talks your arms OFT,
and the boy opened the cheese box and cut
oF a piece of cheese 50 natural that the
.roceryman had no difficulty in recognizing
him.
0What in the name of the seven sleep
ing sisters have you got on your hands and
face said the groceryman, as he took the
boy bv the ear and turned him around.
sYou would pass in colored prayer meet
inc, and no one would think you were gal
vanizcd. What are you got up IN such an
outlandish rig for?"
well, I'll tell you, if you will keep
watch at the door, If you see bald
headed colored man coming along the,
street with club, you whistle, and L will
fall down the cellar The bald-headed col
ored man will be pa. You see, we moved
Yesterday. Pa told me to get a vacation
from the livery stable, and we would have
fun moving. But | don't want any more
fun. P;, carried all the little things, and
when it come to lifting, he had crick in
his back. Gosh, | never was so tired as L
was last night, and | hope we have got
settled, only some Of the goods haven't
turned up yet A drayman took one load
over on the West Side, and delivered them
to a house that seemed to be expecting a
load of household goods. Well, after we
cot moved pa said we must make a garden,
and he said he would go out and spade up
the ground and SOW peas, and radlshes,
and beets. There was some neighbOrs
lived in the next house to our new one,
that was all wimmen, and pa didn't like to
have them think he had to work, so he
said it would be good thing to disguise
ourselves as tramps, and the nelghbors
would think we had hired some tramps to
DIG in the garden. ] told pa of boss
scheme to fool them. | suggested that we
take some of this shoe backing that is put
on with a sponge and black our faces, and
the neighbCrs would think we had hired
an old colored man and his boy to work in
the garden. Pa said it was immence, and
he told me to 90 and black up, and if it
worked he would black hisself. So went
and put this burnt cork on my face, cause
it would wash off, and pa looked at me and
said it was whack, and to fix him up too.
So [ cot the bottle of shoe backing and
painted pa so he looked like colored coal
heaver Actually, when ma saw him she
ordered him off the premises, and when he
laughed at her and acted sassy, she was
going to throw billing water on pa, but |
told her the scheme and she let up on pa.
o, you'd Il dide to see us out in the gar
den. Pa looked like Uucle Tom, and [
looked like Topsy, only [ amt that kind
Of Il colored person. We worked until
boy thrOwed some tomato cans over the
alley fence and hit me, and | piled over
the fence after him and left pa. 1t was
my chum, and when had caught him we
put up job to get pa to chase us. We
throwed some cans, and pa came out and
nv chum started and ! after him, and pa
after both Of us He chased us two blocks
and then we got behind policeman, and
my chum told the policeman that it was a
crazy old colored man that wanted to kid
nap us, and the policeman took pa by the
neck and was going to club him, but pa
said he would 90 home and behave. He
was offul mad, and he went home and we
looked through the alley fence and saw pa
trying to wash off the backing. You see
the backing wont wash off. You have to
wear 1t off. Pa would wash his face with
soap suds and look in the glass, and he was
blacker every time lie washed, and when
ma laffed at him he said the offulest words,
something like "sweet spirit, hear my
PRAYER. then he washed himself again.
am going to leave my burnt cork on, cause
if | washed it off pa would know there had
been some smouging somewhere. asked
the shoe store man how long it would take
the backing to wear off, and he said it
ought to wear off in a week. | guess pa
wont 90 out doors much, unless it is in the
night. am going to get him to let me
go off in the country fishing, till mine
wears off, and when get out Of town
will wash up. Say, you don't think Il lit
tie backing hurts mans complexion, do
you, and you don't think man ought to
get mad because it wont wash off, do you?'
80, probably it don't hurt the comp lex
ion, said the groceryman, as he sprinklcd
some fresh water on the wilted lettuce, so
it would look fresh, while the hired girl
was buying some, ''and yet it is mighty
unpleasant, where man has got an en-
gagcment TO go to Il card party, as | know
your pa has tonight As to getting mad
about it, If was your pa [ would take a
barrel stave and shatter your castle scanda-
lous. What kind Of fate do you think
awaits you when you die, anyway
.'Well, [ am mixed on the fate that
awaits me when [ die If | should 90 off
sudden. with all my sins on my head, and
this burnt cork on my face, | should prob
ably be a neighbor to you, way down be-
low, and they would give me a job as fire
man, and | should feel for you every time
| chucked in another chunk of birthstone,
and thought of you trying to swim dog
fashion in the lake Of fire, and straining
your eyes to find an iceberg that you could
crawl upon to cool your parched hind legs.
If don't die slow, so [ will have time to
repent, and be saved, I shall be toasted
brown. That's what the minister says
and they wouldn't pay him two thousand
dollars year and give him a vacation to
tell anything that was not so. tell you,
it is a painful thing to think of that place
so many pretty fair average people are 60
ing to when they die. Just think of it,
man that swears just once, if he don't
hedge, and take it back, will 90 to the bad
place If person steals pin, just
small, no account pin, he is as bad as if he
stole all there was in a bank, and he stands
the best chance Of going to the bad place.
You see, if fellow steals little thing
ike pin, he forgets to repent, cause it
don't seem to be worth while to make so
much fuss about. But if a fellow robs a
bank, or steals whole lot of money from
orphans, he knows it is mighty serious