The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1883-11-21
ENTIRELY BROKEN UP.
THE BAD Roy GIVES MS PA LESSON
IN DRY GOODS.
His Pn Starts ON n "lInshIns" Tour and
Pnrnlyzes all the Girls.
from the Milwaukee SunI

liioii thc hHNhuhtt quill
"Yousee, pa has been in habit lately
OF going to the store good deal and
talking with the girl clerks" said the bad
boy to the grocery man. "Any girl that
will smile on pa, and look sweet, catches
him, and he would sit on stool in front
of the counter ten hours day pretend
ing to buy some kind of fringe, or some
thing, and he would fairly talk the arm
off the girls. Ma didn't like it at all,
and she told pa he ought to be ashamed
Of himself, cause the girls were only
making fool Of him, and all the peo-
Pile i'll the store were lailing at him. But
pa kept on trying to find excuses to 90
to the store. Ma told me about it, and
size felt real sorry, and it made me mad,
and / told ma if she would let me I
would break pa up in that sort of business,
and she told me to 60 ahead and make
him Jump like box Car. SO 'tother day
ma gave pa piece of ribbon to match
and n corset to change for larger size,
and pair of gloves to return because
the thumb of one of 'em ripped of,
and told him to buy four yards of baby
flannel, and see how much it would cost
to have her seal-skin cloak refined, and
to see if her new hat was done. Pa
acted as though he didn't want to 60 to
the store, but ma and mo knew that he
looked upon it us picnic, and he blacked
his boots, and changed ends with his
cu'ls, and put on his new red necktie,
ard shaved hisself, and fixed up as
though he was going to be married. /
asked him to let me 60 along to carry
the package, and he said he didn't mind
if did 60. You have seen these injy
rubber rats they have at the rubber
stores, haven't you? They look so near
like natural rat that you can't tell the
difference unless you offer the rubber
raj some cheese. l got one of those rats
AMI tied fine thread to it, with slip.
moose on the end, and when pa got into
the store put the slipnoose over the
hind button Of his coat-tail. and put the
rat on the floor, and it followed him
along, and it looked so natural 1 wanted
to kick it. Pa walked along smiling,
and stopped at the ribbon counter, and
winked at girl, she bent over to see
what he wanted, and then she saw the
rat, and she screamed and crawled up
on the shelf where the boxes were, and
put her feet under her, and said, take IL
away, kill it, and she trembled oil over.
ra thought she had gone into fit, and
he turned blue, and went on, cause he
didn't want to kill her dead; and as he
walked along, the rat followed him, and
Just as he bowed to four girls who were
standing together, talking about the fun
they had at the exposition the night be-
Tore, they saw the rat, and they began
to yell, and climb up things. One Of
them got ON stool and the girls all
squealed just like when you tickle them
in the ribs. Pa, he looked scared, as
though he was afraid he was breaking
them all up with his shape, and he kept
on, and another flock Of girls saw the
rat and they jumped up on the counter
and sat down on their feet, and yelled
rat. Then the others yelled rat, and
in minute about hundred girls were
getting up on things, and saying 'shoo,'
and one OF them got on q pile Of blan-
kcts, and the pile fell off on the floor
with her, and the men had to dig her
ont. PAS face was study. He looked
at one girl aud then another, and Won
dcred what was tho matter, and finally
the floor walker came along and see
what it was, aud took pa by the collar
and led him out doors, and told him il
he ever came in there again he would
send the police after him. l had gone
by the time pa got out ON the sidewalk,
and he picked up the rubber rat and
found it was hitched to his coat, and he
went right home. Ma sayshe was so mad
that he suffered, and she thinks 1 bet
Ter board around for day Or two. She
tried to reason with pa that it was in
tended for his good, to show him that he
was making a fool of himself, but he
Soes not look at it in that light. Say,
10 you think 1t was wrong to break him
up that way? He was going wrong en-.
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