The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1884-10-24
PAUL AND HIS PROMISE.

PAUL AND HIS fkOMlSEs
She was such wee fairy, this dainty
teacher that held up the card before the
big, awkward school-boy, that it seemed
to him il would be cowardly to refuse
her request Then the card itself was
such beauty; with her own fingers
Hiss Liliih had painted the border of
trailing arbutus and lilies of the valley
and had traced in her pretty German
script these lines:
II, Paul Eldred. do promise myself that:
~ will read no bad books.
t2l / will keep no bad company.
81 l will use no intoxicating liquors.
p will not use tobacco in any form.
March LIST, 1880
Il have written it, i promise myself,
Paul, because do not wish you to think.
after am gone. that have fettered
you in any way. 1want you to remem-
Der that it is because you know that
it is for your own highest good that you
have made the pledge, and not simply
10 crafty me. Below the lines are
spaces where you can make your re-
ports for several years. WheE they are
all full, if live, send rue copy, how
ever the record may stand"
i
up by its blue loop in conspicuous
place in his room. He was proud of
the ornament. and the pledge had not
yet had time to annoy MIN. He had
always prided himself on beings pretty
good sort of q boy aud did not realize,
as did his watchful teacher. that he had
reached an age when the world begins
to test q boy to see what stuff he is
made of. The first trial came that very
night.
Come down street with u.s. called
Fred Joyce over the garden wall an
hour later. Jesse and I and two or
three others are going down to the river
to see if the ice will hold
Paul put both hands on the fence to
leap over. when suddenly a thought
struck him.
"Who else are going?" he called.
"Jim Bates and the Rafferty, boys"
answered Fred, running mp the steps
after his scarf.
The Rafferty," boys were the worst
boys in the place, as Paul well knew.
He stood for moment irresolutely.
kicking the hard bits of snow against
the wall.
mo. thank you;" he cried, at last
turning away, For" said he to him.
self II don mean to break my promise
the very first day. Ill stay at home
and get Fay TO travel with me-"
This ''traveling" consisted in going
by means of maps and pictures over a
route which his elder sister had pursued
in Europe several years before. AS Fay
had travelled with her eyes open she
found SO much of interest to relate
that bedtime came while they were
still lingering in the recesses of the
Tyrolean Alps, and Paul demanded
and received his sisters promise to
pursue their wanderings the following
evening, before he could be persuaded
to retire.
"You missed lots of fun last night"
said Fred the next morning. in a rrirm-
plant manner. 1--WE got all the loose
boards and stuff around the warehouses
and made splendid bonfire. Then
there was the biggest kind of a fight
between Patsy Rafierty's dog Flash and
Jim Bates Ponto. The boys got mad
and had bit of o Touchdown among
themselves. / tell you it was rich; and
I never got home till eleven o'clock.
Bridget was out to dance aud had left
the door unlocked 80 / slid in and got
to my room without any one being the
wiser. What did you do with yourself
al the EVENING""
For answer Paul gave 50 enthusiastic
. report of his travels that Fred was
prevailed upon to spend the next even.
ing with him, which resulted in his beg
ging leave to spend his evenings with
him until the tour was finished, to which
Fay gladly consented.
1t was very fortunate for Fred, as It
proved, that something had occurred to
dissolve his connection with the Raj
ferty boys; for two or three evenings
later, not content with the huge bonfire
they had built, they took it into their
heads to Sc. fire to small empty build
ing which stood near, Ito make q big
blaze and see the engines rum" they
said The flames communicated to the
warehouse near by, and had male such
Roadway by the time the engines
arrived that it was soon reduced to
ashes, and it was only with great diff
Guilty that that part Of the city was kept
from burning: After this exploit the
Rafferty, brothers were provided with
amusement 1t the city's expense and
Fred was freed from their dangerous
companionship.
A year went by. and with real pride
Paul took his card and wrote in the
space beneath:
"March ]. 1881. Kept"
There had been times when his ras-
sic Tor reading had tempted him to
indulge in the fiashy literature which
circulated 50 freely among the other
boys; but the memory of his promise
restrained him. Then, too, he had 1t
his disposal . library of choice books
for boys selected by . jadicious father,
and Fay had > pretty fashion Of getting
him interested in books she wished him
to read, by reading aloud to him the
most striking passages and leaving him
to complete them.
Shortly after Paul made his second
entry be obtained . place in . large
store in . neighboring town. Near BY
was boarding house where . number
Of the clerks lodged and where he ~
cured room and decorated it with the
L. Il