McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1884-10-02
TILE BROAD WAY.

He was q frank, good-natured, i'm
pulsive boy; the latest born and only
surviving child of his aged parents.
One by one the others, whose brief
lives were full of blessings, had been
buried in the village churchyard; and,
without shadow of doubling, the old
couple hoped to see their boys promis-
ing youth ripen into the fragrance and
fruitage of a perfect manhood.
D.. Alas! they never sat under the sha-
dow of that tree nor inhaled the per-
fume, nor gazed on its beauty, nor par
took of its bounty, for the axe was early
laid at the roots!
Percy was just twenty when he left
his native house, for the distant city
his fathers village, with it's simple
cheer for a homeless abode among
strangers; his fond parents, and the
tried friends of his youth, and the sweet
girl OF his choice, for the mixed multi
tude of the metropolis.
Had you been there when the stage
coach stopped at the lane gate; had
you seen the serious faces of the neigh
bors gathered around, the aged mother,
wiping her streaming eyes, the feeble
father uttering his blessing; and Annie
Collins, Percy's sweetheart, rushing
distractedly into the house, you would
almost have thought that the same
thing had never happened before.
They, at least, thought so. The neigh
bors, as they walked homeward, said
one to another that there were not
many boys nowadays like Percy How
ell. The old couple returning to their
tireside, went to see his vacant chair,
his lonely dog, his empty place at the
table, and his impressed pillow. Sure
ly no other son so dear had ever left a
home so sorrowfuli
AS for Annie Collins, she went back
to her fathers cottage, and quietly dis
charged her daily duties. But what
ever occupied her hand or heart, there
Howed a constant undercurrent of
thought, and Percy was its burden.
"My Percyn' she whispered to herself
a thousand times day, as if to insure
her sad heart of its blessed ownership.
During the journey, Percy, with eyes
on the lookout and ears on the alert,
and with heart full of bright hopes
and untried expectations, went joyfully
on, and thought but little of the dear
ones at home.
Yet, when at nightfall he found him
self in little hall room, containing a
bed very suggestive of bier in its six
by-three dimensions and white cover
ing; washstand of iron, with ordinary
accompaniments, minus soap; one
chair; and diminutive looking-glass,
he began to wish himself at home.
"Wh-e-w!'' said he, giving vent to a
deepdrawn breath. sWoader how
Annie is! S'pose she's thinking about
me this very minute. 'Fraid father
won't get along with the outdoor work!
Wish l hadn't ha' come! Don't believe
there's fellow in New York that's GOT
a mother like mine! W-h-e-w! guess
I'll look at the newsr'
He had already seen everything of
interest in the daily paper, but he
caught it up and glanced over it to keep
the moisture from gathering in his eyes.
Running down the column, he CHANGED
upon the 'amusements, and the fol-
lowing attracted his attention:
CLERKS, young men from the coun-
try seeking employment, clergymen,
the Judges of the various courts police
men, and all officers of the law, should
visit the Widegate Theatre, to see
''The Old Man of the Moor"
Wasn't brought up to 90 to the
theatre, thought Percy reading it
again. Don't believe in it; but"
A knock at the door. Instead of call
ing ''Come in," as a man who does
when he has been six weeks in a board
ing house, Percy cautiously opened the
door and peered out. A fne-looking
fellow, beside whom he had sat at the
six o'clock dinner, said:
"Beg pardon! As you are stranger,
l thought you might be lonely.
Wouldn't you like to 60 out for short
Percy was very grateful, and said as
much; then took his hat, and followed
his new friend down the stairs, and out
into the lighted street.
They went directly to Broadway.
Walking along that brilliant thorough
fare, Percy tried to appear as if he no.
tlced nothing; but he saw much, and
thought more. Among other things, he
observed that the majority of Young
men carried slender walking stick.
which seemed to add grace and dignity
to the bearers. An air of elegance sur
rounded these men, which, to Percy's
mind, came directly from the fanciful
reeds which they waved coquettishly
with daintily gloved fingers. More
over, they afforded employment for
otherwise unoccupied hands; and Percy |
wished for a cane. Kingsley that was
the name of his new friend-carried s.a
beauty" the top representing an ex-
quislte leg and foot, the kneejoint form
ing the bend of the handle. Percy re-
solved to have one just like it. In fact.
he greatly admired Kingsley. He took
on no airs, was neither supercilious nor
patronizing; and Percy. grateful for his
pronounced him a ..first-rate
fellow"
'.Do you drink, Howell?" said Kings
ley, pausing hesitatingly before a bril-
liantly lighted saloon.
IN /