The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1884-01-08
The Bad Boy

The Bad Boy.
"Hello, Heunery," said the grocery
man TO the bad boy as he came in hold
ing bis sides to keep them from bursting
with suppressed laughter, "what has oc-
CURED 10 pious yonng man to laugh iu
that worldly manner7 You must try to
cultivate long, unourniul countenauce,
and leartI to Sigh and look sick when
You are the happlesi," and the grocery
man weighed out couple Of pounds OF
cheese fol-. hired girl. "Has your pa
Joined the police force2 / saw him dri-
wing q lot Of hogs to the pound yest:r-
day."
That's what I am laughing about"
said the boy as he put an apple on TIE
stove to bake it, "Ps has gone to the
pound after his hogs this morning. You
see have beeL taking lessons in paiat-
ing snd drawing, and theaother day T
surprised, him. BY showing him the pic
ture Of blue COW, with a green tail and
old gold horns, and hetold me he never
saw anything more natural, and be
advised me 10 turn my attention en-
|tirelY to animal painting Pa keeps four
hogs in pen IN the back lot, and every
day be turns them out in the alley and
let's them run and takes them up when
they come homes The hogs are large
white ones, regular beauties, and pa
thinks about as much OF themIas be does
fine. Well. pa told me to go and turn
the hogs out yesterday, and took my
paint brush along, and before turning
them out I painted black spo's all over
Etbe hogs, You never saw a lot of speck-
led hogs where The spots were put. on
any better. The hogs looked at each
other kind Of as,opished and turned
them out. In the, e,aeernoou pa went out
to the pen and called 'roig, poig.' and
the pigs came running up tie Galley. Pa
ssw the strange hogs coming and he got
mad aud drove them out OF the alley.
and then he called for bis pigs again, in
q mnscuIsr tone OF voice, and the speck-
led hogs came again. little slower, and
seeming to wonder what allied pa. They
acted as, though they felt hurt at being.
received in such violent manner. Pa
met the speekled hogs with a broom, and
he run them down the alley again, and
the hogs stood off and looked at himsas
though they thought he had the jim
jams You'd dide to see pa:drive bis
own hogs away and talk sassy. He got
pail of swill and called his hogssagain,
and they came on q galIop and then he
called q policeman aud they drove the
hogs to the pound 4 didn't see pa last
night, but the tirst thing this morning I
told him / had taken his advice and
turned nv attention to animal painting,
and that 1 had painted epots on our
white hogs and made.speckledl hogs of
them, ,and'ttat speckled hogs were worth
"a cent more a pound than white ones.
Well. pa didn't faint away, but when it
all, came over him that he had drove his
own hogs to the pound be was so cross
he could have bit q nail. But he. didn't
ray anything to me, cause 'spose be
didn't want to discourage my artistic am
bitions, hut he has gone down to the
pound to get the hogs. Maybe the rain
has washed the spots off, and the man
that keeps the pound will not let pa have
white hogs when he left speckled ones
there. However, I didn't warrant the
hogs to be fast colors, anyway. Do you
think 1t was wrong to put spots on the
hogsr
"Wrong," said the grocery man as he
put some white -four into the sack OF
buekwheat -four, and stirred it op; sit
was condemned outrage and deception
on your pa, and you oughtto be pun
ished. But, mat was not as bad as your
wheeling a niger baby behind your ps-
and ma when they were, coming home
from the museum. What did you do
that for % ?" -, - - Z
"Well, the colored baby Was sawed,
of onto me and, i had to wheel it,,
said the boy az be rao his teeth into the
baked apple he had taken off the stove.
|tYou see us boys bad been saving wood
for, the ladies that keep the founding
asylum and when We got through I asked
the boss woman-the ore who warns
the milk sod puts j. in the bottles for
the babies, IL there vas anything more
We could do. Well, she said 1t was
nice day Tor The babies to be out doors.
and II -us boys would wheel the babies
around the block, on the sidewalk, and
give The poor little; things a little fresh
cir, they would be real glad, so I told
them to trot out the baby wagons, and
we, had boss time wheeling those poor
little infants I guess they have about
forty and they look awful sad. Cost, I
wouldn't like to be d foundling, with no
|pa or ma, except nursing bouie, would
you? If those ladies who take the found
lingo, and bring them up, don't get to
heaven without any questions being ask.
ed, then st. Peter is different Kind of q
box Office Ticket seller. than take bin
to be. We boys took two babies OF Q
time, In baby wsgons. until we had given
'em oil ride but one, and 4 tell yoa II
did us good to see the poor little things
look around at the people Ne passed, Is
though they were looking Tor their pa.
rents. / don't suppose they seeany ps-
rents, but I noticed s.coople Of young
fellows get; on the other side of the
street mighty quick when they saw The
procession coming Say, some OF those
babies are Just as smart rs anybody q
babies, and after they had been out lii.
tie while Id the Sunshine, they would
laugh and look 90 pleasant and happy
that had more fun and felt better than
II I had heen. to acircus. But when the
last hasy was brought oueit was cot.
ored baby and US hovs lookedtired. Nv
chum kicked on ( wheeling the cnlored
baby, 'cause he IL Democrat, aud the
other boys said itwas time for them to
60 home, and finally another boy and me
tossed up 10 cent sto see which should
wheel the colored baby. ..H>comss tails
and l lost; and the lady put the baby In
my wagon and / started off. The frs
thing that colored baby did was to looE
at me and call me papa. Gosh, I thought
/ should die, and turned round to slaT