Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-08-27
Too Much for the Old Man.

Too Much for the Old Man.
George" said his father, with a
countenance more in sorrow than in
anger, George, some one has cut
down my favorite cherry tree. Do
you know anything about itH"
Young Washington did not quail
before fathers accusing glance. He
looked him straight in the eye, and
an expression of honest resolution
cleaned in the clear eyes and counte-
nance.
"My father" he said, II will not
deceive you. / do know something
about it, but that is not the issue at
all. You have, in effect, charged me
with being privy to the destruction of
your favorite tree. Now, the question
is, since you have filed information
and laid this charge against me, what
do you know about it ?"
81 know that you have a hatchet,"
replied his father sternly. 81 know
what n boy with a hatchet is liable to
do. l know that some one has cut
down my favorite tree"
"Stop right there" interrupted the
future father of his country. "You
say this was your tree ?" ssl
81 do"
"How came it yours3"
81 planted it"
"Now sir, are you certain it was
not on this farm before you came
here ?"
"No, sir, it was not"
."Then why did you say SOP"
"Why did l say what ?"
That's right; evade, quibble,
crawl out of it somehow. All right.
IF you don't want to answer a fair,
plain, simple question you don't have
to-"
"But didn't say it was on the
farm when / came here"
ooh, very well, deny it. Is there
any other retraction you would like
to make ?"
81 don't retract anything. l mere
ly declare that / never said that tree
was on the farm when l came here"
"Oh, well, father, don't get excited
and talk loud. You may 60 back on
your own entire statement, if you
wish. Perhaps you will next try to
make us believe that this farm wasn't
here, either, when you came"
"Why, of course it was here. I
don't"
Didn't you say moment ago that
it wasn't?"
"That was the tree!"
"Ah, yes; you turn it off on the
tree now. You've been talking about
the tree all this time, then? ?"
"Why, certainly l have"
"Then you just admitted that it
was here when you came here? ?"
"No, my son that was the farm"
"But not half dozen questions
ago you admitted that. You said in
these very words, why, of course it
was here,' did you not?"
81 said those words, but i was
speaking of the farm"
"And yet you said but this very
moment that all this time you had
been talking about the tree. 1t is
useless to continue this examination.
My father, Of all human vices lying
is the commonest, and doubt not it
is the worst. 1t blunts our moral sem
sibilities it leads us to distort and
exaggerate simple statements of fact
it blurs our powers of intelligent OBJ
servation, until even man of ordina-
ry scholarship and intellectual devel-
osment is unable to tell whether he is
talking about farm or a cherry tree.
The complaint is dismissed. doubt
very much if you can establish the
fact that you ever owned a tree. Go
to the nursery, and if you intend
planting tree in the place of the
one you imagine you have lost, you
had better take man with you to
show you the ground lest you might
plant the tree in your hat. You may
CO."
Sadly the old man turned away,
but he told the man who helped him
plant the new tree that if he had q
hundred boys he wouldn't let another
one of them study law.-R. j. Bur-
dette.
A "Hoss" on the Visiting Editor.
-.