The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1885-04-17
BLUE BELLS; OR HI BoOTBLACK's
STORY.


pDJtCl III L w. my albClitiOll 90
to a little bootblack.
Some II in passing had dropped, or
carelessly thrown away, a bunch of blue
bells. My attention was first attracted to
the little fellow by his STOPPING to pick
them up, but what was my amusement to
see him tenderly kiss them, and then care
fully fasten them in the button-hole of his
faded jacket. My curiosity was aroused.
walked up to him and asked him for a
shine. | looked at the boy carefully, he was
very small and very poorly dressed, he
was pale and thin, and tn. large blue eyes
"Half-a-dime," he said, when he had
put a fine polish on my shoes.
| took out a quarter and said, as | bal
anced it on my f%orefinger:
.Here is ten cents for the shine and fif-
teen cents for the flowers pointing to the
blue bells in his button-hole.
He put his small hand over the flowers
quickly, and gave a quick gasp.
nv sl L tdu L Sell tltiH, IL l. Ndo
starving l wouldn't sell a blue bell"
"And why not, my little man. l in
CURED.
He looked at me so piteously that | was
almost sorry | had asked him. l put my
hand on his head and said:
Excuse me for asking you, you need
not tell me unless you wish to, and you
can keep the quarter besides"
He looked up at me a moment and then
said:
81 like you, and if you care to listen I'll
tell YOU
'sOf course l am anxious to hear why
you love the blue bells"
II will m at the first and tell it
all to you, but first let us 90 down there
and sit down." pointing to some dry goods
boxes not far from where we stood.
We went, and after seating ourselves on
a small box behind some larger ones where
he would not be observed, he took the blue
bell bouquet and holding it carefully in his
hand began by saying:
'HIt is just a year this month, and it has
been such a long year | thought the blue
bells never would come and then he
stopped and put his hands over his eyes as
if trying to shut out some horrid sight;
did not interrupt his reverie. Presently he
took down his hand, and said abruptly:
My father was a drunkard. We once
ow,,o1 Gna rpnpartr Two hoo ri
mother say, but that was before | was
born, for we have always been poor as far
back as | can remember. Mother says
that father drank up the farm, the oxen,
horses, sheep, COWS, hogs, furniture, and
everything else. We got so poor that
mother had TO go out and wash by the day
to get food for Bess and me to eat. We
lived in a little log house a quarter of a
mile from any one: it was about half a
mile to town. Mother used to walk to
town every day, except Saturday, to wash
for somebody. On Saturday she washed
for ourselves and ironed on Sunday
SUNDAY is the Lords day, your mother
certainly didn't work on the Sabbath
Eyes, sir, she had to. Mother said the
Lord made six days for the saloon keeper
and one for himself, but he forgot to make
one for the drunkard's wife. She said the
saloon-keeper had confiscated the Lords
day, but she hoped the Lord would con-
slider her circumstances and forgive her
for working on the Sabbath. She said il
there were no saloons she would not have
to work on Sunday. There were just fouI
of us, father, mother, Baby Bess and Will
lie, that is me-
80 your name is Willie is it? but go on
with your story
"Well, as | said, mother was away all
day. and sometimes she would not get
home until after dark; she was not very
strong, and sometimes she had awful big
washings, and sometimes we didn't have
much to eat, because the ladies mother
washed for didn't rave the right change oil
they would forget to ask their husbands
for it. Mother always hated to ask fol
money after she had earned it, she said il
did seem as if they ought to know that she
needed the money or she would not wasl
for it, and it generally happened that wher
one didn't have the change none of them
did. so sometimes we got awful hungry
while we were waiting for folks to pay us
'FWhy didn't your mother ask for hei
money, it was hers after she earned it,"
''She was afraid to, for sometimes they
would get mad and say she didn't hall
wash their clothes, and they would hunt q
new wash woman. 1t was one of those
weeks when nobody had any change, ii
was Friday morning, we had very little to
eat on Thursday and on Friday we hao
only a pint of corn meal and about tive
~spoonfuls of molasses. Mother baked the
meal into bread, and told me to keep 3
sharp lookout for father; he was in tow
on a big spree, he was awful cross when he
was drinking, it was not safe for him tt
get his hands on us, SO we always hid wher
we saw him coming, if mother was not al
home. Little Bess would nearly go into
fits when she saw him coming home drunk,
Don't let Bess cry if you can help it, vii
lie, | am afraid / won't get home unit
after dark tonight Mrs. Grey always has
such large washings, but |, will come al