The Home advocate. (Farmerville, La.) 1885-1???, 1885-12-25


tes. Ne and my chum thought
pa was such terror Oh skates "
would get him on IL pair OF role
!. skates and enter him us "tIe grea
n unknown, and clean out the Who'll
gang. We told pa that he must re
member that roller skates were no
like ice skates and that may be h
5 couldn't skate Oh them, but he salt
D it didn't make any difference what
they were just so they were skates
. and he would just paralyze th'
whole crowd. So we got pair O
big roller skates for him, and while
we were strapping them OH, Ia III
looked 1T the other skaters glide
around on tie smooth wax floor just
! as though they were creased. Pa
looked 1t the skates OH his feet, at
ter they were fastened, sort of for.
lorn, like the way a horse thief does
when the sllachics are on his legs,
and tod him we would take them
off The was afraid he couldn't State
with them but he said he'd beat ev.
cry body there, or bust a sus lender.
Then we Strengthened pa up and
pointed HIM towards the middle OF
the room, and he said, 'leggo.' and
wejust give him Il little push tostart
him off, and he began to 80. We'll,
golly, you'll dide to see pa try to
stop. You see you cant stick in yonr
heel and stop like you Can on ice
skates. and p: soon found that out.
and he began to turn sideways, aud
| then lie threw up his arms and be-
gan to walk on his heels, and he lost
his hat, amt his eyes stuck out, for
he was going right towards an iron
post. One arm caught the post and
ho circlcd around j, il few times, ,and
then let go AMI began to fall, and
sir, he fell ali over the room, and
everybody got out Of the way 'cept
a girl, and ps grabbed her hy the
po!oilAisr, like drowning man
grabs at straw ;,thoush there wasn't
any stlaws in her pol0naise as
know of, but pa just pulled her
along as though she was done up in
a shawl strap, and his feet went
out from under him anl he struck
on his shoulder and kept a going,
with the girl dragging along like a
bundle of clothes. If pa had had
another pair of roller skates on his
shoulders, and castors on his ears,
he couldn't have slid along any bet
ter. Pa is il short, big man, and as
he was rolling along OH his back,
he looked like q sofa with castors
OH being pushed across room by a
girl. Finally pa came to the wall
and had to stop, and the girl
fell right across him, with her
roller skates in his neck, AMI
she called him an old brute,
and told him if he did not let 20 /;
ler polonaise she would murder him ,
Just then me and my chum got {
here and amputated pa from the I
girl, and told him for heavens sake !
o let us take the skates, for he q
couldn't skate any more than q +
,ow, pa was mad and told us to let i
lin alone and he could skate all
light, we lot go and he struck ont
gain. Well, sir, I was ashamed.
In old man like pa ought to know t.
'ettcr than to try to be Il boy. The il
asst time pa said he was going to
pread himself, and if am a good =,
Idge of big spread, he done it.
the skates got turned in Ii
itferent directions, and pas feet b
ot 50 far apart that / was afraid
'ould have twOpas half size, with =,
ne leg apiece.
~ tried to get him to take up a it
ollection Of his legs and get them e.
9th in the same ward but his arms a. a.
ew around and one hit me on the ~ ~
ose, and thought if he wanted to
;rike the best friend he had, he il
,uld run his old legs hisself. When p'
. began to separate, [ could hear