The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1885-08-29

al want my breakfast dreadful"
said Johnny, half crying.
"Well, you can't have it if you do!
don't feel like working all day just
to buy breakfasts and dinners and
suppers for a little boy who never feels
like doing anything for anybody but
himself so run away and don't bother
us. ="
"But there's milk toast and omelet,
my two favorites," said Johnny, really
crying
'Well, so there was speech from
my favorite speaker in the morning
paper, said papa; "but We had to do
without it It's poor rule that won't
work both ways, my boy, so now go into
the library at once"
Johnny thought there never was such
an abused boy as he, when he was ac-
tually obliged to make his breakfast on
slice of bread or nothing at all, but
the lesson proved good one, for
Johnny remembered it for some time,
then he began falling into the same try
ing old hab is again.
| Papa asked him to weed the flower
pot one morning, but at night he said
he had forgotten it. Mamma asked
him to please stay in the house with
Matte, Wednesday afternoon, because
she had cold and couldn't get out, and
at night he said he didn't stay in be-
cause he didn't feel like it, and mamma
didn't say he must.
Then papa asked him another morn
ing to weed out the flower bed, and at
night when asked why it had not been
done, he replied: "Cause you didn' tsay
l must, and didn't want to.
Papa went into the house without
saying word, and johnny somehow
felt very uneasy. He followed papa
around and watched him closely.
Just after supper papa remarked,
quietly:
81 had letter from your Uncle
Fred this morning, Johnny, and your
cousins Will and Joe have a birthday
party tonight. They invited you"
Johnny'S eyes surely would have
made any one laugh to see how widely
boys eyes could open, then he fairly
gasped in establishment:
why papa-James! why didn't
you tell meP"
"Oh. l didn't feel like it, fretted
papa; =,
"But I'm invited to the party!" cried
Johnny, land must go, 1 wouldn't
miss one of those parties for the
worldp
"Well," said papa, indifferently,
Eyes, they invited you if / chose to let
you CO. but they didn't say l must and
l don't want to-"
Well, it was hard lesson, dread
fully hard lesson; but nothing except a
dreadfully hard lesson was going to
make any lasting impression on
Johnny's mind or help him overcome
his faults. Uncle Fred's house could
/ have been reached by ride in the
}, horse cars, and nothing could be more
q enjoyable than the birthday parties
the cousins viii and Joe were often al
lowed to give. Johnny had attended
two or three, staying al! night after
wards, and always thought them the
most delightful occasions imaginable.
In vain he coaxed, and cried, and
promised; all he could get papa or
mamma to say was that they didn't feel
J like letting him go, or didn't want to-.
Kind-hearted little Matte tried to per-
suade papa to forgive Johnny, Just
this once" but papa laughed and said
, Johnny had been forgiven '.just this
once" so many times, he should feel it
l was wicked to forgive him again. Be-
sides mamma didn't feel like dressing
l him for a party.
: But poor Johnny grew so thoroughly
! disguised with miserable rule which
l could only work two ways in such a
4 wretched, disappointing way, that he
i finally grew wise enough to make up
his mind to have nothing to do with
such rules.
+; Then as soon as he showed a DISPOSE
= ton to do right and began making real
efforts to be good, willing boy, his
o kind parents helped him in every posi-
BILE way, and he began 10 find how
I pleasant it was to be good and helpful,
}, and so by degrees papa's experiment
u proved itself to have been an excellent
u one, for Johnny adopted rules which il
was pleasant to have work both ways
Faith lrUipg, in Golden Rule.