News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-11-12
BLUE BELLS:
BY II. MoRRELL.
Or. The Boot-Black's Story.

One fine morning, as 1 was leisurely
walking down Main street, with no par
ticular object in view, my attention was
| attracted to little bootblack. Some
one in passing had dropped, or careless
ly thrown away small bunch of blue
bells. My attention was first attracted
to the little fellow by his stopping to
pick them Up, but what was my amuse-
| ment to see him tenderly kiss them and
then carefully fasten them in the button
hole of his faded jacket. My curiosity
was aroused. made up my mind to
quiz the boy, so walked up to him and
asked him for shine. l looked at the
boy carefully, he was very small and
very poorly dressed, he was pale and
thin, and the large blue eyes looked as
if they were full of unshed tears.
''Half-a=dime, he said, when he had
put final polish on my shoes.
took out quarter, and said, as 1
balanced it on my fore-fnger. ''Here is
ten cents for the shine and fifteen cents
for the flowers" pointing to the bells in
his button hole.
He put his small hand over the flowers
quickly, and gave quick gasp.
starving / vouIdn't sell a blue-beIl." 4"
''And why not, my little mani" in
quired.
He looked at me so piteously that I
was almost sorry Ihad asked him. l put
my hand on his head and said:
Excuse me for asking, you need not
tell me unless you wish to, and YOU can
keep the quarter besides"
He looked up at me moment and
then said:
81 like you, and if you care to listen
Pll tell you"
"Of course / am anxious to hear why
you love the blue bells"
81 will commence at the first and tell
1t all to you, but first let US go down
there and sit down." pointing to some
dry goods boxes not far from where we
stood.
We went, and after seating ourselves
on small box behind some larger ones
where we would not be observed, he
took the blue bell bouquet and holding
it in his hand, began by saying:
''It Is just year ago this month, and
1t has been such q long year I 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 rev.
erie. Presently he took down his hand,
and said abruptly:
''My father was drunkard. We
once owned some fine property, I've
heard mother say, but that was before l
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, furni-
ture and everything else. We got so
poor mother had to go out and wash by
the day to get food for Bess and me to
eat. We lived in little log house,
quarter of q mile from any one; it was
about half mile to town. Mother used
to walk to town every day, except Sat
urday, to wash for somebody. On Sat-
urday she washed for ourselves and
ironed on Sunday
Sunday is the Lords day. Your
mother certainly didn't work on the
SabbathI'
Eyes, sir; she had to. Mother said
the Lord made six days for the saloon
keeper and one for Himself, but He for
got to make day for the drunkard's
wife. She said the saloon keepers had
con an>Saa the Lords day, but she had
- would consider her cir<
cumstances and forgive her for working
no saloons she would not have to work
on Sunday. There were just four of us,
father, mother, Baby Bess and Willie,
that is me-"
$50 your name is Willie, is it but
go on with your story"
swell, 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 big
washings, and sometimes we didn't
have much to eat, because the ladies
mother washed for, didn't have the
right change. or they would forget to
ask their husbands for it. Mother al
ways hated ito ask for money after she
had earned it, she said it did seem as if
they ought to know that she needed the
money, or she would not wash for it,
and it generally happened that when
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"
'Why didn't your mother ask for
her money; it was hers after she earned
it2'
'She was afraid to, for sometimes
they would get mad and say she didn't
half wash their clothes, and then they
would hunt up new wash woman. 1t
was one of those weeks when nobody
had any change, it was Friday morning,
we had very little to eat on Thursday,
and on Friday morning there was only
pint Of corn-meal and about two spoon
fuls of molasses. Mother baked the
meal into bread, and told me to feed the
baby when she woke, and to keep
sharp lookout for father; he was in town
on big spree; he was awful cross when
he was drinking; it was not safe for him
to get his hands on us, SO we always hid
when we saw him coming, if mother
was not at home. Little Bess would
nearly go into fits when she saw him
coming home drunk Don't let Bess
CrV if Won can helm it Willie. I ON, afraid