St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1886-01-30
YOUTHS DEPARTMENT.
AN EFFECTUAL LESSON.
How Harold Was Cured of the Habit of
Disobedience.

How Harold was cured OF the daDlC Oh
Disobedience.
Harold, Harold, Harold!" cried
Mrs. Owen, at the top of her clear,
strong voice, her anxiety increasing as
no answer came back. mercy on me!
what can have become of that boy?
AS sure as anything, he has gone down
to the wharf again-and after all that /
have said to him, too. lido wish some
thing would make a lasting impression
upon him" And with feeling of
uneasiness she could not shake off, the
troubled mother went back to her
homework, signing over her boys dis
obedience.
Now Harold Owen was not really
bad boy. He loved his mother dearly,
and always felt sorry when he had
grieved her; but he was such a thought
less little chap. Eight years old last
October; stout, CHEEKY and brave; full
to overlooking of animal spirits; eager
to do everything he say the older boys
doing, and always wanting to be with
as he was affectionate and obliging,
sturdy little Hal was just the kind of a
boy to make a mother whose only child
he was no less anxious than proud
about him. And in these lovely sum-
mer days, when nobody wanted to be
indoors between daylight and dark, eX-
cept to eat their meals, Mrs. Owen had
her hands full in trying to keep track
of her son, who would stray
off in spite of her orders to
stay near home. You see, Harold
did not just mean to fatty disobey his
mother. For days together he would
do exactly what she told him, and
make her very happy. But every now
and then some of the boys in the
neighborhood-Jac Hardie, perhaps,
or Frank Lawson-would come along,
and get to talking with Hal over the gar
den fence; and. as sure as they did, it
ended in the little fellows forgetting
all about his mothers commands, and
going off to the wharves, where some
times he stayed so long as to give his
mother quite fright.
That was exactly what had happened
this glorious July morning, when Mrs.
Owen, missing her boys shouts from
the front garden, ran out to the door,
her bare arms all white with flour, for
she had been making a cake, and
called Harold, Harold, Haroldr' so
loud that you might have heard her
half way down to the wharves. If, in
deed, she could have been heard all the
way down, perhaps her call might
have brought Harold back; and, in that
case, he should not have got his lasting
impression, and I would have had no
story to tell. But just at this time our
little man was altogether too much
taken up with what Jack Hardie was
telling him to hear anything less noisy
than steam-engine.
'Il bet my boots, Hal, you never
saw such funny little chap in your
life. He is about as big as our baby,
but nothing like so fat, and he has long
hair all over him-over his face too
and he jumps around, and talks away
at the fellows, and sits up ON his hind
legs to eat nuts and crackers. Oh! l
tell you, he's lots of fun!''
This was part of Jacks account of
very interesting monkey belonging to
the black cook of large ship then at
the wharf; and it was the promise of
showing him this monkey-what eight
year-old boy could resist such q temp
tation?-that had lured Hal away from
home. Down to the wharf they ran as
fast as their legs could carry them,
and there they found half dozen other
youngsters much about their own age,
all evidently bent on the same errand.
The stately Roseneath lay right across
the end of the wharf, and was being
fed with long, yellow, understanding
deals that would make houses in Eng
land some day. The boys stood for
awhile watching the huge planks slid
ing through the bow ports into the
dark, mysterious hold, and then there
was rush for the stern, where they
expected to find the rope-ladder by
which they would climb on board
But, much to their disappointment,
no ladder could they see, and no way
of climbing up except a chick rope that
dangled over the side, reaching quite
matter being that the sailors, getting
rather tired of the boys frequent in
vasions, had taken away the ladder
and put the rope in it's place, think
ing thus to put stop to their COM
ing on board. The tide was high, and
the great black hull of the ship tow
cred above the wharf like the side of
house. The boys looked pretty blank
at first; but then you know it takes a
good deal to stop an enterprising boy
when his heart is set upon anything;
and presently, after a little talk to-
gether, Jack Hardie said he would see
it he couldn't shin up the rope. So he
clasped the rope tight in his brown
fists, twined his strong legs around it,
and up he went-not very fast, to be