The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1886-05-26
THE PRODNAL SON.
Feeding Upon the Husls of Life
In Australia.

EYES," said Ernest. thoughtfully
stroking his big mustache, "1have been
Prodigal Son. know the whole
story. 1t wasn't bit funny. If you
doubt my words, just try it for your.
self; but pray don't blame me if you
find that it hurts worse than ruler on
wet hand.
1t is only fair to say that was just
an everyday bad boy, of a very com.
mon New York kind. You wouldn't
have to go far, my dear. to find plenty
of fellows who were worse and plenty
more who were better than l. So, you
see, was not so bad as bad could be;
oh, dear, no! Indeed. I had kind
heart, am sure, and just adored my
little mother. l had heaps and heaps
of good intentions, and when mamma
cried and begged me not to be so wild
and mischicvous, why bless me, would
cry half the night with the realest kind
of remorse. and promise-oh, so earn.
estly that would turn over new leaf
and keep it turned over. never knew
a boy who could do more hard and
bitter repenting in the course of a single
night. But then daylight would come
and l would forget-and, well, you
know the rest, if you are not boy OF
the Sunday-school book variety.
"My father-what shall l say about
him9 l really suppose he ought to
lnl l,i 4,
got what they deserved. But he had a
lot of money to take care of, and he was
awfully busy getting lot more I m
sure don't know why. for he had
more than we could ever spend. So it
was only once in a while that he could
stop long enough to weep over his har-
umscarum son. When he did stop. he
used to say that there was enough origi-
nal sin in my small body to keep a
mischief-mill running day and night
Then he would rawhide me till the
welts on my back were criss-crossed
like the shading on one of Mr.. Thomas
Nast's big cartoons, though I did not
have much time to think of pictures
then, l assure you. He always ended
the performance with lecture. in
which l was informed that was wilder
and wickcdcr than q whole tribe of
Western Indians. with squaws.
papooses, Big Medicine Men and dogs
thrown in. I never thought much of
this joke, but it always seemed to
cheer him up immensely. He would
then 60 back to making money, and
spoil me. just rs he had done before,
with plenty of spending money and un-
limited liberty to do as please. Great
humbugs. these rich and generous
fathers, aren't they9
"Well, with such start, / don't
think it was strange that in the middle
of my Freshman year at college l was
suddenly sent home to stay. Somebody
had been playing pranks l was
pounced upon. Lying not being one
of my accomplishments, I admitted
having hand in the mischief.
I was made scapegoat My father
said his heart was broken. Ihad dis
graced the family. The only thing he
could do with me, he thought. was to
send me travelling Perhaps 1 might
pick up some common sense in foreign
lands. The next thing knew l was ON
board the American packet ship Lib.
erty' in the midst of tumbling waves,
and bound for Australia. There was
a letter of credit in my pocket and q
new pain in my heart-one, my dear
that l hope You may never experience
s'Did l cry? Now please don't ask
impertinent questions. Was | home
sick and miserable amid the wild waste
of waters? All, my dear boy, you dc
not know how big and lonesome and
awful the great sea makes this worlC
feel. You never realize its size unit
you have been going for days and days
and days and days, and find the samt
circle of water about you, with no ap
parent end in front. You feel that tho
distance back to your beloved home
can never be measured. At the sam,
time your memory becomes very active
and events OF year ago are brough
vividly before you. You can fee
mammals last kiss like benedictior
upon your brow; you can feel her sOf
warm arm about you, just when sh'
held you close and begged you, while
big tears fell on your hair, to be goot
boy, and come back very. very soon
Oh! oh! OH! how good you would be i
you could only have those dear arm
about you now! But all the money il
the world could not take you bacl
now.
$50 the big ship crept on. and on
and on, across the summer sea, unit
half of this huge world lay between m
and my home
81 was hundred days older and fel
a hundred years-when the Liberty
reached Melbourne. You don't know
much about Melbourne, do you? No
about Australia? o, yes; I've no doub
you know just where the big red bio
Is on the map in your geography, an,
can tell me what that book says abou
the big island. But you have u YER,
foggy idea about it in spite of that, II
wager my hat. You can not imagin
what a great country it is, with mount
aims and valleys aud plains; with river
as big as the Hudson and cities as larg
as Brooklyn. Why, Melbourne is bii
city, with huge wharves and ware
houses and elegant buildings and stree
cars, and noise and smoke, and BIZ
ships and steamers in the harbOr, an
thousands of people who never hear,
of the BROOKLYN bridge or the Barthold
statue! just think Of it! tell you
realized these things when landed i
the big, strange city and knew thec
was not man, woman or child ther
] had ever seen or heard Of Lonesom
as was on the ocean, Twas thousan
times more lonesome in this bustlin
place. SO full Of strange faces. ! wante
, to blubber right out in the streets. bu