Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-05-21
THE PRODGAL. son.
Feeding Upon the Husks Of Life
In Australia.

stroking his big mustache, ..Ihave been
Prodigal Son. 1 know the whole
story. 1t wasn't bit funny. Ifvou
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
a wet hand.
1t is only fair TO say that ! was Just
an everyday bad boy, of 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, l was not so bad as bad conld be;
oh. dear. no. Indeed. / had a kind
heart, l am sure. and just :idored my
little mother. | had heaps and heaps
of good intentions, and when mamma
cried and begged me not To be so wild
and mischievons, why bless Inc. would
cry half the night with the realest kind
of remorse. ard promise-oh. so earn
estly that l would turn over a 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 i would fOrget-and, well. Won
know the rest, if you are not a boy of
the Sunday-school book variety.
my father-what shall say about
him? l really suppose he ought to
have been gadded himself. if people
got what they deserved. But he had
lot of money TO take care of, and he was
awfully busy getting a lot lnore-Tm
sure l don't know why. for he had
more than we could ever spend So it
was only once i'm 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 10 keep
mischief-mill running day and night
Then he would Tawhidc me till the
wells on my back were criss-crosscd
like the shading on one of Mr. Thomas
Nasf's big cartoons, though | did not
have much time TO think of pictures
then. | assure you. He always ended
the performance with a lecture, in
which | was informed that was wilder
and wickeder than whole tribe of
Western Indians, with squaws.
papooses, Big Medicine Men and dogs
thrown in. ! never thought much of
this joke, but if always seemed to
cheer him up immensely He would
then 90 back to making money. and
spoil me, just as he had done before,
with plenty of spending money and I'M
limited liberty to do as please Great
humbugs. these rich and generous
fathers. aren't they?
We'll, with such start, | don't
think il was strange that in the middle
Of my Freshman year at college l was
suddenly sent home 10 stay. Somebody
had been playing pranks was
pounced upon. Lying not being one
Of my accomplishments. admitted
having hand in the mischief
wOuldD' peach on my companions. So
| was made a scapegoai. My father
said his heart was broken. | had dis
graced the family The only thing he
could do with me. he thought. was to
send inc travelling. Perhaps l might
pick up some common sense in foreign
lands. The next thing knew was on
board the American packetsship Lib
erty' in the midst of tumbling waves.
and bound for Australia. There was
letter of credit in my pocket and a
new pain in my heart-one. my dear.
that hope You may never experience.
ibid cry? Now please don't ask
impairment questions. Was | home
sick and miserable amid the wild waste
of waters? All. my dear boy. YOU do
not know how big and lonesome and
awful the great sea makes this world
feel. You never realize its size until
you have been going for days and days.
and days and days. and find the same
circle of water about you. with no APP
parent end in front You feel that the
distance back TO your beloved home
can never be measured At the same
time your memory becomes very active.
and events of a year ago are brought
wildly before YOU. You can feel
mammals last kiss like benediction
upon your brow; you can feel her sof, |
warm arm about you. just when she
held you close and begged you. while
big tears fell on your hair. to be a good |
boy, and come back very. very soon.
Oh! oh. Oh! how good you would be il |
you could only have those dear arms
about You now, But all the money in
the world conld not take Won back |
now.
so the big ship crept on, and on,
and on, across the summer sea, until /
half of this huge world lay between me
and my home
Il was hundred days older and felt
q hupdred years when the Liberty
reached Melbourne. You don't know
much about Melbourne. do you2 MOI
about Australia? q. YES; I've no doubl
YOU know Just where the big red blot
is on the map in your geography, auo
can toll me what that book says about
the big island. But you have a very
foggy idea about il in spite of that, II
wager my hat. You can not imagine
what great country it is, with mount
aims and valleys and plains; with river;
AS big as the Hudson and cities as larg
a. Brooklyn. Why. Melbourne is a bis
city. with huge wharves and ware
houses and elegant buildings and street
cars, and noise and smoke. and big
ships and steamers in the harbor. and
thousands of people who never heard
Of the BROOKLYN bridge or the Bartholdi
Dt8tuC. 0ust ttsilA Va Ii. Tell YOU L
realized these things when landed in
the big, strange city and knew there
was not man, woman or child there
had ever seen or heard of. Lonesome
Is was on the ocean. Twas a thousand
times more lonesome in this busting
place. SO full of strange faces. WANTED
10 blubber right out in the streets. but
II course I was enough of man not to
10 that.
AS said before. had letter OF
credit in my pocket There Was moth,
ing mean about my father. and he had
yiven me documents which would en-
sble me to draw at the various banks
IN Australia E25 sterling. or over $500 |
! month. But had been thinking the
matter over. There was q very con-
iiderable portion of the American
Eagle tucked away in my sixteen-year-
I'D body, and I was too Independent
\ Il