Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-06-04
THE PROD IGAL son.
Feeding Upon the Husks of Life
in Australia.

in Australia.
"Ycs." said Ernest. thoughtfully
stroking his bigmustache, "Ihavc been
Predigal Son. 1 know the whole
story. 1t wasn't bit funny. If yo,
doubt my words, just try it for your.
self; but pray don't blame mo ifyou
find that il hurts worse than q ruler on
a wet hand.
II is only fair to say that I was just
an everyday bad boy. of very COM
mon New York kind. You wouldn't
have to 60 far. my dear, to find plenty
OF fellows who were worse and plenty
more who were better than L. So, you
sec. ! was not SO bad as bad could be;
oh. dear. no! Indeed. l had a kind
heart. ! am sure, and l just adorcd my
little mother. l had heaps and heaps
of good intentions, and when mamma
cried and begged me not to be so wild
and mlschicvous. why bless me. would
cry half the night with the realcst kind
OF rcmorse, and promise-oh, so earn
cstly that l would turn over a new leaf
and keep it turned over. Inever knew
a boy who could do more hard and
bitter rcpenting in the course of a single
night. But then daylight would come
and l would forget-and, we'll, you
know the rest, if you are not a boy of
the Sunday-school book variety.
"My father-what shall L say about,
himP l really suppose he ought to
have been gadded himself. if people
got what they deserved. But he had a
dot ofmoney to take care of, and he was
awfully busy getting a lot more-I'm
sure l don't know WHY, for he had
o than VIC could eve spend. So it
was only once in a while that he could
stop long enough to weep over his har-
umscarum SOL 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
Wclts, on my back were criss-crossed
like the shading On one of Mr.. Thomas
.Nast'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 l was wilder
n wickeder than a whole tribe of
Western Indians. with lay
papooses, Big Medicine Men and dogs
sthrown in. l never thought much Of
this joke. but it always seemed to
cheer him up immensely. He would
dhen 60 back to making money, and
spoil me, just as he had done before,
with plenty of depending money and un-
li,ssited liberty to do as [ please. Great
humbugs. these rich and generous
fathers. aren't they?
"Wcll, with such a start. I don't
think it was strange that in the middle
of my Freshman year at college 1 was
had been playing FRANKS l was
a'ounced upon. Lying not being one
of my accomplishments, l admitted
alaving n hand in the mischief. 1
wouldn't peach on my companions. so
i was made a scapegoat. 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 me travelling. Perhaps I might
PICK up some common sense in foreign
lands. The next thing l 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 a
new pain in my heart-one, my dear,
thatl hope you may never experience.
"DidI cryP Now please don't ask
1mpertinent questions. Was l 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 ap-
parent end in front. You feel that the
distance back to your beloved home
q never be measured. At the same
time your memory becomes very active.
and events of q year ago are brought
VlvldlY before you. You a feel
mammals last kiss like a bcnediction
upon your brow; you can feel her soft
warm arm about you. just when she
hcld 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! OIL! how good you would be if
you could only iiave thOS dear arms
about you now! But all tho money in
the world could not take you back
now.
$50 the big ship crcpt on. and on,
and on, across the summer sea, until
half Of this huge world lay between me
and my home
81 was a hundred days older and felt
a hundred Ycars-Whcn the Liberty
reached Melbourne. You don't know
much about Melbourne. do you? Nor
about Australia? o. yes; I've no doubt
you know just where the big rcd blot
is on the map in your geography, and
can tell me what chat book says about
Che big island. But you have q very
fotgggy idea about it in spite of that, I'll
wager my hat. You y not imagine
what = great country it is, with mount
aims ana valleys and plains; with rivers
AS bigas the Hudson and cities as large
AS Brooklyn. Why, Melbourne is q big