Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-01-20

HN from his dressing room
ETN@ yesterday morning it was
GEA~ nearly 8 o'clock. The
EE8MAS-LAm millionaire was clean
VA SHgU#GE. shaven, his white mutton
Nar chop whiskers were care
sslly sa1siss ssnSsa sssrs s's VIA. ase s1as I'i
in frock suit, of which
an immaculate white waistcoat was a prom
inent feature. He coughed Importantly and
started down toward the breakfast room
when the noise OF terrific uproar in the
nursery reached his ears.
an M'riar," yelled the millionaire suddenly,
"what's oil the racket about?"
cts little Algy, sir" piped one of the
maids, looking hurriedly and affrightedly
over the banister at the head Of the stairs.
"He's fghtin' his French nuss, sir"
MIR. Billington paused and devoted his
brain to a heavy contemplation of the exist
ing condition of affairs. Then he stamped
heavily upstairs toward the nursery. 1t
was the first time that he had gone above
the first floor for year, and the ominous
tread of his feet sent the wide-eyed maids
hurrying in different directions One of
them lowered the windows hastily in COM
plment to the well-known fondness of the
master of the house for fresh air, while an
other whisked stray garments out of sight
and muttered series of polite and remon-
strative French phrases to the heir of the
house of Billington.
When the father entered the nursery the
boy stood in front of the fire rubbing his
tousled head with both of his hands and
scowling fercely at the French nurse.
AFRENcH ESSAY.
ct won't have it." he was remarking
tersely in a savage juvenile way. when
you mean here, why don't you say here?
What's the good of yelling lei at me all the
time? Anybody knows lei means here and
here means lei an why not say so?"
THE French langwidge, my son." said
the father with ponderous kindliness, lis
necessary for your edication. You should
good boy and will dress quickly, you may
breakfa with me-"
"Oh, may 70" said the boy with intense
sarcasm.
Eyes, my boy" said the father benevo-
lently. Only you will have to be quick,
you know, for I've got to start for the store
at eight-thutty."
Then the head of the house walked over
to where the two nurses stood bowing in the
corner and said:
"KindIiness will do more than force
Treat the children gently. Teach them to
love you and then they will obey
After this he pursued his way with un-
ruffled dignity downstairs and entered the
dining room with the air of man who has
performed good mornings work. The two
maids threw themselves warily upon AL
gernon and eventually succeeded in forcing
that kicking and struggling youngster into
the raimenr of the day. There were some
bruised shins and one or two scratches as
souvenirs of the morning encounter, and
then the boy in a sleek Lord Fauntleroy
suit and with SNUG expression upon his
solemn little face descended the stairs
quietly and was lifted into a seat opposite
that occupied by his father at the table.
Have some steak, Algy?" asked his
father amiably.
"Noap."
"Why, my SON, you had better eat some
steak"
II won't"
It'll make you strong and healthy"
"Well, 1 won't eat it just the same"
1t was the first time that the millionaire
had conversed with his son at any length
for six months, and he looked at the boy
again in deep meditation.
A CONFLICT.
"Will you have some cakes with gravy?"
"Noap. 1 want glass of milk and some
buttered toast to dip into it."
ooh, that's nursery food" said Mr. Bill
ington tersely and in some heat. Here,
take this"
He hacked off piece of steak, fanked it
with cakes, mush and rolls and sent it
across the table to the boy by a servant.
The boy looked at it critically, then pushed
the plate away from him petulantly, and
said he would have milk and toast or moth
ing.
"Well, then, you'll have nothing" said
the father, growing somewhat red in the
face and choking over the last mouthful of
steak.
"Do you know what you do?" said the
son, looking his father coldly in the eye.
'No," replied his father defantly.
"You make me tired, said Algernon.
Thereupon Mr.. Billington reached across
the table, seized the boys hand and slapped
it very hard three or four times. The boy
whimpered and sank back in his chair.
One of his hands was clutching the napkin
nervously as he glared at his father through
lis tears. Then suddenly and without
word of warning he seized glass of water
which was near him and dashed it across
the table squarely at the snowy waistcoat
%
the great house of Billington and Johnsing.
The millionaire was drenched to the skin
The boy slid down from his chair scudded
around the table and dashed upstairs at
great rate of speed, while the servants hur-
ried to the assistance of the great drvgoods
prince. He could not speak but he stalked
upstairs and made few remarks to the
boy mother, who never rose before noon,
which were heard by everybody in the house.
Then he was obliged to change all of his
clothing and the result was that he arrived
at the "store" late for the first time in Is
years.
Meanwhile young Algernon had rolled
in between the scuttle and the roof on a
series of exceedingly dirty beams and lay
there listening quietly to the uproar below.
His velvet Lord Fauntleroy suit looked like
q dustman's when he crawled out half an
hour later to face the music in his mothers
room.
MATERNAL DESPAIR.
Mrs. Billington regarded her infant son
with commisseration not unmixed with de-
spair. He was evidently problem with
which she was not only out of sympathy,
but also wholly inadequate to cope with. She
stared at him for a moment, asked what he
had been doing to his dear, kind father, and
then told the nurse to take him off and
spank him and put him in dark closet for
an hour. The alacrity with which this pro-
gramme was carried out proved that the
popularity of the young millionaire in his
own househould was not very great. That
the punishment broke his spirit was evil
denced by the fact that the whimpers and
sighs from the dark closet were kept up in
cessantly through the whole of the long and
dreary hour.
Then the child glued his nose to the win
dow and watched the poorer youngsters of
the neighborhood riding bicycles and play
ing about in the sunshine, and he went
down and asked his mother for the thou