The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1893-02-25
MY KLEPTOMANIAC.

| try whether it may not be interested
also in the Ii tie bowwow?
The little bovwow took an Immense
interest in me at first sight. He was
such a poor ana friandless creature, and
it was such ~ cold and clustering night
that | had not the heart TO shut the door
in Ills face as he stood wagging his tail
in the stream of light from tire Omen hall
ana looking upon me aFpealingly. with
big. innocent brown eyes, from under a
silky fringe OF llair that appeared to hint
Of S,-yc dc cent. though rather more
than less remote.
Yes. ne is certainly mongrcl. this Art
ful Doiger Of mine. Perhaps II he had
been Of good Eorest St;ye st74in his tale
couI! never have been told II him.
However. in he came with me that
night. and ont he went with me next
evening for theiirst Of our walks abroad.
1t was only roaad u couple of corners
OH an errand to the green groccr's about
themorrow LIST. whitehead not properly
been made up, hUt when | rullcd M
glove off at the home door TO grapple the
better with The difficulties OF the latch
key. | felt IL cold nose thrust into my
hand-nay, more than a cold nose, an
apple. which so red and glossy as it was,
! was quite sure my provident friend
had selected from the very basket Of ap-
pies ] had just ordered home from under
the green grocer's counter.
That WIS e-cusable cnou%il perhaps.
But what followed day by day e1lla ~sted
all my stock OF apologies for my poor
kleptonlaniac.
Day by day there was something of
of my ne;ghhors' goods laid at my door.
One morning it would be i prime beef
steak fresh from the butchers stall; an
other. it would be a dainty handkerchief
thrust into my hand as we walked to-
gether along Chestnut street. | soon
learned to eschew the shopping quarter.
however, when we were ont together.
But my Artful Dodger was too much for
me. One snowy day all the neighbors'
door1nats were piled up in our vestibule,
and my poor little fellow crept out from
among them wagging his tail with "a
delighted consciousness Of merit as |
came up the steps.
Some Fagin had trained him. There
was not a doubt of that. 1t was the
part of a Christian moralist to reclaim
him, not to turn him adrift in his evil
ways, l argued. | seemed. however. to
be tee only Christian in the house, or.
indeed, in the whole block. | fancy they
would have left my poor little fellow to
go to the bad altogether in another neigh
borhood remote from theirs. But then
he never looked up Mt them with his big.
innocent brown eyes, Drumming with
love and trust. az he did ut me.
Love me, love my dog" l said to
Hugh n evening as l stood with him
in the vestibule, and the Artful Dodger
whined so piteously Cd the other side of
the closed door that | was obliged to let
him out to walk with rs. Then l could
feel myself blush ~furi"u3ljj, for though
Cousin Hugh and l were-well, it is hard
to say what we We're, but this unlucSy
speech OF mine was certainly the first
word of love that he'd passed between us.
I was glad to 90 down on my knees to
the little fellow leaping about me to es-
cape the eyes of the big fellow standing
over me. for l felt sure there was a laugh
in them.
when your dog is as honest as you
are. Kitty" said Hugh, II may perhaps
begin to love him as"-
"As l do" | answered, my dog and !
springing down the steps together gayly.
Il wouldn't advise you to. Evil com
m~unications corrupt good manners, to
n11pfa still nnptbo1. p1oyorh ,pI INV 49,
full Dodger may teach me as much as l
have failed III teaching him, poor boy!'
AT that rate it is as well | am taking
You both to a poor quarter of the city"
said Hugh. And indeed / felt that the
dog might help to cheer the littlecrippled
lad he was taking me to see.
1t was not the first time DR.. Hugh had
carried me off to see some patient of his.
Elizabeth had a malicious way of hint
ing that he had Inc Oh probation as a
model doctors wife. But Cousin Hugh
and / had been comrades ever since |
could remember, and when l was out of
reach of Elizabeth's sharp tongue there
was seldom anything to remind me that
we had not been Toys together, instead
of girl and boy.
The n step from the sublime to the
ridiculous is Il short n in my neighbor-
hood. and we had taken it in a turn
around the corner from the stately ter
raced street where was my home. The
absurd little boxes in which the people
here were housed might be an improve
ment on the great tenements of other
cities, but to take them seriously as
homes was rather difficult. THAT one
yonder is a mere g~eranium pot" said I,
nodding with a gesture toward a tiny
red bow window filled with those great