Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1895-04-27
yo be Continued.)
FALSE PRETENCEs
Mr. Drummer Tells a Little story that
Points a Moral.

There is a very old story Of a woman
who cured her husband of the habit OF
profane swearing by taking to swear
ing herself. o. just the same principle
/ am going to ask you to listen to a
stupid little story that shall point a
moral. in order to disgust you, as far as
my skill permits me. with ali stories that
point morals-and that don't bear a sign
of warning posted conspicuously at the
entrance.
The little boy had bad a pretty hard
day of it. He had worked hard at
school, and then he had gone on several
errands for his mother, and he had
mended some toys for his younger sis
ter. After dinner he had studied hard
for an hour; and then, looking at the
clock, he had found that it was Just
eight o'clock, and he made up his mind
that he would read for the half hour
that lay between him and bedtime. He
had a new book with pirates in il. |
think they were some of Mr.. Howard
Pyle's pirates-and | never so earnestly
wish hat | could he a boy again as
when | encounter Mr.. Pyle's pirates. |
know of no more satisfactory pirates.
They have black. curling boards, and
rings in their ears, and their foreheads
are done up in CORY handkerchiefs. l
never had any such pirates when | was
a boy-nothing half so good-and when
ever | run across them they wake the
boy in me to such an extent that | real
ly think that | conld lick any quantity
of them. Deep in my heart | know
that | couldn't know that any one Of
them would be too much for me; but
they bring with them the smell Of gun
powder and blood. which rouses the
fighting instinct, and sigh as | think
OF the slaughter l could have done
among them in the days of my magma
tive youth.
Well, the boy had such a book as this,
and he meant to read a chapter in 1t,
and then to go to bed to dream of decks
slippery with blood, and of belching
cannon and broken rigging and all the
rest OF it.
But just then q grown-up came in.
The grown-up was an uncle who had
just returned to this country after q
long absence in Europe. From what he
did on this occasion | think that he
must have been living in England, and
had not got over it. He said TO the lit
tie boy:
Charles, / see you are about to read.
II you will give me a nice stamp nj Of
your album. | will tell you a story in
stead Now this was a great tempta-
ton to the little boy. Any boy might
buy a book and read n story out of it,
but here was an offer of an original
story told all for himself.
Need tell you what the story was
that the little boys uncle told him after
the stamp had been delivered? Do you
want to hear the tale of a supposititious
little boy, Of course of Just the age of
the little boy who is listening TO the
story who entertained doubts about re-
vealed religion, or carried angleworms
in his vest pocket, or did something else
that he shouldn't have done. so that
there was no health in him, and he was
properly punished in the end? l don't
think you'd care TO hear il. | know the
little boy didn't.
When the clock struck half-past eight
he went up TO his little room over the
hallway. and went to bed. He was
tired, aud low in his mind. He general
ly went to sleep as soon as he got his
head on the pillow. and dreamed of
anything he wanted to dream about.
But this night he lag awake a long time,
and thought a great deal. He had one
stamp less in his collection, and he had
no pirates to dream about, and he Won
dered why his uncle had told him such
a depressing story. As l say, ! don't
know whether it was about religious
doubt or the improper bestowal of angle
this particular little boys particular
favorite sin. and he didn't sec, as he
said to himself. why it was ~heaved at
him." And when he awoke the next
morning he was still thinking of it and
wondering about it, and he still felt
tired.-H. G. Bruaner in the Century.