Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1896-02-15
JUST ABOUT A BOY.
A Brooklyn Lads Predicament and What
Lie He Told Cost Him,


Lie He Told Cost Him.
The boys in the lower part of Van
Buren, street, Brooklyn, just of
Tompkins park, have been building
bonfires. Frame houses line the
street on both sides, and the resi-.
dents have complained to the police
of the danger to them from fire. One
of the boys had had strict orders
from his father never to share in
tho building of these fires, and, be.
Ing an obedient boy, he never col.
lected the material for the fire OF
contributed tho matches. His fa
Their had not forbidden him, howev.
err, to furnish some raw potatoes for
a feast by baking them in the en-.
bers.
1t was this consciousness of inno-
cenco that made the boy stand when
a policeman hove in sight around
the corner the other day. All the
other lads skedaddled. The police.
man came up with a stride.
did you build this fire?"
mo, SIR" said the lad without
the least show of fear. The police.
man began to respect him, but ii
would not do to relax his severity.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS" he said
sternly. and running his words all
together to impress the boy.
The boy began to SEQ that the
presence of the potato was prima
facio evidence in the policeman s
eyes of guilt, but he was still con.
scious of innocence, and he replied
frankly:
just a potato"
Observation-Disclosures
The full gravity of the situation
now dawned upon the boys mind,
and under the sternness of the po-
liceman he saw that something had
to be done. Visions of the Jail that
every boy breads had begun to float
before his eyes, and he made an Of
fort to resort to desperate means.
ooh, I'm going to eat it,.
do you eat raw potatoes?' said
the policeman, relaxing little and
not running his words together in u
terrifying way. His manner gavo
the lad hope, and he replied with
a cordiality that secretly amused the
cop, but the end of which the lad
could not foresee.
"Oh, yes, I eat 'em. You see, I
like EN-
where do you live?" asked tho
cop, turning his head to hide q
smile. The boy told him, and boy
and cop went over to basement
door, To the servant who answered
the ring the policeman said:
"Does this boy live here?"
eyes, sir
well, now, then (very sternly), I
charge you on your honor, tell mo
truly, does this boy eat raw pota-
toes?"
The policeman was nearly burst
ing with laughter, and tho servant
stood there in blank astonishment.
The boy was wildly desperate. He
was surely booked for Jail, all be.
cause he had been honest enough not
to run when the policeman came.
The only one who could save him
was that servant. He must give her
a tip, and quick as flash he spoke
before the girl could ask tho police.
man what he meant:
"Oh, yes, you know I eat EN-,
don't you? Why, you can both SEQ
for yourselves. I like en-. I cat
'em, skins and ALL"
Then the boy smashed his teeth
into the potato, and that Brooklyn
cop was mean enough to stand there
and make the boy cat half of it.
The cop could endure it no longer,
and with q laugh said:
"See here, youngster, if I catch
you eating any more of them things
I'll send you up sure.' And then
he rolled off.
The worst Of tho experience to
that boy was not his fright nor the
lecture his father gave him to tho
effect that it would have been better
to toll the truth all the way through,
ovon after he became scared, nor the
inconvenience the raw potato caused
him, but the fact that since then
when he turns up his nose at somo
dish at the table his parent says:
"Woll. I guess that any boy who
likes raw potatoes can eat that dish
or go without
All of which illustrates the truth
of tho fact that sometimes, especial
ly for boys, it does not pay to tell q
liza NnU, VOrlr Sup