The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-05-29

just took that tray-juggling job fol
eight week and kept still. | figured
that in two or three weeks I'd have the
price of ride back to Chicago or any
where outside of my old boyhood home
and that kept me up.
when Sunday came around though
I'd look around, anyhow. Went to the
church where I'd been an acolyte when
a kid. Took a rear seat and watched
the bunch coming in. Recognized lot
of the people. The little girl named
kittie OHoolihan, who had spurned my
offer of marriage when we were both
ten years of age, was one Of the early
arrivals. She weighed about two hun
dred and fifty-fve, and she had four
little girls, all looking the same age,
along with her. / knew her, because the
little girls looked Just like she looked at
their time of life. The little girls that
I'd haughtily refused to have anything
to do with when | was youngster be-
cause they weren't pretty enough to suit
my juvenile ideas of beauty had
changed to handsome women, and the
girls who had bewitched me with their
beauty when they were midgets in
starched frocl1s seemed to have all
switched to LONELINESS. The young
fellows who I'd figured out would prob
ably be working as iron moulders or pa
r-box-factory hands, pranced down
| the middle aisle, done UP to the limit
with the swell girls, and those who I
thought would be about stake class by
the time visited my old boyhood home
were side-aisle plugs who looked like
| hriplxUarH hands oh, hot I'll
been figuring on as little short of st. Pc
ter's at Rome in size, wasn't really
much bigger than chapel Whole town
looked to the last degree dinky and
| squalid. l went to the house where I
| was born, stood outside and looked at
it; that is, I wondered how my governor
could have ever fallen so low as to live
| in such a hen coop. Oh, how I wanted
to get away from my old boyhood home!
How longed to abandon it forever!
"One of the customers of the restau-
rant in my old boyhood home was an
| ex-judge who looked just about the
same as he had about a quarter Of
century ago. He had been a crony Of
my fathers. | always waited on him
and we picked up sort Of chatty ea,er-
and-waiter acquaintance. One after
noon, after I'd been hashing it for a
couple Of weeks, saving every dollar so
I'd be able to pull my freight at the
earliest possible moment, the old gentle
man came in for a bottle of beer and a
sandwich, He paid me for what he ate
and drank with five dollar bill, and |
dug into my change pocket to see if
had the breakings of the bill. / pulled
o,,tz I'll c.xgI. - -
with the handful big bronze medal
that my father had given me. He had
carried it as a pocket-piece for a good
many years, and when he died it passed
on to me, and | always had 1t on me. 1t
was more than an inch and half in di-
ameter, and on one side it had fine me-
dalton profile portrait of John Paul
Jones. On the other side was a picture
of one of John Paul Jones ships in ac-
ton, with wreckage all around, men
clinging to spars and all that sort of
thing-a fine piece of work I believe
my fathers people were mixed up some
how or another with the dashing John
Paul. My father'd often told me that |
this bronze medal was one of two that |
were struck off by a lot of admirng cit |
liens of Philadelphia or New York or
somewhere, and presented to John Paul |
LONESOME of them gold and this one
that he passed on to me of bronze
well was fumbling around among
the handful of change when this old ex-
judge and former pal Of my fathers got
his eye on it. He started and put on his
glasses.
Just let me see that, my man. said
he to me, reaching out for the medal. |
handed it to him. He Inspected it care
fully, and then he looked at me suspi-
ciously.
Where did you get this?' he asked
me in rather chaggy tone of voice.
My governor gave it to me a long
time ago. said |, not thinking that this
Did gentleman had ever seen it before.
What is your name?' he asked me,
still somewhat severely. Who do you
mean by your governor
"'Wel, seeing it's you, Judge, and
that you're not liable to pass 1t
around, said I, looking at him squarely,
I'll tell you who Lam and / up and
old him.
God bless me, is that SOP said he
n an astonlshed tone. Why, I might
lave Known II, though, You LOOK just |
ike your dad / was about to accuse
'ou Of having stolen this medal.
NEW that there was only one like it,
ID often seen your father with this.
Why, my boy, whatever in the world are
'ou doing here, and how long has your
ather been dead and where did he die,
nd didn't he ever read newspaper
loosely enough to see an advertisement I ;
lad put in all the papers of the east l
ew years ago for his eye?
Anything in particular that you l
wanted him for? asked the old gentle
,an.
" Rather particular, / guess he said :
D me. and it's mighty good thing for =
on that you've come along. Your
ather owned a strip of land bordering
n the military reservation here, 1t !,
'asn't OF any value whatever until the !.
overnment wanted it few years ago :.
nd condemned 1t, and I, without know :,
lg where your father was, took his in :.
crest In hand and got an award of for !,
y-five hundred dollars for it, whereas it !.
'asn't really worth forty-five dollars. / =
dvertised far and near for your father,
ut never got any reply, and the mon
rs on tap in the hands of the govern
ent at this minute, waiting for a
aimant.' :"
" Well, I'm the only one Of my bunch s,
it, said |. You couldn't get hold of h
,at fprty-fiya b,,udrod 1oIIo re tb;e