The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1904-09-17
PROMISING FILIPINO BOY.
Incidents of the Two Years Resi-
dence Of the Youth in .
Washington.

A very interesting Filipino in Wash.
ington is Pablo, the servant of a promi-
nent physician, whose office is on Il
street, across the street from the
shoreham hotel. This physician was a
contract surgeon in the army. He saw
active service in the Philippines, and
was commended for bravery and eff
cheney by his superior officers. When
he resigned and came back to this coun-
try he brought, as relic of his island
service, a Filipino boy, who had been
with him several months Between the
doctor and Pablo, says the Star. there
had grown up a strong mutual feeling
of affection, and when the time came for
his master to leave Manila for America
Pablo wept sorely and begged to be
brought along.
This was two years ago, and Pablo has
now grown wise in the ways of Amer
lea and Americans. His employer and
benefactor promptly put him in the
public schools, and now Pablo is q
fulI-fedged high school boy, working
during out-of-school hours. He is about
10 years old, and unusually bright. His
understanding Of the English language
is perfect, or otherwise, as he sees fit.
If Pablo wants to speak English, he does
SO with ease, but if told to do anything
he does not want to do, he falls back on
a food of protesting Spanish
Like all of his kind, he is devout1y
faithful and many curious little incl
dents have served to prove this. One
summer day, shortly after Pablo came to
Washington. he was left to hold the
doctors horse and buggy while the doc
tor went across to the Shoreham to
answer to- call. While he was gone
a rainstorm came up. The physician, of
course, waited in the hotel until it
was over, and then went home What
was his surprise to find Pablo stand
ing where he had left him half an hour
before, holding the horse. Pablo was
weeping. weeping bitterly.
The doctor had been of a mind to bring
Pablo to task for not taking himself and
the horse and buggy out Of the rain. but
the lachrymose condition of the Filipino
restrained him. He tried to get the tear
LIZ cIbiO " IOii ll41li w I1S1l w Lie
ter, but the grief-stricken youth would
only shake his head and mutter unin-
telligible Filipino patois
s3And do you know said the doctor a
few months ago. st was months before
found out what chat Soy was crying
about. | had given him new blue
serge suit a few days before and I
thought it was because he had got this
wet that he was crying. but it wasn't
All his tears were due to the fact that
my horse had received a ducking. y
The time Of Pablo's life, however,
was when the Philippine commission
was in Washington not long ago. Pab-
10 hobnobbed with the visitors extern
sively. So did his master. who had
known several of them in the islands.
Pablo's associates here are mostly the
well-dressed negro girls of the high
school class, with few white friends
thrown in for luck When it came to
his countrymen. though, he was strictly
in it. The commission was stopping at
the Arlington, and thither, upon sew
era1 occasions, went Pablo, to dine
Finally the doctor. who was also going
to the Arlington to dine, began to won
der who was boss, he or Pablo.
Pablo was not as attentive to his
work as he might be. and at last the
doctor thought It would be well TO have
an understanding. He called Pablo up
and discussed the matter with him. It
was decided that the doctor was still
the head maa Of the firm, ard now Pablo
is working as blithely as Of yore.