The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-01-05

USELESS JIM"

boy he had gone to school because
IL he had not gone there the truant
officer would have made existence else
where uncomfortable for him, and Jim
dearly loved to be comfortable. At
school II was easier to remain at the
foot of his class than higher up, so he
philosophically chose the easy thing
and stuck to It, Jim was not a mis-
chievous boy or bad one in any
sense, because those attributes require
effort TO maintain them. As somebody
had to be at the foot Of the class and
there were those who were discomfort
ed there, the teacher accepted Jim as
special providence and made the
most of him.
"It's beyond me about Jimmie" his
mother was wont TO say. "He amt
bad boy nor up to no mischief, and
you'd think when he went to school
he'd learn his lessons just because he
didn't want to learn nothin' else. vbut
he won't learn a single thing good OF
bad. He Just seems to be everlasti.
do less-settln' around and settin
around and settin' around. And l'n
sure he don't get It from the Ander-
son side of the house neither"
Mrs. Doty was an Anderson, and
this conclusion of hers was an unsup-
ported anlmadversion upon Mr.. Doty
because that worthy man not only
made n very comfortable living but
owned small farm and had money
laid away for rainy day.
When Jim was old enough to go to
work his father secured place for
him to learn the carpenter trade, which
was rather a surprising selection, as
success in that depended upon skill
which did not appear to be one of the
characteristics of the young appren-
tice.
IL put him at that" Mr.. Doty ex-
plalned to an inqulrlng friend, "be-
cause I've seen that boy set on soap
box in the shade and whittle fer six
hours hand runnin'. OF course he
never whittles nothin' out Of the wood
he uses up. but kind Of thought may
be he would learn to If l put him nt
carpenterin'."
Time, and not very long time ell
ther, proved the speciousness Of Mr..
Doty's logic, and Jim was no longer
seen about the shop where he had es-
sayed to handle the drawknife and
the saw.
After this attempt TO make skilled
laborer Of his son Mr.. Doty thought
possibly there might be an undevelOp-
ed instinct for agriculture in the
youth, and Jim was sent to a farm
not far from the village. His useful
ness In that field was manifested with
In three days by his return to the
parental roof.
whats the matter nowT inquired
his father when Jim walked into the
house at supper time and calmly took
his accustomed place at the table as II
he had not missed q meal
Dunno" replied Jim unconcerned-
IT, "Old man Sparks said he reck-
oned the mortgage on the place was
about all the load Il could carry at
present, and he told me could CO."
Mr.. Doty smiled. He couldn't be
very harsh with his only son. because
while he did nothing to add to the
glory and honor and wealth of the
name OF Doty he did as little to bring
shame or sorrow upon it. Mr. Doty
recognized in Jim a negative blessing
and many fathers would be only toe
glad If they had such sons.
BY the time Jim had reached his
twenty-fifth year he had tried his
hand at every kind of work the vii
lage and vicinity mad to offer, and he
had acquired nothing except the title
of "Useless jim" But Jim did moi
worry. He was a philosopher, and his
good nature was imperturbable.
"Why the dickens don't you go tC
work. Jlm?" said Hanks, the grocery
man, one day as jim sat on salt bar
rel I'm the shade chipping away at the
chine with his knife.
, scot job you'd like to give meY
, responded Jim in willing tone, anC
the groceryman disappeared. He NIGH
be anxious enough to see Jim have &
} Job, but he did not care to assume the
/ relationship of employer.
As nothing else OF permanent char
acter offered itself, jim concluded, en-
! tirely on his own volition, to fall II
p love. They say an idle brain is th'
devils workshop, and surely he founC
a fine place for his business in Jim
a Why Jim ever fell in love nobody coulC
b say, and he did not know himself, no
. did he think 1t worth the effort TO dis
= cover. 1t was enough for him that h
was in love, and he was serious abou
1t, too-so serious, indeed, that b
; wanted to marry the object of hi
I choice forthwith. thereby displaying
! wholly unsupported energy.
4 This object was Mary Candy, tn
} blaoksmith's daughter and also the vii
! lage schoolteacher She was prett
and bright, and she liked Jim because
$ although disinclined to bodily exertlou
7 he was not slow of wit and he cOul'
talk well.
"For goodness sakes, Jimmie" sal
a his mother-she called him Jimmie, a
+ II he were still boy-"whatever d
i you want TO marry for2 You can't sur
! port yourself, much less a wife an