The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-01-24
HARD TIMES
CONTINUED from page thirtSei.'

<,.o,, Nv name | passed the day IN
ditch and the night in a plgSty' tha'
the. way | spent my tenth plrlnuaE
Not that a ditch was new Z" me,
was born in a ditch. My mother a.
serted me, a'am, and left me 70 my
.,randnot1er. And to the best OF my
remembrance my grandmother "ao
the wickedest and worst Old woman
that ever lived. AS soon as L was
hig enough | ran away and became
q regular young Vagabond, 50 rasseo
and dirty that you would not nae
touched me with a pair OF tonSS- no"
7 pulled through l don't know. hut
7 did and now. ma'am. l am Josiah
Rounderby. Of CoketoWn. You may
force him to swallow boiling lat, put
Won shall never force him TO repreS9
the facts Of his life
Mrs Gradgrind-who had, indeed
heard the story before, as everybody
else had who would listen to 1t
family expressed the hope that the
ditch he used to lie in was not wet,
for a wet ditch might give child ms
death o cold. But she was assured
by MI. Bounderby that it was an un-
commonly wet ditch. Just then In
came Mr. Gradgrind. Well blus-
tered Mr. Bounderby, whats the mat
ter? Young Thomas in the dumps
I'VE were peeping at circus, SAID
Louisa HduSHlliS dhA AIeiCl SoNo - :
u.s." Said Mr.. Gradgrind in a stern
and lofty manner. Il should as soon
have expected to find my children
reading poetry Dear me-, sighed
Mrs. Gradgrind. Thomas and Louisa,
how can you? With all those O1ogies
Of yours to amuse yourselves. too.
Oh. dear, [ am sure / shall never hear
the last Of it
That was Mrs. Gradgrinl's chief
II or
hear the last of it." and indeed,
from the manner in which her hus-
band could course, run down, seize
upon and worry the life out of the
most ordinary fact, her fears were
not groundless. The children having
been sent away in disgrace, Mr.. Grad
grind proceeded to relate TO cir.
Bounderby the shocking story Of Sissy
Jupe. 1t was resolved that Sissy must
be removed from the school A per-
son associated with an institution as
far removed from facts as a circus
was not, fundamentally considered q
fitting companion for children who
were being reared on the multiplica-
ton table and it's attending facts.
We will said Mr.. Gradgrind, Eve
will go. Mr.. Bounderby, and inform
the father Of this youn~ person that
she is no longer to attend the school,
The two men encountered Sissy on
the street, who informed them that
she had been after a bottle Of the
celebrated Nine Oils, a preparation
with which. she said her father used
to anOint himself after he had received
an unusually severe fall in the circus
ring. Sissy led them to a tavern in
that part of the town known as Pods
End-it was not a fashionable part
80 this is Pods End" remarked both
the men in a breath, as they entered
the squalid precincts. Neither Of these
rich owners of a larger part Of Pod s
End had ever visited it before. Why
should they? Such visits would only
encourage the hands to demand to
be fed upon turtle soup and venison
with a gold spoon.
1t was a mean little public house
Sissy led them to as hasgard and
shabby as If, for want Of custom, it
had itself taken to drinking and had
gone the way Of all drunkards and was
Very near the end OF 1t. It's only
crossing the bar. sir, and up stairs, IL
you wouldn't mind waiting for a mo-
ment till L get candle" said Sissy,
and If You should hear a dog bark,
sir, it's only Merrylegs, and he only
parks. "Merrylegs and Nine Ous!'
exclaimed Mr.. Bounderby with his me-
tallic laugh. Pretty we'll this for a
self-made man
They followed the girl I'D some
steep stairs and stopped in the dark
while she went for q candle They
expected every minute to hear the
bark OF the highly trained trick dog
Merrylegs, but did not hear it. and
finally the girl and the candle appear
ed toSether rather is not in our
room. sir" she said with a face OF
great surprise. IF you would not
mind waiting I'll find him." But she
could not find him. Mr. Jupe had
decamped. taking his dog with him and
leaving Sissy to her fate. When this
was discovered the public house was
In a small uproar and the proprieto,
OF the circus. the celebrated Slear1
himself. appeared. together with the
MEM bers Of his Marvellous Aggregation
OF Talent, both male and female.
Poor Jupe had been getting old 70,
some time and of late had been IN.
able to evoke applause or laughte,
With his merry quips and cranks ir
the clown line or by his many othe,
1eats, which. when he was younger
had been considered attractions Of ne