Year: 1874

Our boyi
Now perhaps some people Of philopro-
geniiive proclivitios may he led to imagine
that tender gush Of paternity is TO follow
just here. Not bit OF it. Three years ago,
when first clapped eyes on "our hoy" l
suppose he was fully IL years old. Who
might have been Clarence's father l have
not the least idea about. l suppose some
ono cared for the boy, because occasionally
| had noticed pale young woman, in
dingy black gown, come furtively To the
front OF the Office, and passed in to "our
boy" a package done up in bit of old
newspaper, and from the fact that the par
eel was greasy, l was sure it contained
food for our boy. But who the woman was,
was no business of mine, nor OF the Office.
Clarence got So a week, and was the errand
boy. When he was not running about
the streets, he sat in the darkest part OF the
dingy office, before a ramshackle table, on
which stood copying press, for making
| copies of our correspondence was one of
his functions.


| / wish / could make the boy an object Of
sympathy, but if l tried my very best
| could not. When it was bitter cold, some
three winters ago, and our boy had on a
miserably thin jacket, size too small for
him, and when the snow was knee. deep,
and his shoes were out at heel aud Toe,
never committed greater piece of stupid
ity in the world than when lent him my
oVercoat and arclics. Such rank ingrati-
tude on the part of the boy Would any
one have believed itH In the side pocket
found a bit of cheese, and of course
grease spot came from it, and my shoes
were run down at the heel.


or course | rarely exchanged any words
with our boy. Between tho fourth clerk
in our Office and an errand boy, the gulf OF
demarkation in the social scale could not
be too strongly accenIuated. or course
was forced, from time to time, to point out
to Clarence his line of duty, and had to ex-
plain 10 him that tendency to whistle
surreptlously in The office or even on the
landing, or to wet the leaves OF his copy
ng-boOk too much, or TO blur the cores
pondence, or TO put three cent stamp on
a foreign letter, would inevitably end by
.. his becoming forger or murderer.


If Clarence had even been good-lOoking
might have expatiaied on that am not,
suppose, much of judge of beauty, and
suppose that some lads have curly hair aud
blue eyes but Clarence was not so favor
ed. His eyes were dull and heavy and in
a chronic state of redness, and the hair on
his head always looked to me like mildew-
ed hay. One thing that was commendabe
was his punctuality us to luncheon. Ex-
actly at II o'clock, when not running about
1. he commenced his repast. His food was


invariably, dry bread and lump Of putty
t. like cheese. What the boy ate or did no
eat made, OF course, no difference TO me
, though the monotony OF Clarences mid


day meal irritated me. From the zest will
which lie ate it, was led to suppose that i


was break fast and dinner. or course, TO |
growing boy, with plenty OF exercise, i


made little difference how, when, or wha


he ate. 1 am no Spartan myself, and


sandwich and piece of pie suffices me an.


day in the year, but must acknowledg
Of to be singular as to pies, and vary that por
io ton of my luncheon with the season. Tel


cents, for fourth clerk OF an economica
~ turn ofmind, who despises waste, is a sun


of money not to be carelessly thrown away


l knew it was a weakness of mine, when
di once gave our boy the above mentione
- amount, and 1 ordered him in the mos


positive terms to lay out the whole amour


in cakes. Separated as we were from on


another by a sheet of ground glass, as


used to be busy over my books could nc
H. help watching the boy, as the shadow @


his head came in my way, obscurlng til
] dim light. sat at exactly the same tabl