Year: 1872

imagination, this was its chief occupa
ton.


Ny parents were English, who hae
| migrated to the lard of the free an(
the home of the brave when was bu
three years old; consequently my eduea
sion had been thoroughly American, ano


although my rich uncle had promised to
make me his heir, / did not care tG
waste my youth in waiting for dead
| mems Shoes" which in nine cases out
of ten are never worth the wearing.


Fortunately for my purpose was an
| only child, and l determined never tc
give my parents a moments rest until
had accomplished my purpose. They
are dead and gone now, and l say il with
bitter regret, that was not as nlal as
might have been.


oh. go to the foundry if you must,
cried my father in rage, '.and may you
get YOUR sick of it before three months
are over. II put you under that tartar,
old Hall, and If you do not come whlm-
pering back to US in week, mJ name
isn't Joe Bartlett.


l could hardly contain my joy.


To be pnt under her father without an
effort! Why it was the very thing l had
been running my head against for the
past year.


Fearful of delay, caused my father
to wait upon Mr.. Hall at once. The
preliminarles were arranged without
trouble and l entered that gentle man S
shop as an apprentice to boiler-mahing
before the week was out.


My father Was only Il cabinet-maker.
remember, vet my mothers pride WAS
SO deeply wounded at the bare thonght
of her son coming home with black
face and solled clothes, that she wept
bitterly.


But in spite of all discourasement. l
did not go whimper.ng back to them IN
a year, much less week, so suspicion
rose in my mind that my fathers name
could not possibly be Joe Bartlett, al
though every one called him so. All was
not sunshine with me, although l stuck
to the trade as | had never done to my
books, but the trials 1 then met and
overcome, served to make of me that
which it was the height of my ambition
to be-a true man.


A peep into the foundry was still fairy
land to me, but the machine shop was q
little noisy at times, and the talk of a
few rough fellows rathing grating; but
tried hard to keep my integrity free from.
the CRIME about me, which is a harder
thing to do, covered with dirt from
morning till night, than your nice clean
gentlefolks may think.


Mr.. Hall began to notice me it is
useless to say l did not notice it, for
did-and one day h. proposed that l
should take off my dirty clothes and go
into the Office rs permanency.


Now this was great temptation, for
whenever Katy came to the works, she,
of course, only came to her fathers Office,
and if she went there, she might see that
her old schoolmate was in short very
amiable Young man.


l hesitated, and Mr.. Hall said:


1T will be little more seemly occu-
patton for You will one day fall heir to Il
large English property.


That aIlusion decided me.


81 came here to learn a trade, sir, :"
l said respectfully, "and not to be Il
clerk. AS regards my fortune, that is all
I look tor holding out my grimy hands.
To my astonlshment Mr. Hall slapped
me on the back so heartily that he near
Iy knocked the breath out of me, as he
replied:


That's tie talk, young fellow! l
started in life with tie same resolution
myself and will not forget YOU


knew he would keep his word, for a
master cannot forget his best man, and
this strove to be. Whatever under
took, 1 exerted all my powers upon, and
if my fellow workmen were at times a
little jealous, they could not help at least
respecting my open conduct.


l was barely out of my time when |
was made foreman over the whole works
and had occasion to be frequently at Mr..
Halls honse. 1t was then that l began
to experience the reward of my indefat-
igabla labor, for there l constantly met
my little Katie with the sweet and mod
est eyes. We understood one ano her
before long; though 1 am sure l did II
know how; we seldom spoke more IL an
the most commonplace words, but then,
Katie had wonderful eyes!


1t was just in the midst of this pleas
ant time that my father received "A mourn
ing letter from England announcing the
sudden death of my uncle, and stating
that he had left me twenty pounds; the
remainder Of his property falling to his
widow and infant heir, he having secret
ly married his house-keeper eighteen
months previously. My father swore-
my mother wept. and 1. trying to lo K