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diff --git a/old/51004.txt b/old/51004.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d757cb8..0000000 --- a/old/51004.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2679 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of My Monks of Vagabondia, by Andress Floyd - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: My Monks of Vagabondia - -Author: Andress Floyd - -Release Date: January 22, 2016 [EBook #51004] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY MONKS OF VAGABONDIA *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Christopher Wright and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - -"And this is liberty--that one grow after the law of his own life, -hindering not another." - - - - -[Illustration: Title Page] - - _My Monks of Vagabondia._ - - _Andress Floyd_ - - Copyright 1913 - By Andress Floyd - - - - - TO MY WIFE - LILLIAN BLANCHE FLOYD - WHOSE DEVOTION AND INSPIRATION - MADE POSSIBLE - THE SELF MASTER COLONY - - - - -Introductory - - -My Monks of Vagabondia comprises Fact-stories selected from the old -files of the Self Master Magazine. I wish to present the defeated man, -as he really is, to the reader who cannot fail to appreciate the humor -and tragedy that makes up his wayward life. The bond of sympathy should -be awakened between us and the so-called prodigal. - -A wider publicity should be given to the unique but practical uplift -work that I have founded and carried on for the past five years among -these weaker brothers. - -The stories explain in part the methods and plans of the Family of Self -Masters. - -It is--we believe--the only book in which a writer has received his -facts for his stories direct from a life-experience with outcast men. - -Not alone that, but the volume is printed, bound and illustrated by the -unexpected guests--the Itinerant Monks of whom the tales are told, and -who make their home in our so-called Monastery. - -The day approaches when broken men shall have beautiful, though simple, -homes of their own making, modeled after the group idea of The Self -Master Colony. They will be established outside of the different cities -of the world, and opened hospitably to all men who come in their -hour of need or weakness, seeking Self Mastery and the peace that -accompanies it. - -The proceeds from the sale of these stories go toward the purchase and -installation of much needed equipment for the Printshop and Bindery. -With this equipment the men can work out their own independence, -industrially and socially. - -When a man has lived months and years enslaved by some vicious -habit--self-destructive and careless of consequences--his sub-conscious -mind is a sensitive matrix on which the sordid history is deeply -engraved. The certain change can come only as the man learns values and -respects them by a right life. - -The sub-conscious self takes on a complete reformation slowly. An evil -habit does not gain mastery over the man upon the instant nor once in -control is its grip broken by any feeble affirmation or miraculous -phenomenon. - -The hope comes when one turns one's thought from the destructive to -the constructive, and lives in the sight of the new born faith until -wisdom lifts the darkened veil and freedom follows as its rightful -legacy. - -The Self Master Colony offers an open door to the disheartened man -during the period of his awakening to his real strength and helps him -with its constant care and sympathy back to his true self. - - ANDRESS FLOYD. - - - - -CONTENTS -Introductory 13 -A Journey to our Monastery 17 -Mary and the Baby 25 -My Problem with Slippery Jim. 37 -Our Friend, The Anarchist 55 -A Bashful Beggar 69 -Fritz and His Sun Dial 75 -The Waiter Who Did Not Wait. 87 -Compounding a Felony 95 -The Passing of Sullivan 105 -When Sister Called 115 -Edison's Evening Star 125 -In the World of Wanderlust 133 -The Two Jeans 137 - - - - -A JOURNEY TO OUR MONASTERY - - - If any pilgrim monk come from distant parts to dwell with us, and - will be content with the customs which he finds in the place, and do - not perchance by his lavishness disturb the Monastery, he shall be - received. - - --_Saint Benedict._ - - - - -A Journey to our Monastery - - -The man had walked the entire distance from New York to the Self Master -Family. In truth, he had walked more than the entire distance, for -once or twice he had lost his way--as many a man has done in other -walks of Life. Painfully he had retraced his steps to the right road. -The mistakes had told heavily upon his failing strength. They had -made him just that much more weary with it all. No doubt mistakes are -wonderfully educational; they make men wiser, and therefore better, for -in the final analysis wisdom and goodness are synonymous. - -He complained bitterly at the hardness of his lot and found little -comfort in the thought that he might reach the Colony too late for the -evening meal. - -His friend who had met him walking aimlessly up and down Broadway -assured him that there was always a coffee pot boiling on the -old-fashioned cook stove in the boys' kitchen--that the Colony House -never locked its doors. - -To a man who feels that every door in the world is locked against him -there is comfort in the thought that there is really one place where -he may find a welcome. His friend had said that there would be no -questions asked him on his arrival--no investigation. - -"No investigation," he muttered aloud, "thank God! It is easier -for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a -'down-and-out' man to convince Professional Charity that he is really -hungry. I think they would have given me a 'hand-out' when they -investigated me the last time if I could have told them what town my -mother was born in." - -He smiled with weak cynicism at the folly of his thoughts, and then -became suddenly serious, for on the side hill in front of a large -colonial house, worked out in white stone, were the words "The Self -Masters." He stopped and studied the quiet, home-like scene from the -road. All these weary miles he had come to ask food and shelter, and -now his courage seemed to fail him. He sat down by the road side and -leisurely took his pipe from his pocket. Then he prepared tobacco with -the utmost care, filled the pipe and lighted it. - - "THE SELF MASTERS" - -he spelled out the letters on the sign; "What the h--ll is that?--Self -Master--Self Mastery--Self Control. Old Man, if you had ever had any -of that Self Control in your make-up you would not be a Knight of the -Dusty Road!... You had better go back to the East Side where you know -the land; where no man cares whether you live decently or not--if you -can buy." - -Then the sound of a piano and male voices came to him and awakened -him to a new train of thought. "It is a Monastery--a Monastery of -Vagabondia," he said, "and why not? why shouldn't a man, even a -homeless man, have his Monastery, if you please, where he can forget -his past and live cleanly? If he only lives cleanly for a day and -falls.... It's something to remember--a day he doesn't have to be -ashamed of. Who knows but that in the one day of unselfish living a man -is more truly his real self than he is in all the other days of his -vicious years. - -"Throughout his long life Moses was the leader of his people, but -it was in that day that he talked with God--face to face--that his -countenance did shine like the sun. It was not when he slew the -Egyptian, and, frightened, buried him in the sand; it was when he stood -in the presence of Divinity--that Moses was Moses. When the drunkard is -in his sober mind, when the liar is speaking the truth, when the thief -is giving honest measure, when the murderer is kind to his fellow, -then, and only then, is the true Self finding expression." - -He drew heavily at his pipe and then smilingly said, "My pipe has gone -out!" He knocked out the ashes into his hand and scattered them to the -wind, gravely, as if it were some religious ceremony. Then he dusted -his shoes and clothes, and straightening himself up to his full height, -he marched bravely up to the front door of the house.... - -... A black crow, belated in his home-going, left his corn-thieving, -and, rising, flew across the sky to his eyrie in the pines. - -[Illustration] - - - - -MARY AND THE BABY - - -"And a little child shall lead them." - - --_Isaiah._ - - - - -Mary and the Baby - - -"Resolved, that old-fashioned cow's milk is better for Our Baby, than -any prepared food." - -The debate on the above subject will start at seven o'clock next -Thursday evening. The Conservatives of our Colony will speak in favor -of cow's milk as a baby's food. The Progressives will speak in favor of -prepared food. - -The parliamentary rules governing the debate will be the same as govern -a "catch-as-catch-can" wrestling match. - -No slugging will be permitted until forensic effort has proven -ineffective. When further argument has become useless, the three-ounce -boxing gloves, recently donated to us, may be used to force a decision. -In fact, several of the boys who talk but little, are practising with -the gloves, so that they may become factors in the final settlement of -the problem. - -On the other hand, the literary coterie is in deep study. One boy is -reading up reference books on the subject whenever he can find the -time. Still another blindfolds himself and opens the Bible at random, -looking for spiritual guidance on the subject of infant diet. Of course -the Court of Final Appeal will be Her Ladyship--The Baby Herself. - -She already knows a great deal about crackers and breakfast foods, -and she is far too clever not to have her own opinion on the dietary -properties of milk and its substitutes. - - * * * * * - -And now it may be in point to tell how we came to have a ten-months-old -baby at our Colony. - -We are ostensibly a young men's colony--men and boys trying to get to -their feet and become independent and self-supporting. But if anyone -comes to us hungry, we like to give them something more edible than a -card to a professional charity. - -Had Hunger delayed her coming another week, Our Baby and her mother -might have been driven to ask food and shelter on Christmas Eve. As it -was, they came to us on December 19th, at ten o'clock in the evening. -They had no place in which to sleep except the local police station, -and that is not the place for a little baby--even strong men weaken in -the chill of its hospitality. - -So, on their arrival, the boys who were retiring for the night, held -a conference. Our supply of beds and bedding did not even equal the -demand made upon it by the boys themselves. But that did not cause them -to hesitate, and all agreed that they must not turn the newcomers away. -One boy immediately gave up his blanket, the second his comforter, the -third his bed. In that way the mother and baby were made comfortable -for the night, little realizing that they were taking anything away -from those who had nothing to spare. But homeless men are quickly -sympathetic, for what they know of hunger and cold is not altogether -hearsay. - -On the next day we undertook to make more permanent provision for the -Baby and Mary, her mother. We began to look around for beds. We asked -two of the kind-hearted clergymen if they could obtain a bed for our -new arrivals. One of them phoned me later in the day to ask me what -town the poor people were from, and when I informed him, he said "The -woman should have applied to the charity association of the city from -which they came. If the case was worthy, aid would be given." - -Worthy or unworthy, we didn't feel like sending the Baby away. She was -teething and fretful, and a teething, fretful baby may not be as worthy -as one who grins and bears it. - -The other minister said, "The wonderful work the Church was doing, had -not so much to do with the poor in this life, as in the hereafter." Now -in truth, while the mother was discouraged and didn't care anything -about life as far as she herself was concerned, she had ambition for -her child, so she could not qualify and ask assistance under these -conditions. - -The boys themselves made two wooden beds, and fitted up a room for the -Baby, while the mother in turn helped the young men in the kitchen. - -The Baby has grown strong and well. She likes her big brothers with -all their noise and horseplay, and they like their Baby. To see rough -homeless men sing lullabies to an infant-in-arms, congratulating -themselves when she falls asleep soothed by the monotonous humming of -some cradle song that they themselves thought they had forgotten long -ago, might renew one's faith in the kindly humanity that lives in every -heart. - -Has not Christ said, "And whosoever shall receive one such little child -in my name, receiveth me." - - -THE BABY'S FATHER - -Now, this Baby has a father. He has lived in Russia and came to America -to earn money. One of his older brothers was already located in New -York State, and from his letters sent over the sea, it was plain that -the opportunities for wealth in the States were most promising. - -The older brother had grown rich--very rich--working on the railroad. -He never earned less than nine dollars a week, and now that he spoke -English, he earned twelve. - -Such stories of easily acquired wealth lured John, as we call him, to -leave his Fatherland with his wife and child. But unfortunately for -John and his family, they reached America during the recent panic. -Thousands of workmen were idle. In New York, John could find no work. -Even the rich brother only worked part of the time, and having wife -and children of his own, had nothing to divide with John and his -family. So John drifted away seeking employment. - -The few dollars that he brought with him became exhausted, and although -he studied English evenings, he spoke it brokenly. One of the boys at -the Colony said he talked in "kindlewood." - -While he was seeking employment, no word came to the wife and child. -Some said John would never come back. But Mary believed in him. She -said that he had always loved the baby and he knew that she herself -could work. But at times even she doubted when weeks followed weeks and -no word came. - -Once when one of the boys was going to New York, she called him aside -quietly, and said, "You will see John in New York, I think.... Big man, -light hair ... tell him come home, see Baby.... I want him." - -But John was not seen in New York. - -It was not until a few days ago that he returned. He had traveled -through New York State and on to Massachusetts. No work--everywhere no -work! Sometimes he had walked. Sometimes he had jumped a freight. All -to no purpose. He had wanted to write good news to Mary, and he had no -good news to write. Always bad news. He was a failure. He had wished he -might end it all, but the thought of the Baby had made him continue the -search for employment. - -Finally, one day, a rich man in Montclair needed a gardener. This -man was rich--not rich like his brother--but had houses and acres of -splendid farm. He would pay two dollars a day wages to a man willing to -work. It seemed too good to believe. He would hurry back to his Baby -and Mary. They must know the good news. - -So he came and told Mary he had a job, and a little home for her and -the Baby. They would be rich like his brother. - -So Mary went with John and they took their Baby, all tied up in shawls. - -That was yesterday--Monday--so there will be no argument Thursday on -"Whether or not old-fashioned cow's milk is better for babies than -prepared foods." - -Because we homeless men have lost Our Baby. - -One of the boys asked the Chairman--another boy--if they would have -the Debate, now that the Baby was gone? - -"To hell with it," replied the Presiding Officer. - - * * * * * - -The above is a true story, and to The Self Master Colony, all a part of -the day's work. - -[Illustration] - - - - -MY PROBLEM WITH SLIPPERY JIM - - -"When a boy goes to prison, a citizen dies." - - --_Jacob Riis_ - - - - -My Problem with Slippery Jim. - - -"My razor went yesterday for a beef stew," the young dare-devil told -me. "Not that I am one of those collar-and-necktie-rounders," he -continued, "who seek to give out the impression that they are gentlemen -in distress, telling you of their Southern family and a squandered -fortune when, in fact, they have never been further South than Coney -Island.... But when a fellow decides to sell his razor he is about to -commit an act that severs the jugular vein of his respectability. - -"He may have, only the moment before, shaven and groomed himself -with the utmost care, still he is nearly ready to join the ranks of -the down-and-outs. A man may sell his other belongings--his clothes -included--and yet preserve a suggestion at least of his _sang-froid_. -But when the razor goes--" - -"Then he can get a free shave at the Barbers' School," I suggested. - -"That only helps for a day or two," he went on. "Better throw up your -hands at once and have it over. What man half ill with worry cares to -listen to some ambitious pupil say, 'Teacher, shall I shave the right -side of his face up, or shave it down?'--and, 'Teacher, how do you -shave the upper lip without cutting it?' and, 'Teacher, if I do cut it, -shall I disinfect it with carbolic or peroxide before I put on the new -skin?'--No Barbers' School for me. It is better to turn philosopher on -the instant--the old philosophers and prophets grew long beards.... -Talk about getting next to Nature in about three days after a man -has sold his razor, Nature will get next to him, and if he is not as -beardless as an American Indian, he will be convinced when he sees -himself in a mirror, of the truth of the Darwinian theory." - -"In Russia," I said, "the beard is the patriarch's badge of sanctity." - -"So it is in Jersey and several other States," he replied. "Many -a so-called hobo with two weeks' growth of beard on his face may -be at heart only a conscientious respecter of the law--for it is a -misdemeanor in New Jersey to carry a razor. It is legally declared to -be a concealed weapon. Many a poor rascal against whom a charge of -vagrancy could not be maintained has found it so much the worse for -him, and has been forced to go to prison for carrying concealed weapons -in the form of a razor. So you see in Jersey, as well as in Russia, a -beard may be only proof of honor.... The cleanly shaven man who knocks -at your side door and wins the unsuspecting wife's confidence with that -time-worn platitude of Vagabondia, 'Lady, all I want is work,' may -have a weapon concealed upon his person, while the unshaven wanderer, -the sight of whom makes the women folks bolt doors, may be a homeless -fellow who really wants work, and would rather be unkempt in appearance -than chance a prison-term for carrying a razor." - -"So you have sold your razor?" I asked. - -"Not because I am trying to compete with your Russian patriarch in -sanctity. I sold it because I'm desperate." - -"Then you were not afraid of the misdemeanor charge?" - -He replied with a laugh that I did not like, and I felt quickly to see -if my watch was still in my possession. - -"I don't want your watch," he said, "but it isn't the fear of doing -time that holds me back. I know what my friend wrote about me. I have -made up my mind to play square. You may not believe it. You have heard -too many mission testimonies to believe much in them. But if I live -right--it isn't because my heart is softened, my heart is cold and hard -as a paving block." - -"Your friend wrote that you weren't such a bad fellow." - -"Don't believe him. In Elmira they have a scheme of percentage, and if -a man gets above a certain percent he can win his freedom. In the four -years I was there I was safely within the required percentage--all I -had to do was to continue my good behavior. I was within a few days of -freedom. Did you ever sense hatred--pure hatred? Shylock felt it when -he refused to accept money to cancel Antonio's bond; when he would not -listen to threats or entreaties, but only muttered, 'I'll have my pound -of carrion flesh.' I know what he felt. In the night, after weeks and -weeks of patient study and labor--after months of good conduct, when I -played their game and won the chance of freedom. In the night, without -reason, I jumped from my bed and battered at the bars and yelled and -cursed at them all, until they put me in the dungeon and took from me -my high percent. I lost a year that time." - -"Do the prison bars still hold you," I asked him. - -"What do you mean?" - -"You act like a mad man when you talk of the past. Some men can never -throw off the thought of their imprisonment. It rules their life. They -think only of prison and the crimes that follow such thinking. There is -no hope for them. Can't you see it is your ideals that enslave or make -you free? Can't you see you are free?" - -"It's mighty hard," he said, "but I want to forget. My friend sent me -to you. He said you knew the path to freedom, and would help me. Days -and days I have waited for you to come to me. My father would not have -me at home, my friends left me, my money grew less and less--my clothes -went, my razor--everything. And still you did not come. Sometimes I'd -meet a boy that told me of your work. Sometimes I would doubt all I had -heard, and then I would become indifferent--mutter a prayer or plan a -crime. At last the letter came. I knew I was being put to the test, and -I sought to be firm. Oh, God, such a test! What is it holds a man? I -was hungry, yet I knew how to steal; I needed money, and I knew where -I could rob with reasonable safety. What is it holds a man like me? At -times I have thought it was my belief in you." - -"You mean our Colony held out a hope to you." - -"Yes," he said. - -"I am afraid to take you into my Family," I told him. - -"For fear I'll steal from you?" he said, coldly. - -"No, not that; I fear you cannot leave your prison thoughts behind you -when you enter the Colony." - -"If you help me," he said, thoughtfully, "I think I can begin anew." - -"Will you promise never to speak to me or anyone of your past life?" - -"I will not speak of it again." - -"Then you may go to the entrance gate with me, and there I will decide -if I can take you in." - -We talked on the way to the farm about many things--for he had read and -traveled much. We made no mention of the Family or its work, but as we -came near the Colony House I stopped. - -"Tell me," I said, "did they teach you a trade at Elmira?" - -"I'm a metal roofer by trade," he said. - -"Did you learn the trade in prison?" I asked him. - -"I think you mistake me for some other man," he replied, quietly. "I -know nothing about prison life." - -"What do you mean, not only your friend told me that you had served a -term, but you told me yourself?" I said, severely. - -He looked calmly into my face, but there were tears in his eyes. - -"I could not have told you, for had I told you such a foolish falsehood -I would have remembered it. Let us talk of something else." - -"Very good," I said, pleasantly. He was trying to forget the past. - -At that moment there came to us the vigorous clamor of an old cow bell. - -"It is the bell that calls the boys to their evening meal." - -"Yes?" - -"Come, let us hurry, so we may be served at the first table, for you -are hungry." - - -II - -The holy Vedas teach us that as we pass from life to life, Time places -gentle fingers over the eyes of memory, lest we become disheartened by -past errors and falter enslaved by the fears of what we have been. Like -the child who, having worked out a problem on his slate, erases it all, -keeping only the answer, so we have within our soul-life the result of -our past experiences; all the rest is erased. - -Who cares about the detailed account of all the happenings along the -path we have traveled? We know intuitively that much of the past must -be condemned, but that which concerns us vitally is the life we aim to -live to-day. - -Night closes on the sorrows of yesterday. Dawn is radiant with the -promise of a better day. - -Our friend, "Slippery Jim," tried to believe all this, and to look with -hope towards the future, but he kept much to himself. He would take -long walks into the woods. - -It disturbed me to see him so slow to take the boys into his confidence. - -"I never see you reading with the other men in the evening," I told -him. "Men who love solitude are either very good or very bad." - -"I will try to do better," he answered, "but for so many years I have -been used to being by myself." - -"Still one has to live in the world--and our world here is rather -small," I said. "Cheerfulness is a duty one owes to his own soul." - -"And to others," he added. - -"Yes, and to others," I replied. - -"I am inclined to view lightly my duty to others. I owed a debt--a -great debt once--to others, and I have paid it. They measured it out of -my life, the payment they demanded. I have paid it--paid it in tears -and wretchedness--paid it out of my heart and soul. Now I prefer to -live apart.... The Indians, so the poet says, when on the march, leave -their old and sick alone to die. I am a sick savage, and as such, I ask -my rights." - -"Do you believe in the Great Spirit and the Happy Hunting Grounds?" I -asked gently, for I knew he had no Indian blood in his veins. - -"Their religion is as good as many another, and quite as poetical." - -"Then go into the forest and pray to your Great Spirit," I said. "Only -don't discredit him by being inconsiderate of others who would be kind -to you." - -"Do I not do my work?" he asked, with rising anger. - -"You are expected to do your work, but I am not speaking to you on that -subject. I want to know what you are thinking about while you are at -work." - -"If you please, that is my own affair." - -"If you please, it is my affair also. You came out here to have me help -you. I want to help you." - -"You have helped me; you took me into this Colony when my father had -closed the door on me; you have given me food--such as it is--and out -of the clothes sent in you have given me this second-hand suit." - -"And you have worked like the other men and paid by your labor for what -you received?" - -"Yes." - -"And that is all there is to it?" - -"Yes." - -"It is very, very little I have done for you," and I started to leave -him. - -"Wait a moment"--he stopped me. "I did not intend to be unkind to you. -You have treated me much better than I have deserved." - -"It is something to have even simple food when one is hungry," I said, -severely. "You have also more courage than when you came. In your work -you know courage is quite important. You will soon be able to go back -to your old life." - -"No, not that," his voice becoming less hardened. "In these days I have -lived with you and observed the happiness you get out of your work--in -spite of its sacrefice--and compared it with my own way of living, I -can not understand how I could have ignored the good there's in me. -But, really, you should not expect us all to be as cheerful as you are. -You may see clearly the Truth that we see only through a glass darkly." - -"So you plan to live like an honest man?" - -"Absolutely." - -"Then I have not really lost after all," I said, thoughtfully. - -"What did you say?" he questioned, not having heard clearly my remark. - -"I said that if you have determined to live honestly, that is -something." - -That evening I saw him walking up and down the kitchen floor with our -Baby in his arms--for that Winter we had a homeless mother and Baby at -the Colony. The Baby was kicking and laughing as he carried her with -measured stride around the room. - -"I simply must put her to sleep," he said, confidingly. - -"Why don't you sing to her," I suggested. - -"I am hazy on my slumber songs," he said. - -A little later the Baby was nodding with half closed eyes. - -"Doesn't she look pretty," said the admiring mother. - -"She looks like Jeffries at the end of the fifth," was Jim's reply. - -A few moments later I heard him as he walked, singing music of his own -improvising to the words of Wilde's prison poem: - - "With slouch and swing around the ring, - We trod the Fools' Parade! - We did not care; we knew we were - The Devil's Own Brigade; - And shaven head and feet of lead - Make a merry masquerade." - - -III - -The Winter was nearly over when "Slippery Jim" came to me and expressed -a wish to return to the World again. If his father would only accept -him once more! - -My observation of a father's attitude towards his prodigal son is that -the moment the son desires to live as he ought, not only do closed -doors open, but the father stands ready with outstretched arms to -receive him. This supposedly harsh father, when he was convinced that -his Jim had worked faithfully at the Colony for several months, was -anxious that his son return home. Even the boy's old employer expressed -sympathy and offered a position to him. - -When this good news came I did not have to tell the boy anything about -its being one's duty to be cheerful. He wanted to dance a clog on the -table in the men's reading room. - -Early the next morning he left us, not waiting to thank us, which was -quite unnecessary; nor hardly stopping to say good-bye to us. But a -few days afterward he wrote to me, saying that after four years he was -back with his father and mother, brother and sisters, in his own room, -sleeping in his own bed. The family had arranged it just the same as it -had been before he left them for those sad years in prison. His father -had purchased him a new suit for Easter. The next day he was to start -to work. - -Nearly a year later he visited me. His work had taken him out of town. -"When I first met you," he said. "I didn't have a home. Now it is a -question which one to visit first, but I thought I would come out to -see you, and then go this evening and see my other father." - -[Illustration] - - - - -OUR FRIEND, THE ANARCHIST. - - - - -As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. - - --_Bible._ - - - - -Our Friend, The Anarchist - - -He said that he came from Germany, but he didn't look it, for Germany -is a beautiful country, and he was far removed from even a suggestion -of beauty. Had he said he had just arrived from "No Man's Land," it -would have been easily accredited. For a German, even his accent and -grammatical construction were unsatisfactory. He did not begin his -sentences in the middle and talk both ways at once, after the well -established custom of Americanized Teutons. In the stress of his -excitement he expressed himself concisely and clearly. - -He was seated in the Charity House awaiting the investigation of the -social workers. He held his head in his hands, while his body convulsed -frequently, and tears were in his eyes. - -To see a man with unkempt whiskers indulging in a crying spell like a -delicate woman, is almost as humorous as it is pathetic, unless one -knows what the man is crying about. Then, too, the Germans, unlike -the Irish, take their trouble seriously, so that their despair often -creates for them the hell they fear. - -Surely it wasn't a German who in the old Bible days sent hired mourners -to go about the street; it was undoubtedly an Irishman whose genius -conceived the idea of paying other men to do his weeping for him. - -"Where are you from?" I asked the German. - -He surveyed me suspiciously from head to foot, then replied politely -enough: "I am of German parentage and have lived the greater part of my -life in Heidelberg, where my father and grandfather were instructors in -the University." - -"When did you arrive in America?" I asked him. - -"A few days ago," he answered. "I came from Paris, where I met with -heavy--heavy for me--financial reverses. I attempted to conduct a -business similar to your brokers, who loan money on personal property, -but being unfamiliar with French law, I found I could not legally -enforce payments of the loans I made to the Frenchmen. My entire life -savings--small, it is true--were lost. In disgust I came to America, -and my condition now is worse than ever. I am desperate." - -He did not raise his voice, speaking quietly, but his hands were -nervous, and his eyes reminded me of Svengali--fascinating, but -dangerous. My impression was that I had seen safer men locked in -darkened cells and allowed only wooden spoons with which to eat. - -"Has the charity association decided to help you?" I asked. - -"I fear not," he replied. "They wish me to tell them my father's -address in Germany, as they inform me that they always make thorough -investigations. Several times they asked me my home address, but I -turned them from the point, as I have no intention of adding my burdens -to the burdens my father and mother already have.... Does it seem quite -generous of your social workers to be so insistent?... But, pardon me, -have you not a saying that 'Beggars must not be choosers?'" - -I did not reply to his question, as I was thinking what my Reception -Committee--made up of the boys of the Colony--would say to me if I -invited this much-bewhiskered individual to join our Family. For the -instant I forgot the German's troubles in the thought of the troubles -which I was about to take upon myself. I smiled at my approaching -embarrassment. "It is all very well," the boys had cautioned me, "to -hold us responsible for the newly-arrived members, to make certain that -no criminal nor fraud obtains admission to the Family, but you might be -a little more discriminating in your selections, could you not?" - - * * * * * - -The German was quick to avail himself of my offer to join the Colony; -he would go to Hoboken and get his luggage and join me as soon as -possible. His luggage--he met me an hour later--consisted of a wooden -box too small to be called a trunk, too large to be called a valise. - -As we approached the Colony House we passed several of the boys who had -evidently seen us at a distance, for they appeared deeply interested -in the setting sun, their faces turned from us. Finally one fellow -who, like a good Pullman porter, can laugh at you without changing his -facial expression, only if you watch closely you may note that the -muscles at the back of the neck dance in uncontrolled merriment--came -forward and said to us: "A beautiful sunset." - -He should have been reprimanded for his impudence, but I simply asked, -"Where?" - -"In the west," he explained. Then the boys turned and laughed without -restraint. - -"An ordinary sunset and a most ordinary joke," I said, rather icily. -But they continued to laugh, first looking at my companion and then at -me. - -"Not so ordinary," said another boy. "If you could see it from where we -are you could understand." - -"I understand you only too well," I answered. - -Then the two boys who were on the Reception Committee came over to us -and took my German friend in hand. There were no more remarks until we -reached the house and the man himself was quite out of hearing. - -"Why did you bring out a man like that?" the cook questioned me soon -after I reached the house, and every one looked up from the evening -paper he was reading anxious to have his little laugh. - -But years have taught me somewhat of the ways of men. Did not Moses, -when the children of Israel attempted to entangle him in argument, -make his contention invulnerable by stating, "God spake unto Moses, -saying,----" - -After that there wasn't much chance for argument. The best thing they -could do at such a time was to quietly line up in the ranks. And there -is an answer that will always check the hilarity of homeless men and -make them as sympathetic as children. - -"Why did you bring him out with you?" the cook repeated. - -"Why?" I said, simply, "the man is hungry." - -Each boy frowned at the cook and turned back to his reading. And -the cook made no answer, except he served the new-comer with double -portions. - -That night the German slept with his bed between the two beds of the -Reception Committee, and I heard nothing from him until they came to -report to me in the morning. - -"Father," said one of the committee, "I don't like that old party you -brought out with you yesterday. All night long in his sleep he was -muttering: 'Down with the millionaire; curse the capitalist'--that man -is an anarchist." - -A moment later the second member of the committee came in. - -"Mr. Floyd, you know that wooden box that 'Whiskers' brought with him?" -he asked, nervously; "I put my ear down to it and listened. I could -hear something inside going tick, tick, tick, as plain as day." - -"You are excited," I said. "After breakfast send the man to me." - -In my room the German and myself talked a long time. - -I asked him about the University of Heidelberg, the influence of -the student in German politics and of the world-wide socialistic -movement--had he ever read the works of Karl Marx, the great Socialist? - -No, he never had. - -Had he ever read La Salle, the anarchist? - -No. - -Or, in his travels, had he ever seen that little pamphlet entitled, -"Dynamite as a Revolutionary Agency?" - -No. - -But despite the denial, it was plain to see that my old German was -the anarchist that my committee had decided him to be. So I sent out -word that the boys should redouble their kindness to their half-crazed -friend. It was an opportunity to try our simple methods upon a man who -felt that the sad old world and its many peoples were as utterly lost -as a man may become who believes that there is no good within himself. -Men who feel themselves to be evil, they work evil. - -Hardly had a fortnight passed before our good anarchist caught the -spirit of the place and began to feel that kindly sympathy that dwells -even in the hearts of stranded men. The young men grew really fond of -him. - -At night he was the last man to knock at my door to see that everything -had been given attention; in the morning he was the first to ask what I -wished done. - -It was a cheery "good night" and a cheery "good morning." After several -months our anarchist succeeded in finding his brother's address in -Philadelphia. The brother offered him a home and a chance to work, so -it was arranged for our friend to go to him. - -As he was bidding me "adieu" he said: "When we first met, you -asked me if I had read any anarchistic writings, and I answered -you untruthfully. I have read the authors you mentioned, and in my -desperation I do not know to what extreme I might not have gone, for I -had lost faith in all men. - -"But to see these young men at the Colony, forgetful of their own -troubles, trying to help me to a renewal of courage, gave me a clearer -viewpoint of life--the blood I see now in my dreams is not that of the -capitalist done to death by a communistic mob--it is the blood of the -gentle Christ, who said: - -"'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'" - -[Illustration: MAIN BUILDING FROM THE BUNGALOW] - - - - -A BASHFUL BEGGAR - - - - - "Faint heart ne'er won fair lady." - - - - -A Bashful Beggar - - -"It is his diffidence," the good lady told me, "that has caused the -young man to fail dismally in this strenuous age of materialism. His is -a gentle spirit!" - -At their first meeting, she told me, when he called at her home and -asked for something to eat, he appeared so shy and embarrassed that she -was immediately interested in him. He blushed and stammered in a most -pitiable way, and after he had eaten heartily of the roast beef and -potatoes placed before him he wanted to hurry away, hardly having the -courage to remain and thank his benefactor. - -The good lady told me all this in such a serious manner that I felt -I must accept it seriously, and when she suggested that I drive over -to a neighboring village to meet the boy at the train, because, being -unaccustomed to travel, he could never find his way alone to the -Colony, I arranged to meet him. - -There are simple-minded men--mental defectives--who are oftentimes -helpless as children, and I was inclined to put this boy in that class. - -But the lad whom I found waiting for me at the station came out to meet -me in a manner so self-possessed that for the instant I was startled. -The report of him seemed to be much in error. - -"I ought not to have put you to all this trouble," he said, in ready -apology. - -"The letter," I replied, "stated that you might not be able to find -your way." - -He gave me a sly, shrewd glance, and then, confident that he was -understood, he said simply, "Indeed?" - -"Naturally you did not confide in the lady who sent you, that you had -freighted it through most States as far as the railroads go?" - -"No, I did not approach her as a penitent at confessional," he -answered, "but rather as a panhandler at the side door. Confession may -help to advance a man spiritually, but to a man living on the material -plane, would you advise it?" - -"Is it true," I asked, "that you stammered and blushed when our friend -offered you roast beef and potatoes?" - -"It is my best canvass," he replied. - -We had driven some distance while this conversation was in progress, -and coming to cross-roads, I was uncertain of the direction. - -"Go in to that farmhouse, please," I said to my companion, pointing to -a cheerful looking home a short distance from the road, "and inquire -the way?" - -He alighted quickly and went around to the side door out of my sight. -I waited, every moment expecting him to return with the desired -information, and was growing impatient when he came out to me, his face -beaming with the enthusiasm that follows a successful interview. - -"This is your share," he said, holding out a generous portion of hot -apple pie to me. "The lady who lives here is a motherly soul--very -proud of her cooking, and the pie did smell most tempting--I could not -resist." - -"Did you use your usual 'blush and stammer' method to solicit this -pastry?" I questioned him. - -"No, she was as hungry for my compliments as I was for her apple pie, -so we simply made a fair exchange." - -"And the directions back to the Colony?" - -"The direction?" and he felt extremely stupid. "I felt all the time -that--in my sub-conscious mind--there was a thought trying to assert -itself." - -"But the strength of a bad habit," I remarked, "held back the thought: -habit is a strong force for good or evil, for it perpetuates itself by -a form, as it were, of auto-suggestion. You know all suggestions are -powerful." - -"It is good pie, isn't it?" he asked, irrelevantly. - -[Illustration] - - - - -FRITZ AND HIS SUN DIAL - - -"The small task--well performed--opens the door to larger opportunity." - - - - -Fritz and His Sun Dial - - -Years ago, I saw a near-sighted cook peeling onions--a most pathetic -scene if one judges entirely from appearances. The incident impressed -me deeply at the time, although it had long since passed from my mind, -when good old Fritz came to me, with tears running down the dusty -furrows of his be-wrinkled and weather-beaten face. - -Some strange analogy revived the old memory. There is--say what one -will--something tremendously ludicrous about honesty when clothed too -deeply in rusticity. We smile at it while we give it our love and -respect. - -It can toy with our heart-strings, playing both grave and gay. We laugh -at it so that we may not cry and become laughable ourselves. - -In broken English, he tried to explain that which was self-evident and -needed no explanation--his own distress and desperation. His simple -earnestness--his frank, honest manner--won every one's immediate -sympathy. The boys began to plan to relieve his distress, even while -they laughed with scant courtesy in the old man's face. - -His clothes were many sizes too large, which was not entirely offset by -his cap that was several sizes too small. Through his broken shoes, ten -toes spoke in most eloquent English--the need of protection and shelter. - -"What could ever cause a man to get into such a condition?" asked a -fellow, who, three weeks before, had arrived quite as dishevelled, but -had already forgotten the fact, which is just as well. - -"The cause?" asked the German. - -"Yes." - -"Beer." - -"Beer! You are the first man I ever saw who got to such a finish on -beer," returned the questioner. - -"I drink nothing else--never," the old German affirmed. - -"I am thinking Mr. Floyd will try to clean you up in a hurry--or not at -all--if you tell him that beer put you down and out." - -"I hope so," said the old man; "I feel pretty bad." - -"Some mighty arguments have been put out that it is the distilled -liquors that do all the mischief; that light wine and malt liquors are -no more harmful than tea. And here you are in our camp to disprove this -contention. If you say you have been on a beer debauch, you may not be -believed." - -"Maybe someone put a little apple-jack into my glass when I wasn't -looking," replied the German, quickly, as he went into the boys' -kitchen to get a little coffee. - -So it came about that Fritz became a Colony member, and his good nature -made him a general favorite almost immediately. His strength returned -to him rapidly. - -The final cure was effected when, among the books that came in, one of -the men found a German volume. He took it to Fritz with some misgiving, -as it was a work on astronomy, and Fritz did not resemble a Heidelberg -professor; but when our friend glanced at the book and saw the German -text, and then, on closer scrutiny, observed that it was a work on -astronomy, he became excitedly enthusiastic. - -"Good! Very good! I am happy to get it." - -It was a week later, an hour or two after midnight, I saw Fritz in the -moonlight, walking around outside the house. - -I went out to question him, as his actions seemed strange to me. - -"What is the trouble, Fritz?" I asked him. - -"It is nothing." - -"But I would rather not have the men out so late," I said. - -"I cannot find it," he replied. - -"Find what, Fritz? What have you lost?" - -"I cannot find the North Star," he said, sadly. - -"Don't you know where to look for it?" - -"Oh, yes; but it is always cloudy." - -At that moment the clouds began to move--not because Fritz wished it, -but his patience had outstayed the clouds. - -"There it is. That's it," he exclaimed, as he ran into the stable, -leaving me standing alone star-gazing to no purpose. But Fritz rejoined -me as abruptly as he had left me. He had brought out with him a square -board with an iron rod running through it. - -"What have you there?" I questioned him. - -"It is my sun-dial; it is my own invention. I have never seen a -sun-dial, but I am sure that mine will be as correct as any of them." - -Then he fastened the dial firmly on a stump, pointing the wire straight -at the North Star. - -"In the morning I can see if I am right. Good night, Mr. Floyd." - -"Good night, Fritz." - -For several weeks Fritz worked about the place timing his labor by his -ingenious invention. Sometimes he would work after the shadows had -passed the quitting hour. - -"The dial tells us," I said to him one day, "that it is time to stop -work." - -"No," he said, "sun-dials are never exact; sometimes they vary fifteen -minutes, at least. For the Earth goes around the Sun not in a circle -but in an ellipse. I will work a little longer." - - * * * * * - -One Sunday I overheard Fritz talking excitedly out near the spot where -the dial was stationed. I thought he had for the moment forgotten he -was a Self Master--as all men are likely at times to forget. But when I -went out to check the noise, I found that Fritz had ten or fifteen of -the men standing in front of him and he was saying: - -"It is easy to do--to measure the distance to the Sun, or the distance -from one planet to another. There are a hundred methods, many of them -as simple as it is to measure the length of a building." - -"You are a student of astronomy?" I asked. - -"Yes, for many years, I have studied the German books on astronomy. It -is my pleasure." - -From that day our respect for Fritz was established. There is an -aristocracy of learning; we doff our hats to even the beggar who knows. - -The visitors were all interested in Fritz's queer looking sun-dial, -made out of a square board and piece of telegraph wire. Automobiles -halted by the roadside to look at it. The children insisted on setting -their Ingersolls by its falling shadow. A well known physician stood -examining the dial one day. He took out his watch to make comparison. - -"Very clever," he said, "very clever; now let me see Fritz." And Fritz -came out. - -"He isn't much to look at," the Doctor whispered to me, as the old -German approached us. - -Just then the five o'clock whistle blew. The Doctor and I looked at the -dial. - -"The shadow," I said, "falls on the figure five." - -"Quite true," replied the Doctor. - -"It must," said Fritz, quietly; "it must, for the wire points to the -North Star." - -The Doctor smiled, as he spoke: "A man intelligent enough to make that -dial can, at least, care for my stable and horses.... Fritz, would you -like to work for me? I have some splendid horses and I pay well for -their care." - -"I will go gladly," said Fritz; "when do you want me?" - -"To-morrow," - -"May I go, Mr. Floyd?" - -"On one condition," I said. - -"What is it?" - -"You must give the Colony your sun-dial." - -"It is nothing, but you may have it if you like." - -The next day Fritz was given a good suit of clothes, a collar and tie. - -"I don't know about the collar and tie," said the old man; "I have not -worn one for many months." - -Three or four of the boys helped him to button on the collar and -arrange the ascot effectively. Then the Doctor came with his best span -of pet horses. - -"Jump in with me, Fritz," he said. - -The old German, smiling, climbed in and then turned, took his hat off -to me and the boys. - -"Thank you.... Good luck," he said. - -"You take the reins and drive," said the Doctor. - -Fritz buttoned his coat tightly around him, straightened up his old -bent back and taking the reins he proudly drove away. - -"He did not come in a carriage," said a boy. - -"It is the Self Masters that helped him," said another. - -"You forget about the Sun-dial," I said. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: THE BUNGALOW FROM THE MAIN BUILDING] - - - - -THE WAITER WHO DID NOT WAIT - - -"Whoever is not master of himself is master of nobody."--_Stahl._ - - - - -The Waiter Who Did Not Wait. - - -Had the schedule been followed faithfully, it was the time for the -auto party to have finished their tea and toast and be awaiting the -chauffeur to come up with their machine, but there seemed to be a delay -somewhere. Investigation revealed a peculiar condition of affairs. The -visitors were moving about rather impatiently while the lunch, instead -of being served, was rapidly getting chilled on the side-board in an -adjoining room. - -"Where is Delmonico Bill, the attentive waiter," we asked, not a little -surprised at his disappearance. He was nowhere to be found, although we -hunted high and low for him. - -But to manage men successfully who admit their irresponsibility needs -an overseer who is not only patient in disappointment, but who can -offer the pat excuse impromptu, and cheerfully reassure friends that -everything is all right, when--unless viewed from the standpoint of a -year from to-day--it is all wrong. - -On this special day there seemed to be no apparent explanation except -that the waiter did not wait. But everything is a success that ends -happily, and the delayed lunch made the visitors more than ever in -sympathy with the Work. Whoever loves us for our mistakes, shall become -more endeared to us as they know us better. The diners--who had not -dined--saw humor in our embarrassment, and assured us of their best -wishes as they drove merrily away, leaving us stupidly asking ourselves -why the waiter had left his guests unserved. - -It was nearly an hour later when Delmonico Bill came down out of the -hay loft, brushing the dust and hay-seed from his clothes. - -"Has she gone?" he enquired stupidly. - -"Who?" we asked him in chorus. - -"My Sunday school teacher," he explained. - -We awaited his further explanation. It was the first time we had heard -that he ever had such a teacher. - -"It isn't that I am in the least ashamed to serve as a waiter. Menial -work that must be done is not humiliating to me. But when I looked -in at the visitors as I was arranging their lunch on the tray--I -recognized in one of the ladies my old Sunday school teacher--and when -I thought to what an extent I had disregarded her instructions I hadn't -the courage to face her.... My, but it was hot up in that haymow!... - -"The last time I saw this good lady was the evening in the church -vestry when the class members gave her a group picture of themselves. -We all went to the local photographers together. There were three rows -of us--the tall, taller and tallest--all raw-boned rascals trying to -assume the spiritual pose of Sir Galahad. I never cared much for the -photograph, but the frame--the gold frame--much befiligreed was mighty -impressive. I remember it because there was seventy-five cents of my -money in it. I worked hard for that money. It took me the best part -of three nights to get it from Cy Watson--playing penny-ante in his -father's carriage house. But I was happy to turn it to such good use." - -"It was tainted money," said one of the boys. - -"There wasn't any such thing as tainted money in those days. Money was -money and no one had any of it. - -"I made the presentation speech that night in the vestry. It was -a masterpiece. The teacher and the women folks all cried. I have -forgotten the speech now; thirty years of knocking around the world -crowds out the memory of many things that happened when we were boys in -Sunday school. But for years, I could repeat that piece. I rehearsed -for that evening over two months--I could say it forwards or backwards, -I could start it in the middle and say it both ways--in fact when -I think of it, I rather believe that was the way I did say it that -evening, because the applause that followed my humble effort was too -tempestuous, yet the scholars all had their money in the gold frame, -and the teacher was to leave us next morning for the East, where she -was to marry some man of prominence. My mother said I spoke splendidly, -but I doubt if she really heard me. She was thinking how charming I -looked in the new trousers she had made for me. The truth was, she -had worked all the night before to get them ready. She had had some -difficulty to make the seams come down the side. As it was they were -not quite finished, but no one knew it but my mother and me. - -"In the years that are to come," I said in my speech, "not only will -your kindly instructions in our Bible studies help us to meet and -overcome all temptation, but the inspiration which we have received -from your friendship and devotion to our spiritual welfare will -influence us throughout our lives." - -For the moment Delmonico Bill was silent--whatever his thoughts may -have been, he did not share them with us. But presently, he observed -the tray with the tea and toast upon it, just as he had left it. - -"It is too bad," he said, "maybe she would not have known me at all.... -I am sorry ... but you can understand." - -Then he began to clear away the lunch. "The tea is still warm," he said -smilingly, "I believe I will pour a cup for myself ... my nerves are -jumping, it may quiet them." - -He filled the cup and raising it he said: "Here is to my Sunday school -teacher who believed in me in those days when I believed in myself. God -bless her." - -[Illustration] - - - - -COMPOUNDING A FELONY - - -"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will -not depart from it."--_Bible._ - - - - -Compounding a Felony - - -There was a knock at the door, but no one thought of answering it until -it was repeated--more faintly, a second time--then one of the young men -opened it, saying to the newcomer, "It is never locked, my boy." - -In stepped a lad some seventeen years of age, and inquired in a voice -hardly audible if he could stay all night. - -The young men sent the new arrival to me for an answer to his request. -It was readily to be seen that the boy was in a state of great -excitement. He acted so strangely that, contrary to custom, I asked him -why he had come. - -"The police are after me," he stammered, as he turned and looked -nervously at the door. - -"What have you done?" I questioned the boy. - -"I stole a bicycle and the owner just saw me walking along the street -and started to chase me, calling after me, 'Stop, thief!' A crowd -began to gather and I had all I could do to get away. I ran around a -building and joined the crowd in the search; then, after a little, I -dropped out of sight again and decided that I would go out to you for -advice." - -"Where is the bicycle now?" I questioned. - -"I sold it," he said. - -"Where is the money you got for it?" - -"I spent it." He began to cry. - -"And now your conscience starts to trouble you." - -"Yes, sir." - -"My lad," I told him, "this is no hiding place for boys who steal, and -for whom the police are searching." - -The boy did not reply; he turned aside and brushed away the tears with -his cap. Then he started slowly towards the door. - -"So I can't stay?" he said finally. - -"I am afraid not," I replied. - -He went to the window and peered out into the night. - -"They'll get me," he said, hopelessly, "and when they do it means a -long term in prison for me." - -"Wait a moment," I said. "Have you been arrested before." - -"Yes, another boy and myself took some fancy postal cards from a -stationery stand. They were funny pictures that we wanted for our -collection. We were sent to Jamesburg that time. Then since I came from -that institution I was arrested again for something else I did and I am -now out on probation. Next time the judge said he would give me a long -sentence in the Rahway Reformatory." - -"You should have thought of all this sooner," I said, with a sternness -that I did not feel, for I knew how easily one can drift from an evil -thought into an evil act. - -"I heard you helped boys when they needed it," ventured the young -rascal. "I surely need it now." - -"I may help them when I can," I replied, "but I never intentionally -make myself a partner in their wrong doing." - -"The judge ought not to give me more than three years," said the boy -thoughtfully, "even that is a long time.... The bicycle wasn't worth -more than five dollars any way. The owner said he would sell it to me -for that amount." - -At that moment there was a noise in the next room. - -"What was that?" asked the lad, trembling with fear. - -"Your conscience is quite wakeful, my boy. That was one of the men -closing the windows for the night." - -The boy came over close to me so he could look into my face, and there -was a depth of seriousness in his voice when he said, "So you think I -ought to give myself up and take the consequences?" - -"Three years in prison?" I asked, looking straight at the boy. "Three -years in prison!" - -The words of Jacob Riis flashed through my mind--"When a boy goes to -prison, a citizen dies." - -"If you were in my place you would give yourself up?" he asked me -pointedly. - -I passed my hand across my eyes. Unlike the boy I had no cap with which -to brush away the tears. - -"My boy," I said, "I will be honest with you--I would not give myself -up." - -"What would you do?" - -"First, I would make up my mind not to steal any more, then I would -earn money and pay the man for the bicycle." - -A new light came into the boy's eyes. - -"I did not used to be a thief," he said, "but they made me mad. Ever -since I came from Jamesburg every one watches me. My old boy friends, -my father and mother, the police; someone's eye is always on me. Their -suspicions madden me. Sometimes it seems to me as if they dared me -to take another risk. One day on the ferryboat from New York I met a -detective who had once arrested me. Wherever I went he followed me. I -was afraid, so I left the other boys who were with me and went to the -stern of the boat. I didn't tell anyone, but when I was all alone I put -my hands down into my own pockets so he would know that I didn't have -them in anyone else's.... I'm not very old, but I know that that isn't -the way to make a bad boy into a good one." - -After a moment I said to him: "if I can arrange with the owner of the -bicycle so that you can pay for it in small weekly payments, will you -join the Colony and out of the little money you earn settle with the -man you have wronged?" - -"If you will help me," returned the lad hopefully, "I will make good to -the man and to you." - -The next morning I talked the boy's case over with an elderly attorney -who lives with us, and who knows of his own knowledge the ruin one can -bring upon himself if he does not follow proper methods. The old man -gladly undertook to settle with the owner of the stolen bicycle, and -save the boy from the consequences of his wrongdoing. - -The boy worked industriously about the place and in a few weeks had -earned sufficient money to settle satisfactorily for the bicycle. He is -now working on a neighbor's farm and says that he is determined to make -something worth while out of his life. - -"Do you know," said the old attorney to me recently, "if anyone ever -charges us with having compounded a felony in the case of this boy and -his bicycle we can defend ourselves on the technical ground that the -bicycle was of such slight value that the stealing of it was only a -petty crime." - -"In this case--the saving of a boy from prison"--I answered him, "if -a technicality saves us from a criminal charge which might be brought -against us, I for one am perfectly satisfied with such a defense." - -[Illustration] - - - - -THE PASSING OF SULLIVAN - - -"Friar Philip, you are the tuning fork from whence my conscience takes -its proper tone."--_Richelieu._ - - - - -The Passing of Sullivan - - "What's the name that grows - Upon you more and more?" - "Sullivan!"--"That's my name." - - "Who's the man who wrote - The opera, Pinafore?" - "Sullivan!"--"That's my name." - - "Big Tim, you all knew him; - John L., you know him well. - There never was a man, named Sullivan - Who wasn't a d---- fine Irishman." - - --_George Cohan's Song, "Sullivan."_ - - -If you thought it was imperative to change your name and you had access -to all the Literature--Ancient and Modern--to be found in a Carnegie -Library, would you select for yourself the name "Sullivan?" - -Evidently our Irish Lad agreed with Cohan--that "it is a d--n fine -name"--for when I recognized in him one of my Family of Homeless Men -as he walked aimlessly along the city streets, and asked him rather -abruptly, what his name might be, his reply--too long considered to be -truthful--was, "Frank Sullivan." - -"Pardon me," I said, immediately realizing that I had no right to ask -of him the question and that my thoughtlessness had caused the boy to -answer falsely. The outcast, distrustful of his fellow, frequently -seeks safety in falsehood until friendship disarms suspicion and Love -calls forth the Truth for which it has not asked. - -"_Frank Sullivan_," I said. "I, too, like the name." - - * * * * * - -So upon my invitation he came gladly into our little Family to share -the happy freedom of a peaceful home, where others like himself give -honest work and receive--not in the spirit of organized charity, but in -the true warmth of fraternal love--the hospitality of a welcome guest. - -His Irish heart soon caught the meaning of the work, and responded -readily in thoughtful service.... If our Self Master Colony attracted -the attention of some broad-minded man well known in humanitarian work -so that encouraged, it carried me and my dreams of uplift higher and -higher until the stars were our near neighbors--Sullivan, silent and -attentive, followed me in my dreams. - -If my work was misunderstood and my best efforts discredited, Sullivan -was at my side silently consoling me with his loyalty and friendship. - -He grew into my life. I depended upon him and he did not fail me. - -"Richelieu," I would often say, "had his Friar Philip to aid him in his -ambitions and I have my good friend Sullivan." - -Then as the months passed, once again, the grass spread its delicate -carpet beneath our feet, the trees blossomed sending a perfumed message -to us, the bluebird and the thrush called through the open windows -until we, busy with our work, were forced to remark that Spring time -had come--the beginning of another year.... Then the Brothers observed -the progress we had made in the twelvemonth.... It seemed so much to -them, so little to the outside world. - -"It looks more prosperous now," said Sullivan proudly as he observed -the automobiles stopping at the door, "you make Prince as well as -Pauper do you homage." - -"No, Sullivan, not I; it's the Truth that all are hungry for--Pauper -and Prince alike--and while the few may reach it by meditation and the -more by prayer, the most of common clay like you and I must reach it by -service." - -"I never quite understand you when you speak," he said, "I never could -read those dry old books however much I tried.... But by the way, I -wonder if we have blankets for the new arrival who just came in." - -For the Stranded Sons of the City come often to join our Family and -share our simple hospitality. - - * * * * * - -"Sullivan," I said one day, "this work is going to grow and grow.... -When we have won I want you to share the credit with me--you will -remain, will you not?" - -Then receiving no reply, I turned to look and he had gone--gone to -offer his blanket to the new guest. - -"Yes," I heard him say, "I have some extra covers on my bed you may -have." - -"Another falsehood. Sullivan, you should always speak the truth." For -the nights were cold and the blankets none too many. And yet since many -prayers are lies, why may not some lies be prayers? "Maybe in your -dark purgatory, my Irish lad, these little falsehoods of yours will be -counted as prayers." - -One afternoon a letter came for my friend--in a young girl's rather -labored writing--he had received many such, and as I gave it to him I -smiled a little. To him I had always been an indulgent Father--for a -boy and girl will love, even though he or she may be our favorite child. - -That night when the day's labor was over, Sullivan came to me, asking -if he could talk to me. It was a strange request, for he never seemed -to wish to talk, and I knew that something had moved him deeply. - -"You know my name is not Frank Sullivan," he asked. - -"Yes, I know," I answered. - -"But did you know I was married?" he inquired. - -"What, a boy like yourself married?" I asked. - -"Yes, I have been married over two years and have a little girl a year -old. The letters that I have received have been from my wife Josephine. -She and I ran away and were married, but on our return her father -wouldn't accept me. He said I was not worthy of his daughter--and no -doubt he is right. He is wealthy and I could not support her in the way -to which she is accustomed. So I was forced to leave her. But Josephine -and I couldn't forget. - -"All these months she has been working to interest her father in -me, and now the baby is a year old, he has decided to help me.... -We--Josephine and I--knew he would soften in time; you see he, too, -loves Josephine and the Baby. So I want to go to them." - -"Yes," I said simply, for a sense of approaching loss had robbed me of -my pretty speeches. - -"When you met me, I didn't know where to go, nor what to do," he said. - -"Yes." - -"I have flattered myself I have been some help to you in starting your -work. Tell me have I made good to you?" - -"Yes." - -"I shall try to make good to Josephine's father." - -"Yes." - -Then in a few moments he said: - -"Now that it is time to go from you, I hate to leave you and the boys." - -"But you must go," I said, "your wife and child have the first claim." - -"Josephine wanted me to ask you for two or three rugs that the boys -weave. We want them for our new home." - -"You may have them." - -And I took him by the hand, "Good-by, Sullivan." - -"Not Sullivan anymore, but McLean," he replied. - -As he turned away he said half regretfully, "It is the Passing of -Sullivan." - -"I wonder if Richelieu, after all, lost his Friar Philip?" I asked -myself as I waved my hand in farewell to him. - -[Illustration] - - - - -WHEN SISTER CALLED - - -"O Lord, That which I want is first bread--Thy decree, not my choice, -that bread must be first."--_Sidney Lanier._ - - - - -When Sister Called - - -He came--did Jim--highly recommended by two fellows who live by their -wits--one, Lakewood Joe and the other, Corduroy Tom. They are my -friends, for they have told me they were. One of them always comes to -me in the Winter anxious to get work on a farm; the other with a few -broken umbrellas and a railroad spike for a hammer, starts out with the -Springtime on the quest of "anything to mend." - -Umbrella mending was once a reputable calling, but it has fallen into -disrepute since the introduction of the cheap umbrella. But that -pathetic part of the story should be left for Lakewood Joe to tell, for -it gets him--a humble mechanic--many a hot cup of coffee, many a dime. - -The recommendation by my two friends was sufficiently strong to nearly -cause me to refuse admission to young Jim. But his manner pleased me -and our reception committee--made up of members of the Family--assured -me that we had no need to fear poor Jim. Anyway he who has nothing can -safely make friends with whomever he chooses. - -Jim told us that years ago he had been a "cookie"--please note the -"ie"--in a lumber camp in an Eastern State. So when a vacancy occurred -in the culinary department of our home Jim was selected for the place. - -He proved an excellent assistant and worked for the house--as the -phrase goes--he made the coffee so weak, he made the potato soup go -so far, that I, economical from habit and from necessity, would blush -whenever one of the boys said that he enjoyed the good dinner. - -I need have had no fear for it was Jim's smile that made us all content -with the simple fare. - -"A grand cook," the boys would say. - -"A grand cook," Echo and I would answer. - -Jim had roughed it for several years and knew a little of the ways of -the road. He had worked when a boy in his father's factory and as some -of the workmen felt they were not being paid properly--the son joined -in with the workmen and went out on a strike against his father. - -In the excitement of the strike the father had spoken to the son -about his joining in with the strikers. It seemed to the father like -disloyalty--ingratitude. But as for the son, he couldn't analyze -his own psychological state of mind sufficiently to explain why his -sympathy had been with the strikers, but feeling himself no longer -welcome at the old home, he started to roam. - -Seven years had passed since he had written to the old folks. Once or -twice he had heard indirectly of his father's search for him, but he -could not even bring himself to write, much less to return. - -He had been with us nearly a month when finally, one evening, as he saw -the other boys writing letters to their homes he decided he himself -would write a letter to his married sister in Pennsylvania. When it was -written and mailed, he half regretted what he had done. - -Wasn't he a wanderer--a young hobo if you like--and why should he think -of home after all these years, even if the kindly sympathy to be found -at the Colony did recall to him those better days? - -But the letter was already on its way.... He wondered what his sister -might think, how she might act.... She had always cared for him. - -The bean soup which he was preparing for supper burned while he was -deep in thought, and he blamed himself for his absent-mindedness. - -"The boys will have to eat burnt soup just because I got to feeling -sentimental," he said to himself. - - * * * * * - -Then a word came that a nicely gowned young lady was coming up the -driveway. There are many visitors at the Tea Room of the Colony House -so it need have caused no excitement. But some one whispered "Look at -Jim!" - -He had glanced out at the approaching stranger, and he was pale and -trembling. He said to me in a faint voice, "It's my sister. Tell her I -left this morning.... Tell her I got a position." - -And then the bell rang and he said: - -"Wait--I will see her." - -So brushing his hair and arranging his tie he went in to meet his -sister. - -The homeless outcast lad faced his aristocratic sweet-faced sister! -As the boys saw them they did not know which one to pity the more, -although the sympathy seemed to be pretty largely with Jim. - -"Is every one well?" the brother asked, trying to relieve the strain of -the situation. - -"Yes," she answered, "but why have you never written all these years? I -got your letter this morning and left in an hour to get to you for fear -I might lose you again. Father has hunted for you everywhere. He thinks -he was harsh with you when you struck that day with the men--for you -were only a child. - -"I thought I might get you to come home with me," she continued, "my -husband and I have a splendid home. You are always welcome.... Or why -don't you go back to your old job with Father. He needs you. He is -getting older." - -"You think he would take me back?" - -"Gladly. What are you doing here?" - -"I am cook for the boys," he said. - -"You, a cook?" she smiled. "Why, you wouldn't wash a dish at home for -me when we were children. You can't be very much of a cook.... But -never mind. I have found you." - -"Confound it! I have let those beans burn again." And he excused -himself for a moment. - -When he returned he said, "I will write you if I can decide to go back -home. It comes a little suddenly you know. I have been a prodigal too -long to turn into a father's white-haired boy on the instant." - -Then after a moment he asked: "Do you know what Mother used to put into -the beans when she burned them to take out the smoky taste?" - -"Jim, Mother wasn't that kind of a cook." - -As the sister was going out to step into the carriage she said, -"Promise me you will not leave here without writing me. I don't want to -lose you again." - -"I promise," he said. - - * * * * * - -That night the boys ate their supper in silence. Each one was deep in -thought. - -"Too bad the beans are burned," Jim said. - -"I like them that way," replied one of the boys. "It makes them taste -different." - -That night after supper no one wrote any letters, which was unusual, -and one of the boys jokingly asked another near him, "Why don't you -write a letter home to your sister?" - -"I am afraid," replied the lad, "she might answer it in person like -Jim's sister did." - -Jim has taken a job on a farm and is saving his money. He has nearly -enough to return to his old home; he refuses to accept any aid from his -father or sister. - -"I will go back as I came away--independently." - -[Illustration] - - - - -EDISON'S EVENING STAR - - -"Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion: The Lord is his -name."--_Bible._ - - - - -Edison's Evening Star - - _Hamlet_: "Ay, marry, why was he sent into England?" - - _First Clown_: "Why, because he was mad: he shall recover his wits - there; or, if he do not, it's no great matter there." - - _Hamlet_: "Why?" - - _First Clown_: "'Twill not be seen in him there; there the men are as - mad as he." - - --_Shakespeare._ - - -To be dull of wit is sadly unfortunate, but to be dull of wit and be -compelled to live in a Colony made up of more or less reckless young -men is doubly unfortunate. - -In the group eccentricities are quickly discouraged. The grouch, the -crank, the bully, if he would remain and live in harmony must learn his -lesson in democracy--the individualist is given short shift. - -Of course the dull of wit should be given immunity at all times, and -in theory he is, but in real practice even the most gentle hearted -man will have his little joke at the expense of the man less alert -mentally. The members of the Colony are no exception to this rule. - -"Tell us more," the boys asked of the Moon-Struck-One, one evening -after the day's work was done, "about the inhabitants of Mars, which -you see in your trances." - -And then he--the Moon-Struck-One--would explain in detail the strange -people he had seen in his dreams. - -"These planets," he told them, "are all being made ready for the coming -race of Man.... After Cycles and Cycles, we move on to newer and better -worlds.... Each of the mystic Seven Planets are at the service of the -human race. Time and time again a new world has borne the burden of the -evolving man's hope and his despair.... The cosmic scheme is worthy of -the Wondrous God, who holds not only the Seven Planets in control, but -rules the Seven Universes with their Seven Suns--you laugh, most men -laugh, the churchmen laugh, they do not know, they have not seen--but I -know and have seen." - -"How interesting," said one boy, winking slyly to his fellows. "I know -something of astronomy myself; my brother was a Princeton graduate." - -It was a summer's evening when this conversation took place and the -boys were sitting out on the lawn enjoying the night air, for the day -had been hot and oppressive. - -"What do any of you know of the Stars?" said the Moon-Struck-Sage. - -"Very little, but tell us," said one of the boys, "for I believe in -your visions. I dreamed one night myself about a big fire--a bad sign -as you very well know--and the next day I got 'pinched.'" - -"Yes, you are deeply learned in the Stars," he said with smiling -skepticism, "that is, I suppose you can tell the difference between a -star and a lantern." - -"Look out," said a boy who had not spoken before, "he is joking you." - -"No, seriously," said the Witless One, "when I said 'lantern' I had -reference to the light that Edison hangs out each night when the -weather is clear--you have no doubt read of it. He plans to construct a -light that will illuminate this country at night almost as brightly as -the sun lights it by day.... Do you see that light just above the trees -in the East. You can tell it as it is larger than any stars around it. -It has the appearance of a star only much brighter. Do you see it?" - -"Yes," said the boys who were all attention, although one or two were -skeptical until one of the group remembered that he had read about -Edison's powerful light in the Sunday magazine supplement of a New York -paper. - -"He is a wonderful man," said another. - -At last all were convinced and the Moon-Struck-One, satisfied, arose -rather abruptly, and went into the house. - -A few days later he left the Colony to go to his relatives in a distant -city, and so the boys had no one to play tricks upon, no one who was -not their equal in wit. - -It was some weeks afterwards that one of the young men said to me as we -were talking out of doors in the evening: - -"There is that light of Edison's hanging over the trees." - -"Where?" I asked. - -"That bright light over there that looks like a big star. The Witless -One told us about it. In some ways he was really wiser than we gave him -credit for." - -"That's the Evening Star," I said. - -"It is what?" asked another boy. - -"It is Venus, the Evening Star." - -"He told us it was put up there by Edison." - -"So it really isn't an illuminated balloon?" - -The boys looked from one to the other, then every one laughed loudly -and long. - -"Doesn't the Bible say, 'Answer a fool according to his folly?'" asked -a boy. - -"Yes, and it also says, 'Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest -thou also be like unto him.'" - -[Illustration] - - - - -IN THE WORLD OF WANDERLUST - - -"To stand in true relations with men in a false age, is worth a fit of -insanity, is it not?" - - --_Emerson._ - - - - -In the World of Wanderlust - - -The Spirit of the Wanderlust seizes all the World in the early days of -Spring--the so-called hobo takes to the open road, the millionaire to -his country home, each rejoices that the long imprisonment of winter -is passed, for all men are akin in their love of freedom. It is a -search for the ideal. With De Soto we would say, "Somewhere, if ye seek -untiringly, ye shall discover and drinke of ye Fountaine of Youth and -Happiness." - -"Men have said they do not understand my restless wanderings," remarked -Lakewood Tom. "Can it be they have never watched the coming of the -first robin, and do not know that he ushers in the new regime of -promise and prosperity? - -"Other men may linger in the failing twilight of the tired day. I go to -greet the rising sun. Even the very birds--little hoboes of the air, -break camp cheerfully in early May. Like them I, too, take to the open -road and walk by faith. - -"But you, my lords, with your worldly goods, are vagabonds no less than -I. Out of the inexhaustible larder of the Divine, God gives you--as -it were--a crust of bread, and men call you mighty in riches. Take a -vagabond's advice, and put your mark upon the house where you found -favor, lest after many years, disheartened, you pass that way again and -need another 'handout'--maybe not a crust of bread, but, a more lasting -gift--an ideal perchance, that may not fail so soon. Sometimes methinks -it sad, there is given to man only the thing for which he asks. - -"Adieu," said Lakewood Tom, taking up his staff, "when the snow falls -next year I may visit your Monastery again with your permission, if by -happy chance I am on this earth. If not, I'll meet you some Christmas -day on the planet Mars, for I never forget a friend. Good cheer! Adieu." - -"Much privation has crazed the old man," said a comrade who, with me, -watched the old vagabond walking slowly down the drive. - -"I do not know," I said. - - - - -THE TWO JEANS - - -"To every man there come noble thoughts that pass across his heart like -great white birds."--_Maeterlinck._ - - - - -The Two Jeans - - -"It is always hard times on the Bowery," my diminutive informant told -me. He was a new comer to our Colony. He, in company with another young -man, had made his appearance an hour or two before, but I had not been -able to talk with him, except to assure him that he and his friend -might remain with us one night, at least. "Yes, sir," he continued, -"without money a man is a dead one; even in this strange haunt of -stranger men money is a daily need. Of course, some men who know the -hidden ways can get along on as little as twenty cents a day, or less, -but for myself I could not exist on less than thirty-five cents." - -The figures he mentioned seemed modest enough to me. "Couldn't you earn -that much?" I asked him. - -"I am so small no one would hire me," he replied. "I could get errands -to do now and then. Of course, while my mother lived she kept a home -for me, but after she died I did not know what to do. I only sat in the -house day after day and looked out of the window. I could not make any -plans for myself. You see when I was a baby I fell and injured my back. -I didn't grow much more after that accident. The doctors called it a -curvature." - -He laughed easily as he asked me, "You know the poem of James Whitcomb -Riley, - - 'I'm th'ust a little cripple boy - An' never going to grow, - An' git a great big man at all, - 'Cause auntie told me so.' - -"I rather think I'm that boy. One time I chanced to find that poem and -read it to my mother. She took the book from me in the gentle way she -had, and then putting her arms around me, told me to be a good boy and -everything would come out all right. But they never did come all right. -Maybe I was not good enough; but this can't interest you. You hear -enough hard luck stories without mine." - -"If you wish to tell me," I said, "I shall be quite glad to listen." - -"Well, it's only this," he continued. "Left to myself, I wasn't smart -enough to make a living. I can't get my room rent and my lunch money -all at the same time. If I have my lunches I have no room, and if I -have a room I have nothing to eat." - -He grew very serious. He could laugh at his misshapen back, make a jest -at his deformity, but hunger--even at the thought of hunger--the smile -left his face, the color fled from his lips. - -"Are you faint?" I asked him quickly. - -"No, I am a coward," he said, "just a plain coward. You see, I am -beaten and I know it." - -"You will be all right in a few days," I said, "and be able to -criticise the food as cheerfully as any other member of my Family." I -laughed gayly enough, but he did not laugh with me. "Have you and this -boy been friends a long time? Where did you meet him?" I inquired. - -"In the park, some weeks ago. He has no home either. He was sleeping -out and so was I. He gave me part of a newspaper to put under me, as -the ground was damp. So I tried to talk to him.... He is good looking, -isn't he?" - -I admitted it. - -"Well, he's a Russian dummy," said the boy. - -"He is what?" I asked. - -"He just landed from Russia three months ago, and he knows very little -about the English language. He doesn't have the slightest idea what I -have been talking to you about all this time. Night after night, not -having any bed to sleep in, he has 'flopped' in the park or 'carried -the banner' until morning." - -"So you brought him out with you?" - -"Yes; I didn't know whether you would take us in or not. I thought I -would take him along on the theory that the ground in Jersey is no -harder to sleep on than it is in New York State. If you have to turn us -away we will not be any worse off than we have been." - -"We will make room somehow for you and your friend," I told him. - -So Jean--Little Jean, the boys called him--went through a pantomime -for the enlightenment of the Russian youth whose name was also Jean. -Finally the larger boy understood that I had given them permission to -remain, for he turned to me and said simply: "Nice," and then he bowed -gracefully. Little Jean was right--Big Jean was good looking. - -"I wish I was big and strong like him," said Little Jean, admiringly.... - - * * * * * - -... The weeks pass quickly when one has his work to do, and the two -Jeans grew to know the Colony. Big Jean spent his spare hours studying -English and talking with the other boys. Little Jean made friends with -the chickens, the pigs, the cow and the horse, while Boozer--the Colony -dog--and he were inseparable chums. - -"Boozer," Little Jean told me, "knows the heart of outcast boys and -men. He meets the new arrivals at the gate and escorts them to the -house. He may challenge the lawless approach of the rich man in his -auto, and warn the household of possible danger impending, but the most -unkempt 'knight of the road' will find Boozer quick to make friends -with him." - -Big Jean--with his pleasing bow--looked after the guests who visited -the Tea Room, for he learned to speak English rapidly. The report of -his courteous service came to the ears of a wide awake Jap who needed -him to help him in his hotel. So one day he sent for the Russian lad. - -At the start the pay was to be twenty dollars a month, with room, board -and extra tips. - -"You need me in your Tea Room, Mr. Floyd," he said, "I am willing to -stay." - -"No, Jean, you must take the position and prove to me and to yourself -that you can make good." - -That night he wrote to his aged mother in Russia that there were -wonderful opportunities for young men in America. - -When he had gone I hunted to find Little Jean. I found him out on the -lawn with his chum, Boozer. He did not see me as I approached, but as -I looked at him the thought came to me that he had suddenly grown old, -and there was the anxious look upon his face--the same that I had seen -when he had talked to me the first time. - -"Boozer," I heard him say, "it's all right; I am a coward, I'm beaten -and I know it, but I'm glad Big Jean got the job--honestly, Boozer, I -am--you see it isn't all my fault--he's so damned good looking." - -Boozer put his face close to that of Little Jean and held out his paw -to the discouraged boy. You see when you live your life at the Self -Masters you sense the inner thought of broken men. Boozer--who knows -no other life--understands the heart of the discouraged. I did not -interrupt the two friends, but turned back to the house. - - * * * * * - -"What can you ever do to help poor Little Jean?" a visitor asked me. -"There seems to be no position in the world for him. What can you do -for him?" - -"I don't see much chance," I replied, distrusting for the moment that -Divine Guidance that never fails. - -It was only two days after Big Jean had left us that a kindly old lady -called at the Colony. She wanted a boy who would take good care of her -horses, and drive her and her husband back and forth from her home to -the railway station. "I want a boy who loves animals," she said. - -So Little Jean has his place in the world--like you and I if we can -only find it.... - - * * * * * - -... Xmas Day Big Jean brought four big pies which he had cooked -especially for the Self Masters' dinner. - -And Little Jean brought his Xmas present--all neatly tied up in a box -bedecked with pink ribbons--a pound of meat for Boozer. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: Self Master Print. - -Union, Union Co. New Jersey.] - - - * * * * * -Transcriber's Notes: - -Italics and underlining indicated by _ markings - -Obvious printing errors repaired - -Alternate and idiosyncratic spellings retained as printed - Example p. 49: Retained archaic spelling of sacrefice as printed - -Retained inconsistent hyphenation as printed - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of My Monks of Vagabondia, by Andress Floyd - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY MONKS OF VAGABONDIA *** - -***** This file should be named 51004.txt or 51004.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/0/0/51004/ - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Christopher Wright and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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