THE BOY WHO DESERVED A CHANCE.
By S. Jennie Smith
[S. Jennie Smith, in Christian Work.] Mr. Gibbons, a gentleman well known in Ridgeley as a member of a successful business firm there, entered the main room of its high school one morning and asked to see the principal. “Mr. Reynolds,” said he, “we have a good chance for a boy in our establishment. We want a bright boy, one who is thoroughly honest and dependable and one who is capable of advancement. Then, too, he must have no bad habits. Have you such a boy here who desires to go to work soon?” “I think we have,” returned the principal; “but we would do well to consult Miss Adams, the teacher of the first class. She naturally knows more about her boys than I do.” When Miss Adams was consulted, she quickly replied: “Yes, I have two bright boys, either of whom would be capable of filling the position you mention. The only trouble is, I hardly know which to recommend. They are equally bright and studious, both finish the course this term, and are anxious for positions, their parents being rather poor people. They are John Miller and Howard Jackson.” “Yes, I too thought of those boys,” said Mr. Reynolds, “but did not know which to give the preference.” “How about their conduct?” Mr. Gibbons inquired. “Perfect, both of them,” Miss Adams smilingly answered. “Both are pleasant boys, too—the kind one likes to deal with. In fact, I can not think of any way in which one is superior to the other.” “Suppose you have a private interview with John and Howard,” Mr. Reynolds suggested to Mr. Gibbons. “Perhaps you could detect a difference that we have not discovered.” Accordingly the boys were sent to the principal’s office, one at a time, to see Mr. Gibbons. After the interview, that gentleman surprised both Mr. Reynolds and Miss Adams by saying, “I find that John Miller is far more deserving than Howard Jackson.” “I am curious to know how you made that discovery,” the teacher said. “By questioning them in regard to what they proposed to do when they left school,” was the reply. “I find that Howard is inclined to be selfish. He is anxious to get to work, but it is merely to procure those things for himself that his parents have not been able to supply him with. He seems to be a good, honest boy, and he feels that he has come to that age when he ought to work for what he gets, and not look to his parents for it; but he has no idea that his parents have any right to look to him for help. I even mentioned that they have worked hard—I know them both, although I never met the boy before—but he looked upon that as a matter of course, and went on to tell what he meant to do for himself. He has even picked out the kind of a bicycle he intends to get as soon as he can raise money enough, and I know that his mother has gone without many a necessary article of clothing herself in order to keep him decently dressed while he is at school.” “John, on the contrary, is anxious to get to work because he realizes that his parents have been working hard for him all his life, and he wants to do what he can for them now. He speaks particularly11of his mother. He thinks she ought to have an easier time and more comforts than she has had in the past. It seems to me that a boy who appreciates what his mother has done for him is the right sort. He is the kind we want anyhow; for we mean to be as helpful as possible to our boys, and we like to have them appreciate our efforts in their behalf.”