| Show 1 LOT L E A STORY GATHERED FROM LIFE by ELIZABETH MARKUS N PAUL AND HIS VOCATION it was the middle 0 of summer we had our vacation but poor paul had not yet found his vocation he kne what he wanted to learn and what he want he wanted to stud to be either a minister or a musician A common laborer such as cabinetmaker baskot weaver etc he was not going to be this much was dead sure and mother agreed with him in this respect the question of his vocation was hashed over daily hut but without vit hout result pauls life had come to a stand standstill still in ili a period when every minute should mean progress it had bad become stagnant on account of lack ot money the vital money 1 I of mothers with fathers modest contributions was just enough to keep us above water but to send a boy to college was not within her reach the same with music that is music the way mother wanted paul to study it the fiddler who played in the dance clance halls was tas obnoxious to her a great deal more obnoxious than a cabinetmaker or tho the like also the music teacher who taught for fifty pennies or one mark a lesson was to her a man who nho had failed in ili life but what could she do of course paul was not idle he practiced one or two hours every day lie he attended to ills his rabbits aie he ran an errand when mother bade him lie he helped in the library and alas read tile the newspapers in those days reading the newspaper for one not of age was considered just as much of a crime as smoking cigarettes though bradl traditions had not given grown persons the privilege to knock the paper out of the hands of tho the newspaper read ing boy as it had privileged them to do with cigarettes paul knew this and took openly advantage of it and poor mother had to suffer many an insinuating remark about her first born oh had paul only been careful but lie he seem to care and thus loaded the scorn of those honest working men as were our roomers upon his head they regarded paul as a loafer and at times their dislike for him was so great that it was haid for them to conceal it especially ort sky who thought the only salvation salvatI Oll of body and soul depended on hard laborious work and to whom the laborer was the only man who had the birt birthright bright of joy and blessings of life ir ip which ho he included reading the n paper he sneered at paul otan oatt n lie he could not suppress his feelis and he threw hints this set tile the dinv inv lw on fire rate hate kindled in his lic hr rt ile he was burning to show 0 t t clue pot that lie he paul eberding K R alaa was horn born in a different f apr oe aar of life hence he did not lift hi bi hat any more when lie ho greeted insky it sky and this set the fhe hall ball aroll or nt bo liked to get all the reveren reve c r ai iiri i rh was due him was cut by pauls P mis ignorance of good r manners I 1 it lie he like to let on that a kid hid of pauls calibre could make an difference to him he thought ot revenge oil oh so small are men one of pauls new vocations to earn some vital money for himself was to shine the shoes for our dur roomers on oil sunday mornings belore going to church A man ot ol fifteen and six months needs some money in his pocket and like hite to ask ills his mother for every penny for this reason only he ha had undertaken the job every sunday morning nine pairs of solid honest working miens mens shoos shoes were ere walting waiting in the haal for pauls skillful hands and he went to it like a man after this business was over lie he returned to our rooms whittling whistling and jingling the money in his pockets in the afternoon one could see him proudly walking tho the streets in ins his long pants cants ills his white shirt with stiff collar and cuffs ind and one of his now new neckties in ili his hand lie he was v as carelessly swinging a cane his newest acquisition jy lately shoes put out with the rest but he made it a practice to bring them himself liim self and always at the moment when paul had almost finished packing his shining outfit for me you dont mind a little work paul hed asay say with catti cattish sli smile ann 10 lo and friendliness and paul would grudgingly shine those shoes ho he vowed that watched from his room and purposely waited for tile the moment when f lie he had started packing up one day lie he convinced himself that one could see very well from window what was going on in the little hall by the landing of the step where paul had arranged his shoe shining place after this paul declared he shine shoes anymore it if he put them out with tho the test rest the use ube of always jangling said mother who had bigger cares on oil her bran than pauls troubles pack out your case again and got get through with it often in life have to start again when you think youve lone done paul stood malice once lie ho stood it twice and three times thou then he refused the con consequence sequence was no one left out shoes but boettcher and paul had to be without spending money that was all but hate wants something to ravel so one day clay swished lied pauls paul s hat off ills his head 1 I wanted to see whether you haye have sparrows underneath it lie he said with a mock laugh this happened on oil the landing of tho stairs right beffie our door paul tor for a second was speechless it ran through hin him like a streak of v wildfire ild fire but he controlled ills his tongue he only said haughtily ila none of your bu business 11 s ill show you wh it s my business you manikin and his powerful arm fetched a blow mother camo came out at that moment and drew her boy into the apart aunt she looked at terrified amr mr the matter she stammered 1 I tried to set that boy of yours right lie he said still indignant what have you on done again mother reproachfully turned to paul nothing lie ho grunted nothing nothing ha lia ha I 1 have to laugh pointing his finger to paul and glaring angrily at mother r tho the hard featured cuss said you better put that boob to work and let him learn some honest homes t trade instead of doing nothing he is learning something said mother yes shrieking the fiddle and pouncing the piano and reading the newspaper A hell of a lot of work the truth of those words stared at mother and the truth often calms us bewildered she looked at ort sky and said what shall lie he do mother mother paul stammered aghast are you afraid and lie ho raised a clenched fist afraid of what she asked with a quiver in lier her voice of that glue this was as far as he got for mother smacked him ona on the mouth paul levied he howled bowled like a wounded lion the people downstairs came out to listen but no threat of mothers could make him hush liis his ejaculations that ive lost my mother that glue pot ive lost my mother seemed to have had his satisfaction in pauls chastisement he clapped on his hat and went As mother had to grapple every minute and every second with the realities of life an intermezzo of this 1 kind ind leave a very long shadow what hat shall become of paul this was the burning question which troubled her even more than at the time the confirmation suit she prayed to god for guidance and she waited for an air omen to allo show her the right path she went vent to pauls school teacher to consult him and asked for ills his advice as a teacher who has a child for several years often knows the child better than his own mother she told him that shed like to have paul study for the ministry or music the old smooth faced man rubbed sever several ii times over his its chin and then lie ho said to mother frankly ay aly iy dear clear lady to select a vocation for a boy only mean to give him a vocation but to let him learn something which much he will mil make mak ce the best of I 1 dont think your son is cut out for a musician alio though arli lie he has some musical talent nor for a minister though I 1 think lie he has oratory talent I 1 think hed he d make a genius of a merchant 11 it if we ask anyone for good advice we are secretly convinced before we ever them their advice is no good it if it does not agree with our intentions and that the party asked its hs no sound judgment thus it was in ili this case was disgusted with the schoolteacher school teacher how in this world could this man suggest paul to become a merchant how could one learn to be a merchant should sho she give paul as an apprentice in Hem delicatessen delikat essen store to sell pickled herrings or what no no it was better not to consult anybody so she asked to come down to talk matters over with lier her advised mother not to worry something surely would turn up tip in time but not worry never has fed anybody and all mother who was profoundly troubled decided to go to as her last re resource murce she wrote a note and laid it on ills his washstand asking him to stop in the sitting room as she had something of vast importance to bespeak with him tile the next morning found father sitting in our livin groom with a lighted cigar between his fingers lie he was good to look at secretly I 1 compared him with tile the other men and I 1 came to the conclusion that I 1 was proud not to have fi a father like those men even if they were ever so BO honest workingmen working men nien I 1 would have h a ve been proud any time to walk the streets with father but tit I 1 felt I 1 would not like to bo be seen with one of those labor men inen even if their clothes were mado made of solid heavy cloth they wear them like my dad their loud ties wore were bulky and clumsy while lathers ta tio go was tied into a snappy knot will their gilel r footwear it was tile the same another thing I 1 like they smoked their pipe on oil the streets while my father indulged in dainty cigarettes and they used bright red handkerchiefs which I 1 ablin red all till thic passed through my childish senses while I 1 admiringly gazed at my fa aier but mother signalled signal led me to leave the room and I 1 was sorry that I 1 gaze any longer and make comparisons I 1 listened behind the door for anything of such great importance that father had to he be called to counsel I 1 wanted to hear right from the source father paul started id like to know what im going to be well blell said father father all the boys in my e class I 1 ass know what they are going t to 0 b be e but I 1 dont d 0 lit 1 I thought ou knew yes but ho he know NN whether lieth irwill it can call be done mother interfered wh are arc you vou in ili such a hurry I 1 cant do any anything Ching now wait father replied wait said paul raising his voice olce 1 I dont even know what im going to be for my sake you may become a shoemaker or a cabdriver if only be a man well talk it over some other time im in ili a hurry today he rose put on oil ills his hat bat and with a hasty goodbye good bye lie he departed from our premises 1 father father paul cried after him and when lie he saw it was no use lie he fell on oil a chair and moaned mo aried mother looked at him wearily and gently stroked his hair A fine father paul groaned in his despair thais nice a shoemaker a cabi cabdriver river lils his only son sonic some encouragement dont paul mother urged he mean it as it sounded god L MI will help us and with v ith bowed head she strode lioni the room things do work out themselves one day mother said laying down the paper she had been leading I 1 tell you god would show us its a way and she shoved the paper to paul bright intelligent boy can find musical training at the municipal orchestra of tallman cannau H enghard terms very reasonable on inquiry mother learned that the tuition fee tor for the three years would be two hundred marks the boy would have to be kept in clothes and bring his own bedding and bedclothes held hed also have to pay his own laundry and as upon further correspondence this mr enghard Eng liard agreed to be wi willing 11 ing to have the tuition fee paid in three terms dividing it in equal amounts amongst the three years tile the contract was signed one fine day aunt emily came to take care of the home with all those men and mother went with paul to tallman to give him over to ills his teachers it was nas a trip of four to five hours by railroad we ive girls cried bitterly as paul departed but paul only grinned I 1 asked him if he sorry sorry for in my heart I 1 knew lie he feld like crying and I 1 wanted him to admit it but lie he said im glad to to get away from this rabbit rabbi t li hutch X PAULS A few weeks later paul would have been only y too glad to come back to the rabbit rabbi thu t hu hutch tell 11 ile he was wa homesick beyond words mother received cle sperate desperate letters front from him in one of these betteis lie he even told us girls that we should appreciate our home we me know how well W ell oft off we were we had no idea h how ow much poorer than we people could live music school hm hill this place ought to he be called music hell thirty boys practising practicing in ili different dit ferent shifts at all hours of the dak da with all instruments st imaginable mr enghard had no conception of music he let anybody specialize on oil any an v instruments to Eng enghard liard music the expression of the soul five in in the mornings the boys had to rise and seven it started ten boys always practicing for two hours at noon they all had had their turn turm the same thing commenced in the afternoon again there was no getting out of it not even if n 1 fellow fello v apel ing well in such a case the director would feel the pulse and tae ee the temperature and if that sheep sheel I 1 head bead detect anything one to go on no matter how badly one felt no one would sa sympathize m with a fellow the other boys would only snicker and say that they had tried the same stunt but that it never worked here and I 1 was real side scicli hut but no one would believe me mel he wrote in his letter and if this was all the work I 1 would not say a word but ir enghard has a large garden almost a farm and wo we hoys boys have to do the work in fit the field we raise every blung what we eat and more too ive been told 1 ho 10 sells the strawberries and apricots off ills his place and makes make lots of money or he and lu ili fat wife and children get it but we who do the actual work dont to be continued |
