Mark Twain's Story of the Poor Little Stephen Girard.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 4193, 24 November 1883, Page 9 (Supplement)

Mark Twain's Story of the Poor Little Stephen Girard.

The man lives in I'lilu delphia, who, when young and poor, entered a bank, and says he, " Please, sir, don't you want a littlo boy?" and the stately porsonago said, "No> littlo boy; I don't want ft littlo boy." The little boy, whose heart was too full for utterance, chewing a picco of liquorice stick he had liought with a cent, ho had stolon from his good and pious aunt, with Boba plainly midiblo, and with great globules of water running down his cheeks, glided silently down tho marble steps of tho bank. Bending his noble form, tho bank man. dodged behind the door, for lie thought tho littlo boy wa.s going to shy a stono at him. But tho boy picked up something and stuck it in his poor but ragged jacket. "Come horo little boy," and tho littlo boy did como hero j and tho bank man said, " Lo ! what pickcat thou up?" and ho answered and said, "A pin, and tho bank man said, " Littlo boy, aro you good ?" and lie said he was, and tho bank man said, " How do you voto—excuse mo, do you go to Sunday school';" and ho said ho did.

Thou tho brink man took down a pon made of pure gold, and (lowing with puro ink, and wrote on a piece of paper, " St. l'otor," and asked tho little boy what it stood for, and ho said, "Sault rotor." Then tho bank man said itnncnnt "Saint Peter." Tho littlo boy said "Oh!" Tho bank man took tho littlo boy to his bosom, and the littlo boy said "Oh 1" again, for ho squeezed him. Then tho bank man toolc the littlo boy into partnership, and gave him half tho profits and all tho capital, and all he has is nil hi 3 own, too.

Story of Another Littlk Boy : —My uncle told mo this story, and I spoilt six weeks picking up this in front of a bank. I expected the bank man would call me in and say, " Little boy, are you good '!" and I was going to say, " Yes;" and when he asked me what " St. John " stood for, I was going to say " Sault John." But I guess the bank man was not anxious to have a partner, and I guess tho daughter was a son, for one day says ho to mo, " Little boy, what's that you're picking up?" Says I, awfully meekly, "Pins.1 Says ho, " Let's sco 'cm." And ho took 'em, and I took off my cap, all ready to go into the bank, and become a partner and marry his daughter. But I didn't got an invitation. He said, " Thoso pins belong to the bank, and if I catch you hanging around hero any more I'll set the dogs on you !" Then I left, and the modn ojd cuss kept the pins. Such is lifo as I find it.

Russian men are said to be handsomor than Russian women. If you happon to know that the average Russian man looks like a hair mattress stood on end and burst open at the top you can. judge how lovely the girls are.