THE OFFICER AND THE NEWSBOY.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 10882, 5 February 1901, Page 5

THE OFFICER AND THE NEWSBOY.

. A hitherto unrecorded incident of the reception of the Orient's troopers in Duntdin i» narrated by one of the actors in it, an officer back from the front. On every hand ha had b;*n asked to drink, but of neces- '*• wty be had to refuse nimty-nine per cent, of thete attentions. Whilst he was proceeding along the street, however, a ntwi■|xiv pressed him to buy a paper. The officer told him he did not want it. "Are yyu just back from the war?" asked the sixteei.-year-old boy. On receiving a reply in the affirmative,"tho boy said: "Well, sir, will •roa have a drink with me':" The officer "was considerably nonplussed, and trkd to get tho boy to agree that the honours should be dona by himself. But the newsboy would WA hear of it, and off the pair marched to the nearest Kir, the boy visibly swelling with the importance of the occasion. Judge of his embarrassment when, prior to calling f<»r the drinks, he found on counting his tradable capital that he had only unpence. The officer again delicately tried to get the patriotic youth to allow him to do the.honours." but the boy stuck to his guns. Meanwhile other* with whom the officer had declined to drink approached him, and asked for un explanation of his apparently peculiar conduct ; but tho officer told them that he had been wo impressed with tho boy's earnestness and enthusiasm that he could not refuse his „ invitation. The boy hud now trolved the financial problem. Out of consideration for tho feeling of such an ardent patriot, the r.fficer had found it impossible to offer to make up the deficiency. The boy cut the tiurdian knot by electing to take a threepenny drink whilst the officer had a sixpenny one 1