man, as that
gentleman was placing vegetables out in front of the grocery one
morning.

"Well, I hope so," answered the grocery man, "I try to do what is
right, and hope to wear the golden crown when the time comes to close my
books."

"Then how is it that you put out a box of great big sweet potatoes, and
when we order some, and they come to the table, they are little bits of
things, not bigger than a radish? Do you expect to get to heaven on such
small potatoes, when you use big ones for a sign?" asked the boy, as he
took out a silk handkerchief and brushed a speck of dust off his nicely
blacked shoes.

The grocery man blushed and said he did not mean to take any such
advantage of his customers.

He said it must have been a mistake of the boy that delivers groceries.

"Then you must hire the boy to make mistakes, for it has been so every
time we have had sweet potatoes for five years," said the boy. "And
about green corn. You have a few ears stripped down to show how nice and
plump it is, and if we order a dozen ears there are only two that have
got any corn on at all, and Pa and Ma gets them, and the rest of us
have to chew cobs. Do you hope to wear a crown of glory on that kind of
corn?"

"O, such things will happen," said the grocery man with a laugh, "But
don't let's talk about heaven. Let's talk about the other place. How's
things over to your house? And say, what's the matter with you. You are
all dressed up, and have got a clean shirt on, and your shoes blacked,
and I notice your pants are not raveled out so at the bottoms of the
legs behind. You are not in love are you?"

"Well, I should smile," said the boy, as he looked in a small mirror on
the counter, covered with fly specks. "A girl got mashed on me, and Ma
says it is good for a boy who hasn't got no sister, to be in love with
a girl, and so I kind of tumbled to myself and she don't go no where
without I go with her. I take her to dancing school, and everywhere,
and she loves me like a house afire. Say, was you ever in love? Makes a
fellow feel queer, don't it? Well sir, the first time I went home with
her I put my arm around her, and honest it scared me. It was just like
when you take hold of the handles of a lectric battery, and you can't
let go till the man turns the knob. Honest, I was just as weak as a cat.
I thought she had needles in her belt and was going to take my arm away,
but it was just like it was glued on. I asked her if she felt