Oscar / The Boy Who Had His Own Way

h morning, as he was going to school. The streets were in a very bad condition, being several inches deep with a compound of snow, water, and mud, familiarly kno

xterous movement, they soon balanced the debtor and creditor account. Giving the sled a sudden jerk and lurch, in one of the sloppiest places they had met with, their lazy passenger was thrown backward into the mud, and imprinted a full length picture of himself in the yielding material. The incident happened almost in front

tion: The

streets in such a plight. He imagined everybody he met or overtook was staring at him, and laughing at the figure he cut, and he wanted to hide his face from their sight. He never went home from school so fast before; but when he had changed his dress, and washed the dirt from his hands and fac

uncombed hair, or soiled and ragged dress. He loved to dress well, too, and no amount of persuasion could induce him to wear a garment, if he fancied it did not set r

his jackets, which had become a little worn at the elbows; "there, that w

ut his eye rested upon a slight patch upon one of the elbows, which entir

," he said; "why can't

had anything but your old clothes to wear for a year or two, and I should think it was

ile longer," replied Mrs. Preston.

n't want to wear that to school; folks will think

Oscar's class, at the head of which he stood. As he had nothing to recommend him but fine scholarship, exempla

If you were half as good a boy as he is, I would not complain. But you need not be a

e angel," said Oscar, who never liked to he

that you would do well to

get that thing on," added Oscar, in a co

another word of complaint. I took a great deal of pains to mend it neatly, and it looks well enough for you

garments that he disliked. Somehow other they were sure to waste away in a much faster manner than those he had a fancy for; or, perhaps they would be rendered suddenly usele

a seat by the fire He pulled out his watch to wind it up

and Charlie Grant, and almost all the large boys that I know, have got

with watches?" in

m? They carry them to tell the time

lay of watch-chain,

t time it is, sometimes. It would make me a good deal more punctual, if I had one. I was late to school this morning, but it w

as the clock, in their attendance at school. If I had been tardy, and tried to excuse myself by saying that I had no watch, I

Alf. Wa

d a time-piece ab

ied Oscar, somewhat emb

boy, and forgot all about your school; and it would have been j

or if I 'd had a watch about m

trouble to ascertain what time it is, when you have an engagement, I don't think a wat

n enough. He has just been making a great fuss because I put a little bit of a patch on t

companions accordingly, you will soon find that you have got a pretty set of friends. And so, too, if you think you can secure the good opinion and respect of the world, merely by dressing well, you are greatly mistaken. You must learn to judge people by their characters, and not by thei

is it?" in

in six months from this time, if you wil

ired Oscar; "are they

y try. The first is, that you render prompt obedience to your p

ied Oscar, somew

our playmates and all other people in such a way, that no serious

guess so,"

ttention to your studies to gain admission to the High

it is," s

ese conditions," continued his father;

answer. He hesitated, and twisted abou

pose I should mak

firmly resolve to try. You just admitted that you could keep these conditions, but it seems you are not willing to make the attempt. You want a watch, but you do

emained

ot think it important that you should get the watch, it is important that you should reform som

ool next summer, may I have

if you don't get into the High School at that time, I shall send you to some boarding-school away from home, where you will be made to st

xamination. There was still some doubt whether he would succeed any better at the next examination; and in case of his failure, his parents had decided to send him to a boarding-school in the country. But there was nothing very alarming to him in the idea of going into such an e