Harper's Young People, October 17, 1882 An Illustrated Weekly

The morning on which the famous excursion was to be made dawned as bright and clear as the most exacting boy could have wished, and Johnny and Jimmy were in the best possible spirits.

The boat on which they were to start was to leave the pier at ten o'clock, and as early as six they had concluded the most elaborate of toilets. They were dressed so much that the effort to move about in such a manner as not to destroy their general elegance really cost them no little pain.

Johnny had been up some time before it was light, making such a racket as he moved about the house, bent on getting this thing or that which would add to his general appearance, that Mother Brown had jumped out of bed twice in the greatest alarm, believing burglars were in the house. He had not only made his own toilet, but he had aided Jimmy in his, until both were in such a state of gorgeousness that they almost feared to walk through the streets because of the excitement they might cause.

The night previous Johnny had invested five cents in butter, greatly to the mystification of Jimmy, and when the work of dressing began, he brought it forward triumphantly, bestowing such liberal quantities upon his own head and Jimmy's that each particular hair lay down so flat that the most furious gust of wind could not have disturbed it. It was fully half an hour before Johnny, with the aid of an old shoe-brush, could arrange this portion of the toilet to please him; but it was accomplished at last, and the remainder of the work begun.

During the first week of the summer Jimmy had taken the place, for one day, of a friend who sold papers on the Harlem Railroad, and in order that he might improve his personal appearance somewhat had purchased a paper collar. Of course he had worn it until it was so thoroughly soiled that it would have been difficult to have said what its original color was.

This Johnny used for a pattern, and from a piece of white paper had made two collars, which had the merit of being clean, even if they did not fit as well as they might have done. They were rather high in the back and low in front, with a decided tendency to wrinkle; but those little defects Johnny was certain would not be noticed in the general beauty of the whole.

Jimmy's coat, which he had borrowed from Tom Dowling for this special occasion, had originally been brown, trimmed with fur, and many sizes too large for him. In the years that had passed since it was new it had not grown smaller, but the color had departed from it, and what had once been fur now looked like strips of very poor leather. But Jimmy was perfectly satisfied with it, since it was large enough to enable him to conceal the lack of vest, and short enough to leave fully three inches of his linen trousers exposed to view.

He wore a felt hat with an abundance of brim and a sad deficiency of crown, while his neck-tie was a modest and unassuming one, with alternate red and yellow stripes about an inch wide. With the exception, perhaps, of his coat, it was in his shoes that he took the greatest pride. It is true that there were several holes in them, but he had blackened them and his feet so skillfully that an ordinarily careless glance would have failed to show that they were other than whole.

While Jimmy believed that he looked thoroughly genteel, he freely admitted that Johnny would have carried away the prize for fashionable attire had any been offered. Not because his clothes were any more expensive than were his partner's, but because it might be said they were more seasonable.

Johnny was clothed entirely in brown linen. Mother Brown had on hand a suit belonging to her son, who had inadvertently left it at home when he ran away to sea, and this she sold to Johnny for thirty cents, to be paid in ten weekly installments.

Young Brown must have been very tall, or else his clothes had been made in expectation of his growing very rapidly, for the coat, in its original condition, nearly dragged on the ground when Johnny tried it on. Mrs. Brown had remedied this defect, however, by making a fold about five inches wide across the entire garment, which both the boys thought a great improvement. The trousers had simply been cut off at the bottom, so that they were a good fit so far as length was concerned, and it was very little trouble to fold them in around the waist.

Mrs. Brown, without extra charge, had starched the garments very stiff, so that they would stand out boldly without betraying the fact that the wearer did not occupy all the space in them he might have done had he been about twice as large as he was. When Johnny had the clothes on, with a brilliant green neck-tie to enhance the effect, it must have been a prejudiced party who would not have admitted that it was a striking costume. His shoes were not blackened quite as brilliantly as were his partner's, but the reason for this apparent neglect was that, not having as many holes in them as Jimmy's had, there was no reason for quite so high a polish.

As they had anticipated, they did attract considerable attention as they walked into the City Hall Park, with so much time at their disposal that they were not obliged to hurry in order to keep their engagement. Even the men looked at them with no slight degree of interest, while the boys proved their admiration by greeting them with all kinds of criticism, some less complimentary than others. Some of the boys Johnny spoke with kindly, as if to show that even if he was magnificent, he was not proud; but others he paid no attention to whatever, giving as a reason to Jimmy that when they were dressed as they were he thought that some distinction should be made by them between the reputable newspaper merchants and those whose credit had been impaired by their own misdeeds.

Very many of their acquaintances in business knew about "their girl," and also knew of the accident she had met with, therefore they readily understood by the display of costumes that Katy was to be released from the hospital. Nearly all of them sent some message of congratulation to the black-pin girl that her recovery was complete, and one even offered to loan the boys ten cents, without other security than their word, if they were going to take "their girl" out for a good time.

Jimmy would have accepted this offer eagerly, for their funds were so limited that even the slightest addition would have been welcome; but Johnny prevented him at once by saying to the would-be lender:

"We're much obliged to yer, Jack, and we'll do the same for you some time; but yer see we couldn't think of takin' Katy out on borrowed money, for she wouldn't have as good a time if she knew it."

Then the boys walked directly to the hospital, arriving there some time before eight o'clock, and for more than an hour were they obliged to wait in the street, suffering greatly from the heat and their fear lest they should disarrange their carefully made toilets.

It seemed as if Katy must have been as impatient for the meeting as they were, for just at nine o'clock she came out of the hospital gates, looking pale and worn, but as happy as she ever was in her life. She had on the new dress, and even though it was not made in the latest fashion, nor of the richest materials, the boys were very much surprised by the improvement in her appearance.

"You look like a reg'lar swell!" exclaimed Johnny, approvingly, and then he turned slowly around in front of her, that she might see and admire him.

"I hain't sure but the dress looks jest as well as if it was red," said Jimmy, too much "dressed up" even to rub his chin, and then he too began to revolve for Katy's benefit. For some moments it was truly a mutual admiration society of three members.

Then after they had sufficiently complimented each other, and after Katy had vainly tried to thank the boys for their kindness, Johnny announced the programme for the day, explaining that the excursion was necessary as a means of showing their thankfulness for the recovery of "their girl."

"We're goin' to be reg'lar folks, ain't we?" cried Katy, when, to her great pleasure, the boys led the way to the nearest elevated railroad station, thus giving her the opportunity of having such a ride as she had long desired.

"I guess you'll think so before we get back," replied Johnny, decidedly; and when he paid thirty cents for the ride, thereby diminishing their funds sadly, he looked at Katy in a satisfied way, happy at being able to give her so much pleasure.

At the steamboat pier they mingled with the crowd that would probably spend more money than they, but yet have less enjoyment, and it was as much as Katy could do to see everything around her, so many times did she look at her dress--new and whole.

During the sail Ikey Moses had no reason to complain that the boys did not keep their word in regard to patronizing him, for hardly five minutes went by without their making a purchase of some kind. Katy had pea-nuts, apples, candy, and cakes piled up on the seat in front of her until it seemed certain that if she ate them all she would be obliged to return to the hospital.

When the boys were not gladdening Ikey Moses' heart by buying his wares, they were busily engaged in pointing out to Katy the different points of interest in the harbor, or in telling her of the wonderful things she was to see; and in this way the time passed so rapidly that before it seemed possible they could have been away from the pier ten minutes they were at Coney Island.

Having spent so much of their wealth on the steamer, it was necessary for them to be careful of their money if they expected to get any dinner, and in order that the purchases might be made more judiciously, Jimmy gave his portion of the funds to Johnny, thereby making him responsible for the manner in which the forty remaining cents were spent.

If they did not have quite as much money, they felt of just as much importance as any one on the beach, and they walked along in all the glory of good clothes and a contented mind. They would have enjoyed a swim--at least the boys would--but bathing suits were necessary; and after Johnny had vainly tried to persuade the man at the bath-house that ten cents ought to be enough for the hire of three suits, they concluded that perhaps they ought not waste so much time in the water, when they could be sight-seeing.

Never before had the three been on an excursion "dressed up," and they enjoyed their own condition quite as much as they did that which they saw. Even the dinner was a success, for Johnny bought one plate of chowder, with crackers for three, and on the clean though rather warm sand they sat around the one plate, quite as contented as if they had had all that money could buy.

It was not until the last trip of the boat on which Ikey Moses was employed that they started for home, and then they gave their friend no extra work in waiting upon them, for they had such a trifling sum in the treasury--that is to say, in Johnny's pockets--that they would be able to buy only a small stock of papers the next morning.