Smart Boy This

"Father, " asked Tommy, the othei day, "why is it that the boy is said to be the father of the man?" Mr. Tompkins had never given this subject any thought, and was hardly prepared to auswer offhand. "Why - why, " he said stnmbliugly, "it's so because it is, I suppose. " "Well, pop, since I'm your father, I'm going to give you a ticket to the circus and half a crown besides. I always said that if I was a father I wouldn't be so stingy as the rest of them are. Go in, pop, and have a good time while you 're young. I never had any chance myself 1" Mr. Tompkins gazed in blank astonishment at Tommy. Slowly the signiflcanee of the hint dawned upon him. Producing a half sovereign, he said: "Take it, Thomas. When you really do become a father, I hope it won't be your misfortune to have a son who is