Barry Wynn; Or, The Adventures of a Page Boy in the United States CongressBarton, George
General
Barry Wynn; Or, The Adventures of a Page Boy in the United States Congress
Barton, George
Capitol pages -- Fiction; Political fiction; United States. Congress -- Fiction
For several days after his unexpected interview with the President,
Barry was filled with a sense of his own importance. He related the
incident to Congressman Carlton and to Joe Hart, and in the course of
time, it became very generally known about the Capitol. Mr. Carlton
seemed very much pleased at the honor that had been shown to his
protege, but the page boys received the story in silence. Barry
attributed their attitude to envy, and that fact caused him to walk
about with his chin very high in the air. Indeed, he felt like a boy who
was walking on clouds. To use the words of one of the messengers at the
Capitol, he "didn't know whether he stood on his head or his heels."
A great deal of praise had been accorded him at the time of the
Warrington incident, and he was pointed out as the page boy who had
been instrumental in saving an important piece of legislation in which
the President was personally interested. The visit of the delegation
from Cleverly also caused him much self-gratification. The words of Mr.
Smithers to Congressman Carlton were still ringing in his ears. He could
hear the old teacher yet as he called out to the Congressman:
"I am sure you won't fail us--not when you have the assistance of such a
bright boy as Barry Wynn."
All of these things combined had the effect of making him feel that the
fate of a nation--in a measure--depended upon him. He even became
somewhat frigid in his relations with Joe Hart.
Barry, without knowing it, was passing through that period which comes
to nearly every boy,--the period between boyhood and manhood, when
self-importance is apt to overshadow and conceal real worth. But,
whatever the cause, there was no doubt of the effect that he produced.
He succeeded effectively in winning the ill will of the other boys. They
naturally resented the idea of a new page receiving so much praise from
the members of Congress.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account