Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1850-06-06

nt4 u S0e morning. - INC PENNY toS
bis offence. and 10 q harsh voice eopclud-
e with
/" Now sir, 90 to POUR bedw /
"But, father" said the little fellow,
al want to tell you"
"NOt word, sir; go to bed :" !
at only wanted TO say, father, that
With pcrcmptOry stamp, an impera-
tive wave Of his hand towards the door,
and frown upon his brow. did that la
Their, without other speech. again close
the door Of expostulation or explanation
When his boy had gene supperleSs 10
his bed, the father sat restless and "ne"'
sy while supper was being prepared
and, at tea -iaGle, ate bnt little. Ills w"e
the rea! cause, or the additional cause OF
his emotion, intcrpoScd the remark
Il thipk, my dear, YOU ought at least
to have heard what Fenry had TO say
Ny heart ached Tor him when be turned
away With his eyes full Of tears. Henry
is good boy, after all, ii he does some>
times do wrong. Ilci tender-hearted,
affecticnatc boy. He always was"
And therewithal the water stood in
the eyes of that forgiying mother. even
| as it stood in the eyes OF Mercy, in the
| Ilouss Of the Interpreter, as recorded by
Bunyan.
After tea, the evening paper was ia
ken up, but there was no news and moth
ing of interest for that father in the jour-
nal of that evening. He sat for some
time in an evidently painful revery, and
then rose and repaired to his bed>cham-
her,. AS he passed the bedroom whe:e
his little boy slept, he thought &c would
look in upon him before setiing to rest.
He crept to 10 low cot and bent over
him. Z. pig tear had stolen down the
ooy's cheek, and rested upon it but he
was sleeping calmly and sweetly. The
father deeply regretted his harshness as
he gazed upon his son he felt also the
sense Of duty ; yet in the night, talking
the matter over with the lads mother,
he resolved and promised, instead of
Furnishing, as he had threatened, to make
amends to the boys agrieved Spirit in
the morning for the manner in which he
had repealed all explanation OF his offence.
But the morning never came to that
poor child in health. He awokc the
next morning with raging fever on bis
brain, and wild with delirium. In 4S
| hours he was in his shroud He knew
neither his father nor his mother, when
they were FIRST called to his bedside, nor
at any moment aftcrward. Waiting,
watching for one token of recognition,
hour after hour, in speeches. agony, dio
that unhappy father bend over the couch
of his dying son. Once, indeed, he
thought he saw smile Of recognition
light up lis dying eye, and he leaned
eagerly forward, for he would have Civ
en- worlds to have whispered one kind
word in his ear and been answered but
that CLEAN of apparent intelligence pas
sed quickly away. and was succeeded by
the cold, unmeaning glare, and the wild
tossing of the feyered limbs, which last
ed until death came to his relief.
Two days afterward the undertaken
I came with the little coffin, and his son, a
playmate of the deceased boy, bringing
the low stools in which it was to stand
| in the entry-hall.
/ at was with Henry" said the lad,
"when lie got into the water. Wewere
playing down at the Long Wharf, Henry,
and Charles Munford and l; and the
tide was out very low; and there was
beam run out from the wharf, and Chas.
got out on it to get fish line and hook
that hung over where the water was
deep, and the first thing we saw, he had
slipped of, and was struggling in the
water Henry threw off his cap,
and jumped clear from the wharf into
the water, and after great deal OF hard
work got Charles out !; and they waded
up through the mud, to where the
wharf was not so wet and slippery; and
then / helped them to climb up the side
Charles told Henry not to say anything
about it, for if he did, his father would
| never let him 90 near the water again
Henry was very sorry and all the way
/, going home, he kept saying
What will father say, when he sees
me Tonight ? wish we had not gone
to the whSrfh
"Dear, brave boy?' exclaimed the
bcrcaved father =" and this was the x
PLANTATION which I cruelty refused to
heart" and hot and bitter tears rolled
down his cheeks.
Yes. that stern father now learned
for the first time, that what he had treated
with unwonted severity as fault, was
but the impulse Of u generous nature,
which, forgetful Of self, had hazarded
life for another 1t was but the quick
prompting Of that manly spirit which he !
himself had always endeavorcd to graft |
upon his susceptible mind, and which.
young as he was, had always manifested
itself on more then one occasion.
Let mo close this story in the very
woids of that father, and let the lesson
l 49, Ala Lonr&s of aa.nr,, M rant |