Columbia gazette., 1853-11-12
lressing the Z }, children, and getting

u.0"'' - anu mix With them.
There was no fire, and he put cyery
knife and other dangerous things on a a
high shelf, and gave them some trifles
to play with, and promised to come and
play with them at dinner-time. And
he did play. He played heartily With
the little ones, and as if. he enjoyed It,
every day at the noon hour. MANY a
merry laugh the neighbors heard from
that room when the three children were
together, and the laugh was often ] Joel's.
How he learned to manage, and es.
peclally to cook, nobody knew; and he
could himself have told little more than
that he wanted to see how people did it,
and looked accordingly at every oppor-
tunity. lie certainly fed the children
we'll, and himself too. He knew that
every thing depended on his strength
being kept up. His sister sat or, hi.
knee to be fed till she could feed ,,erssJf
He was sorry to give it up; hut he said
she must learn to behave. SO he smooth
ed her hair, and washed her face before
dinner, and showed b er how to fold her
hands while he SAL grace. He took as
much pains to train ner to GOOD manners
at table as if he had been governess,
teaching little lady.
WhDe shs remained a sbaby,' he slept
IN tre Fiddle of the bed, between the
t"o, tat she might have room, and not
De disturbed; and when she ceased to be
a. baby, he silently made new arrange
ments. He denied himself hat, which
he much wanted, in order to buy con-
siderable quantity of coarse dark calico,
which, with his own hands, he made in
to curtain; and slung up across part
of the room; thus shutting off about a
third fit. Here he contrived to make
up little bed for his sister; and was not
satisfied till she had basin and jug, and
a piece of soap Of her own. Here no.
body but himself was to intrude upon
her without leave; and, indeed, he al
ways made her understand that he came
to take care Of her. It was not only
that Willy was not to see her undressed.
A neighbor or two, now and then lifted
the latch without knocking. One of
them one day, heard something from be-
hind the curtain, which made her call
her husband silently to listen; and they
always afterwards treated Joel as if he
were man, and one whom they looked
up to. He was teaching the child her
little prayers. The earnest, sweet, de-
vout tones of the boy, and the innocent,
cheerful imitation of the little one, were
beautiful to hear, the listeners said.
Thoug h so we'll taken care of, she
was not to be pampered, there would
have been no kindness in that. Very
early, indeed she was taught in a merry
sort of way, to put things in their pla-
ces, and to wash up the crockery. One
reward that Joel had for his manage
mcnt was, that she was early fit to 20 to
chapel. This was great point; as he
choosing to send Willy regularly, could
not 60 till he could take the little girl
with him. She was never known to be
restless and Joel was quite proud of her.
Willy was not neglected for the little
girls sake. In those days children went
earlier to the factory, and worked longer
than they do now, and by the time the
sister was fve-years old, Willy became
a factory boy; and his pay put the little
girl to school. When she, at seven went
to the factory, too, Joel's life was alto
gethor an easier one. He always had
maintained them all, from the day of his
mother death. The times must have
been good-work constant, and wages
steady-or he could not have done it.
! Now when all three were earning, he
put his sisiccrr to sewing school for two
evenings in the wecs,, and the Saturday
afternoons, and he and Willy attended
an evehing-school as they found they
COZ. could afford it. He always escorted the
) little girl wherever she had to 90, into
tne factory and home again-to the
scnool door, and home again-and to
the Sunday school, yet he was himself
remarkably punctual at work and at wor-
ship. He was humble. earnest doc;lo
} pupil himself, at the sanday-scboolw oN0
J quite unconscious that he was more ad-
i vanced than other boys In the sublime
science and practice Of duty. He felt
! that every body was kind, and was una
S ware that others felt it an honor to be
kind to him.
! / Ilinger on these years, when he was a
fne growing lad, in state Of high con-
r tent. I linger unwilling to proceed
: But the end must come; and it Is soon
a told. He was sixteen, 1 think, when be
n was asked to become teacher in the
e Sunday-school, while not entirely ceas
= ing to be scholar. He tried, and
t made very good teacher; he won the
d hearts of the children while trying to op