The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1855-01-03

TIE W0RsTED STOCKING.
4 TRUE sroRY.

= ~ ALOAAMG =
said little Tom Howard, as he stoo
waiting for bis fathers breakfast. EhicI
he carried 10 him at his work ever
morning as gsa
He said be hoped all the scaFoldin
smother, "and that III be q fne sight
iSor ! neverlike the endingof those erea
ehimneysEitls 50 risky-thy father's.t
En- then, III go and see him. AM
help eem to give a shout afore he comes
down. said Tom.
AndSthen, continued his mother
Tsif all goes right, NE are to have
IN otcto-morroW; and 90 into the coun
try, and take our dinners and spend all
thesday amongst the Eoods' yes d
eseHurrah ~ cried Tom, as he ran of
TO his fathers place Of, work, with a can
cot milk in one hand and some bread in
stho other. His mother stood inn the
sdoor watching: him as he went merrily
whistiing down the street, and then she
thought Of Che dear father he was going
to- and the dangerous work he was en-
gagged in and thensher heart sought its
sure refuge, and she prayed to God to
protect and bless her measures
Tom, with light heart, pursued his
way to his father, and, leaving his own
breakfast, went toshissown work which
was at some distance In the evening,
aon his -way home, be went round to- see.
how his father was getting on. James
Howard, the father, and a number of
other workmen, had been building one
.of those lofty chimneys which in our
great manufacturing towns, almost sup;
ply the place of architect1al beauty
This chimney was one Of the highest
and most tapering thatshad ever been
erected and as Tom, shading his eyes
from the slanting raysof the setting sun
Hooked up TO the top in search of his
/. father, his beart almost sunk within him
eat the appalling heigf1th. The scaffold-
ing was almost all down. the men at
the bottom werezremoringt the last beams
and poles Toms father stood alone on
rthe top He looked all around to see
tthat every thingswas right and then
waving his hat in the air. he men below
answered him with long and loud
cheer little Tom shontinga s bezftify as
any of them. HAs their voices died
away, however, they heard a very diff
;ferent sound cry Of alarm and hor-
rof from above The ropetsst the
rope The men looked round, and,
cooled upon the ground lay the rope,
which, before the scaffolding was remoy-
cd, should have been fastened to the top
of the chimney, for Toms father to come
down byl The ~scafolding had been tas
ken down, without their remembering to
take the rope up. There was a dead
silence. They all knew that it was i'm
possible to throw the up high
enough, to reach the top of the chimney;
OF If Is could, il would hardly have been
safe. They stoodin silent dismay, unabls
give any help or think Of any means
of safety.
And Toms father ESTkearOund
and round the little circle, sthe sdizzy
'hsightsssning every moment q sgFou
nSFefarfnL ard the solid earth further
and WfhE ~hnl In the Rddeni
pza7s he 1ost ms presence ef mind, and
hE senses Em0st failed hIn@Hrs m
his eFeEs he felt asE, the nExEmament, ]
he musf be dasheafD Psnes On the
UBana bs3BM
Ms1Hh61 passsa rs maasE118asy
sE7tyas usaAf,Ixith E0nfEmDther
AZ h1e was a1zaw buslF emf
p1oTe6 far kzsbaaa and Ehddren, n
some way r0fberz and teldET she had
been hardEzt work than usual getting
ready for the holiday to4m0rnoB-3 She
had inst finished all her preparations,
God for Der happy home, andf o all the
blessings of life, when Tom ran In his
face as white as ashes; and he could
get his words ont. Mother
Mother He cannot get doEngszssa
Who Ad2Thys father asked
his m6theE aass esaK csi
sTEeylEeforgottent TO leave therope,7
sans1erer Tom, still scarceIyssable to
-epesE His mother started up, horror
-struck, and stood for a moment as if
p~arafyzed; then pressing her hands over
ner face. asif to shut out the terrible |
picture, and breathe a prayer to God for
help, she rushed ont of the house.
When abe reached the place where her
husband Has at work, a crowd had COLI
leeted round the foot of the chimney,
and steodsthere quite helpless, gazing up
with faces full of sorrow. He says
he,4fsthfow himself down. exclaimed
they, as Mra. Howard came NJ. Hel
is going 20 throw himself DOWN. @
4Thse nunna DO that, lad cried
the wife with clear hopeful voice ethee
munna do that. Wait bit. Takhaff
thy stocking lad, and unravel It, and let
down the thread with a bit of morter.
Dost hear me Jem - isfss
The man had made a-signsof assent,
Tors4 seemed as If e cofld not speak,;
and, taking OF his stocking, unrayeled
the Worstedt thread, row afterroW. The
people stood around in sbreathless 81
lenee and suspense, wondering What
Toms mother could be thinking of, and
why she sent him insueh haste for the
carpenters balFof twine.ss
RLek down one end of the thread
withfa bit of stone, and keep fast hold
of the other,sns cried she to her husband.
The little thread came waving down the
talIaehimneg, blown hither dathither
blythe wind bnt at last It reached the
s~o1fstreatched hands that were waiting
for itss1Tem held the ball. Of string,
while his mother tied one end of it to
the wofsted thread Now pull it up
.soWlF.r cried che to her husband, and
she gradually unwound the string as
the Torsted drew it gently up 1t stop
ped-the string had reached her hus-
band.
anNoW hold the string fast, and pail
itup, eried5she and the string grew
heavy, andshafd TO pull for Tom and his
mother had fastened the thick rope tot
They watched it gradually and slowly
uncoa from the ground, saszsthe stirring