The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-12-25

.'Oa mother, give me some tea, am burn
| ms win thirstH
| II have not got Il, darling" said tue woman,
! with n passionate cry, rs she fell upon her
| knees. 81 have nothing 10 give you but We
| tern
| Then the angel knelt and locsed in the
child's hearti poverty, cold, munger, thirst
| and sickness, had ali tried their worst, and
| vet for that child there was light In It's darS-
| ness--in the midst of It's pains and troubles
| IL loved It's mo Their. and had great pleasure in
! ner tenderness and love-
! "rhe child is not auiie miserable, must go
| eiscwhere," he e@iu.
| IN ano Their 1T use n little boy was nursing
| his iittIe dying sister and the poor mother was
| busy cleaning up the house To- ts.e doctor, and
the hLiie boys tears feit hvf aud fast upon the
/ pretty pate baby ihet he loved SO dearly, and
! was 80 soAn soiee 10 iosv forever. But he was
pleased, eey,A1se he knew the dear, dying baby
woaid scNn be in heaven. So the angel left
him, aud he looked up To the sky, where The
stars We're cleaning, aud he heard the hosan-
mas Of the angels and the ripple of the stream
| VI tcare.
AID while he was looking upwards he
heard a sound of music near hifn,-it was u
very old street organ, playing "Adeste
| Eidees,' (lhe Christmas Hymn You would
almost have smiled 70 near how IL groaned,
aud what tabor aud work il seemed to nave to
! bring the tame out. The aLg-l looked, and
/ there was such a little boy, ohIy about eight
years cid, turning the handle round and
round. lis face was pale with cold and hum
ger; his fair face was only halt covered by an
| old esp; thin dress DID not half protect him
from The sharp freezing cold; but still he
rurued on aud on without stopping, for he had
| only seyenpence, and he knew if he Went
home without smiling lie should get no sup
| per, and PEI maps worse than that All day
| long he had been In the streets playing over
1 at his little tunes, and almost crying himself
! - pry IIIue Adeste Fide!ss :" came around
! SO many people passed him by sometimes
| tney stopued Tor II moment 10 look at him, and
| hen has heart would heat high with hope, ana
| ia IL h,sl nd
| they paseei on, and The IIght WOulu tade from
| III. eyes, and "h.s heart grow sad agaIn.'-
| Night came at last with its s1ars, aud tue snow
| was frozen, md tEe air bisw keen and sharp
| The street Iarnps were iiEn ed ana the gas ia
The show windows. More aud more peO-
pie passed him b5 ; they walked quickly be
| cause Of the cold, aud dad did not stay TO lhlnk
! Of The poor little hoy or his music. Sun NJ
| turned round aud round, aud every now and
| then "Adsste FideleS - came IN its Turn
| None knew now The tImid heart was shrinking
| fron fear, or surely they wOnld have given
| something from Ihelr abundance. And rs the
uIgat wore on. the not, heavy tears Tell down
| the pale face. and the tired arms almost re-
fused 10 work.
Ugh ana sob, oh, II ! might cone - heaven
u yop."
iuen the angel drew near he held the light,
ana looked into the hoy heart. "Ah y sala
ne, when he saw " hat was lheFe " but Will
b. sure first"
Very slowly, very sadly the child turned his
wearled footsteps home llngerln by the way,
tor he knew what would await HIM II he had
not money enough, often staying 10 look in
he snOp windows. whore the hot pies and
cakes looked Sd tempting, aud longing with all
his hungry IIttIe heart Tor one; then counting
ais money over and over again 50 carefully,
u9niug he might have made q mistake before,
and uTnlug all his pockets over 10 see If he
had not one half penny left that he nd not
know Of. No, there il all lay, only seyeaFeuCP,
and he had been All day in the cold and suU ".
NsarIt ne ftAGTi " n adj ~
so bone. An, me. what SAD thoughts were In
tuat poor little heart; how bitter were he
tears hat fell so fast; we'll Nigh, the angel
fancy rs he followed him, that ne heard more
distinctly ana pitifully the ripple Of the
stream. WhLs the child and the angel turn
down streets and lanes and alleys, l Will tell
you who the boy was. His faith 1F and mother
We're poor lJaIIauS, and many years ago they
lett their beautiful sunny land and came to
England to Try - get their living. They
only had this Que HLtle by, and he was
called after The great and holy s.. Bernard
Bus ne was So small and so pretty, with such
fair hair and dark soft es that he never went
by any other name than Bernie. HIS mother
died when he WAS very young, and left him 10
his father. And his dear kind father was
everything to him. liz amused him and played
with him, ana when Bernie WAS tired, he
would take HIM i'll his arms, ana sing songs OF
tins beautiful Italy - him. Every mOrnIng
The father used 10 40 cut with MS organ and
come home again III tue evening, and the old
woman where he lodged used 10 take care Of
Bernie All day t. was 50 quiet and good ana
when evening was coming he would sand
near the street door ana watch Tor his father,
and when he Jaw him would run 10 meet him,
and The poor father would often go without
butter to his bread, or sugar 10 his tea, as TO
De bic 10 bring his little boy nice cake or a
| bun home. Then Berrle,s bright eyes would
| sparkle, and he would clap his nanGs Tor Joy.
All, ! cannot tell you how passIonaielv the
1atner loved this little boy. and he, POOR child
| had no one else to love; no one else ever spoke
| "A so
upon his dear father.
| Une cold winter poor Bernies father was
| taken very i'll, and could not go out with his
organ. He grew worse and worse, and the
| doctor and the priest both came and said he
| could never get any better One day when he
| was alone with the boy, he called nim 10 the
| bedside and said My dear Bernie, my poor
| boy, nave they told you l am going !"
| Going where, father I"
| To heaven, / nope, my child
! "Oh, yes, they told me-, but did not miHd,
! because l knew You would never 20 anyW here
| without me. You VIII take me, too, wont
yUu ;" aud he fixed his eyes eagerly upon his
fathers lace.
| But the father could not answer. How
could he tell the lonely little boy that he
| would leave him forever, and that he would
| De alone in the wide world without one 10
! love or care for him. He could only take MIN
| il his arms and hold HIM 10 the heart 80 soon
| to be liled tor ever. The child felt his faith
! ers burning face and hands growing colder.
" Beruie!" B-rnle!' he SAID, cropping with
/ his band as though IN DARKNESS.
:" l am here, father" said the boy, wonder
| ing.
| once oh, yet once more, such is the power
| Of love, the dying arms Clasped him once again,
! aud for the last tlme those loving lips kissed
| the boys idIr brow, and then, on, then, the
! dear hands grew colder, and an awful still
ness fell upon the White face.
| Father, father = cried the child, in wild
| terror.
| No answer. For the TIrst time the dear voice
| was aIleut to his cry; and when the priest
came NJ found Bernie seEseiess from grief and
tear, slll Cias ping his dead fathers hand. Aud
the doctor said il was me great aud sudden
emotion at he Guilds question, of which Ber
| ME told him, that had snapped the slender
| thread OF the poor fathers ilIe.
| Poor, poor Bernie, they took his father
| away, and lad him in the cold ground. And
| he used 70 GO every day 10 cry by his grave
| And sometimes he would lay his HUE head
| down upon the grass, aud say a. pitlfuiiy,
| ION, father, please let rae come 10 Heaven
| Some people wanted Bernie TO * 10 the
| worknouse; they said IT was the proper place
for uch children as he. Bot the Old woman
| where ne logged, sad mo, II he viii give ms
| q shilling a-WeeR, VIII keep him, tor he can
| 90 out with his organ"
! So that was settled, and one bright sum-
mer-s morning they pat his poor lost fathers
| organ IL his hands, aud sent him out to play.
| AT first il was novelty TO see such little
| boy out playing, that people used TO be very
! generous and pleased 10 give him Il penny
Then when they were quite used TO II, They
would pass hlm by without giving him asy-
| thing.
The old woman, whose name was Bessy,
| was not cruel. She rather liked Bernie, and
would have beef very kind To him II she had
| lived alone, but she had TWO big Idle sons,
| W no were very bad men, and no led the poor
| child miserable life. they used TO send him
| out III the morning with Il bat of bread, TO las
| him the whole day. Aad then they made a
| cruel rule hat if LIE came home with less than
| IA smiling, he should have no supper. On,
| nv dear children, think OF what that boy SUIT
| fered from hunger; think how he must have
| trembied ali day, for fear he should not have
| money enough. So he went on for some time
/ Inet lan1 I'ra L.