The Portland daily press., 1863-10-31
MISCELLANY.
The Worsted Thread;---Or Small Begins
uings,

Because make such bad work ofit.'
THAT is not good reason
81 want TO wait till ] am Older
Being older won't mend the matter Only
practice will do that"
IF you could see how my ms and is look,
you would think had better quit it."
Bring home your writing book tonight
and L will look at them.p
II am ashamed to have you see them.1
III you have done the best you can, you
you have no cause to be ashamed"
That night Sammy brought his writ
ing book, home and in the evening his father
examined it.
"You have seen my books at the Office
said Mr.. Harden after looking at the page that
had discouraged Sammy so much.
Yes, father have seen them several times,
and have heard Mr.. Lathrop say that you
were capital penman.'
"Would you like to write as well?f
s'Yes sir, indeed should"
II began by writing just such page as
this"
'Was IL as bad p
II think So"
Scan ever learn to write as well as YOU 2"
II have no doubt you can, but you must
learn not to dispise small beginnings. | once
read of man who was accidentally left on the
top ola very high chimney, without a ladder,
or scafiold, or rope to help himself down with
and he got down at last by the aid of fine
worsted thread
"How could he do that? He could not let
himself down by worsted thread"
Certainly not"
please tell me the story, father How
came the man there?'
There were some very tall chimneys in
the manufacturing towns of England and
Scotland There is one in Glasgow over
fr.ttts L. rad nd rfu faofh trl, nd 10
tween thirty and forty feet in diameter at the
base. This man, with some other workmen
was employed in building one of these lofty
chimneys. When it was finished these men
got down and took away the scaffold, leaving
this man on the top"
why did he not get down with the other
workmen before the scaaold was taken
away?"
"He remained to see that all was right in
tending to let himself down by a rope attach
ed to an iron for this purpose. When every
thing was complete, he discovered that the
rope was not left him.
THE rope the roper he shouted in voice
Of terror.
.Those below looked around, and saw TO
their dismay that the rope lay coiled on the
ground beside them. They had taken down
the scafold and had not carried up the rope.
TWAS sight that struck terror to every heart,
for the chimney was SO high that rope could
not be thrown up"
The poor man was in great trouble. 1t
made his head swim to think how far he was
from standing on the ground, and no way to
get down. He had wife and little boy
whom he dearly loved. In that dreadful
hour he thought how soon his wife would be
4 widow and his boy fatherless.
The little boy was among those who stood
gazing at him from below. He had come to
see the great chimney finished, and return
home with his father when the work was
done. He now ran home to his mother as
fast as he could. 80 mother" he cried che
can't get down." "Who can't get down 2"
Father; they have taken the scaflold down,
and forgot to leave rope" The poor woman
uttered one cry of dismay and then with her
boy ran to the spot as fast as she could.
"a crowd had collected, but not one of
them could think of any way to help the poor
man down. "He is losing his senses and will
soon throw himself down." said one His wife
called to him TO hold on, and keep up his cou-
rage She then directed him TO take off his
stocking, and ravel out part of it, and attach
a piece of mortar to it to make il heavy. and
let it down. After giving these directions to
her husband, she sent her boy to one OF the
men to ask for a ball of Irvine.
THE man obeyed his wife's directions, and
they soon saw the fine thread coming down,
driven hither and thther by the wind. As
soon as it came within reach the wife seized il
and fastened it on to the ball of Irvine. She
then called out TO her husband to draw IL up
very carefully. This he did until he held the
end of the Irvine in his hand. The Irvine was
then cut from the ball, and fastened 10 the
rope itself, and then the man drew up the
twine until he held in his hand the precious
rope which would save him from this dread
iii ppfII. The enpurad IN ha iror
and the man stood on the ground by the side
OF his wife and boy
1T is a capital story papa said Sammy.
What nice way it was to get him down,
1T was very ingenious contrvance. 1t
shows the value of presence OF mind and calm
thought in the hour ofdanger. But that is
not the moral l mean to draw from it to-
night" nsa
There are many things Ia this world
which may be compared to this fine worsted
thread. Your writing book is one of them.
Your brothers writing book may be compared
TO the Irvine while the books at the office of
which Mr.. Lathrop speaks so highly may be
called the rope. You see that the fine thread
and the Irvine must be drawn up before You
can get hold ofthe rope. In other words You
mnst learn to make ms and It's before you can
write. The fine thread may be weak and of
its-selfnot of much nse, but the rope is strong
aud can accomplish much. Think how many
things 1t draws to our house every year,
What things father?"
Baskets of meat, vegetables, coffee and tea
parcels of dry goods enough to clothe the
whole family; barrels of flour, sugar and
Blolasses and whole tons of coal You see il
is large and strong ropen
Il know what you mean, father. The mon
ey you earn by writing buys all these things.
and SO you call 1t the rope which draws them
to our house,
rs 1t not good rope?"
Yes sir, very good ! will try and have
one like il. Twill take my writing book to-
morrow morning. and will draw in the fine
thread as fast as can till get to the Irvine.
and then TO the rope"
But You must draw ii in very carefully for
the thread Is very tender and very easily bro
KEN"
81 know, father what you mean by thai
fou mean that must write every line as well
as I can."
"That is the way to make good progress.
But there are other things which may be com
pared to the fine thread Here is a little boy
learning his first sabbath school lesson. Per-
haps he is such fellow that he can only learn
one shoit verse, such as, "Sufler little children
to come unto me and forbid them not."-
This lesson is the fine thread. The thread will
soon become Irvine, and he will soon be
able OF learn much Of the precious doctrines
and precepts of the holy Bible. In time the
little thread may become the large and strong
rope. The boy may become man like bod
bridge, and write book which may convert
thousands ofsouls; or he may become second
Npurgeon, whose eloquent appeals to the
heart and conscience will be heard and read by
millions. However large and strong the rone