Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1863-05-08
DUTY AND KINDNESS.

There was an angry frOwn on the counte
nance Of Deacon Jonas Browning. There wer
tears in the sad face Of his wife.
"He shall be sent to sea-" said Deacon
! Browning sternly.
There was pleading lock in the eyes o
| Mrs Browning, as she Lifted them to the iror
face of her husband. But no words passet
her lips.
HE shall be sent to sea. 1t is my las
hope"
Phillip is very young, JONAS" said Mrs
Browning.
Mot too young for evil, and therefore no
too young for The discipline needed to eradi
cate the evil. he shall go to sea Captain
| Kills sails in the Fanny IYtIiiams next Mon
day. ] will call upon him this very day"
Isn't flIe Fanny Williams whaler?" The
lips of Mrs. Browning quivered and her voice
had choking sound.
yes, was firmly answered.
81 wouldn't send him away in wlaler, 10
mas. Remember he is very young, not g till
April
said the stern old deacon; who was believer
in The gospel of the law. lie was no weak
advocate of moral suasion, as il is familiarly
termed. He went in for law, and was strict
constructionist. Implicit obedience was the
statute for him, and deviations tLerefrom met
the nvver-wilhleld penalty.
Mrs. Browning entered into no argument
with her husband for she knew that would be
useless. She had Geyer succeeded in changing
his purpose by argument in her life. And 50
she bent her eyes meekly to the floor again.
in large. bright drops upon the carpet Dea-
con Browning saw the tears, but they did not
move him. He was tear proof
Phillip, the offending member of the Brown
ing lumily, was bright, active, restless boy,
who, from the start had been a rebel against
unreasonable authority, ard, as Il nu;ter of
cour<e, MT unlrcquent Y against authority both
Just and reasonable. p nishment bad o. l.
hardened hira, increasing ins:ea of diminish
ing his power Of endurance. The particular
offence for which he was now in disgrace was.
il must be owned, a very serious one. He
had, in company with three other boys of his
age, known as the greatest reprobars in The
village rih-d a choice plum tree belonging 10
a ncighbor of all the fruit it CONTAINED, and
then killed lavorite dog. which happened to
discover them ut their work. and attempted TO
drive them from The garden. The ueigbbor
had complained to Deacon Browning, accom-
panying the complaint with threat to have
Phillip arrested for stealing.
III you don't do something with that boy
of yours" he added, with considerable feeling,
"he'll end his life in State prison or on tie
galows."
Hard words were those for the ears Of Dea-
con Browning. Hard words, and with a pro
phetic meaning in them. lie had not a very
creative Imagination, but in this instance the
prediction of his angry neighbOr conjured up
in his mind the image of prison and a gal
lows, causing shudder TO pass along bis
nerves and the cold perspiration to start upon
his forehead. From that mons mt the resolu-
tion Of Deacon Browning was taken.
The boy was on the brink Of ruin, ard must
be saved at all hazards. As to the means Of
doing this it never entered into the heart of
Deacon Browning to conceive of any other
than involved harsh discipline. The Canaan
tie was in the land and must be driven out
with FIRE and sword. With him the word duty
had stern Specification. He had always
tried to do his duty, moving steadily on in the
path of life, and crushing down all vanities
and evils that sprung up by the way, under a
heel shed with iron.
'He shall be sent to sea-" That was the
last desperate remedy. In his mind, as in the
minds of many like him some years ago, a
ship was the great school of reform; and when
a boy was deemed ineorrigiblc be was sent of
to sea, usually TO have his evil inclinations
hardened into permanent qualities.
When Deacon Brewing met his son Phillip,
after receiving the intelligence of his great
offence, it was with stern, angry repulsion.
He did not see the look of appeal, the sign Of
repentance, the plea for mercy that was in his
fearful eyes. a single word of kindness would
have broken up the great deep of the boys
heart, and impelled by warmer impulses inher-
tied from his mother, he would have flung
himself weeping into his fathers arms. But
Deacon Browning had separated duty from
kindness. fhe one was a stern corrector of
evil, the other a smiling approver o! good.
From his home to the wharf, where the
Fanny Williams lay, all equipped for sea,
Deacon Browning bent his steps. Captain
Ellis, rough, hard man, was on board. AZ
ter listening to the fathers story and requests
be said biuntly-
"If you put your boy aboard the Fanny
Williams, hc1l have to bend or break, that is
certain. Take my advice and give the matter
a second thought. He'll have q dogs life o.
it in. a whaler. 1t is my opinion that your
lad hasn't stuff enough in him for this exper-
iment."
all risk it." replied the Deacon, "he's got
too much stuff in him to stay at home,' that's
the trouble. The bend or break system is iht
only one in which have any faith"
! ".As you like, Deacon. want another boy
and yours will answer + guess"
"When do you sail y he inquired.
"Next Monday"
VERY we'll; I'll bring the boy down to-mor
row."
The thing was settled; the Deacon did moi
feel altogether comfortable in mind. Phillip
was young for such an experiment, as tho
mother had urged. And now very opportune
ly, leaf in the book Of bis life was turned or
which was written the story Of poor boys
wrongs and sufFerings at sea. Many years age
his heart had grown sick over the record. He
tried to look away from the page but could
not. II seemed to hold his eyes by q kind o.