Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1866-03-14
"Thas is the way dear grandpApa always
speaks of Gf,i - sbo tbo,,,w,.. l--z-s.-zsS.s -

"a glass Of water, if you please, my
child"
Half dozen at once ran 10 bring 1t
and Nellie, from her lunch basket, took a
piece of cake which he gratefully receiv-
ed. $50 you are not afraid of such an
ugly old fellow, after ali, "he said, smil-
ing, and looking round upon the group.
"Oh, no, sir" came from many voices,
"Well, the leg went in a good cause,
children. So l will not complain; and
its loss saved the life of comrade"
"Please tell US about it, sir" and the
children drew closer around him
81 lost it in the war Of 1872. l sup
pose you have read about that in history
But war to the readers, and war to the
actors IN it, are two very different things,
1 wac a m arino, aud prot.y smar. fs,low,
when lost my leg on the deck of 'the
frigate Constitution but I've not been
god for much since. l was removing a
wounded friend from an exposed positios,
when the ball came was glad that
saved him, for he had a wife and children,
and | had none then. had right to a
pension, but never applied for it"
"Why not. sir ?" said several of the
girls at once, with sympathy in their tones.
"Wel!, | lived far back in the country,
and had no friends in Washington. So,
as long as | could labor, | managed to
support myself and 20 lay by enough for
my few remaining years. [ have one
comfort in my old age. God has given
me daughter. Blessed be His name"
Seated in the shadow Of the school
house, the old soldier seemed comfortable
and happy, and his young auditors listened
to him with attention and reverence
After paItaking of the refreshments Of
fered him, he said, "W ell, children, you
are all young now, but if you live long
enough, age with its infrmities will come,
and then you will know how gratifying it
is to receive such Kindness, as you have
shown me to day. Ouce ID a while I go
out to enjoy the air and sunshine; aud
they have enticed me farther than | have
walked for a year before. am now
awhile from home, and when | reached
this gate, was wishing that seats by the
roadside had been provided for travellers.
But | am keeping you too long from your
play, or your studies" and he made an at
tempt to rise.
Half dozen voices exclaimed at once,
"Oh, no, sir, sit still, our recess lasts a
whole hour, and we do not care to play
now"
you are good children" he said, "and
very different from those who Knocked the
prophet Elisha. You have read that
storp in the Bible p
Some Of them remembered it, others
did not.
''Let me tell you then. Elisha, the
rrophet, the servant of God, was on his
way to Bethel, when children came out of
the city and mocked him, saying, Go up,
Mou bald dAead! Go mp, thou bald head"
Then the prophet turned back, and cursed
them in the name of the Lord And
God, in order to punish tEem, sent two
bears out of the-wood, and they tore IN
peices forty and two Of them. So He
manifested His anger against them. But
He will bless you all, am sure, for your
kindness 20 the aged"
As she listened to his commentator,
Mary Norton shrank back into the crowd,
mortified and self condemned for having
ridiculed his iniirmities. He lett them,
refreshed and gratified. That nj ght Nellie
Mansfield lay down upon her pillow, hap
pier far than Mary Norton, at the retro
spect of the, day but Mary was anxious
to atone for the past, and she did not rest
till she had discovered the home of the
veteran. She was among tie first who
visited him there, and from time TO time
the school girls cheered his declining days
by carrying to him flowers from the woods,
or some little delicacy procured for him
from their homes. But Nellie Mansfield
went farther than all. She :old the story
to her father, who applied to the Pension
Agent at Washington, and the sum which
was found due to the old soldier Of 1872
was sufficient to make a little fortune foi
his declining years, and to enable him
amply to provide for the devoted daughter
he was to leave behind
A. every visit, the glad welcome, and