The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1869-10-01

WHAT cause for great thankfulneg Il
Is to have strong, sctive bodies-t0 beable
to hop, skip and jump, to 60 errands, Ualk
to school, and Q thousand other things
which happy and healthy children delight
to dol! .ia1 .isIHes
! Poor little Joe could do none of these
things; he was . cripple, and always
looked ILL., Though great sufferer, he
was nearly always smiling and good-tem-
pered There was something 90 good and
50 winning about him that everybody
liked him. --..,,-- ssaf
70 We have said he was cripple; yes, 30
lame and so weak that he never could get
up or down stairs alone, and only now
and then few yards about room or
along the pavement ~ JIQD
/. When the writer saw him one day, he
was about ten years Of age, and as hd was
growing up he was anxious to learn TO
write and understand arithmetic.
His mother was very fond Of him and
very kind to him, as good mothers always
are, especially to such children assre 30
helpless a. poor little Joe was She there
fore indulged his wish to learn by carry
ing him to school.
Joe soon became general fayoritet
However rude or rough the other boys
might be to each other, they never once
knocked against or hurt him.
They would Is soon have thought Of
pushing or hitting little baby brother or
sister as their poor helpless schoolfeIlow.
Joe's mother was soon relieved Of tho
trouble of bringing or fetching her boy.
Two BOYS were regularly seen ct her door
twice q day, before school-time, - help
Joe to school, and two others were always
ready to help him home.
1t was very pleasing to see the kindness
and tenderness Of these lads.
Sometimes Joe was TOO i'll to come TO
school; at such times two or three Of his
schoolfellows were found taking it in turn
to 20. and spend part Of their play time
with him, amusing him, or reading 70
him. "a' ~
One day, it was breaking-up day, the
books, states, etc, were all cleared away,
and the signal was Just ready to be given,
"All home for the holidays" when the
teacher, who liked O. bit of fun, brought
out of his desk two quarts of nuts and be-
gan to scramble them.
After some ten minutes Of hot excite
ment and hard scrambling, the nuts were
all picked up. l r-. -
As the boys stood, some laughing, some
rubbing their knees or elbows or heads,
some counting their nuts, some cracking
and eating them, and some looking ather
dull, for they had not got many, all at once
the masters eye caught poor Joe's IS
he was sitting patient and smiling in his
corner.
aOhi we have forgotten joe" he said,
and was in the act of putting his hand in
his pocket to find him q penny, when
voice shouted: "Let us each give him one
nut" Twas no sooner said than done.
Poor little Joe's hands were filed: every
body was pleased.
Tis not always that boys are as kind
and thoughtful as these poor lads were,
but it made them happy, and It win make
others happy too, If they try to DO good
| to take care of the weak. 90
Joe did not grow up to be man One
winter-tirne he was taken very III; no
nursing or medicine could save him. He
died and went to Heaven. His school
fellows missed him very much His
mother and his sister missed him more,
but they hardly knew how to cry about
it, for they could not help feeling thank
ful that Jesus had taken the poor suffering
child to be with Him, where there is no
more pain. g.y :,
:, Children, if you are we'll strong, and
happy, thank God, "who daily loadeth
YOU with benefits" !" and don't forget to be
iini and good to the weak and sick, and
lame or old. To do this il to do what you
can to be like Him who "went about doing
good" H
ABE We kind one to another, ,tsnder
hearted" d."-Hsarh and Homo.