Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1869-11-04
Poor Little .J0e.

What cause for great thankfulness
it is to have strong active bodies-to be
able to hop, skip and jump, and to go
errands, walk to school, and a thousand
other things which happy and healthy
children delight to dol
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
tempered. There was something SO
good and so winning about him that
everybody liked him.
We have said he was a cripple; yes, so
lame and so weak that he never could
get up or down stairs alone, and only
now and then "a few yards about room
or along the pavement.
When the writer saw him one day, he
was about ten years of age, and as he 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
as are so helpless as poor little Joe was.
She therefore INDUCED his wish to learn
by carrying him to school.
Joe soon became general favorite.
However rude or rough the other boys
might be to each other, they never once
knocked against or hurt him.
They would as soon have thought of
pushing or hitting galittle baby brother
or sister as their poor helpless school
fellow.
Joe's mother was soon relieved of the
trouble of bringing or fetching her boy.
Two boys were regularly seen at her
door twice day. before sehool-time, to
help Joe to school, and two others were
always ready to help him home.
1t was very pleasing to see the kind
ness and tenderness of these lads.
Sometimes Joe was too ill to come to
school; at such time two or three of his
schoolfellows were found taking it in
turn to go and spend part of their play
time with him, amusing him, or reading
to him.
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 bit of fun, brought
out of his desk two quarts of nuts and
began to scramble them.
After some ten minutes Of hot eX-
citement and hard scrambling, the nuts
were all picked up.
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 rather dull, for they had not
got many, all at once the masters eye
caught poor Joe's as he was sitting
patient and smiling in his corner.
"Oh J! we have forgotten Joe" he said,
and was in the act of putting his hand
in his pocket to find him a penny, when
a loud voice shouted: LET US each give
him one nut" Twas no sooner said
then done. Poor little Joe's hands were,
filled: every body was pleased.
'Tis not always that boys are as Kind
and thoughtful as these poor lads were,
but il made them happy, and it will
make others happy too, If they try to
do good-to take care of the weak.
Joe did not grow up to be man.
One winter-tlme he was taken very I'LL.
no nursing or medicine could save him
He died and went to Heaven. His
school-fellvws missed him more, but
they hardly knew how to cry about 1t
for they could not help feeling thankful
that Jesus had taken the poor suffering
child to be with Him, where there is no
more pain.
Children, if you are well, strong and
happy, thank God, "who daily loadeth
YOU with benefits" and don't forget to
be kind and good to the weak and sick,
and lame or old. To do this is to be
like him who "went about doing
"Be We kind one to another, tender
hearted. ."-TH Hearth and Home.