Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1869-09-24
YOUTHS DEPARTMENT..
Poor little Joe.

WHAT cause for grdat thankfuluesi u
IL TO have strong, active bodiesEtU beabie
to hop, skip and Jump, 70 go efrands, walk
10 school, and . thousand other things
which happy and healthy children delight
Poor little t6e conid do none Of these
things; he was a cripple. md always
looked iii. Though a great susferer ne
was nearly always smiling and goodAem-
pered. There was something so good and
No winning about him dtlmt Everybody
liked him. H 70 .u.i IgoJ II l1rl
We have said he was a cripple; yes, so
lame and - weak that hp never feuldyRet
up or down stairs alone, and only now
and then = few yards about a room or
along the pavement 3"
When the writer saw him one Say, he
was about ten years Of age, ana ~ ne was
growing up he was anxiots to- learn to
write and understand arithmetic .,,,.
His mother was very fond Of him and
very kind ID him as good motllers always
are, especially TO such children rs are 80
helpless as poor httleJoe was She there
fore indulged his wish to learn by carry
ing him to school. .i3s i.,
Joe soon became 4 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 little baby brother or
sister as their poor helpless schoolfellow
Joe's mother was soon relieved Of the
trouble of bringing or fetching her boy.
Two boys were regularly seen at her door
twice a day, before schooi.times t. help
Joe to school, and two others We're always
ready to help him home. l1t illsa
1t was very pleasing 10 see the kindness
and tenderness ofthose lads 1r-r.f ~
\ Sometimes Joe was. toe i'll to come 10
school; at such times two or three of hts
schoolfellows were found taking il in turn
to go and spend part of their play time
with him, amusing him, or reading to
him. ...,...
One day, 1t was brealIing-rp day, the
books, states, etc, were all cleared away,
and the signal was Just ready te 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 be-
gan to scramble them. .,r ''H'
After some ten minutes of hot excite
ment 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.
"Ohl 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
, voice shouted: "Letus 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 Al Gas kind
and thoughtful as these poor lads were,
but IL made them happy, and twin make
others happy too, if they try to do good
to take care OF the weak.
Joe did not grow up to be n man.t One
winter-time he was taken very id 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
full that Jesus had taken the poor suffering
:. child to be with Him, where there is no
, more pain.
y Children, if you are well, strong, and
! happy thank God "who daily loadeth
i 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 do what you
r can to be like Him who event about doing
u good"
"Be yc kind one 20 another, tender
hearted. ."-LedrM and Home.