The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1870-06-01
Desportes, Williams & Co., Proprietors.]

on shore with him to spend the night
and such things rs that, while wo were
kept OH board the ship. That wasu',
all. He learned faster than we did
he was better sailor and had learn
ed more of navigation. It got so al
length that Jack was called upon to
take the deck sometimes, when the
officers were busy ; and he used tc
work out the reckoning at noon as
regular as did the captain. Yet Jack
was in our mess, aud he was con.
stant oyesore. We saw that ho was
reaching rapidly ahead of us in every
useful particular, and yet We wouldn't
open our eyes. We were envious of
his good fortune, as we called it, and
-, used to seize every opportunity to
t,aase him. But he never got angry
in return. lie sometimes would laugh
at us, and at others he would so feel.
ingly chide us that We would remain
silent for while.
At len 9Th the idea entered our
heads that Jack should drink with us.
We talked tho matter over in tho
mess, when Jack was absent and We
mutually pledged each other that wo
would make him drink at the first op-
portunity. After this determination
was taken we treated Jack moro kind
ly, aud he was happier than he had
been for some time. We were on our
homeward-bound passage, By tho way
of Brazil, and our ship stopped at
Rio Janeiro, where We were to remain
a week or so. One pleasant morning
we six youngsters received permission
to 60 on shore and spend the whole
day; and accordingly we rugged up in
our best togs and we're carried to the
landing.
Now was our chance, and we put
our heads together to sec how it should
be done. jacks very first desire, as
soon as he got on shore, was to go up
and examine tho various things Of
interest in the city. He wanted to
visit the churches and such like plac.
es, aud to please him we agreed to 60
with him if he would 60 and take
dinner with US. lie agreed to this at
once, and we thought we had him
sure. We planned that after dinner
was eaten we would have some light,
sweet wine brought on, aud that we
would contrive 20 get rum enough iuto
what he drank to upset him for
nothing on earth would please US more
than to get Jack drunk, and carry
him on board in that condition. Then
we fancied the captains favoritism
would be at an end, and that he
would no longer look upon our rival
with more preference than upon our
selves.
Dinner-time came at length. 1t
was capital dinner, and we came to
it with sharpened appetites. But
when the wine was brought in, Jack
not only refused to taste it, but de-
clined to remain in our company. We
cried out against him as mean, stin-
gy fellow, who thought himself too
good to associate with US, and accused
him, at last, of trying to step over
our heads on the ship, and all the
unpleasant things we could think Of
to make the poor fellow unhappy. At
first he seemed to be Inclined to leave
us and return to the ship alone but
suddenly, in quiet tone, he said,
"Shi ipmatcs, listen to me moment.
Since matters have come to this pass
l have resolved to tell you something
which J. never meant to reveal. NY
story is short. From my earliest
childhood I never knew what it was
to have q happy home. My father
was drunkard On,e he had been
d good man and good husband, but
rum ruined all his manhood and made
brute of him. | can remember how
cold and cheerless the winter used to
be. We had no fre--no food--no
clothes-no joy-no nothing-nothing
but misery Oh! how my mother
prayed to God for her husband and I,
who could but just prattlo, learned to
pray too.
"When I grew older 7 had to go out
and beg for bread. All cold and
shivering waded through tho deep
snow, with my clothes in tatters and
my freezing feet almost bare. And I
saw other children of my own age
dressed warm and comfortable, and
knew they were happy, for they laugh.
&c and sang us they bounded along
toward school. Those boys had sober
fathers. knew that their fathers
were no better than mine had been
once for my mother had told me how
noble my father could be if rum were
not in his way.
"Time passed on and T was eight
years old, and those years had been
years of such sorrow and suffering as
[ pray God / may never again expe-
ricnce. At length, one cold morning,
in tho dead Of winter, my father was
not Of home. He had not been at
homo through the night. Ny mother
sent me to the tavern to see If oouId