Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1871-05-18
From the Prairie Farmer
A Little Child Shall Lead Him.
BY L. A. VI.

| II. n.
Once upon a time there dwelt in
place called Rest, a singular old man
whom we will name Wise-Acre. q
course this was not his real title, but as i
was long German one, with Baron fer
handle to it, we will not attempt giving l
at all, but just call HIM ''Wise-Acre.
for short. He took unto himself long
white beard, withdrew from the society 0
publicans and sinners, and pronounced al
things vanity. Much learning nigh
have made him mad as to that, I canno
tell, but certain it was that he appeared
to be Immensely happy in his own con
ceits. Whenever he took his solitary
walks abroad, it was with uplifted coun
tenance, and nostrils elevated, as if he
breathed the very air of heaven. lie new
err could have said, How many poor
see,'' for he never saw any, nor ever secm'
ed to think of the earth lie trod or the
elements with which he came in contact
High and mighty was this patriarch ;
grand, gloomy and peculiar.
But to the most fortunate, there may
come woe, and to the wisest men on earth
/ there have been lessons taught; therefore
do not be cast down if tell you that tC
this modest specimen there came sorrow
and misfortune, and in the end dearly
earned fruit-understan
| Like all the orthodox queer people, he
kept house keeper, and had Il regular
d en- for room, containing nothing but
musty books, stuffed toads for paper
weights, and crow for company. Fit
company 1T was, too, for such croaker,
and they were well matched, those two
old scarecrows But the object of this
mans daily misery and life long disgust,
wac children. Hated of his ininost soul
were they. OF course he never was. a
child himself. If he had been. how would
he expected to remember two or three
centuries back? No indeed very thank
full that lie had got so far along that hc
could not clear the cobwebs off from bis
dusty old wits. so as to reach anywhere
near such humiliating epoch i'll his ex-
istence If he had ever had any relatives
they had become disgusted and dropped
him. for no one ever went to see him, nor
was he known to have correspondent
I
anyway. so we will not waste our sympa-
thy on him. but wait until he gets to the
place where he is sorry for himself, and
then perhaps we will help him cry.
He took a daily paper "a man has to be
very far gone that will not do thh) and
had to endure the cross of havingit brot.
to him by child, actually child one
of those specimens which are too deplora-
bly, numerous to excite much attention,
half child. half old man, bearing on a
pair of infantine shoulders, head filled
with shrewed cunning and world craft
Such child is easily found, and you
need not travel weary distance in your
search. Almost any street corner or by
alley will reveal the same
Well, the Baron was reading the news
one day, and, as was his custom. read ad-
vertisements and all. and marked the
places that were of most interest, when he
came to the list of unclaimed letters
There, sure enough, in tie gentleman's
divisions, was a long conglomeration of
syllables which seemed to be perfectly ia
niliar to him. He jumped up, reached
for his hat. which he put on wrong side
foremost, grasped his walking stick, and
started out, perfectly unconscious that he
had forgotten to remove his dressing
gown. 1t was an unfortunately slippery
day, in January, and as he went striding
along at rapid rate, his stick describing
huge circles in the air, his feet vainly try
ing to follow its example but they were
not accustomed to this kind of exercise.
and SO they only made half the tour and
then fell back, dragging their unfortunate
owner with them. Such host of atten-
dants as he had around him in an incredi-
bly, short space of time! / tried to count
them, but they changed position so often
that could only make out twenty small
boys, little colored girl and yellow
dog. Possibly, it was twenty yellow dogs,
a colored boy and little giri--you can
take it either way. However, they all
made most laudable efforts to assist him.
Five or six ran for his stick, which had
flown something less than league from
him and by dint of much hard tugglng
they at last got him upon his feet. He
found it almost impossible to walk, but
in some way. he scarcely knew how him
self. he toddled back to his home, and in
to bed and there he had to stay. Now,
he had never been sick day in his life.
and consequently this new role of things
was an entire novelty to him. 1t was
about to be revealed to him what great
purifier i'll health sometimes is. When
God finds us very stubborn and self-satis-
fed. he often takes this means of proving
to us that we arc naught but children on
his hands, and not at all the powerful be-
ings that we imagine. The cold that he
took from promenading in his dressing
gown, together with the shock OF the fall,
brought on fever which lasted for sever
al days. During that time, thoughts
which he had not been guilty of for many
d long year, came crowding. tramping IN
to his brain, so that he could find no relief
from them, save BY giving them utter
ance. He ..babble1 O. green fields"
talked almost ceaselessly of Pauline"
and when the fever abated asked for mis-
letter. As no one knew that he had one,
of course, it had not been taken from the
Office. That morning the little newsboy
was requested, in manner surprisingly
changed from the former gruffness, to be
the bearer of the desired missive. "Made
up their minds TO pay their debts, sup
pose" he muttered, as the child disap-
peared on his errand s'can't think of any
thing else that people would write to me
for.''
You see he was not yet cured of his
darling and we'll preserved sins, But
nevertheless there was an unusual mood
upon him he was not as well contented
with himself as usual. and the noise OF the
boys playing near the house made him
more than ordinarily nervous. One can