The Shasta courier., 1872-05-18
THE ICE VOYAGE.

Joy, joy Hurrah, mother! You shall
have fire, and good things to eat besides a
warm nice dress and shoes now ! shouted n
chubby blue eyed boy of, it may be, twelve
years, clad in the humble garb of poverty.
Aingirg wide open the door, and bounding
into small comfortless apartment on the
third floor of dingy looking old wooden
building near the canal in the then village
Of Cleveland, Ohio. Come, hurry, mother,
mother, put away that slave work and 90
and get you nice good dinner right off,
continued the little fellow, approaching a
pale delicate woman, scantily clad in thin
dress. her face pinchcd with hunger, and
her hands, even then, blue with cold.
why what do you mean, my child p
said the womaa looking wonderingly up
from her work. DO you know I have no
money to get anything to eat, and I must
finish this vest before can even get a
stick of wood for our fire which is almost
out p
Nonsense, mother! Let the old vest 60
to some poor woman that has no stout boy
like me to earn moEey for her You shan t
work this way any longer, mother. Look
here 7 and the little fellow flung down or
the table his two haudsful of half dollars.
while a roguish smile lit up his handsome
face, as be beheld his mothers look of
wonder.
why, Frank Frank my son, where
have-did you
'All right, mother, interrupted the boy,
and down went another handful of bright,
silver coin. I'll tell you all about it,
mother. You see went to MIR. Denison
to day, to get my pay for two months cook
ing on board the Aurora Well he paid
me twenty dollars in all these pieces, and
then asked me if would 60 for mouth
in his new schooner for fifteen dollars. /
told him | woodland then whec he
heard me tell how hard you have to work
aud how poor and almost sick you are, he
gave me ten dollars more, and said you
must get another room and stop working
SO hard; besides, he says, III stay all
winter in the schooner. and take care of
her, shall have twelve dollars every month,
to be paid weekly to you. So hurrah,
mother, we'll have a big fire and nice din
ner and-well, Mr.. Denison is a good man
after all, if he is rich old bach, as that
crab apple ole maid, aunt Hetty johnson,
calls him.
Heaven bless you, my noble boy? Sob
bed out the widow as she clasped her arms
about her chld's neck, bowed her head
upon his shoulder and wert for joy-not
SO much for the timely aid her son had
brought her, although her heart was full Of
thanktulness tor the noble qualities dis
| played by the brave little fellow in remem-
berlng her, and bring home every shilling
of his hard earned wages, instead Of spend
ing it tool'shly, as many boys of his age
would have dUne.
A month passed away, and again the
handsome sailor boy, Frank Merrll, stood
beside bis mother in comfortably furnish
ed room in more respectable part Of the
town, while the widow, as she gazed proud
ly on her boy, looked full ten years
younger, and much happier than she had
done only four short weeks previously.
A cheerful blaze was in the CRATE, every
thing 10 the room was neat aud eloquent of
comfort, and the widow Merrill was really
beautiful in her brown merino dress and
black slippers with her dark brown har,
so like that of Carlo Dolecs St. Cecilia,
parted on hor classic brow and falling in
wavy masses upon her shoulders.
Frank thought bis mother very beauti-
full, and 50 did another person present
That was Mr.. Joseph Denison, the boys
emy loyer, bluff, good natured, money
making bachelor of forty-fvc, who at the
boys request accompanied him home.
sMrs. Merrill said Mr.. Denlson, your
son has been in my employ for the past
IL rec months, and l am 50 well pleased
with his prudence and general goou quail
ties, that with your permission, should
be pleased to keep him all winter on board
of one OF my vessels, which sails to morrow
for Buffalo 1t is So late in the season that
she may be able to return this winter, in
which case you can have Franks wages
laid monthly or weekly in advance, Tor
such is his wish, and should you need any.
thing further, your orders on me will be
houored always
The widow conld only murmur her
thanks, invoke Gods blessing on the kind
hearted stranger whom she had never seen
before, aud who, bidding her good night,
left her alone with her darling boy.
% the following day the schooner Yves
tern Trader left Cleveland with full car
20 of oats and corn, bound for Buffalo.
lat night came on cold northeast snow
storm which finally closed the navigation
of Lake Erie Tor the winter.
A whole month passed without news
from the schooner, aud then when every
body had given her up for lost, her captain
and crew came back to leveland with the
report that she was frozen fast in the ice
some thirty miles to the eastward, and full
half that distance from land.
They bad left her and escaped to the
shore on the ice; but to ask Frank Merrill
abandon her was OF no avail.
NO will never leave her, be said. 4
promised Mr. Denison to stand by aud take
care of her through the winter, aud l will
If live
God bless the nob'e boyr exclaimed
Mr.. Denison, as the captain told of the little
fellows fidelity. And the exclamation wa.
echoed back by dozen men of Cleyelanc
who happened to be in the Office at tn,