Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1872-09-26
GhiIdrem's department.
MARTINS FOURTH OF JULY.

baby"
Martin Tiernan hesitated still, though he
felt as keenly as most boys Of eleven the taunt
of babyishness.
81 know father won't like il" he said.
"Don't tell him anything about it" said
Louis Graham. 81 don't mean to 60 home
and tell all the family that have paper of
gunpowder. I'll put it in some safe place
until morning, and we will all 60 off early
with our cannon and have splendid fun |"
"But suppose an accident should happenY'
"You goose! What can happen between
now and tomorrow morning? 1t is nearly
eight o'clock. You won't find it easy to get
any more. MIR. Morrison says he won't sell
a grain of powder to boy, and Tom Haines
smuggled this for me"
"Stole it |" said Mortified Martin.
"Oh, no, it is paid for; only Mr.. Morrison
thought Tom was putting up pepper, and he
was too busy to cross the store to examine it.
1t was such fun, Mart and Tom kept sneez-
ing while he weighed it, as if the pepper was
up his nose!"
Martin laughed, though his conscience was
warning him that his companion was bad
adviser The precious package of gunpowder
for their little brass cannons was strong
temptation for boy who thought noise the
great object to be desired on the fourth Of
July but the price he was paying for it was
a very heavy one for boy like Martin. The
grocer had been deceived by the lad in his
employ Louis was about to deceive his pa
rents and Martin was to secrete his share Of
the prize. He was we'll aware that his pa
rents would not consent to his owning or using
the powder, for it had been already subject
of discussion. But his father, indulgent and
kind always to his children, had brought a
large quantity Of fireworks from town to dis
play himself in the evening, for the entertain
ment of the little folks
Very slowly the little boy walked home,
his parcel of gunpowder carefully hidden un-
der his linen coat. 1t was easy to get into
the house and up stairs, but the difficulty was
in secreting the forbidden prize until morn
ing. 1t seemed to Martin as if there was
never so much risk of his mothers eyes and
fingers discovering a difference in his room.
Finally, after having thought, Martin put
the parcel in the lower drawer Of bureau in
| the spare room. "There is nothing there but
medicines and such things" he thought, "and
one parcel more or less won't be noticed
among so many. I'll be up bright and early
in the morning, and nobody will ever know
the gunpowder was in the house"
But a secret act of disobedience is not
good companion to sleep with, and Martin
found it so. 1t was long time before he
could sleep at all and when at last he drop
ped into uneasy sleep, he was troubled with
bad dreams. One of these was very vivid.
He dreamed that he was with Louis, enjoying
the fourth in true boy fashion, loading and
firing the cannon, cheering and shouting,
when suddenly the earth opened with an ex-
plosion so loud that Martin sprang from bed
with the terror of the shock.
1t was not entirely a dream. A glare of
light was in the entry hurrying feet and anx-
ious voices were all over the house and as
Martin listened he heard sounds of such hor-
ror from the spare room that he scarcely
dared to breathe.
What had happened? It was something
very, very terrible. Martin could hear his
fathers voice, above all the confusion, saying:
20, Mary! Mary, darling! Are you
dead"
Dead His mother dead Martin rushed
across the hall to see a scene that he will nev
er forget. The spare room had evidently
been deluged with water, the bureau being
charred and broken to atoms. But what
drove the blood from Martins face, and made
him shrink and shiver, was the sight Of his
mother lying white and still upon the bed,
and his father rubbing her hands and calling
upon her by fond names while he tried to
revive her.
What lifetime it seemed before the doc
tor came; and oh ! the long hours until morn
ing, when he said the mother might live, but
would be blind for life!
Blind! The act of disobedience and de-
ceit had cost Martins mother her eyesight
Just before the hour when the older members
ofthe family retired, Mrs. Ternan had wanted
some article from the drawer where she kept
herbs and medicine. She had taken lighted
candle in her hand, and was searching for
what she required, when some sparks fell upon
the package of gunpowder. In a second q
terrific explosion followed, and fame Aared
into her face. The other members of the
family rushed into the room to find the bureau
scattered in charred pieces about the floor,
and the flames reaching everywhere. Mrs.
Tiernan lay senseless upon the floor. Th2re
was fortunately but little powder in the pack
age, but the full force of the explosion had
been thrown into the face of Martins mother
as she bent over the drawer.
The fourth of July that was to have been
passed so merrily was spent in watching, tears,
and prayers for the mother who lay between
life and death-blinded, dis6gured, almost
murdered by her own boy, whose happiness
and comfort she had never neglected nor for
gotten. The younger children crouched down
in corners of the nursery, cried, and moaned,
and Mr.. Tiernan watched anxiously beside
his wife.
1t was many long weeks before Martin was
allowed to see his mother again. The shock
had been so great that her life depended upon
perfect quiet. All the children were sent
away except the unhappy boy, and alone he
wandered about the house, paying the penalty
of his fault
He confessed all to his father, and was for
given; but no forgiveness, no sorrow, could
restore his mothers eyesight Slowly she re-
gained her health, and was able to move
about the room, and hear the voices Of her
children; but she can never again see their
sweet faces. She can never see the sunshine,
the flowers, or the bright earth.
A year has nearly passed away, and Mar
tin tries by all gentleness, care, and devotion,
to make some atonement to his parents; but
there are few nights when he kneels to pray,
that he does not sob and weep at the thought
of the scared, dis6gured face, and sightless
eyes that his hands have given to the mother
he loves.-The Methodist.
7 1,rn DrAnrAprX-Tu pnunp rapned