The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-03-06
s E H.
A Little story of a West Virgin ia
Village.

| US. hall century ago young man
worked in carpenters shop in a Wes-
tern country Village-a frank, clear.mind
ed, hot. bloOded young fellow, full ol am
bltion 10 I'll his as yet unused brain with
knowledge, and then to go out into the
world to work with 1t. He listened
eagerly to reports Of that life outside ol
his drowsY village, where men crowded
and jostled and helped each other. There
were certain great wrongs to set right,
certain great ideas Of his own to find
words Tor; once let him find standing
room out there, and he would achieve
what was there he would not achievel !
Well, we have all stood on his ground,
and seen with his eyes; we can remember
how the world looked to Us then; the
vastness of It's far.olF lights and shadows
in the glory OF the dawn; the place we
fancied 1t had always kept vacant for US
to fill. We, perhaps, escaped into the
world, and saw these things near TO our
sharpened eyes; handled them with older
hands and found how little value was In
them. But our carpenter, Seth, never got
outside OF his village. It does not
need letters or jail,bars TO set prison
bounds about a mans lie. Lack OF
money, an unhappy marriage, a house
full Of children, any weight long borne,
cramp and distort his brain and soul as
gives would his body. With Seth 1t was
poverty, and an old father and mother,
that imprisoned him in his dull birth.
place with feeble but efectusl hold. BE
was all they had; their years were nearly
spent; he would not rob them Of their
sole support and happiness by leaving
them, nor could he take them with him.
The carpenters shop was sure supply
tor them ofiood and clothes; his amhlu'
GUS plans, were, after all, but fantastic,
uncertain dreams. Presently our carpen'
ter falls in love and marries, and In ayear
or two buries his vile and child side by
side in the graveyard by the church.
He made but little moan, but changed
his seat in church TO the window, and in
stead OF prayer and sermon, for many q
year heard only the rustic of the locust
tree that grew over the grave and the
lall offs leaves upon it. Before the old
folks died his early ambition had faded
in O great measure; the plans for the
outer world, which seemed so easy In
his youth presented themselves now
as impracticable; besides all this,
some roots Of his lie had grown into
that grave nnder the locust tree, which
he never could tear away. All this Is q
history OF puerile and morbid hinder.
ances, perhaps, but just such hinderances
as clog and lessen into narrow bounds the
lives Of stronger men.
Seth grew quietly into middle and then
into old age, having realized his youthful
hopes of knowledge no further than by
the education which fitted him for village
schoolmaster. A shabby, wizened, silent
old fellow, with a shrewd kindly smile
and keen eyes below his bushy wig, with
a habit OF dropping fiery brief sentences
concerning duty and honor, which burned
themselves into his boys memories and
remained there when the Latin and Greek
he taught them had long been forgotten.
There were half dozen thwarted geni-
uses In the town; village Hampdens and
Cromwelrs whom even the stage-drlVer
could have pointed out 10 you, ranged on
the bench In front Of the tavern, as men
who would have made their mark,
Sir, IL they had had the chance"
But "old Seth" was not one of them; not
great, only cranky, even In his boys
ewes; all object Of good.natured toll
Grafton TO the iat, bluff farmers. In later
wears this liberation turned into suspicion
and dislike. The village lay In q border
county OF Slave State, and Seth was
known to be an Abolitionist, which rank
ed him there and at that time with an
atheist or a ielon. he was accused, and
with truth, we believe, ol teaching the few
slaves in the neighborhood TO read and
write, and Of secfeting fugiuves on their
Way 10 Canada. Certain beliefs Of his,
which his scholars quoted constantly, con-
cernIng liberty and equality and the broth:
erhood OF man, were strongly suspected
by the club on the tavern bench to be the
doctrines OF Paine and Voltaire. He talk
ed wildly, 1t Is said, ct times ol great
work 10 be done, in which hc should have
his share. But the SUMMONS came for
him one summer day 70 leave the village
and the hot school house and his allent
evening pipe and stroll, and cross to that
other unknown life which waits for every
man. "I have not done my work here"
he said once or twice on that last day.
"The chance did not come TO me, some
how" But the village doctor said that
he was only feverish, and that i was
pity his mind should be clouded at the
last. Still looking back to that undone
work, he died and was buried beside his
wife and child.
A fcw years atterward came the waE Of
the Rebellion. A young man, State sen:
ator from the district where Seth had
lived, declared himself not only on the
side OF the Government but OF the slave
He was bold, alert, had powerful intel
lect; the sluggish, slow moving farmers
followed him in dismsy; formed regi-
ments; they blocked the advance OF the
Confederates by holding the slave Ierrl-
tory on the side Of the Union, divided the
State, ut last and finally. No better work
for freedom and order and civilization
was done in that time than this; none
that told more effectively on the iuture
Not long ago, our public men were put
on trial not only through their honor but
their honesty. How many fell 1t does
| not need now to tell. Ono alone stood
firm: bis integrity helped to redeem the
character OF the nation. He and the man
who helped so largely to save his State
in war times, had each been scholars Of
the carpenter. They did not know each
other; and their remembrance Of the vii
Iage school was Of the dlmmest. But
their work for freedom and honor goes
on widening and widening from genera
tlon to generation, while the old school.
master sleeps forgotten under the locust
trees. Yet let US hope that he knows by
this time that in the Just universe OF God
nothing IS lOGt, .-l ra- sol
Miss KITTY =, daughter of Dr.. -
loves her father, and takes an interest 10