Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1876-02-17

g S o N E T HIN G. :"

ONE OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERsEN's
STORIES.
Il want to be something,' said the
eldest of five brothers. Il want to do
something in the world. / don't care
how humble my position may be In So
ciety, if only effect some good, f0r
that will really be something. III
make bricks, for they are quite indis-
pensable things, and then shall truly
have done something
But that something will not be
enoughv quoIh the second brother.
What you intend doing is just as much
as nothing at all. 1t IS journeymen's
work, and can be done by machine
No, would rather be bricklayer, al
once, for that is something real, and
that's what l will be. That brings
rank; as bricklayer, one belongs to
guild, and is citizen, and has ones
own flag and ones own house oil call.
Yes, and il it all goes well, l will keep
journeymen. l shall become master
bricklayer, and my wife shall become
a masters wiie-that is what L call
something
THAT'S nothing at all' said the third.
That is beyond the pale of the guild,
and there are many of those in town
that stand far xbove the mere artisan.
You NAV be an honest man; bat as d
master you will after all only. belong
to tho who are ranked among COM
mon men. l know something better
than that. / will be an architect, and
will thus enter into the territory of art
and speculation. / shall be reckoned
among those who stand high in point
of intellect. l shall certainly have TO
serve up from the pickaXe, so to speak;
80 | must begin as carpenters ap-
prentice, and must 60 about as an as
sistant in cab though l am accuS-
toned to wear silk hat. shall have
TO fetch beer and spirits for the com-
mon jOurneymen, and they will call
me thou for that is insultingl But 1
shall imagine to myself that the whole
thing is only acting, and kind of
masquerade. TO-mOrrOw-that Is to
say, when have served my time-1
shall 60 my own way, and the others
will be nothing to me. shall go to
the academy, and get instructions in
drawing, and shall be called an archi-
tect. That's something! l may get to
be called d'sir, and even 'wOrsbipiul sir,
or even get handle at the front or at
the back of my name, and shall go on
building and building, just as those be-
fore me have built. That will always
be thing to remember, and that is
what L call somethingn
But don't Care at all for that some
thing said the fourth. Il won't sail
- OIL hn,
j will be genius; and will stand up
greater than all the rest of You togeth-
er. l shall be the creator of new
style, and will give the plan of build
ing suitable to the climate and materi-
al of the country, for the nationality of
the people, for the development of the
age-and an additional story for my
own genius.
But supposing the climate and ma
terial are bad,' said the fifth, that
would be a disastrous circumstance;
for these two exert q great influence!
Nationality, moreover, may expand IT.
self until it becomes affectatiOn, and
the development of the century may
run wild with your work, as youth Of
ten runs wild. l quite realize the fact
that none of you will be anything real,
however much you may believe in
yourselves. But, do what you like,
will not resemble you; shall keep on
the outside Ofthings, ,aDd criticise what
ever you produce. 10 every work
there is attached something that is not
that has gone wrong;
and will ferret out and find fault with
il; aud that will be doing something
hn iS nd hrs-
dy said concerning his fifth brother,
There is certainly something in him;
lie has good head; but he does moth.
ing.' Aud by that very means they
thought something OF him.
Now, you see this is only little sto-
ry; but it will never end SO long as the
world lasts. But what became of t le
i've brothers? Why, this is nothing
but not something. Listen, il is cap
Isl capital story.
The eldest her, he who manufac-
tured brick, soon became aware of the
fact that every brick, however small il
might be, produced iur him q little
coin, though this coin was only cop
per; and many copper pennies laid one
upon tue other can Ire changed into u
shining dollar; wherever one knocks
with such dollar in ones hand ,Whetn-
er at the baker or the butchers or the
taiiur's-wherever it may be, the door
flies open, and the visitor is welcomed,
and gets what he wants. You see that
Is " hat comes of bricks. Some of those
belonging To the eldest brother certain
ly crumbbled away, or broke in two,
but there Was use even for these.
On the rampant, the Wall that kept
out the ser, Margaret, IA poor woman,
wished to build heself "a little house.
All the foulty bricks were given to her,
and few perfect ones 5irtO the bar
gain, for the eldest brother was a g0oC =
natured man, Ihough he cei taInly did
not achieve anything beyond the man.
ufac!ure of bricks. The poor woman
put togher the house for herself. Ii
WAS little aud narIO@, AID Il e single
window was quite cooked. The door
WAS loo low, and the thatcled roof
iaight II I'VE shown better workman
ship. But after all, ii Was sEelteI
anu fronl the little house you cuu!u
look iar across the sea, whose waves
broke yainiy against the protecting
ranipari on which il is built The sail
l.Iilo~s spurted their spray over th,
" hole house, which WAS still standing
when he who had given the bricks for
its erection had long been dead and
buried. @
I he second brother knew better how
10 build wall, for he had served an
apprer ticeship to it. " hen he had
served his time and passed his exami-
nation, he packed his knapsack asd
sang the journeynian's song:
While am young I'll wander, from place to
place Ill roam,
And everywhere build houses, until l come
back h0mei
And youth will give me courage, and my true
lave won't forget;
Hurrah then for worknan's life, III be a
master yet!
And he carried his idea into effect.
When he had come home and become
n master, he built one house after an
other in the town. BE built whole
at,d hon fha sfrnof ,xyaa G,,;.t