The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1876-03-16
CAN TT BE TRUEP

Did you ever hear that there were Lwu
mru lost hctwccn the walls Of the Great
Eastern when she was building? II i.
true, and ! want to tell you aboulit.
Wy brother John vas Il head workman
on the ship, and hc got me q chance I,
70 about on her Just ma If ! belonged
there. | was sickly, and they always lief
me have my way at home. We wcrcn'I
AZ home then, nor bad been for ycar-
but We kept up the old ways. 50, ~
and, J came and went on the ship when
other outsiders couldn't. Sometimes
mad" believe do something, if ! thought
anybody was going 10 find fault. John
would always give me something 10 do.
From the first there were two men
there whom ! didn't like, because they
didn't me, They used to ask what ! was
Tier" for, aud wink at each other when !
clmG, and touch their iorchcndo.
| always like to hc let alone, and /
viii be-. And If folks begin on me, they
deserve what they get. Thomson-thaD'
"u" ~ the mcn--was for bcatingm me right
OUT out ne was afraid Of my brother
J"hn, but blacksmith other man was
.Jycr, and ! knew by his actions that he
N.'s planning 10 do me an i'll turn.
- things went on for months, aud the
snip "rew every day, When ! first went
there, it wa only n skeleton, like, and,
by and bye, the shape began to show.
wish | could make out how argra
waiting those fellows were. They did all
they could 10 bring it ON themselves.
don't think I'm to blame; but want
YOU To- sec how it was. Don't you know
that some folk. can do little things that
.,rc not much to tell, but when they are
don" make every drop Of blood in your
body boil, and every nerve puivcr ?
They can give u look, a wink, u laugh,
that Will he rank poison 10 YOU, and set
YOU all Of a wrlthc. That's the way
Those fellows did, and never said u
word for weeks and pretended ! didn't
sec nor hear. But they knew did, aud
they took delight in it,.
One day | was feeling pretty bad /
used 10 have bad day, and thought |
would stay at home. ! got a pack OF
cards, locked my chamber door, and
played soLI0Dc till late in the afternoon.
IL wno the only way ! could keep myself
from thinking. But by and bye | got
tired 0i it, and started out for the ship.
"IhryH be gone by this time"
naId 10 myself; "but il they get in my
way ! won't stand anything"
When ! reached the ship | Thought
they had gone. Work hours were over
for them, and all was quiet. There were
No visitors about, and when went ON
board, the ship looked deserted.
"lll have n walk about" | thought.
" II viii d0 me good
10 walked around awhile, keeping tu |
myself, and hy.aud-byc | took a sheltered
seat bcsld" II pile of boards, where no
on" could see me, and fell a thinking. |
was thinking that my life was lonesome
like, that no bright places had ever come
into it, that | never felt inclined to
laugh or sing, and that, il | should drop
overheard and 20 quietly to- the bottom,
II wouldn't he much matter. Well, |
thought over that n long time, and
wondered what would he said when
they llshCd me up. I'd seen II man
t-Icd up and carried home, aud his wife
and children cried ~ il they'd die.
There wasn't anybody TO cry for me.
John was good, hut he wasn't of the
crying kind, and perhaps hc would
think that he had got rid Of n care. |
alu't hard hearted, but when | Thought
how my death wouldn't hurt anybody,
some way it made me feet 80 miserable
that ! cried. And when once | had be-.
gun 10 cry, ! couldn't stop, but went on
harder and harder. II was a good while
sine" I'd cried, and | made up for lost
time, aud cried for all the sorrows I'd
had since ! was n little boy, and for some
that had when | was a child.
! don't know how long I'd been cry
ing, when u light sound brought me To
myself. I'd forgotten where was, aud
that somebody might come along and
ne. I looked up with tears all
owe my face, and my ewes full of 'cm,
and there was Thompson standing within
ten feet of me, looking at me with II grin
on his face, and u fist in his eye, making
believe to cry and wipe his tears like n
hawline young one.
| waited Just long enough to let my
nerves and muscles find it out, and get
ready then | bounced on him ~ quickly
that | had my hand ON his throat before
he could utter a sound. He kicked.
though, rs he got purple in the face, and
rs ! held him down. ! let him kick, for
he was going just where wanted him TO.
There was II place, near by, still in the
shelter of the boards, where, for some
reason, two or three pIanks had been
taken up of the deck, and it left a hole
that lcd down to the very keel between
the outer walls Of the ship. In An idle
way ! had often dropped little blocks
down there, and heard them bump,
bump, like stones in n well, ~ they went
down. Thompson kicked himself in
'hls very direction, and Just rs my hands
were getting tired, and ~ he had got his
ioot up between lis, close to my chest, to
give me a kick away from him with his
ia', s'iehg'h, humored him, and down
,L. WIZ, heahioremost. | heard two or
'n'ee pumps, and ! heard no more. /
,'''t'" h"wn int the darkness. and
'ihrI'h that saw two eyes staring b,ct
ut me-bnt heard no sound. "
by-and-byc heard steps approacbing
started away, and laid down Inv H.
board pile again. My brother .Iohn
came along and shook me, thinking Twas
asleep, and ! went home with him.
The next morning | went on board
again, but saw no Thomson. Men were
asking for him, but nobody knew where
he was. His friend jackson came and