The Republican journal., 1877-04-05
My Friend, the Tramp.

| had been saunterng over the clover
downs Of certain noted New England
seaport. 1t was a Sabbath morning. 50
singularly reposeful and gracious-so re-
pete with the significance OF the seventh
day OF rest that even the Sabbath bells
ringing 4 mile away over the salt marshes
had little that was mOnitOry, mandatory,
oreven Suppllcatory in their drowsy voices.
Rather they seemed to call from their
cloudy towers, like some renegade Nue.
lin: ''Sleep is better than prayer sleep
on, O sons OF the Puritans Slumber still.
. deaconS and veStrymen. Let, q let
those feel that are swift To WlchedneSS
curl up beneath thee those palms that
are itching for the shekels of The ungodly.
lie clasped beneath thy pillow. Sleep is
better than prayer"
And, indeed, though it was high morn
ing, sleep was still i'll the air. Wrought
upon III last hy the combined influences
"l sea, and sky, and atmosphere, sue
culnbed, and lay down on one of The, houl-
ders ut 4 little stony slope that gave up
ON the sea. The great Atlantic lay before
me, not Yet quite awake. but slowly heav-
ing with the rhvthmlcal expiration OF
Slulnhcr There WAS no sail isiblc in the
misty horizon There WAS nothing to do
bur 10 lie and stare at lIle mWinking
ether.
Suddenly | became aware OF the strong
fumes Of tobacco TURNING my head saw
4 pale blue smoke curling up from behind
an adjacent boulder Risin% and climb
ing over the intervening granite. came
upon Il little hollow in which. comtorta-
tlN extended on the nosses and llchenS
lay Il powerfully built man. He WAS very
ragged: he WAS very dirty; there WAS a
strong suggestion about him of his having
too much hair. 100 much n;iil, too much
persplatlon; TOO much OF those super
tuous eNcrescences and cXudaIions that
society and civilization strive to keep
under. But ii WIS noticeable that he had
not much OF anything else. IT was The
Tramp.
With that swift severity with which we
always visit rebuke upon the person who
happens To present any one ol our vi ices
extensively before rs, in his own person, |
was deeply indignant al his laZintss. Per
haps showed it in my manner. for he
rose To half sitting attitude, returned my
stare apologetically and made q move
menl toward knocking the fire from his
pipe against the granite.
"Shure, sur, and if I'd baluved thai |
Was lrlSpaSsln on yer nOn0lS y GTounuS IL :
meSeif that would hey lald down Oh The
say shore and takin' the salt waves for
ne bitnllitS. But its siyinteen miles Eve
walked this blessed noight, with nothin
1n sustain me. and heyin Il mortal wake
Ness To fight wild in me bowels. by reason
Of starvation. and only Il bit % baccy that
the Wildly Maloney civ me at the cross
roads. To kape me up entoirly. But it was
the dark day that left me home in Mil
Waukee 10 walk to Boston, and if Yell
obligc a lone man who has left Il wife and
SIX children in Milwaukee, wild the loan OF
twenty-five cints, tllrninst the time he gifts
worruk. God'll be good to ye.'
II instantly flashed through my mind
that the man before me had the previous
night partaken of the kitchen hospitalitics
Of my little cottage, two miles away.
That he presented himself in the guise of
Il distressed fisherman, mulcted of his
wages by an inhuman captain that he
had Il wife lying sick OF consumption in
the next village. and two children, one OF
them cripple, wandering in the streets
of Boston. | remember that this tremeI-
dOuS indictment against fortune touched
the family, and that the distressed fisher
man was provided with clothes, food and
some small change. The food and small
change had disappeared but the garments
for the consumptive wife, where We're they
He had been using them for a pillow
| instantly pointed out this fact and
charged him with the deception. To my
surprise he took it quietly and even lit
tie complacently. .Bedad, yer roight
We see, sir (cOnfdentially,) We see, sir, un-
til get worruk, and it's wOrruk Pm lukin'
for, | have to desave now and thin to
Shute the locality. All, God save us, but
on the say coast thay'r that har-r rud upon
thin that don't belong to the say"
! ventured to suggest that Il strong,
healthy man like him might have found
employment somewhere between AIlwau-
liee and Boston.
"Ah, but We see | get free passage on
a freight train, and didn't shtop. 1t was
in the Aist that EXPECTED to find worruk'
''Have you any trade Y
Trade, is it I'm a brickmaber, God
knows, and many's the lift I've had al
maxim bricks in Milwaukee. Sure, I've
as aisy IA hand at it as any man. Maybe
Yer honor might know of Il kill here
about :"
Now, to my certain knowledge, there
was not /, brick kiln within fifty miles ot
that spot and of all unlikely places Il
find one would have been this sandy pc
nlnsula, given up to the summer residences
OF a few wealthy people. Yet could not
help admrring the assumption of the
scamp, who knew this fact as well as my
self. But | said, IL can give you work
for a day OF two" and bidding him gather
up his sick wifes apparel, led the way
across the downs to my cottage. At first
| think the Offer took him by surprise, and
/ gave him some CONSERVATION, but he pres
emily recovered his spirits, and almost i'll
| stantly his speech. "Ah, Wur-ruk, is it
God be praised: its meseli that's ready
and willn'. Though maybe me hand is
spoilt wild brickmalling."
| assured him that the work | woulo
/ give him would require no delicate ma
nipulation, and SO we Jared on over the
sleepy downs. But | could not help no.
tcing that although an invalid, | was .
much better pedestrian than my com
panion, frequently leaving him behind
and that, even as a ''tramp,' he was ETY.
mologically an imposter. He had Il way
of lingering beside the fences we had tC
climb over as if to continue more conf
dentially the history of his mistortuneS
and troubles, which he was delivering t(
Inc during our hOmeWard walk, and
noticed that he could seldom resist the
invitation of a mossy boulder or tllssocI
of salt grass. ''Ye see, sir" he would say
suddenly sitting down, OTIS along Nv me
mistortunes beginning in Milwaukee thai
-" and it was not until | was out o
hearing that he would languidly gather
his traps again and saunter after me
When l reached my own garden gate he
leaned for a moment over it, with botl
of his powerful arms extended downward
and said, "Ah, but it's a blessin' that Sun