Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1877-10-09
The Sunbeam.
BY CHAS. H. DAY.

The Sunbeam was little child scarce
ly more than baby girl, the grandchild
of stern cd Silas Chase, a Woodworking
farmer, with horny hands and weather
bronZed face. The grandfather lived at
the Ridge alone with little Me-" and
strange company indeed were they
that cross, harsh and repellant man and
the goldenhaired Sunbeam, whom he
loved and cherished SO well.
There was strange story in relation
to the household of the Ridge; and the
ready gossips of the nearby village
would have whispered in your ear of
dissensions, unhappiness and sorrow
of daughter driven out into the world,
with all it's cold Indifference and un-
tableness-because she. as women
will, had her choice in love; and then,
when bitter misfortune came. and made
her widow-still repenting not the
following of the dictates of her heart,
and asking not forgiveness, for hers had
been no crime-her father had turned
her from the door with rudeness and a
curse /; and she penniless, forlorn and
well nigh mad, left at his door the little
Sunbeam, the only light that had re-
lieved her dark and dreary path.
Did the angry parent likewise cast out
the waif? He dared not do that. The
poor-house, over on the hill would have
received it perhaps but too proud was
he that any of his kin should linger
there. And then. what would the
world say? Don't think Sile Chase al
together bad-have little charity for
him who was willful and perverse.
Sile Chase was alone, and the little
fairy made good company. She auas a
fairy, with her wavy ringlets, spirituelle
face and heaven-blue eyes. For little
while the baby girl moaned for her
mother; and its plaintive calls for NAM
ma, at times softened her grandfather,
but he dispelled the promptings of the
good.
Days>and weeks rolled into the past,
but there never came any tidings Of the
Sunbeam's mother. The child went
toddling after grandpa everywhere tell
ing him that he was "the best grandpa
in all the world" which must have
made him fesl all the morelmiserable.
Quite preceptibly there came change
over Sile Chase; he avoided the village,
and seemed best pleased with himself
when shut out from the world. To every
| one but the Sunbeam he was morose and
| non communicative, and he never left
| the farm or house at the Ridge save
from necessity.
One summers day he went to the viii
lage on an errand, and seeing the great
bulletin boards covered with gorgeous
posters, he thought that the sight of
them would pl ase the little one; accor-
dinghy, returning home, he brought her
in his arms, and, for more than an hour
let her gaze upon the beautiful pictures.
How delighted she was with the great
picture of the train of cars and she clap
ped her hands, and, initiating the whis-
tie of the locomotive. made even her
sober-faced grandfather smile. The po-
nies she never tired of looking at; but
for the life of her, she could not compre-
hend the varied positions of the gym
nasts,-and the clowns looked as if they
were smiling at her and her grandpa.
TO enlighten her he read the large let
ters that ran alongt the top of the boards,
John O'Brien's Six Shows. Consoli-
dated Circus, Museum, and Menage-
! rie.n
"What is circus, Gran'pa?" asked
the child, as he carried her in his arms
back to the lonesome old farm house at
the Ridge-and then Sile Chase, with
his memory revived by the recollections
OF happy boyhood's visit to the circus,
graphically picture to his little grand
daughter, the daring riding, the great
and fearful feats, and the comical songs
and antics of the clowns-and then
when he had fininshed, he regretted
that he had spoken, for she looked uE
with her blue eyes and asked so plead