New Ulm weekly review., 1879-12-03
A Crippled Newsboy's Benelaction.

A NEwsBoY Of Cincinnati rises from
the obscurity of q small, dingy, poorly
furnished room, and becomes shin
ing example to both boys and men.
His name is John King, and he is still
. newsboy at thirty-nine years old.
For the past ten years his crippled fig-
ure has appeared on crutches every
morning and evening on q certain
street with papers for his regular GUS
toners who passed that way, and as
regularly bought of him. During all
this time he has lived alone in the
same room, and done his own cooking,
washing and mending. In his crippled
and sometimes nearly helpless condi-
ton he has thus carried on his busi-
ness and household affairs, and led a
perfectly independent life through sore
affliction. In addition to his hard, out
door vocation, and indoor domestic
economy, for these ten years, he lived
another life of pleasure with books.
He watched the secondhand book
stalls, and as his means permitted and
opportunity offered, he bought many
valuable works cheap, and collected
q store of old, quaint and curious vol
umes. i: a
When he was through with the read
ing he packed the books away in box
es, until his library began to crowd
him out of his small apartment, leav-
ing him scarcely room to live. His
original design was, if fortune favored
him. to buy himself q comfortable
home, and furnish it with library,
and have ''big read' at ease in his
declining days. The books accumulated
faster than he could read them, and
finally to greater bulk than he could
comfortably stow away in his quarters.
Beside, fifty other families were housed
in the old rookery where he dwelt,
and he began to be afraid of fro. He
had met with several financial disas-
ters which swept off his savings, and
the hope of that cozy home for himself
and his library became faint, and the
vision of the "big read'' was dim and
far away. He bethought himself of the
public library, and offered the collec-
ton to that institution. 1t was &C.
cepted, the donation amounting to over
$500 volumes, while he retained about
two hundred books for his further use.
1t was found to be very well-selected
and serviceable collection, consisting
of history, biography, philosophy, an
cient and modern literature, poetry,
fiction, books of travel, legal and
medical works, scientific and Religious
treatises, public documents, books OF
reference. etc. Among the old volumes
is one on natural history. published in
London, 1886. The John King collec-
ton of the public library is to be still
increased from time to time, as the do
nor buys and goes through his books.
1t is public monument Of an afflicted
and most exemnlarv life.
King was Michigan farmers boy.
At the age of seventeen he received q
mule kick in the thigh which famed
one leg for life. After walking on
crutches for three years an attack of
rheumatism brought him down to
crawling on his hands and knees. One
day, while crawling, he hurt his other
leg at the knee, and the hurt and
bungling surgeon stiffened that leg for
life. He was now five years IN bed,
and reading became the ruling passion
Of the bed-ridden boy. AT the age of
twenty-five he got out of bed, and for
three years hobbled round on crutches
unable to work. In 1868 he went
to Cincinnati, got boys work in to-
bacco factory, soon caught smallpox
and spent six months in the pest
house. Shortly after he came out he
becsme newsboy, is now q veteran
in the calling, and for several years be
has been Secretary of the News5oys'
Union. He has the warm sympathy
and full confidence of the ''boys," and
has done much to elevate their char
acter and condition in Cincinnati.
Kings ten years. career as q news
vender had one slight interruption
which resulted in disaster. A blind
broom-maker who had his legs all
right induced King to 20 into partner
ship with him with his eyes about him
and $50 capital, which he had then
saved. In . few months the firm
tailed for $3.50 and dissolved. King
went back to newspapers, and paid
that debt off to the last cent before he
bought any more books. BY recent
rascally failure in Cincinnati, King
lost $500 which was half his savings
TOR ten years. 1t was after this that
the vision of cozy home and library
all his own and q "big read" all alone
became so dim and far away. His
next move was to make the donation
of the King collection to the public
library.-Missourt Republican.