The Worthington advance., 1879-05-15
LITTLE SAM.

II any people ever deserved rs much
money as they knew how to take care Of,
popular verdict declared it to be the Deans;
and nobody grudged them either their
money or their lovliest of homes. In one
Of the city suburbs where payements and
lamps had not yet stretched, where the
country ways were oyerllung with clms
and bceches, and every house was set in
lawns and gardens, stood this home Of
theirs-an old stone mansion, with bays
and balconies overgrown with Virginia
creepcr and wistaria whose stems had in
tertwisted themselves with the masonry
at every crevice, and were as stout and
strong as ropes-ropcs here and there
stretched so tightly thai they sng in the.
wind like Eolian harps. Within the
house the hall was laid in old tiles, and
covered with rugs, the noiselcss and l'cau-
tiful drawing rooms and library were
filled with inherited treasures, and, TO say
nothing of slecpingrooms and nursery,
the play-room was fairy place, and moth
ing less. 1t was the only room in the
house that Mrs. Dean had changed when
she came in to reign; but she had arranged
this great sunny place to please her own
fancy, and not that of her husbands an
cestors. On the wall she had Il paper
hung, contrary to the canons of art, she
was told, hut delightful to the eyes of
her boys and girls, where on skycy
background blush roses climbed all over
Il giiued trclIis, birds built their nests ant.
tilted on the sprays, and chIdren's tnces
peered in and out the garands. The
floor wore thick felt which allowed no
tumblcs to hurt the tumblcr, and
that deatlened every noise; and for the
remainder, there was no contrvancc to
amuse children that the mother had not
amassed in that ROOM There was the big
white rocking horse nearly as large as her
own ponies, 'all satldlc,I, all hriulcd, all
tit for Il tight;' there was the mimic nine
pin alley, the bagatcllc tables, the phil
osophical apparatus and the telescope,
with which MIR. Dean used to perform tor
the children, and give them glimpscs of
the ''tairy tales of science" when the other
fairy tales palled, and Of worlds beyond
when the pleasures Of their own were not
enough. And then there were the walk
ing and talking dolls, with multitude o
other mechanical toys, and there were
parallel bars, and, yes, a low flying trapcze.
A happy little set OF savagcs they were that
had the freedom Of this delightful room
when the days spelling and multiplying
were over. There were Robin and Matte
the twins, and Ned; there were the two
orphan cousins that had been added to tho
number; there were usually more or less
OF tho neighbors' babies; and there was
Cyrus, the pet and darling of them all, Il
tair-tlced, bIuc-cycd little fellow, with
his long yellow curls tioatinS over his
slouldcrs--almost too lovely, it seemed
to that household, for common flesh and
blood. A prccocious little creature too
for his four years, full of mischief, his Ole
nurse said, as nut is Of meat, and full o
sweetness too. Singing about the house
from dawn till dark, kissing the dog
which felt him peculiar charge, worrying
the cat, feeding the birds, vanishing the
chairs with the mucilage, decorating the
wall with his fingers dipped in the ink bot
tie, breaking the precious flower from tho
stem for some unwelcome guest, knowing
no difference between servants and mas
ters, and having kisses for all, alway:
serious and always loving in the midst o.
his preoccupatiOn and mischief, the LITTLE
fellow was the idol of home and of tht
region round about. One night as they
all sat in the play-room by Il fire, it being
rainy outside, when the games had failet
any longer to amuse, each one recitc(
some verse already learned; and Will.
thus engaged, it was found that Cyru!
h0I 1>st ,,f
board, in uncouth but very recognizabl,
characters, the letters of the alphabet
and when the others had said their say, Ii,
came and stood by his mothers knee, an(
repeated the "Better Land" in his sweet
serious voice and baby patois.
As Mrs. Dean went through the play
room, later, with a candle in her hand
those characters upon the blackboard
fiarcd up like the handwriting on the wal
and made her shiver, as she afterward re
membercd, she knew not why Sh
passed through into the nurseries, an,
saw her little people all gently sleepin:
there; but somehow her heart seemed t
lingcr the longest round Cyrus, as he la,
with the coverings tossed to the winds
and his yellow curls streaming round hi
face in its rosy slumber like Minus.
The next night that little bed was va
cant, and bands of men were searchin.
the country far and wide for Cyrus; til
father rode, half frantic, from one plac
to another; the mother, after the first
stayed at home and wrung her hands, til
other children clinging dumb and awe
struck to her skirt. The boy had bee
stolen.
Only those that clasp their own babies
and think Of what mi ght bcfall the dar
lings in some such dreadful unknown, ca
realize the agony that night and da
brought to those parents for weeks AM
months. 1t is idle to tell Of that griet
OF the efforts that were made, of the fol
tune that was spent, Of the uselessness G
it all. The picture of the little head o
its pillow that last night hung CONSTANT
before the mothers eyes; all his charm
ing little sayings were in her mind; sh
could see him tearing up bits of paper a
lie leaned out Of the window, and rs cac
one softly foatel away, repeating til
lines about the dcath-song of the swan
"Fwoating down by he'scf to die';' sh
remembered the absorbed way in wllic
he would look up, declaring, II buzll
now" the insauciance with which, wlle
she demonstrated upon his naushtnes
lie badc her 10 "takc it eazhy;" his. "vo
erble papers," in short, all the things
which he had been just ono trihe mo,
charming than the other cllillren--tll
other children who would not put one
that child's playthings out Of sight, an
would not even suffer the little uncout
characters upon the blackboard to be wipe
out.
But one wear followed another, an
another followed that, and although NJ
Dean had agents every where throughor
the country, and was constantly on IL,
alert himself, no word came Of his littl
son. Yet anything seemed better than h
should be growing up in the hands {
those vile enough to abduct him. N
reason for the stealing had ever appeared
no message or messenger from the wretch
es had ever made any overture to Il,
father for ransom. Sometimes hi
mother feared that she could no longe