The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-02-27
select sturry.
NOBODY'S STORY.
BY oHARLGs DICKENS.

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ocean. II had rolled on ever since the
world began. It had changed Its course
sometimes, and turned into new chan
nels, leaving its old always dry and bar
rem; but it had ever been upon the flow
and was ever to low until Time shall be
no more. Against Its strong, unfathom'
able stream nothing made head. No liv'
ing creature, no leaf, no particle of ami
mate or inanimate existence, ever stayed
back from the undiscovered ocean. The
tide of the river set resistleSsly toward il
and THE tide never stopped, any more
than the earth stops in its circleing round
the sun.
He lived in busy place, and he work
ed very hard to live. He had no hope Of
ever being rich enough to live a month
without hard work, but he was quite
content, God knows, to labor with a
cheerful will. He was one of an i'm
mensefamily ,allof whose sons and daugh-
ters gained their daily bread by daily
work, prolonged from their rising up be-
times until their lying down at night.
Beyond this destiny he had no prospect,
and he sought none.
There was over-much drumming, ,trum-
petlng, and speech making in the neigh
borhood where he dwell; but he had
nothing to do with that. Such clash
and uproar came from the Bigwig family,
at the unaccountable proceedings of
which race he marveled much. They set
up the strangest statutes, in iron, marble,
bronze, and brass, before his door, and
darkened his house with the legs and
tail9 of unCouth images of horses. He
wondered what it all meant, smiled in a
rough good humored way he had, and
kept at his hard work.
The Bigwig family composed of all the
noisiest) had undertaken to save him the
trouble of thinking for himself, and to
manage him and his affairs. "Why
truly" said be, ri have little time upon
my hands; and if you will be 80 good as
to take cBre ofme in return for the mon
ey l pay over"-for the Bigwig family
were not above his money-"I shall be
relieved and much obliged, considering
that you know best" Hence the drum.
ming, trumpeting, and speech.making,
and the ugly images of horses which he
he was expected to fall down and wor-
ship.
Il don't understand all this" said he,
rubbing his furrowed brow Confusedly.
"But it has a meaning, maybe, if l could
find it out"
"It MEANS" returned the Bigwig fami-
ly, suspecting something of W hat he said,
"honor and glory in the highest, to the
highest merit"
"Ohl" said he. And he was glad to hear
that.
But, when he looked among the images
in iron, marble, bronze and brass, he fail
ed to find rather meritorious country
man of his, once the son of Warwick
shire wood dealer, or any single country
man whomsoever of that kind. He cod
find none of the men whose knowledge
had rescued him and his children from
terrific and disfguring disease, whose
boldness had raised his forefathers from
the condition of serfs, whose wise fancy
had opened new and high existence to
the humblest, whose skill had filled the
working mans world with accumulated
wonders. Whereas, he did find others
whom he knew no good of; and even 9th
ers whom he knew much ill Of
"Humph p said he, II don't quite I'm
derstand it."
So he went home and sat down by his
fresde to get it out of his mind.
Now, his fireside was bare one, all
hemmed in by blackened streets but it
was precious place to him. His child
rem, stunted in their growth, bore traces
of unWholesome nature; but they had
beauty in his sight. Above all other
things, it was an earnest desire of this
mans soul that his children should be
taught. IF l am sometimes misled,"
said he, "for want OF knowledge, at least
let them know better, and ayoid my mis-
takes. If it is hard for me to reap the
harvest of pleasure and instruction that
is stored in books, let it be easier to
them" r-.r .t. 's-,
But the Bigwig family broke into vio-
lent family Quarrels concerning what it
was lawful to teach this mans children.
Some of the family insisted on such a
thing being primary and indispensable
above all other things; and others Of the
family insisted on such another thing be-
ing primary and indispensable above all
other things; and the Bigwig family, rent
into fractions, wrote pamphlets. held
conversations, delivered charges, orations
and all varieties of disCourses; impound-
ed one another in courts Lay and courts
Ecclesiastical threw dirt, exchanged
pummelings, and fell together by the ears
in unintelligible animOsity. Meanwhile,
this man, in his short evening snatChes
at his freside, saw the demon Ignorance
arise there, and take his children to itself.
He saw his daughter perverted into
heavy, slatternly drudge; he saw his son
go moping down the ways Of low ssnsu-
ality, to brutality and crime he saw
the daWning light of intelligence in the
eyes Of bis babies so changing into cum
ming and suspicion, that he could have
rather wished them idiots. .
II don't understand this any better"
said he, "but / think it cannot be right.
Nay, by the clouded heaven above me,
protest against this as my wrongp
Becoming peacesble again (for his pas
sion was usually short.liVed, and bis ma
ture kind), he looked about him on his
Sundays and holidays, and he saw how
much monotony and wear!ness there was
and thence how drunkenness arose with
all its train of ruin. Then he appealed
to the Bigwig family, and said, 1--WE are
a laboring people, and l have a glimmer-
ing suspicion in me that laboring people,
I'll of whatever condition, weregmade--bya
higher intelligence than yours, as poor
ly understand it--to be in need of mem
tai tefreshment and recreation. See what
we fall into, when We rest without it.