The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1879-06-19


Until the child, too tired to weep e., {,
Longer, had sobbed herself to s ecp.
Tonight, the eddying snow.Aakcs whir
Above the sleeping little girl;
Her room is dark, her bed is cold, j; e.,
Love cannot warm the frozen IN Id,
vt Gin.her motlerhear the,plaint
- Come through the midnight far and faint,
Half lost amid the tempcsts moan,
s4amma, ]cannot stay alone.
Omamma, come; the wild winds cry,
And am lonesome where / lc!" -:
. FEATHERsToNEs HERO.
About the time I it happened, Iittle
TINS had been at Fcatlierstone School
year, think; though may be mistaken
Il have 50 much to remember since 1
began to grow old. There arc all the
A,oys who. were at Featherstone in my
DAY, the looks Of the blessed old school
itself, 18th the many windowed build
ings, the weather stained belfry, where
thu, gulls made nests, the neat, trim play
kiodnds, and the whole broad ocean surg
inK along Cumberland Beach, only a
mile away-all this must never forget:
For what would be the good fortune Of
l'eiug boy it one could not have his
school fellows to remember; the home
they had in common, and the glorious old
days W hen he and they woke up on the
bright, sunshiny mornings, without a
thing to do in the world besides coming
lesson or two7 Then there is the mas
tsr-though 1t took US some time to find
out just u hat noble generous man he
was; and the masters kind, mothcrly
wife, ho cared for us boys when we
were sick and who brought Billy
Wilson through a desperate struggle
with the typhoid fever, when every body
said he would die. Who Of us i'll ever
forget the quiet, sleepy afternoons we
passed in that large, still school room,
studying Our illustrated histories and
Biographies; listening to the old clock
beating away, as if it were the pulse of
the place; and loo ing out wistfuiiy
through the deep windows at the sails
heaving in sight now and then on the
glimmering ocean9 Or, will any OF us
forget the days when it stormcd, and the
eea threw its spray away up to our win
do.s, and at night rumbled over the
beach like guns, eeI'ing us awake for
hours7 And finally, whenever, we look
at the sea, are there any of Us who will
not recall Little Tins?
What an odd-looking little chap he
was. to he sure, when he first came to the
sehool!+ The boys laughed at his name
.1it&le6eld Tins; and called him
''Gran Their" because he appeared so old
fashioned. Then somebody began to
nickname him Little Tins, aud we all
nteek it Up. He WAS not SO Yer small in
stature, however: only slim and poor
: !His tace was freckled. his hair red, and
shs;bsd,larye hands, 'thatltokcd IS though
he had been used to very hard work, One
Of the boys said THAT the master had
= brought him from a poor farm; but we
= never found out whether that was really
the truth. AL We knew about, him was
. that he had no parents and was kept
hbout the school to do the chores. When
The biggest boy shook him, one day be.
cause he refused to flag, he sat down and
cried; said he wished he was dead. He
!; never had any friends, and we might kill
him, if We wanted To-; he didn't care, he
'said: Some Of the boys only laughed al
that and told him he hadn't any pluc (
Afterwards he kept a.ay from US all az
fHosh ~ he could, and studied bis lessons
But the day came. at last, however
when we found out what brave hear,
Little Tins had; and then, Of course, ~e
| wonder that it had taken US so long t.
discover the fact. It was some time in
the sprlng-a dark, cold, rainy day, when
the sea had been made wild by the high
wind. The most of us had remained in.
doors oil the afternoon; and, when even.
ing carne, we gathered around the open
dre r. tho end Of our long dormitory and
took turns in telling the sea stories we
hed read. Oh! To hear Billy Wilson
telling about his fathers cruise to BON.
bay, while you were watching the great
sahWp1of Ore cracking and dartlng ur
Ought flames, and listening to the storm,
beating the ~indows and the surf thun.
dering against the shore, was worth q
great deal, I can tell you. And what q
" noise the wind and waves did make tina,
night! II ~as as much as anyone could
do TO catch wink Of sleep; and1 recol.
lect how I lay awake ever so long. fancy
Ing thatl could hear voices out door cry.
ingand calling to.us. 1suppose must
have been dreaming an hour Or two,
though, before really did hear anything
because sprang up startled and con.
ylQsQ when that loud boom and rumble
bfoks above the noise Of the storm.
"What was that, Ludgatel". :. y whispered
! shttls Tom Duffield, frightened; and then
In moment everybody in the dormitory
was sitting up in bed, wanting to know
what had happier ed. George Jennings
ercpt ont to the end window and pulled
up the curtain, just as another crash made
usjump, and we caugh hit a glimpse Of
:: deeh ip, the distance, bursting the dark.
;. 1e11sah0tt. = -. 49,. :, -
, !. lisa ship on the reef, tellows!" called
out three or four at once. '"
= There was = general scramble. for oul
=, alethee, and then We crowded about the
Windos and waited for another flash
e But before it came the master opened the
door, lantern in hand.
"You hear those guns, boys7 there's 8
ri 1hip On the reef, and they are firing fol
help: Put on your great coats and come
right down to the cliff. We must dc
everything in our power to aid them"
he meant, Of course, the larger bows
;, Bob Nichols, John Sawyer and Ed will.
. Hams; but the others Of Us went with
i n..tthsm, Before anybody could count .
l. hundred ne were all running down the
rad to the cliff, as fast as We could 20
= It was about three o'clock in the morning
I'D as"dark a. pocket" The wind had
lulled considerably, and the rain had
reeased altogether; yet there was strange
1ases and wildness about the whole Of thu