Smyrna times., 1880-05-12
Backbone and Grit.

fellow, and Deacon Ball let's him have his
team for n trihe, and we like TO get him a
job when we can."
1t was hot day in July. Away up
among the hills that mako the lower slope
of the Monadnock nouAtains, friend lay
very i'll. In order to reach his temporary
home one must take an early train to the
nearest station, and trust to the old lumber
ing dusty coach, that made daily trip to
K. The train was late the stage after
waiting some time had gone. The landlord
of the little white hotel appeared in his
shirt sleeves, and leaning his elbow on the
balcony rail, dropped down on the hot and
thirsty traveller what comfort could be ex-
tracted from the opening sentence of my
sketch.
"Would we not come in and have some
dinnerY eyes, and the boy? ?" Yes"
And the dinner was eaten and the team
came around-an open buggy and an old
white horse, and just as we were seated the
door of little brown house over the way
opened, and out rushed the widder's boy"
In his mouth was the last morsel of his
dinner; he had evidently learned how to
"eat and run" His feet were clad in last
Winters much worn boots, whose wrinkled
legs refused to stay within the limits of
hio hNilON dhU tIOuSeios EAS nlS
few backward in an effectual struggle to get
himself inside Of jacket much too short in
the sleeves.
"There he is" said the hostler. "That's
the Widder Beehe's boy. told him
I'd hold the deacon's horse while he went
home to get bite"
The horse did not look to me as if he
needed to he held, but the hestler got his
time, and the boy approached in time to
relieve my mind as to whether he would
conquer his jacket or the jacket conquer
him, and turn him wrong side out.
He was >unburned, frrckled, large e-mcuth.
ed and red haired-a homely, plain, patched
littl" Yankee boy; and yet, as we rode
through ti. deep Summer bloom and fra.
GRANGE Of the shaded road, winding up the
long hills in the glow of the afternoon sun,
| learned suri, lrSSnu from that little frl.
low ut my side aS ! shall not very soon
forget
He did not look much like preacher aS
he sat >t""pin: forward ii little, whSking
the ilisS from tho d..ncnI,'s horse, but his
sermon was one which wish might have
been heard by all the boys in the land. AZ
it was, had to spur him on now and then
by questions to get him to tell all about
himself
MY Id(HrT tlctl, you see, anu leIJ my
mother the little brown house opposite the
tavern. You saw it didn't you, sir-the
one with the lilac bushes under the window?
Father was sick a long time, and when he
could not work he had to raise money on
the house. Deacon Ball let him have it, a
little at time, and when father was gone
mother found the money owed was almost
three hundred dollars. Atfirst she thought
she weuld have to give up the house, but
the deacon said, Let it wait awhile and
he turned and patted me on the head and
said, When Johnny gets big enough to
earn something, | shall expect him to pay
! it. | was only nine years then, but | am
thirteen now | remembered it, and | re.
member how mother cried and said: Yes,
deacon, Johnny is my only hope now ); and
wondered what work could do. | really
felt as if ought to begin at once, and yet
could not think Of anything to do,"
DWELL what did you de?" | ask ed
quickly for was afraid he would stop, and
| wanted TO hear the rest.
"Well, at first l did very funny things
for boy. Mother used to knit socks to
sell and she sewed the rags to make rag
carpets, and helped"
elbow? What could you do?'
"Weli, the people who would like q
carpet could not always get the time tC
make it. So l went to the houses among
the farmers, and took home their rags, ole
coats, and everything they had, and out il
the weodshed, ripped and cut them up
Then mother sewed them, and sometimes
sewed them, too, and then l rolled then
into balls and took them back to til,
owners, all ready to be woven into rugs"
But did they pay for your work ~
N(lh. VWa uat t1uph nounA aOf
| used to feel quite like merchant when
weighed them out myself with our old steel
yards. But that was only one way wev
two or three old apple trees out in the baeI
yard by the wall, and we dried the apple
and sold them; then some Of the farmer
who had good many apples began to sen,
them to US to dry, and we paid them s
many pounds all dried, and had the rest t
SELL"
: "But you surely could not do much i
ways like these ~
"No, not much, but something; and W
j had the knitting"
did you knit?"
"Not at first but after while mothe
! began to have the rheumatism in her hand
and the joints became swollen and the fiji
T gers twisted, and it hurt her to move then
= Then ! learned to knit; before that
b always wound ths yarn for her. had
. . learn to sew little, too, for my mother di
u not like to see the holes without patches
a q And he looked half smilingly at the sp
. cimsns on his knees.
= " But you did not mend those 2" said
:. Yes, sir; but l was in a hurry, an
. mother said it was not done as it ought
+ be. They had just been washed, and
:, couldn't wait for them to dry"
i "WhO washed them2"
y did, and ironed them, too. ca
wash and iron almost as we'll as meth,
- can"
- "She don't mean to let me. but how
"a she going to help it2 she can hardly vi
a. her hands at all, and some days her fe,
% are so bad she cannot leave her chair, so
e have to learn to make the beds and scru
"a the floor, and wash the dishes and ] ca
" cook almost as well as a girl"
b "Is is pessible2 I shall have to tab
r. supper with you on my way back to I'll
b. city, and test your skill"
Y, Johnny blushed, and l added:
is It's a pity, my boy, that yeu have I
st sister"
"T had ons," he said gently, but 81
le died and-if shs lived 1 wouldn't ha'
er wished her to lift, and bring wood an
is water and scrub, rs poor mother always di
ID Somstimes l wish I could have sprung Q
10 the way from a baby to q man. It's sue
ae slow growing up; and il was while moth
10 was waiting for tn to grow up that 81
a. worked so hard"
I'd But my boy, you connot expect to
10 son and daughter and mether, all in on
is. Ysu cannot do the work fer who
u. family"
an "Yes, car it isn't much, and a
zee going TO do it, and the work nay father Il
m undons. I'm going TO pay that mortgas
he IL live"
no "Hsavsn grant you may / said, +,
ca vently, under my breath, "for not ma
tn mothers have such son.
ne Mother does net know mean to do
We and she Is very anxious I should go
school, and mean to sometime, I KIN,
just whore ths boys in my class are stus
en- is. saa sset thsa AIaAl