Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1880-02-16
Backbone and Grit.

y
and he'll drive you over. He's a nice
little fellow, and Deacon Ball lets him
have his team for trife, and we like
to get him job when we can
1t was hot day in July. Away up
among the hills that make the lower
slope of the Monadnock mountain,
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 numbering old dusty coach,
that made daily trip to K-n. The
train was late; the stage, after waiting
some time, was 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 extracted from the opening
sentence of my sketch.
"Would we not come in and have
some dinner ?" "Yes." "Would he
send for the deacon's team % "Yes."
"And the boy ?" "Yes."
And the dinner was eaten and the
"team" came round-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 his narrow and faded trousers.
As his legs flew forward his arms few
backward in an efectual struggle to get
himself inside of jacket much too short
in the sleeves.
"There he is, " said the hostler, ''that's
I the Widder Beebe's boy. l 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 be held, but the hostler got
his dime, and the boy approached in
time to relieve my mind as to whether
he would conquer the jacket or the jack
ct would conquer him and turn him
wrong side out.
He was sunburned and freckled,
large-mouthed and red-haired-a home
ly, plain, patched little Yankee boy ;
and yet, as we rode through the deep
summer bloom and fragrance of the
shaded road, winding up the long hills
in the glow of the afternoon sun, learn
ed such lesson from that little fellow
at my side as | shall not soon forget.
He did not look much like preacher
as he sat STOPPING forward little, whisk-
ing the flies from the deacon's horse,
but his sermon was one which [ wish
might have been heard by all the boys
in the land. As 1t was, l had to spur
him on now and then by questions to get
him to tell all about himself.
"My father died, you see, and left 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 long
time, and when he could not work be
had to raise money on the house. Dea.
con Ball let him have it. little at q
time, and when father was gone mother
found the money owed was almost three
hundred dollars. At first she thought
she would have to give up the house
but the deacon said, "Let it wait awhile,
and he turned and patted me on tht
head and said. "When Johnny gets blg
enough to earn something, | shall ex
pect him to pay it." l was only MIN
years then, but I'm thirteen now; l re
membered it, and | remember how moth
er cried, and said: "Yes, deacon, John
ny is my only hope now" and wondered
and wondered what work could do.
really felt as if | ought to begin at once
and yet could not think of anything t.
do"
"Well, what did you do? 1 aske,
quickly. for l was afraid he would stop
and | wanted to hear the rest.
"Well, at first did very funny thing
for boy. Mother used to knit socks t
sell, and she sewed the rags to make ra
carpets, and helped
"How? What could you do ?"
"Well. the people who would like
; a carpet could not always get the tim
to make it. So | went to the house
among the farmers, and took home thei
; rags. old coats. and everything they had
and out in the wood-shed, L ripped an
| cut them up. Then mother sewed then
! and sometimes l sewed some, too, an
then | rolled them into balls and too
them back to the owners, all ready to
; woven into rugs"
: but did they pay for your work p
"Oh, yes; we got SO much pound
and used to feel quite like merchar
when | weighed them out myself wit
t our old steelyards. But that was onl
+, one way; we've two or three old app
e trees out in the back yard by the wal
E and We dried the apples and sold them
then some of the farmers who had goo