Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-11-28
BACKBONE AND GRIT.

a wilder lives here, and she's got a boy
and he'll drive you over. He's a nice
little fellow, and Deacon Ball lets him
have his team for trif1e, and we like to
give him little job when we can"
It was hot day in July. Away up
among the hills that make the lower
slope of the Mondanock mountain,
friend lay very ill. 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 a daily trip to K-n. The train
was late; the stage, after waiting some
time, was gone. The landlord of the lit
tie white hotel appeared in his shirt
sleeves, and leaning his elbow on the
balcony rail, dropped down on the hot
be expected from the opening sentence
of my sketch.
"Would we not come in and have
some dlnner?'' Yes "Would he send
for the deacon's team?' "Yes.' "And
the boy?" ayes
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 seat and run" His feet were clad in
last winters much worn boots whose
wrlnkled legs refused to stay within the
limits of his narrow and faded trousers
AS his legs flew forward his arms flew
backward in an Intellectual struggle to
get himself inside of a jacket much too
short in the sleeves.
"There he is" said the hostier, "that's
the Widder Beebe's boy. I 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 wether he would
conquer the jacket or the jacket would
conquer him and turn him wrong side
out.
He was sunburned and freckled. large
mouthed and -haired-a homely, plain,
patched little Yankee boy, and yet,as we
rode along through the deep summer
bloom and fragrance of the shaded road,
winding up the long hills in the glow of
the afternoon sun, learned such alesson
from the little fellow at nv side as
shall not soon forget.
He did not look much like a preacher
as he sat STOPPING forward little, whisk-
ing the flies from the deacon's horse, but
his sermon was one which l wish might
have been heard by the boys in the land.
AS it was, had to spur him On now and
then by questions to get him to tell ali
about himself.
'My father died, you see, and left my
mother the little brown house opposite
the tarven. You saw it, didn't you, sir
the one with the lilac bushes under the
window? Father was sick long while,
and when he could not work he had to
raise money On the house Deacon Ball
let him have it, little at a 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 the head and said,
"When Johnny gets big enough to earn
something, shall expect him to pay IT,
l was only nine years old then, but I'm
thirteen now; remember it, and I re-
member how mother cried, and said
eyes, deacon, Johnny is my only hope
now;' and [ wondered and wondered
what work cou.d do. 1 really felt as
if ought to begin at once, and yet
could not think of an ything to do"
"Well, what did you do?' 1 asked
quickly. for | was afraid he would stop
and wanted to hear the rest.
''Well, at first ] did very funny things
for boy. Mother used TO knit socks to
sell, and shessewed the rags to make rag
carpets, and helped
"How? What could you do?'
"Well, the people who would like a
carpet could not always get the time to
make it, So went to the houses among
the farmers, and took home their rags,
old coats. and everything they had, and
out in the wood-shed l ripped and cut
hem up. Then mother sewed them, and
sometimes I sewed some, too, and then
rolled them into balls and took them
back. to the owners, all ready to be woven
into rugs"
But did they pay for your work? 2"
ooh, yes; we gotso much pound, and
l used to teel quite like amerchant when
I weighed them out myself with our old
steelyards. But That was only ope way
we've two or three old apple trees out in
the back yard by the wall, and we dried
the apples and sold them; then some of
the farmers who had good many apples
began to send them to us to dry, and we
paid them so many pounds all dried, and
had the rest to SELL"
"But you surely could not do much in
ways like these
mo. not much, but something, and
we had the knitting"
"Dld you knit?''
Not at first; but after while mother
began to have the rheumatism in her
hands, and thejoints became swollen and
the fingers twisted, and it hurt her to
move them. Then I learned to knit; be-
fore that had always wound the yarn
for her. l had to learn to sew little, too,
for my mother did not like to see the
holes without patches"
And he locked half smilingly at the
specimens on his knees.
"But you did not mend those2' said l.
eyes, sir; but was in hurry, and