The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-03-11

.
Y" Not J." returned the gentleman.
= A man who cannot keep promise
should not make one : hey, my lad~
Nell tossed Der head and the boy soon
lostBight Of the rider. Then he looked
down, at his shoes, a. his coat, and his
old cap ashe hung it on the peg in the
entry, and silently seontrasted them all
with the fur-trimmed overcoat and out
fit Of the stranger. ....
"Neyer mind, ",ssid Tom to himself,
{" will have them all, too, when am
a member of Congress"
At the end of two weeks n bundle of
books was left at the school-house.
There was not only q Latin grammar,
but wellworn copy Of Virgil, Esop
Fables and sundry other volumes such
as Tom had never seen ...g...g
Pine knots were plentiful where Tom
lived, and he sat up until midnight all
tho rest Of tho winter bordering over
then ysteries Of those books. I. +.
Asgood luck would haveit, the school.
master, who boarded around with his
pupils, hand not eaten the rations due
him at TOMS father's.% When he ar
rived he entered warmly into the lads
ambitious projects, and as he had q
smattering Of Latin himself, was quail
fed To aid bis pupil. -r-rr, ...., ...
Although the schoolmaster was al
lowed the use of A tallow' candle, he
vastly preferred the more brilliant light
Of Toms pitch knot; SO that, rs often as
the lor e winter evening set in, the
master and the pupil might be seen
(and were seem sitting before the large
fireplace with their heads buried in the
pages of the books, along which they
plodded slowly, but to such purpose
that at the end Of the winter Tom could
read his fable and solve his problem in
a manner very creditablc to himself and
master. F.. n
It was uphill work with poor Tom,
but he never lost what little he gained,
and managed to make what little he ac-
complisbed to tell on the future.
One day his father brought home a
stranger, and told Tom thatIEe was ap.
prenticed, during his minority, to this
man, who would make him n black
smith. .''
But I am not going to be 4 black
smith," cried Tom, in a passion; " Pm
going to CopgressH' l- y u ... =
"1hc more need that you should
learn to shoe the horse that carries
you there" .cpIcd his father, with n
shrug.
Tom packed up his worldly goods, not
forgetting his books, and trudged away
to distant village, where he pared
horses oors by day, and studied and
read at night by stealth, for he was al.
lowed neither knot nor candle.
Six Months the poor fellow triedto be
faithful to his duty, but one night when
the master had thrown his grammar
into the fire, and athel him for his dis
obedience, Tom took leave of the work
shop. ~ y L, re#
he made his way, barefooted as he
was, over boys and briars, until he ven
tured into the main road, and by diut
of bcgginga ride now and then, reached
the city, Where, as Ben Franklin had
.n"u ue'o,. ''n', WV ~" at, W." I""~'
p'oymcnt,'
Perhaps the l,appiest day of Toms
me was when ne found hLmseli IN 'nc
antiquarian book store with plenty OF
leisure, plenty Of books, aud nothing to-
fear from friend or Zoe.
~ Is wonderful now ne r'ad-and
rcad-"nd read me PafcOea eattn
Goes not more gfeedliy take IN inc sum
mcr ram. t..L..
When his intellectual thirst WAS par
TALLY satisfied he began to work. lie
saw the ladder up which he must climb,
and selling the lowest round he made
his way steadily upward.
d, We all know by what steps an AM
o'tioNs man makes ,Pro1gres'-oy l@hent
lo'i- by sell 'denlal--by courteous ne5
poItment-,by the constant acquisition
or knowlcdgeag -
Years passed by, during all Of which
Tom had looked in vain for his early
friend, tie stranger. In his timid awk-,
wardness, he had not thought to ask the
name Of his benciactor, aud tho only
to do 80 had been lost@a..S
well, years slid away, and Tom was
elected member of Congress from the,
very county whereshe Spent his slrug,
Cling boyhood. =. ~ W .,r
He went to Washington, not in COW
hide shoes and butternut coloredghome-.
spun. but dressed something As mag
nation had pictured, IA he looked
after his beneractor, on the evcntful
Law Of the sleiahridc r.
4 noblcr looking man, the ladies in
the galleries said, never bed appeared
mon the floor than this Yankee mem.
her who. # me smoke through his nose,
llways drove his arrows home To- the
mark .h' ..
ono a,u ,,,o,o ,,oo.rsd !, tho Housc
~ o' na,a9a, L fa,n,' oe an ex'mc Tnber
, ,%" ,, all uro,oni aol;chtbsd to honor.
i aasasJ Lut ana .gIauee MT the Genial
face Ear Ton to recognize in him the
"ivsr Of the Latin grammar.
uih'' va wv ''s"' '" a.,