Montgomery County sentinel., 1880-12-10
The Faithful Comrade.

In the market town of Belgium, the cree
ton of fine church was nearly finished.
Only one thing remained to be DONE which
was the placing of n weathercock on the
summit of the steeple; for on well CON
structed church steeple weathercock is
never wanting. Its elevation, however, ap-
peared to be impracticable, for the slender
staging upon which the workmen carried
on their work, only one step from the depth
below, did not extend high enough to ena-
Bile them to raise 1t up. There remained no
way to accomplish the fastening and solder
ing of brazen weathercoclS, but by having
one man do it while standing on the shou-
ders of another man.
II was no pleasant task which the two
men undertook-the one with his broad
| shoulders and iirmness, the other with his
iearlessness and skill and it was needfu
that they should have entire confidence in
each other, and have perfect trust in the
merciiul God, into whose hands they had
placed their lives And SO the two men as
cended up to the highest board of the stag
ing, taking nothing with them but the heavy
weathercock, the vessel of melted lead, and
the implements requisite for doing the work
Then the broad-shouldered man placed him
self firmly on his feet, and taking hold of u
pole of the staging with one hand, stopped
over while the other man climbed cautiously
upon his shoulders Then he handed him
the pan of hot Goals with the melted lead
and the weathercock Thus the work of
fastening and soldering began, while from
the market below, and from the windows of
the houses, the inhabitants of the town
gazed breathlessly up. And as they beheld
with astonlshment the learlessness of the
two men, so were also many silent prayers
offered that God would mercifully shield
them from harm.
1t lasted long, long time, for every mo-
ment seemed to the anxious gazers an eler-
nifty. The broad -shoudered man stood upon
his board as m otonless us n rock. Hold on
else your comrade is lost. The man stand
ing on the shoulders Of the other works and
soldiers as rapidly as possible.
Now the weathercock is fastened at last
at last The man carefully descends from
the shoulders Of his bearer The lockers
on take breath and thank God comes from
many lips. But why does the broad d-shoul-
dered man so tightly grasp the pole of the
stagingH Why does he joyfully descend the
ladder after having finished his difficult task 2
Has the power TO do 50 forsaken him? Not
yet; now, he is coming down, but slowly
and unsteadily and when he has reached
the ground he falls down. The other work
men hasten to him and the crowd press
around. The shoulders, arms, and breast
of the poor man arc covered with terrible
burns While his comrade, whom he bore
on his shoulders, was soldering on the
weathercock, the boiling lead with which
the work was done was running down,
drop by drop, on the resolute man. Al
though tormented with fearful pains, he
had not moved a limb, for any movement
might have caused his comrade 10 totter and
fall. The life Of II fellow being had been in
trusted TO him, and he had been faithful TO
his trust, notwithstanding his unspeakable
anguish and pain in doing 80.
The noble man was carried to hospital,
and after long, severe suffering, was cured.
But through all Belgium and its borders the
report Of the heroism Of this workman was
spread abroad, and many, from far and near,
sent him tokens Of their love and admira-
ton