Democratic messenger., 1881-09-17
JACK---A MENDICANT.

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A smooth haired, whitish. brown ter.
rier it was, with cropped ears, black
patch over one eye, end only half tail
"a thin, shadowy sort of thing thai
used to grub about in the twilight in
the cutters, and in odd corners where
poor people throw waste and rubbish,
picking up its own living as best il
could. If it had not known how to
fend for ITSELF" it must have Jared
hardly indeed for though it had a
master who loved ii as he would have
loved the sun in the heavens, could his
blind eyes have been hghtened for one
moment by its beams, and who treas
ured it as he did the memory of his
dead wife, dead daughter, dead grand
child, yet he had nothing but his love
to give it, and love, as we all know
though it never faileth, and is greater
than faith and hope, yet in hard times
cannot so much as buy an ounce of
bread, nor even get bone Tor dog.
Caleb had been blind for more than
twenty years. Once he had been a
strong skillful workman who had never
known q dinnerless table nor fireless
hearth. Things had gone well with
him In early life he had married a
stout young country woman, and had
had one child by her-a blue-eyed, fair
haired darling, whom they he'd chris
tened Martha, but whom every loved
to call Matte. She looked as if she
had been born to pet name, and she
stuck to it as right. Matte was sent
to school and taught embroideries and
needlework /; she was not to work hard,
as her father and mother had done be-
fore her, bat was to lead the quiet gen.
tie sort of life God so evidently in
tended her for; and if, by and by,
when father and mother were getting
old and could no longer work for their
darling, some good honest workman
were to come along and offer to marry
her-well then he should have her,
and Gods blessing go with her.
But before Matte was ten years old,
or there was any thought of father and
mother getting old, Caleb's great trou-
bic had come upon him. There was a
huge fire in the factory where he work
ed, and Caleb, in his zeal to save his
masters property, was much burnt
about his face, arms and chest. They
took him to the hospital, where they
did the best they could for him, and he
came out of it in months time with
limbs patched, fJce sound though
Scared, but eyesight gone forever.
How the stout strong wife would have
wept over him if she had had time to
weep But time meant money in those
days and she set to work with will to
get the daily bread. No more embroid-
cries for little Matte sewing and
stitching viii serve her in better stead
now, for she can earn a shilling here and
shilling there by plain needlework
among her poor neighbors.
And so things went on for ten years
or more. Caleb turned woman in the
house, and cooked their small meals.
and kept things straight and neat as he
could without his eyesight, and the
women turned men, as poor women
often have to do, and brought in the
pounds and the shillings, or, failing the
pounds, the shillings and the pennies,
and even in those days had always
wherewithal to help brother or sister
Then there came another change.
Fever set in III their neighborhood, and
the brave strong mother was the first
to fall victim to it. Caleb was dazed
with grief. Matte wept her heart out,
then set to work again, but this time
with less of spirit and courage. From
house to house Caleb groped his way,
begging for work-he would do what
he could for sixpence a dey; he was,
so he said, ''a giant in strength. y
''True," said the people; "but blind
giant is of no use to us, and we are
too poor to pay a sixpence day fol
nothing"
81 will go into the workhouse," said
Caleb. "No man shall say l live idle
upon my little girls earnings"
Then Matte chung about his knees
and besought him not to leave her, tell
ing him secret she had meant to tell
the dead mother, how that she had
married secretly a fine-looking Young
fellow who had made love to her; how
that where he had gone she knew not,
nor even whether the name in which he
had married her were his own.
eff had but n glimmer of daylight
wherewith to guide my steps, 1 would
search the world through to find the
false hearted coward who has brought
this shame to our door. Lord, Thou
has dealt hardly with me indeed p he
said, with his sightless balls lifted
heavenward.
Matte dropped day by day, but still
she managed to keep her customers to.
gether, and sent home smart dresses foi
gay young shop girls to wear IN the
summer evenings when they went walk.
ing out with their sweethearts. BY and
by second Matte came-a little fair
haired, blue-eyed thing, like Matte the
first; and though Caleb cursed again
the false-hearted man. who had left his
Matte to struggle through her troubles