The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1882-01-21
A LIFE STORY.


I OtnelS around laugh. VINO can only tOttel
and crawl where others run: VINO see i'm
perfectly with pain what others take i'll
at Il glance; and who, in c ,nsequence,
think life is Il thing to be barely endured,
an evil which the sooner it is lawfully
shaken off. the better? Let me rrhear>e
Il life story for every word Of which there
is historic foundation that may ms ?ire
hope, while it expires ses sympathy with
the halt. the manned. and til" blind y
the classes which Won the pity of tie
worlds Drlivercr.
baby boy was born near Plymouth.
in lS04, SO sckly that only two hours of
life We're counted uprn. AMI only great
care brought him through infancy. He
never grew to he fall height and WAS
the frequent victim Of headache His
grandfather had fallen Il victim of drink.
His father, Il mason by trade. trav led
the s,me bad road: and at the age Of
four. poor. feeble. defnrmcI John was
taken for little care TO his grand
mother poor garnet.
| Beyond the love Of that poor Old wo-
ing till t was eight, when he was sent
to such Il school as poor children c"nld
| then have. What with tie headaches
and the frequent inability OF the grand
mother to raise the penny week fee. his
| attendance was quite irregular, and his
school learning little. Bnt he had learn
! her tell stories: found they were in print
and could he bought for penny each;
and So he sat himself to earn the pen
MES. He borrowed books; read all he
could get; painted in his small garnet
rude pictures. sold them far penny each
and bought books: his taste rising with
time and reading till he enjoy ed the book
! stands on the street.
grandmother. too old at length to
keep herself. had to =, to live with a
daughter and John must work for Il liv-
ing-iIrSt Il BARRIERS apprentice. then
As assistant to his father the stone ma
son. With no taste but for books, sick
". feeble. under sized, and ragged
John had to carr states to Il roof He
fell thirty,iive feet: was picked up a.
dead: lay iUSen>ible for two weeks; fnI
i"nr months on his bed; and recovered
measure of strength. hut. though an oh
scure injury to the skull. he WAS as deaf
as Il stone.
Then he tried, with other boys, to
gather bits of rope. iron. and the like i'll
Sutton Pool. where fishing trawlers dis
charged their cargnes. Other boys could
earn three pence a day at this. but poor.
| feeble. deaf John could nat make four
pence Il week: wound in his naked foor
! FROM bottle ended this. He tried his
| pen. He SAW i'll the windows Lojin>
| for >iuy'c men. Il looms to leet enquaiI
whiting and wrote correct labels. But
such advertisers did not always apprec-
ate his substitutes. especially as he could
not converse ana explain. but in writing.
| Still lie held on to books, reading and
| studying at the street stands, where 81
shabby fellow would be allowed to
! iinger. But the father grew worse; there
was no longer a root to him: and tn
screen him from the cold. hunger and
! unkindnes>." he was put in 1919. at tn
| age of fifteen. into Plymouth work
house. Making - list shoes. keeping
| irurnal-wonltrfu for him-and deyou-
| ny all the books he could find. employed
him there. There he came under good
Christian life, attracted the notice of the
master and was employed to write pieces
to be read to the boys. Impatient ct
this life. he was bound ont to shoe
| maker. nj the age of seventeen. till he
should bc twenty one. Alas. it was to a
| brutal tyrant, who chose him for his
deafness, that he might keep him a.
work sixteen. and eighteen hours of tn,
twcnty-four and treat him as cruelty a.
he liked. Johns nervous system was
| thus shattered: six months of intolera-
'''t tu'ic't III a. Itit't>t bN TIE Illitn
i~trates from that place that made sui
eide seem .iu>tiiiable. His written state
nemt of his case. his knowledge. rcco"-
nized in the hospital to which he was
sent. and his bearing as noticed by llar-
rey, the mathematician, in bookstore
led to a subscription of five pounds fol
| John. and an appointment as sub-iibra-
rian in Plymouth Public Library.
There he had time to study. He had
| never had as much money as a dollar
rnce touched for a moneut,a "seven
shilling piece and he meekly askro
Tor a sovereign Give dullar>) twice :
ear, as he inSenu"nsly said. partly that
he might have the pleasure Of having st.
much money, and partly that he nigh
! buy books. Even at that time the publ
cation of a volume of his essays was
being considered.
At this time Mr. Groves an Exeter
dentist. who had read some of his pub
| GiShed articles offered .Juhu an education.
in his prof, s>ion, with fifteen pounds the
first. and twenty the second year. Her.
he dill well, and advanced in Latin:
had Little affair Of the heart, for ii.
was piiing for sympathy all this time:
| md At length conceived the wish to be
missionary. \ boo; of his had givel
him sotae position and made MANY
| friends.
Groves offered fifty pounds year. foI
,wo years. toward his expenses under tn,
London Society: and he wcnt to "cu'-
| ege" at 1alington. learned to print. 5"
aS To he useful! at such stations as MaIta
or Calcutta. There he won he heart ne
| thought, of a nice girl, and all enSa%' =
ment was entered int; but when he was
1t work in Malta some one more attrac-
tive than the poor deaf youth of four
.eet ci.ht-wlIu had almost lost the Il t
OF Speaking. from his habit of writing
ever, thing-came along, and she bloAe
the engagement.
This cross nearly broke his heart and
lid not go well in harness. with tho
managers. anl i'll eighteen months was
dismissed. and So lost the confidence OF
his former friends at Plymouth.
Mr.. Groves, however, still believed il
him and inten,imr imSclf to begin
wnIi Z the east h, led John to ac-