Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-02-22

now, ~ night approaches. not vestigB
iof the .frozea eaEfh remains.s .Beppo
walks wesriIy along, his beloved guitar
held closely under his arm. He sees
the lights III in happy homes; he sees
the children with their faces pressed
against the panes, watching with de-
light the fall Of the fakes, for to-mor-
row will be. Christmas, and the snow
VIII aid Kriss Krinkle in his visit; and
a sad smile lights up bis dark face. for
the snow that brings happiness 70 them
brings him deepest sorrow.
As the little vandnrer strolls, on ,he
thinks Of that land Of mellow sunshine
far over the sea, and Of the happy home
he had before his parents died; and,
IN contrast TO this, he thinks Of the
home he has now. and OF the wicked
Padroae who took him from his cher
lshed county, ssaA n1-rul Hr4 rs,
.,. These last thoughts arouse him to .
sense Of business, and, clinking the few,
pennies in bis pockets, he takes up his
position at the entrance Of theater
which is ablaze with light Then, blow
ing his breath upon hisstitf. cold fingers
he plays few wild, sweet notes upon
his instruments prelude to '.Home,
Sweet Home" lie watches the gayly
attired people pass into the warm build
ing, but none seem to notice the little
figure shrinking in the shadow. None
save the gruf, burly policeman, who
roughly grasps his shoulder and says:
'-Come, young un, move along nowr'
And Beppo, utterly disheartened,
moves on. 1t has been a poor day for
business; he does not dare to GO home
with the few pennies he has earned; and
now the stern mandate of the officer
has cut off his last chance of getting
more.
He pauses under gas-ltmp, and, by
its fiickering rays, he counts his pennies
over. just ten-enough for coffee and
rollsi and he crosses over toia little res
taurant,p and is soon indulging in bit
Of extravagance. Supper over he plans
where he shall sleep. 81 .o.. -. .....
He remembers box filed with straw
which he has seen in his wanderings.
He wends his way toward it, and when
10 strikes from the tall church tower
near by Beppo is calmly asleep, his.
guitar pressed tenderiys against his
breast r. seH =
Twelve o'clock. As the last stroke
reels out upon the frosty air, Beppo
awakes from troubled dream. His
sharp ear catches the sound of voices,
and he remains almost breathless.
'How are you going to work the
jobP' says someone in hoarse whis-
..It's as easy as rolling off log" re-
plies his companion. THE girl leaves
the kitchen window, unlatched. and
we're in the house as nice as you please.
Have you brought all the tools?'' ~
= '.All in this bag" reioins the first,
and Beppo, wide awake now, hears
something jingle. AFsaii s.ees' l.Ts4s'a
VI ~Then, ho Tor old Howland's silverP't
chaicklesthesecond, and the two moyeoff.
q Beppe hears their footsteps die away.
He comprehends it all-that there is to,
be q robbery-and wonders how he can
prevent it. The name, Rowland, he
has heard before, and he knows that he
may be the means OF saving much. ~
- He arises from bis cramped position,
and. stretching himself. reaches for his
guitar. Them shivering as the piercing
winds, strike through his tattered cloth
ing, he glides swiftly down the street.
on until the bright light Of . police sta
ton greets his vision. ., s...s,
In broken sentences he tells his story
to the Sergeant in charge, and the lat
ter at once sends two officers out to
investigate the matter. 7iaa
Beppo knows that he has done his du-
ty--he can do no more. Unnoticed he
steals out into the dark street Two OF
three blocks passed, a strange feeling
comes over. him. The snow falls so fast
that he can scarcely see before him.
Sick and dizzy he gropes his way up the
steps Of "a private residence, and falls
fainting in the doorway. '
II -
The Herald, two days after, con-
tanned among its advertisements the
following:
4.If the lad who gave the valuable in-
formation that led to the illustration of
designs upon u Fifth avenue house will
send his address to A H, Her.
aid Office, be will hear something to his
advantage"
And the following in its local depart
ment:
yesterday morning, while Mr.. John
Smith, of Black street, was searching
for his paper in the doorway, his atten-
ton was drawn to little figure half
covered by the snow. A guitar was
tightly clasped in his hands. A doctor
was Immediately summoned, and stim-
ulants were given, but to no avail; the
poor little fellow was quite dead. He
was subsequently identified as Beppo,
who, with his instrument, was quite
well known among people Of the lower
district. /" ST. Nicholas Magazine.
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