The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1883-10-20
Our Boys and Girls.
A Chlld's Influence.

BY GEORGE B. GRIFFITHs.
A little white. robed girl, they say,
Magenta's hero met one day,
And handed him sweet bouquet
Rare blossoms from some rural glen
He raised her up, and kissed her then
In sight of twenty thousand men.
And she, upon his saddle borne,
As all toward gay Paris turn,
Caressed the warrior, bronzed and woIn--
Aye, kissed ham thrice, and wound one
ARM
Twas like doves wing soft and warm
Around his neck, and feared no harm.
Not all his deeds of valor won.
Nor genius proved meath foreign sun,
SO honored Marshal McMahon
That instant swept the line along,
deafening shout that echoed long,
Twas like victJrs trump song.
--Good Cheer.
Good Luck.
BY ADA CARLTON.
81 wish 1 could help you, mother"
"You do help me, Rick"
"Earn a lot Of money, for you, 1
mean, to pay off that wretched old
mortgage. 1 do try to, mother, but
somehow folks that have me once don't
want me again. hate to hoe corn and
dig potatoes so, and maybe that's the
reason. I'd good deal rather be dig
ging amongst the rocks at the foot of
old Mount Cain"
That was exactly what the people of
Garland were saying about Rick Da-
wilson.
"He's a coed boy" Squire Ballard
declared to his wife, "and he don't
seem to be actu'lly lazy, but he don't
hev no kind o. heart in his work."
And so Squire Ballard had gently
limited to Rick, when his days work
was done, that his services in the corn
field would not be further required.
And Rick carried his sore heart and
the hard-earned half-dollar home to his
mother and the next morning he got
up and stood out at the low door under
the swinging hop vines, with his hands
behind him and his dreamy gaze wan
dering across the country to rest on old
Mount Cain, outlined against the deep
blue of the sky and then he said:
81 want TO help you, mother, and 1
will. There must be something for me
somewhere.
Mrs. Davidson smiled she was very
proud and fond of her boy.
''If it wasn't for the mortgage" "
continued Rick, "we'd manage well
enough but 500 with II per cent. in
terest is big sum for us-for you to
pay, mother"
Yes" said Mrs. Davidson, with a
sigh which she could not repress "but
we can sell the cow if bad comes to
worst, Rick"
mo, we WON'T" said Rick, deter
minedly. "That old Captain Ridley
is-'
''I'm going to sew for Mrs. Ridley
to-day" interpOsed Rick's mother,
with quiet smile. "You might weed
the garden, Rick, and then you'll have
time to dig among ,le rocks a little. u
Rick kissed her. you're the best
neither boy ever had,' said he and
he weeded their small garden with great
care before he betook himself across tht
fields and fences to old Mount Cain.
1t was so pleasant there to search
among the powders and ledges for new
stones to add to his collection of curl
osities. How they talked to him, thost
fragments of rock, and how hard HI
tried to understand Their language
He studied and poured over his bits o
pudding-stone and feld-spar and granit'
as he never pored over his books a
school.
So he passed the day just as he ha
passed a great many other days. ]
was when the leng .hening shadow
told him it was quite time to retur
home that a streak of good fortun
found Rick. In cleft he discovered
beautiful prism, green, and ending i
three-sided pyramid.
81 never saw anything like that, . h
cried sit is lovely ~
Then he began to look for others; an
very soon he had found nearly dozeI
some red and some green, one or tw
black, and one of clear shining pinl
very large and perfectly shaped, and e1
ceedingly beautiful. There were n
more, though he scrutinized the ledg
long and carefully.
Going home across lots he came upo
Algy Werner, who was helping drive th
cows from the pasture; he was Judg
Verner's son.
When he saw Rick he called out t
him and made room for MIN on th
grassy knoll where Re was sitting.
, "Jonas has gone to hunt up old Bril-
dle," said he. "Where have you beel
Rick 2"
: "Over on old Cain" " answered Rick
and without more ado he tumbled Il
, wonderful prisms out of his pockets
"See ~ said he.
Algy caught up the pink one with
l cry of admiration. "What a splend
tourmaline l'' he said. II wish N
Uncle Henry could see ii. l belie'
8 he'd almost go crazy. You see, he
t great on such things, and this beatsan
/. thing he's got in his cabinet. 1 sa
s Rick, know he'd give you. fifty dolla
e for it, and maybe more"
8 Fifty dollars Rick's heart bounde
: "would he ?" he cried eagerly {"
+ you think he would 1t can't be wor
a so much.