Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-08-23
THE ROMANCE OF a CHILD.

Not all hcrulS1N Is upon me ieln OF
battle, or manifest in dire emergencies in
volyinc sacrifice of life or great physical
danger. Horace declared that the Muse
does not allow the praise deserving hero 90
die. She enthroncs him in heaven" But
we have an account before us Of hcrui,m
the muse is not likely TO cNalt. The prac-
teal reporter Of great daily paper writes
the formal lines that tells
How sublime q thing it Is
To suffer and he strong.
The account TO which We refer is not Of
" hero fed on sweets, but it emphasizes
the thought of Mrs jameson that we know
no; of what we ave capable till the trial
comes. Here was child, lost in the
depths of. New York city, who did that
heroic work which many IN elder would
have turned from. shifting The burden
upon other shoulders. She never entered
into the question of her own capability;
she did that which was given her,
developing strength for the trial
when IT came jacob Finkclstonc
was a good mcchanic-a cloth cutter. Lwho
diving, LEFT alive OF thirteen children, siz
for the care Of his wife. The eldest boy
WAS taught his father trade The family,
while the bread winner lived, was COM
fortably clad, had good rooms and tEc
children were kept III school. The man
and woman. to their utmost, were doing
their duty to thcirproScny and to society.
Futhfu.lucss had its full measure cxempli-
# II within The narrow circle of their
commonplace lives. Eut the rainy day
came. Jacob sickenrd Tor a year, and in
1881 he went over to the unknown shore
He left but little sayings-the fund would
have been handsome but for the year. bed
OF pain. The mothers heart failed at the
prospect before her. and lost hope.
She WAS stricken, not only with
grief, hut that helpless dependency
that is more bitter than death. and which
binds its unhappy victim body and soul to
the ,hario,-whccl That drag, on TO hope
loss future. The eldest child in the home
was sarah. aged II, hut made by the cir
cumstance of grief and necessity a woman
III resolution, devotion and courage. When
but 10 she had been taken from school to
nurse her flther-jrst at a time when her
teachers were reuarking upon the quick
ness and Intelligence Of the child. and the
promise her bright ways gave for future
ofuscfuncss The year of care Of the sick
was one of sore but accomplishing trial.
Then, for three years after her fathers
death, the whole care of the Frustrated
neither, and the large family of children.
deyolved upon this delicate cleven-ycar-old
girl, and all the weary years She bore the
burden and discharged the duty without q
murmur, and without once appealing TO
the world or sounding her miScrics abroad.
The eldest son gave the surplus over hi,
living of all he earned, to support the fam
lily. and this kept it in bread, but other ne
cessities forced Sarah to send article after
article Of the household furniture and APP
parcl to pawn. until baroness ruled the
abode Within the first year the mother,
from grief-stricl,en prostration developed
into mad woman. From hclplessness she
changed to vicious insanity, and became a
terror and danger 10 her household. Here
was new and fearful burden for the girl
ish housekceper, but she took it up valiant
~. Once the mother sprang from an upper
window at another time she fired the
house by the use of kerosene; again she
would beat the children terribly, dash the
younger ones against the walls; hang the
infant over the stairway, or swing it against
the rails until it was bruised from top to
toe Alternating these paroxyisms with
gushing manifestations of love, she would
fairly crush her children in her insanely