The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1884-10-17

SEEM leetle rat Of a man come on
board one time 'scorted by dozen o.
the biggest bugs in the city, an people
a-stretchin' their necks out o. lint to
ketch look at him. Sech mealy-
faced, weak-lookiu' atomy he was! But
millions o. people was a-readin' that
very day = big speech he'd made In
Washin' ton, an he'd saved the country
from trouble more n once't. he
mought "a been President eff he had
chose to run. That's the good O. hevin'
"a tiptop head-piece."
ssI've made up my lnindp' said Top,
Junior, with an air. I'm goin' TO be
a Hero! Like julius Caesar an Alex
ander an William Tell an Captain
John Smith. an other men I've read
about. / wish you would be Hero,
father! It's ever SO much nicer than
runnin' an engine Won't you pleased
You are strong enough and good
enough for ANYTHING, an I'm sure you
know a great deal aborG things
The blue eyes were bright and visit
full, his hand stole up to the bushy
whiskers, ginger-coIored from exposure
and boiler-heat.
'sMe. a hero! Hawl hawi' roared
the engineer, letting fall his knife and
fork in his merriment. ssL'd cut fig
ger at the head of an army, or speakin'
in Congress, or a-settin' on a gold
throne, wouldn'tIP No! no! my man,
SOLDERING down suddenly, into sort of
sad dignity. eyer father ain t got the
brains nor the eddication for nothin' of
that kind All he ken do is to live
clean an honest in the sight o. the
Lord, an to run his ingine 'cordin' to
the best o. his lights.
THE Lords too reasonable to ex-
pect more of you Ii to do your duty in
the place where He's put you," said
the wife, gently.
Il hope He is, mother! Eff He looked
for more-or for any big thing S fur as
that goes, the chances are that He'd be
disapp' inted I hev plenty O time fur
thinkin' while we're scootin' cross
the level country an creepin' up steep
grades, an I've worked it out to my
own satisfaction that somethin' else I've
got to be thankful fur. is that my way
in life s been marked down so plain.
Seems eff j he'd been sot onto rails pref
| ty much's She is, an S long ez | do
my level best on that ar line, why, it's
all I ken do That's the hull of it! I
ain't no speechifier, you see, Junior -
with an embarrassed laugh at the boys
evident discomfort ''Pll hev to Deepen
on you fur to say tor may be, write
down ship-shape, some O. these notions
o. mine, some day. I'd cit better holt
o. them myself eff | was to hear some
body what knowed how to put things
90 over EN-. Mother! dedication
wouldn't learn no woman how to make
better bread'n yourn. Fact is, there's
nothin' ekal to home, an home-vittles
an home-folks! With such a Twin ez
I've took in, | sha'n't need a bite at
the Agapolis deepo. We're half an hour
there, but hate the very smell O them
eatin' houses An please God! I'll
bring Her in at twelye--sharp
He pulled on his overcoat and felt in
the pocket for his gloves. ''I'm main
proud o. them fellers!" he said, fitting
one to hand half the size of leg of
mutton and not unlike it in shape.
He had said the same thing every
time he put them on since Christ
mas. They were a holiday gift from
the conductors on the line between the
two cities which was his semi dally
beat.
II take world O. comfort in them,
this freezin' weather. Fact is, mother,
this worlds been full O comfort, all
the way through, for us-a nice easy
grade-ef yer father amt hero,
Junior! Six-twenty! / must be off !!
like to be there in time to see tibet
Stokes is on han an all right IF you
don't min, mother, we'll hev him to.
dinner mex Sunday. / want to do
somethin' t'wards savin' Stokes. 'Spe-
cially ez he's on mig line!n
At six-tifty, Top, Junior, from his
post at the Gala window, saw the long
line of cars, spaced by dots Of murkey
red, the luminous plume OF smoke, trail
ing, comet-wise, above them, slowly
pass over the bridge. 1t was q cloudy
evening and the marsh-mists swallowed
up the blinking windows as soon as the
train reached the other shore. Junior
loved the mother, but the father seemed
to take most OF the life and cheer out of
the room when he went. Existence
stagnated for the boy who had no mates
of his own age.
/ 81 wish he didn't hey to run in bad
weather and nightsr he said, fretfully.
.'It's his business, child, an your
father amt one to dodge his duty
II hate the wordr' retorted the pet
ted cripple. when IN a man I'll be
my own master, and switch Duty off
the. track
The obnoxious word came up again
in the course of the evening. In read
ing aloud to his teacher they happened
upon this definition OF a ssnero," given
by one of the characters in the story
\ under his eye: Zone who, in noble
work or enterprise, does more than his
duty
Junior looked up disappointed. "Is
ttot the meaning Of hero?n he said in
tensely chagrined
/. THAT is one way of stating it. ]
A doubt. myself, if we can do more than
/. our duty. What do you think, Ms.
Briggs asked the young woman She
esteemed the honest couple for Their
sterling worth and sense, and liked ia
draw them out.
"a person ken undertake more,
4 'spose. Eff they don't carry it through
it's a sign twas meant fur them to &c
just that fur an no further. Twon't
do fur us to be skeery bout lawn holt
of the handle the good Lord puts nigh
est to US, fur fear it. too big thing ful
us to manage. That's what my hus-
band says. An if ever man lived up
10 it, he does.
Top, Junior, looked sober and morti-
fled. The heroism of common life does
not commend itself to the youthful
mag nation. When his lesson was
finished it was time to go to bed.
"Wake me when father comes in
was the formula without which he never
closed his eyes.
His mother never failed to do it, bui
he wanted to make sure of It. She put
on a lump Of coal, Just enogga 10 sees
the fire "in,' and sat down to the week
| " mending. At eleven-forty she would
j oman tha 1raI1rhtc onH cook tt,a go,