Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-01-03

tered and then fell into my arms.
How we kissed one another, My
son, my son, you never would have
succeeded had you not been good
shoemaker; you never scamped any
thing; you did the best you could all
the time, was what he said when l
told him of any good luck. Like
my dear old daddy did before me, "
/ added. Then / kicked over his
work bench, and said, ''No more
work for you, old pappy, for | am
rich. / have a wife; | have baby
boy baby, named after you-and
you are 10 take the cars-first class
tomorrow or the day afterward, and
come post-haste out of the old coun-
try to California, so that grandchild
shall sit on your knee, and you shall
teach him TO be honest and plous, and
to love you" And may not make
him a good shoemaker" he asked
"But you 90 too fast. Let me think
over it. You ask me to leave this old
Luxembourg, where / was borne. l
should never see again the grave
where your mother, my good wife,
has slept for these last thirty odd
years. ! don't know. am very old
| shall be in the way. love my old
trade Do they wear shoes in Cali
tornia2 May / cobble there: / assure
you, though the hog bristles bother
me Just little at times, and my ham
mer moves just a trife slower, still l
can turn out a very decent job. |
wonder if | cannot beat YOU now.
Come let us try"
To please the old man, | took up q
bit Of work and commenced on it, 1t
is well done, said father, admiringly.
Il see you have not forgotten my les
sons. Perhaps that one stitch there is
not quite-quite as even as it should
be. My remarks don't worry you,
Still, " and he held in his shaky hands
the old boot near his eye, 1T viii pass
muster"
At last the blessed old man con
scented to go with me Next day we
had feast in the village. All the old
cronies were invited, the cooper the
watch-maker the butcher, the drover,
the tailor and the taX-eollector The
cure gave the party his blessing. Oh,
what a good time we had The old
man was radiant. l was introduced to
every one as IN. , the American
shoemaker, who had learned his trade
in the Luxembourg" We kept it up
all that afternoon and late IN the
evening. 1t was a feast such as that
sleepy old town will remember for
many a day. Just occasionally |
noticed that the old man weakened
when some ancient chum took him by
the hand to bid him good.by. Then l
would say: Dear daddy, it's your
prandchild that claims you How the
duce do you expect that he will ever
be a good shoemaker without your
teaching HING That was an all-pow-
full argument. The blessed old man
made .he trip with me across the ocean
without much fatigue How glad my
wife was to see her husband and faith
err and as to the baby, he went at
once into his grandpapas arms.
OF course father was too old TO work
hut still he insisted ON having his
bench. AS he grew feeble the stitch
es became more uneven, and we were
often alarmed about the awl, which
might have pricked him He lived,
though happily for some years. He
grew more unsteady, wandered a lit
tie, but still he would spend an hour
or two each day ON his bench. Tie
made a goat-harness for the little boy
and quite a number Of pretty things
in leather.
One day / heard him in his room
tapping away on his lap-stone with
more than ordinary vigor Then !
listened to him. He said "A good
Job; a very good job Capital, though
| ought not to praise myself. There
never was but one man that could
equal me, and that is my dear SON,
and his son, my grandson shall be
also frstclass shoemaker, if the
good God, whose name be blessed
only lets me live a little longer, and
then heard the rattle of "a hammer
as e it had dropped ON the floor, and
| w ent into his room and the dear old
man had passed quietly away with a
last prayer ON his lips. There are ne
shoemakers nowadays like i'm the old
time.