News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-03-13

tie bed for his sister; and he was not
satisfied till she had basin and jug,
and piece of soap of her own. Here
nobody but himself was to intrude upon
her without leave; and, indeed, he al
ways made her understand that he came
only to take care of her. 1t was not
only that Willy was not TO see her un-
dressed. A neighbor or two now and
then lifted the latch without knocking.
One of these one day heard something
from behind the curtain, which made
her call her husband silently to listen;
and they always afterward treated Joel
as if he were a man, and one whom they
looked up to. He was teaching the
child her little prayer. The earnest,
sweet, devout tones by the boy, and the
innocent. cheerful imitation of the little
one, were beautiful to hear, the listeners
said.
Though so well taken care OF, she ws
not to be pampered; there would have
been no kindness in that. Very early,
indeed, she was taught, in merry sort
of way, to put things in their places, and
to sweep the floor, and to wash up the
crockery. She was a handy little thing,
well trained and docile. One reward
that Joel had for his management was,
that she was early fit to go to chapel.
This was great point; as he, choosing
to send Willy regularly, could not go
till he could take the little girl with
him. She was never known to be rest
less and Joel was quite proud of her.
Willy was not neglected for the little
girls sake. In those days children went
earlier to the factory and worked longer
than they do now, and by the time the
sister was five years old Willy became
factory boy; and his pay put the little
girl to school. When she, at seven,
went to the factory TOO. Joel's life was
altogether an easier one. He always
had maintained them all, from the day
of his mothers death. The times must |
have been good-work constant and !
wages steady-or he could not have done |
it. Now, when all three were earning,
he put his sister to a sewing-school for
two evenings in the week and the Sat |
urday afternoons; and he and Willy |
attended an evening school, as they
found they could afford it. He always
the little girl wherever she had
to go; into the factory, and home again,
to the school door and home again, and !
to the Sunday school,; yet he was him
self remarkably punctual at work and at
He was a humble, earnest. |
docile pupil himself at the Sunday
unconscious that he was
more advanced than other boys in the
sublime science and practice of duty.
DE felt that everybody was very kind to
nm, but he was unaware that others
elt 1t an honor to be kind to him.
linger on these years, when he was
fine growing lad, in a state of high |
'ontent. linger, unwilling to proceed.
But the end must come; and it is soon
old. He was sixteen, think, when he
vas asked to become a teacher in the
Sunday-school, while wholly not ceas-
ng to be a scholar. He tried, and made
4 capital teacher, and he won the hearts
Of the children while trying to open
their minds By this he became more
widely known than before.
One day in the next year, a tremen- |
dous clatter and crash was heard in the |
factory where Joel worked. A dead ST. |
lence succeeded, and then several called |
out that it was only an iron bar that had |
fallen down. This was true, but the |
iron bar had fallen on JoePs head, and |
he was taken up dead
Such funeral as his is rarely seen. |
There is a something that strikes on all |
hearts in the spectacle of a soldiers |
drum, the march of COM
rades, and the belt and cap laid on the |
coffin. But there was something more |
solemn and more moving than all such
Observance in the funeral of this young |
soldier, who had so bravely filed his |
place in the conflict of life. There was
the tread of comrades here, for the long,
est street was filed from end to end.
For relics, there were his brother and
sister; and for a solemn dirge. the I'M
controllable groans of heart-stricken
multitude.