Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1885-02-14
TOMMY /"

| w AAIn oldCf 6t10 Pi CS0AAS Hhy t1AAlus 5saiu
Bob, l have nothing to leave you bu
my example and advice. Be homes
upright, strive to do good in your ger
Grafton, and the reward of an approvin
conscience will be youra Remembe
Tommy"
When he had said this, thinking h
had said good thing, he shut hi
mouth with snap, and said nothin,
more in this world.
When / say that he thought he hat
spoken good thing / do not meai
a witty thing. Oh that my dear fathei
was incapable; and I do him nothing
but Justice when say that he had /
very humble opinion of his own pow
ers. He did what he thought vas right
and he said what he believed was true
but his most brilliant coruscations o
wit were secondhand fireworks from
Joe Miller, and his moral sentiments
were taken from eopy-book slips.
say nothing but the truth when ado
that he ruled his life by these copy
book slips. He was everything that the
most advanced copy-book would have q
man be-except that he was unsuccess
full in life
After his funeral, when returned to
the house, went to the study, lsca.
a non l.ecendo-there was no studying
done there except the perusal of nov
els-and took down an old illustrated
9 Reader for Children" and opened il
at the i" History of Tommy" Then ]
pulled up the blind, and re-read the
well remembered tale, with full resolu-
tion to impress its lessons deep into
my heart.
This is what read:
Tommy was good boy. But
Harry was bad boy. Tommy and
Harry were one day playing with a
round ball. Then the ball went through
a window OF a good mans house, and
Tommy and Harry were afraid. Harry
ran away. But Tommy stood still.
Then the good man came out of his
house, and said, Who broke my glass
Then Tommy said, Sir, / did, with my
ball. And the good man said, You
are good boy to tell the truth. Here
is half crown, to show you that virtue
is its own reward But when Harry's
father saw this, he took Harry over his
knee, and smacked him, and he said,
You have not got half crown, but
you have got whipping. Learn that
vice brings to ruin
Gone day Tommy saw that bad boy
Harry with little dog. He had put a
string around the neck of the dog, and
tied heavy stone to the dog by the
string. He was going to drown that
poor little dog. Then Tommy said,
Take my halt crown and spare the
dog So Harry gave up the dog, and
took the half crown, and he said to
Tommy, You are an asst But Tom
my was above minding such vulgar
words.
THAT night bad men, called Robbers,
came to Tommy's house to break in
and steal his half a crown. But the
little dog barked, and that woke Tom
my's father, and he lit a candle, and
drew on his trousers, and the robbers
were so frightened that they went
away. Then they went to Harry's
house, to steal his half crown. And
there was no dog there, 50 the bad men
got in, and they killed Harry, and his
father, and his mother, and his grand
father and grandmother, and his broth
er and sister, and his uncle and aunt,
and cousins, and his nephew and niece,
before they could light candle, and
frighten the robbers away. They also
took the half-a-crown. Were they not
wicked men So you see, my dear
that if you are truthful, and
kind, and good, virtue will bring its
own reward"
/ am not ashamed to say that the
tears rose to my eyes, and / felt my
heart soften, and my conscience braced.
when l read this moving and moral
tale. l rose from my seat, and, with
streaming cheeks, extended my arms
and said, Tommy! be thou my guide
through the paths of virtue to pros
perity."
Ny dear father overstated the truth,
Of course unconsciously, when he as
sured me that he left me nothing. |
found that he left me less than notliing.
He died in embarrassed circuni-
and if he had not died when
he did, really cannot see how he could
have lived. l found that he was greatly
in debt, and the bills came in after the
funeral. l behaved with honor, in the
spirit OF "Tommy" 1 had a little
money of my own, that came to me
from my mother, which my father
could not touch. With this l discharg-
ed all my fathers liabilities. His cred
itors were paid twenty shillings in the
pound. To do this 1 had to sacrifice
not only my own little property, but to
sell every stick of furniture the house
and the books, down to
Tommy" But that mattered little.
l had Tommy craven on my heart; and
the principles which actuated Tommy
filed my bosom, and were certain to
carry me into prosperity. The credi-
tors confirmed me in this opinion.
They shook me by the hand and said,
n Nothing could be more honorable
than the way you have behaved in this
business, and there is a bright future
in store for you, Mr.. Robert Flopjohn.
Virtue is its own reward"
was now left without anything ex-
cept my principles and my education.
NY dear father. acting on copy book
advice, had insisted that education was
the best gift that could be given child,
and he had taken care that should be
well instructed in Greek, Latin, mathe-
matics, and French, to which l added
some free-hand and perspective draw
ing.
NV father believed that a sound
education was the best
for start in life. | did
not, however, find it so. | found the
market drugged with education. II he
had apprenticed me to a trade, could
at once have found work as joiner,
mason, or plumber; but as | was cul-
tured, l had to look out for tutorship,
and found that there were five hun
dred applicants for each vacant post.
A SAWYER can make his thirty shillings
a week by merely working his arms up
and down, but ! could not earn thirty
pence with all my education.
At length, however, through the rec
concentrations of the solicitor who
had wound up my fathers affairs, | did
get a situation in the house of a coun-
try gentleman. My manners are gen.
my appearance is agreeable,
and my principles are, as you know,
those of Tommy. I was received with
and soon placed myself on an
easy footing in the house. The only
son of the master was delicate boy,
and his father regarded him with the
tenderest solicitude, us the heir to his
name, and to an estate of fourteen thou
sand a year There. was daughter,
older, a very sweet, beautiful girl, with
golden hair, and eyes of the sunniest
blue. Igave her lessons in French and
drawing. Then she took a fancy to