The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1886-10-14

It is now only five years since Edward
came to town. He used to write home once
a week at the longest. He has not written
home for three months "What can be the
matters" say the old people at home. One
Saturday morning the father puts on the best
apparel of his wardrobe and goes to the city
to find out.
ooh, he has not been here for a long
while," say the gentleman Of the firm.
"Your son, I am sorry to say, is on the
wrong track"
The old father goes hunting him from place
to place and comes suddenly upon him that
night in place of abandonment The father
says: my son, come with me. Your mother
has sent me to bring you home. l hear you
know as long as we live you can have a
home" "Come right away" he says, put
ting his hand ON the young mans shoulder.
In angry tone Edward replies: "Take
business. I will do as please Take your
hands off of me or will strike you down!
You go your way and will go mine"
That Saturday night or rather Sunday
morning-for it is by this time two o'clock in
the morning, the father goes to the city home
of his son, Nicholas, and rings the bell and
rings again and again, and 1t seems as II no
answer would be given, but after while a
window is hoiSted and voice cries:
"Who's there /"
ut is me" says the old man.
"Why, father, is that you I"
In minute the door is opened and the son
says;
the city this hour of the night Z"
ooh. Edward has brought me hare. 1feared
yer mother would go STARK crazy not hear
ing from him, and l find out that it is worse
with him than / suspected"
eyes" says Nicholas, II had not the heart
to write you anything about it. l have tried
my best with him and all in vain. But it is
after two o'clock" says Nicholas to his
father, "and will take you to bei."
On comfortable couch in that house the
old father lies down, coaxing sleep for few
hours, hut no sleep comes. Whose house is
it! One rented by his son, Nicholas. The
fact is tEat Nicholas soon after coming to
the city became indispensable in the com.
mercial establishment where he was pla ed.
He knew, what few persons know, that wEile
in all departments of business and mechan-
ism and art there is surplus of people of
ordinary application and ordinary diligence,
there is a great scarcity and always has been
a great scarcity of people who excel. Plenty
of people to do things poorly or tolerably
well, but very few clerks or business men or
me 'hanics who can do splendidly well. AD-
preciating this, Nicholas had resolved to do
50 grandly that the business firm could not
do without him. Always at his place before
the time he was required to come. Always
at his place little after everybody had gone:
As extremely polite to tn Jse who declined
purchasing as to those who made large pur-
chases. He drank no wine, for he saw it
was the imprisonment of multitudes, and
when any one asked him to take something
he said "No," with the peculiar intonation
that meant no. His conversation was always
as pure as if his sister had been listening
He went to no place of amusement where he
would be ashamed to die. He never bet or
gambled even at church fair. When he
was at the boarding house after he got all
the artistic development he could possibly
receive from the chromos on the wall he be-
gan to study that which would help him to
promotion; study penmanship, study biog-
raphies of successful men, or weht forth to
places of innocent amusement and to Young
Mems Christian Associations, and was not
ashamed to be found at church prayer
meeting. He rose from position to position
and from one salary to another salary
Only five years in town and yet he has
rented his own house or suit of rooms, not
very large, but home large enough in its
happiness to be type of heaven. In the
morning as the old father with handkerchief
in hand comes crying down stairs to the table,
there are four persons, one for each side; the
young man, and opposite to him the best
blessing that God of infinite goodness can
bestow namely a good wite and on another
side the high chair filled with dimpled and
rolicking glee that makes the grandfather
opposite smile outside while he has broken
heart within.
Well as said, it was Sabbath and Mich
olas and his father knowing that there is no
place so appropriate for troubled soul as
the house of God, find their way to church.
1t is communion day, and what is the old
mans surprise to see his son pass down the
aisle with one of The silver chalices, showing
him to be a church Off ,ial the fact was
that Nicholas from the start in city life hon
ored God and God had honored him. When
the first wave of city temptation struck him
he had felt the need of Divine guidance and
Divine protection and in prayer had sought
a regenerated heart, and had obtained that
mightiest of all armor, that mightiest of all
protection, that mightiest of all reinforce.
ments, the multipotentand omnipotent grace
of God, and you might as well throw thistle
down AGAINST Gibraltar, expecting to destroy
it, as with all the combined temptations Of
earth and hell try to overthrow young man
who can truthfully say: God is my refuge
and strength"
Come, let us measure Nicholas around the
head. As many inches of brain as any other
intelligent man. Let us measure him
around the heart; 1t is SO large it takes in
all the earth and all the heavens. Measure
him around the purse. He has more re-
sources than nine-tanths of any of those who,
on that Monday, September 20, came in on
any of the railroads from North, or South,
or East or West,
But that Sabbath afternoon, while in the
back room, Nicholas and his father are talk
inc over a new plan for the reclamation of
Edward, there is ringing of the door bell,
and a man with a uniform of policeman
stands there, and with some embarrassment
and some halting, and in roundabout way
says that in fight in some low haunt of the
CITY Edward has been hurt. He saws to
Nicholas: 81 heard that he was some rela-
ton of you're and thought you ought to know
it."
"Hurt' Is he badly hurt"
''Yes. very badly hurtm
s'Is the wound mortals"
eyes; it is mortal. To tell you the whole
truth, SIR says the policeman, although l
can hardly bear to tell YOU, he is dead. "
"Dead!s cries Nicholas And by this time
the whole family are in the hallway. The
father says: Just as feared. 1t will kill
his mother when she hears of it. Oh, my son,
my son! Would to God had died for thee
Oh, my son, my SOM"
s'Wash OF the wounds," says Nicholas,
"and bring him right here to my house and
let there be all respect aud gentleness shown
him. 1t is the last we can do for him"
Oh. what obsequies The next door neigh
bOrS hardly knew what was gong on, DuC
Nicholas and the father and mother knew.
Out of the Christian and beautiful home of
the one brother is carried the dissolute
brother. No word of blame uttered No
harsh thing said On the bank of camellias
is spelled out TIE word "BRoTHER." Had
the prodigal been true and pure and noble in
Ii o and honorable in death, he could not
have been carried forth with moro tender
ness or slept in "a more bed I,l.uI lsu IL OF
thedead Amid the loosened tIrf the brothers
who left the country for city life five years
before now part forever The last scene OF
the fifth act of an awful tragedy OF human
life is ended.
What made the difference between these
two young manl Religion. The one de-
pended on himself, the other depended on
God. They started from the same home, hai
the same opportunities of EDUCATION, arrived
in the city on the same day and if there was
any difference Edward hal the advantage,
for he was brighter and quicker and al the
neighbors prophesied greater success for him
than for Nicholas. But behold and wonder
at the tremendous Issue. Voices come up
out of this audience aud say: Did you know
these brothers Yes, knew them well. Did
you know their parents Yes, intimately
What was the city, what the street, what the
last names OF these young men. You have
excited our curiosity now tell us all
will Nothing iu these chara tiers is ficti-
tions except the names. They are in every
city and in every street of every city aud il
ava-v cannatarv Not tw0 nf than but ta.l