The Brookhaven leader., 1888-11-01
~ HARD-HEARTEO."
Why He Was Never Known 30 Shed
Tear-The secret Sorrow at His Life.


Tear-The secret sorrow at His Life
You are said te &c u hard hearted man.
\ man who has so sympathy with the scr
row OF othct people, and strangely lacking
IN feeling when trouble comes to your
own bone"
These words were addressed by q young
man to one much his senior in years and
experience. His name was John Andrews:
and one would have compared him TO
George Washington. There was the sa,tc
kIngly ereCtncSs Of form, the same
Erm, commanding bearing and voice
His forehead was nigh and broad
an index cf great lntenect. Heavy
brows shaded pair of steel-crav
eyes, noticeable for their expresslon Of
controlled force The lowec rart of his
face, especially his squarely built chin
told Of an iron will and an index ble
nature. As he walked the street, many
GaScd after this cOIrt{v man. and owncl
that his influence counted for much in the
town where Re lad grown up; but the
same thing was always said about him
His heart is as hard a. Pharaoh's"
Tie young man, Philip, who uttered the
above words, was a fayoritc nephew OF Mr.
Andrews. He was tine. manly fellow,
just entering college.
Philip had been stung to the quick by
the oft-rereatcd opinions Of people in re
gard to this Uncle Johns "hard-hcart-
1dness,' and one day he followed HIM into
dis Office, and, before he could choose his
sentences or soften the words, spoke his
heart out in this heavy accusation Of
others.
Looking up quickly n note 70 eject, he
was PANIED to see 4 look q onauish settle
like dark cloud ovrr lis uacle's face.
Why!' he eX2iai:ual do YOU mean to
say, Uncle John, that you have nevc.,
heard what people say VI yau' tneard a
man declare to-day thai r. never knew of
your shedding toaT =, your life"
Mr.. Androws stoot by hi, desk with his
hand shading his eyes. Ia the bright sun,
hght which tloOdea tie Office tbs hair was
almost white, and deep linoa were fur
rowed in his face that rhiljp had never
noticed before. is form was bowed, and
his whole appearance was expressive of
extreme agony, rs if rom the shock of a
sudden blow,
He raised his head, gazing long and
earnestly at his ncphcw's bright, young
1acC. And this, )" he said, in n voire that
tremblei, lis the sentence tat my old
friends have pronounced upon lua! / am
hard hearted mani and yet l have
been good citizen, thank God good
Christian, j trust; 4 good husband aud
father, An, my boy, il is toe lt.;e that |
lave not shed a tear since was your own
age. There is secret Of my life which
others have never known. have aiwaJ 5
kept it buried in the depths Of my heart
but your hand has unlocked the door Won
shall know why no one has ever seen me
shed tear or show any emotion. When
was boy of sixteen ] was not unlike YOU,
Philip | had your quick scnsibilities,
yopi warm, impetuous disposition. | had
Il brother, your Uncle Charles, who was
five or TX years older than !, ana we were
as fcnd and loving of each other and Of
your Aunt Helen as any brothers could be-
: She was then young girl Of twelve,
and it seemed to us that there never was a
dainticr, swceter sister in all the world
She had timid, clinging nature. that ap-
pealed TO us for protection We were all
the more tender because she shared the
family trouble, our skeleton in the closet
was known to her. How many nights have
seSn her with heG dear, sweet face
pressed against the window. peering into
Inc darkness for a familiar form shufiing
home at night from the grog store around
the corner.
. ''Often ! would take her into my arms
and tell her to leave Charlie and me to
watch for father; but she always insisted
that she could wait on him when he came
IN, and, perhaps, comfort mother.
Things grew from worse to worse, until
we would not allow Helen 10 see father
when he came home. His language was
often abusive and cruel.
Our family had never been poor until
then, but we soon commenced to feel that
father was drinking up all the earnings
Charles had position i'll village acad
envy on small salary, and l was clerk in
bank. Even with what we boys could
earn we had hard work to make both ends
meet. | could not bear TO have Helen do
so much and see her growing paler and
thinner every day. Ny heart was broken
as | sometimes heard mother cry.
"One day a thunderbolt fell upon us in
the shape Of big bill from Greggs, the
owner of the grog- store We did not know
what TO do. In those days men were put
in Jail for debt. We talked of that
mother wringing her hands at the thought
of it, Well, your Uncle Charles and / at
last succeeded in getting enough money!
and took il tC Mr. Gregg, with the fra
resolve in my heart that father should
never get another drop o. liquor - that
place
ut was hard for me to enter the store.
There Was on the walk outside group OF
EaAdEunkea men, They were lowering