Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-05-10
A POOR COUNTRY BOY:
Or the Great Mistake Made by Miss
Rettie Neremore.

AsSSsA0 ANOA OLASA0s
John Lindsay was poor farmer,
who lived on a small piece of unpro-
ductive land mile and half from
the village. He had large family to
support, and it was with the greatest
difficulty that he succeeded in keeping
them from the poor-house until his
oldest boys grew strong enough to
work at odd jobs for the neighbor
and thus increase the family income.
The weakest and most timid of Mr.
L'ndsay's boys was Arthur. the young
est. He was not an ordinary boy, for.
if he had been. it is scarcely probable
that he would have been heard of out
side of his immediate neighborhood.
But the chief characteristics which
made him different from other boys
were his extreme sensitiveness and his
indomitable will. Being ply sically
incapable of holding his own with the
other boys. he was made to feel his
insignificance at home, as we'll as at
the little district sch dollhouse where
he acquired the rudiments of an edu-
cation.
He is goo Zen ough boy" neigh
Dor said to the teacher one day, ''but
he won't amount to any thing The
Lindsays amt got no ambition
They're harmless set; but no one
ever heari of one of EN- gittin' more'n
one meal ahead. and no one never
will Nobody pays any 'tention to
the Lindsays. They're a sort of fam
lily that no good to themselves nor
any body else"
Other boys in the vicinity did not
care to associate with young Arthur.
and his brothers made him the butt of
their ridicule; so he found himself.
everywhere he went, treated as a no
body. Every lighting word or act.
every smile of contempt, cut him to
the quick, and caused him hours. and
sometimes days, of mental anguish.
The only friend he had who could un-
derstand him was his mother; and she.
being always nearly worn out with the
cares of her large family. was unable
to give him much sympathy. But he
had heart, an article which it ap-
peared to him, his brothers and most
of his acquaintan lacked; and he
appreciated those trifling but express
i've acts of kindness. the time for
which he knew she stole from other
duties. and which made up about all
the sweetness that came into his y oun g
life. His natural desire to improve
his condition was famed into con-
stantly-increasing flame by the unde-
served kicks and cuffs" which he re-
ceived from those whom he felt were
no more than his equals; and very
often. without replying to or seeming
to notice an insult, he would shut his
teeth hard. and say to himself: Never
mind. Sometime will be in a posi-
ton to compel their respect, and they
shall feel ashamed of the way they
are treating me now.
At eighteen. he was tall. thin and
stoop-shouldered. with his self-esteem
so dwarfed that he very rarely had the
courage to look person in the eye
for more than an instant. He had, the
summer before, earned few dollars
with which to pay his tuition at the
village school. where he was working
hard to acquire the knowledge he so
earnestly desired. He paid no atten-
ton, apparently. to the jests and
sarcasms OF his school-mates who
found much in his dress and manners
to ridieule. but plodded on so dill
gently that he won the respect of his
teachers and few of his class mates.
This gave him great encour agement,
and he worked ON with renewed
energy.
Hard work. when well directed. is
always fruitful; and. in the spring.
Arthur obtained certificate to teach.
and found n summer school few
miles from the village. BY this means
he was enabled to return to school IN
the fall with better clothes and more
self-respect, and he took up his studies
again with the same determination to
CONQUER every obstacle that came in
his way, that made his progress sc
rapid the winter before.
But adisturbing element soon came
into his life against which his armol
of aspiration was not proof. 1t was
the pretty. smiling face of R,ttie
Neremore, one of his classmates.
Miss Neremore was the only daughter
of one Of the wealthiest men in the
Villages; and Arthur felt sure that her
father would never consent to her
union with Lindsay. even If she were
willing. So he tried hard to put her
out Of his mind. But the more he tried