Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-10-31

had hoped on, never doubling that some
time he would return to them
In all of his wanderings he kept his old
latch key, and it would be hard to tell of
the influence of that yoicelass bit of metal
1t was tailsman of untold value. 1t
meant an open door, and though led astTay
by bad habits and wild companions. each
look at that KEY riveted the chain he could
not break Had it been lost it is impos-
sible to conceive of what might have been
the effect Of the barrier swept away. When
at last he turned the KEY In the familiar
door. he forgot everything but this; it was
the hour when the father used to gather
the children about him, and in response to
his tap the come in > was so like that of
old he thought of nothing except the dear
faces before him. The scene that followed
is too sacred for pen of mine.
To Tommy Armstrong, who accom-
panied him, the journey was complete be
wilderment, though Mr.. Brown had in
measure prepared him for it; but the I'M
mensity of mountains and prairies was IN
conceivable, and city blocks and parks
with their adornments were hard for such
a boy to imagine. With glistening eyes
the father gazed upon the boy, who Hamil
said, had taught him the lesson that love
and home had failed to, and without trans
ferring the affection that belonged to his
own son, he received him with open house
and heart. The tide had turned, and In
spite Of the luck that had followed the
Armstrong;, the uphill march began.
Hamil Brown, leaving his sins behind
him, bravely struggling back into the niche
that long before should have been his, look
ed upon Tommy with pride as well as love.
As the days went by he gazed with aston
ishment at the boy, for each endeavor
strengthened the used faculties and his
progress was steady and sure. 1t seemed
that from some PARKWAY ancestor an inher-
ent persistency had come down to him,
which, with material aid, developed quail
ties hitherto dormant.
A score of years later the little town that
had almost a Rip Van Wrinkle sleep,
awoke from its Iethargy. Half a mile
north of the village buildings sprang up
as if my magic. Ponderous machinery
was put IN place. The progress of the
stream that once lazily meandered through
the town was stopped by huge dam, and
the rushing torrent seemed to enter into
the spirit of the wide awake projectors.
Ere many months passed the inhabitants
became somewhat accustomed to the
screech of the locomotive. and did not
gather daily to look upon the incoming or
outgoing trains that the most sanguine
had never expected to see till after the adj
vent Of the handsome gentleman who had
suddenly appeared in their midst. With
out making himself known, he spent day
or two looking about. his keen eye detect
ing the possibilities of the place and seeing,
In the future, what Is now no surprise to
many New Englanders, After purchasing
a large tract of land he departed, leaving
the tOwnspeople to wonder and surmise IN
their quiet way ''Armstrong-Arm-
strong!" said Mr. Seth Grattan, when In
the country store the men gathered to talk
over the unusual occurrence. why, that
the name of the boy who years ago went off
with that wild chap, Hamil Brown, don't
you remember?" 1T cannot be that boy,
though, " and the Old villagers who were
present spent an hour calling to mind all
they remembered ofthat peculiarly unlucky
family.
Mr. Armstrong, with a lovely young
wife, took possession of a delightful house
on the summit of a hill that overlooked
not only what had been accomplished by
human ingenuity, but view almost I'M
paralleled, though nature is so lavish with
her gifts. Imagination can picture what
took place after the ''whir and whiz" be-
gan, superintendent by the noble man whose
life was proving that in spite of the i'll luck
of his family it was possible to step up
and out of the ruts that had borne them
only down.
In the following summer, on a clearing
in the midst of what is yet forest, sur
rounded by huge trees, some of them per-
haps a century old, stood two men. Sud
denly their hands clasped and with tears
intermingling with smiles, Mr.. Brown, a
magnificent specimen of manhood, said:
My dear brother, it recalls so windy the
turning point in my life This is the
very spot where we camped, and God grant
that the towering tree just yonder that
o'ertops all others has not put out better
growth than his humble follower, who for
years has sought to do his will. | shall
leave you in your new home, proud that
the sister whom | had never seen till, |
trust, the washing away of sin scars had
commenced, is with you, your dear and
honored wife -
A story of life can really never end, and
it may be as well to take our leave just at
this point as at any other-in the sunshine
which we trust may follow them through
hfe.-Ned Gwen In Manchester Union.