The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1889-09-28

r1er 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 chill
dren 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 fol-
lowed is too sacred for pen of mine.
To Tommy Armstrong, who accom-
panied him, the journey was complete
bewilderment, though Mr.. Brown had
In q measure prepared him for it; but
the immensity Of mountains and prairies
was inconceivable, and city blocks and
parks with their adornments were hard
for such a boy to imagine. With glisten-
ing eyes the father gazed upon the boy,
who. Hamu said, had taught him the
lesson that love and home had failed to,
and without transferring 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, looked upon Tommy with pride as
well as love. AS the days went by he
gazed with astonishment at the boy, for
each endeavor strengthened the used
faculties and his progress was steady and
sure. 1t seemed that from some far
away ancestor an inherent persistency
had come down to him, which, with ma.
terial aid, developed qualities hitherto
dormant.
A score of years later the little town
that had had almost Rip Van Winkle
sleep, awoke from its lethargy. Half
a mile north of the village buildings
sprang up as II by magic. Ponderous
machinery was put in place. The prog
ress Of the stream that once lazily me-
andered 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 advent of
the handsome gentleman who had 80
suddenly appeared In their midst. With
out making himself known, he spent a
day or two looking about, his keen eye
detecting the possibilities of the place
and seeing, in the future, what is now
no surprise to many New Englanders.
After purchasing large tract of land
| ko kAa 4
wonder and surmise in their quiet way.
"Armstrong-Armstrongl" said Mr.. Seth
Grattan, when In the country store the
men gathered to talk over the unusual
occurrence. "Why, that's the name OF
the boy who years ago went off with
that wild chap, Hamil Brown, don't you
remember" "It cannot be that boy,
though" and the old villagers who were
present spent an hour calling to mind
all they remembered of that peculiarly
unlucky family.
The first families who arrived were q
complete surprise, though the people
thought themselves prepared for any
thing, after the excitement that had Sc
transformed their little farming town.
Mr.. Armstrong, with a lovely young
wife, took possession of a delightful
house on the summit Of hill that over.
looked not only what had been accom-.
plished by human ingenuity, but view
almost unparalleled, though nature is &c
lavish with her gifts. Imagination can
picture what took place after the "whil
and whiz" began, superintended by the
noble man whose life was proving thai
In spite Of the Ill luck Of his family Il
was possible to step up and out Of the
Tuts that had borne them only down,