Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1889-05-10


Sand did rs say thou couldst come.
child p (anxiousiy1
Thou art to come tomorrow, moth
er, and sign the paper, and tears
shone In the little boys eyes as he said
the words. Then, choking down the
sob that rose in his throat, he caught
his mother about the neck.
20 mother! mOtheri Do not let me
60 Only let me go to Copenhagen.
and L viii make my way alone. I can
do it, mother, and / do not like the
tailOr's trade"
The mother sat down on the wooden
settee, holding the boy IN her arms
The look on her face showed her
hearts thoughts. How could she let
her only son go out into the world with
neither money nor friends? And vet,
should she make him unhappy by de
nying him his one great wish She
would work hard and never mind it if
her boy was happy.
She looked about the poor room and
then at the boy In her arms. Perhaps
| some day he might return to her fam
Gus and happy. Should she let him
go? The poor mothers heart grew
sorer and sOrer at the thought of let
ting her only nesting go out into the
cruel world alone.
Long did the mother and child sit
by the fire. The porridge began te
burn; the fire threw weird shadows
| through the room; the cold evening air
blew through the lattice, but still they
sat there.
At last the smell of the burning por-
| ridge recalled the mother Tenderly
putting the boy away from her she put
the dish of pCrridge on the table, and
they sat down to the poor meal in
silence.
CLANS, thou shalt have thy wish
"Oh, mother, thou art good.
And where tears of sorrow had stood
now shOne tears of JOY. The great
wish of his life is given to him, yet he
felt for his mother with her aching and
unwilling heart, and he tenderly wiped
the tears from her eyes.
The boy is man now. The town Of
Odense IS brilliant with its lights and
gayety.
Every house is decorated with bunt-
ing and illuminated with bright lights.
In the balconies before the windows
stand youths and maidens, old men
and women and even children, for is
not all this done for one called "The
ChiIdren's Friend ?"
Below in the street is the surging
crowd to do honor to the man whose
pure and simple life and beautiful
words had made him loved by all the
IOwIy of that city. The expectancy of
the crowd grows greater every moment
Every one is impatient, but at last a
hush falls upon the crowd, for the faint
sound Of music is heard from afar, now
sinking in the distance, but each time
heard growing clearer and nearer, till
at last it comes close, and the multi
tude breaks into one great shout in
honor of their hero.
There he sat in the carriage drawn
by four black horses, beside him some
of the towns most distinguished men,
and the hero of the evening is our old
friend Hans.
The same noble face, with the dreamy
look in his eyes that he had when he
wiped the tears from his mother'a
cheeks.
/ That mOther-was she not proud and
happy to see her son come back in such
triumph? High up in a balcony she
sat looking with beaming eyes upon the
procession below. The son, in all his
triumph, thought first Of that mother
who had helped him so much
And this is the way Hans Christian
Anderson cams back to Odense.
CARRIE O. Holt.