Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1889-07-08
aI1umth' 8 Column.
Rubber Hands.

In town in New Jersey lives a
bow who used to work in a rubber
factory. One day, while feeding a
grinding machine, which was part of
his everyday employment, he be-
came careless, as men and boys are
apt to do who work about dangerous
machinery, and forgetting the terrible
mischief the whirling wheels could do,
put his hands too near. 1t was all
done in a moment. The men heard
his piercing scream, and ran to his
assistance but when they pulled him
away his hands were gone, and poor
Walter, with bleeding and mangled
wrists, was sent to the hospital.
Weary days passed, and the
wounds healed slowly. Many kind
people heard of the boys misfortune,
visited the hospital, and were pleased
with his patient face, polite manner
and bright remarks. They heard
from the nurses that he was the only
child of a widowed mother, who had
been looking to him to support her
for she was getting old and feeble.
This decided them to do what they
had thought before they would try to
do, get Walter pair Of those WON
derfully ingenious, but expensive,
rubber hands, that are made now to
serve when those of flesh and blood
have been lost.
In the meantime Walter had left
the hospital and, while waiting for
his new hands, had some queer ex-
periences. He had q fashion of put
ting his wrists in his pockets to hide
the unsightly stumps from those he
met on the streets. Going along in
this way one day, a rude boy called
out:
''What's the matter, smarty? Are
your hands cold?'
Walter quietly took his wrists from
his pockets and held them up, saying /:
eyes, l guess they must be-
The loud-voiced boy looked at
them with horror, and skunk out of
sight quickly, evidently very much
ashamed of himself.
AS Walter told me this, 1 could
not help saying, ''That was too bad. "
"Oh, no., said Walter, quickly.
"You see he didn't know l hadn't
any hands and no one who knew it
was ever unkind to me. Why, even
old Mrs. Slocum-you know she lives
alone up on the hill-and she is so
ugly that every one is afraid of
her"
/ nodded /; for Mrs. Slocum's repu-
tation as a terror to evil-doers-and
not evil-doers alone, either-was
well established.
"Well, the other day | walked up
by there, and just as l got by the gate
she came out. The boys do torment
her awfully, and some of them had
broken her gate down. She saw the
gate and me the same minute, and |
never heard any one say so much in
so short q time as she did. She
knew | had broken that gate,
and was going to put me in State
prison, and do | don't know how
many more thinge to me. All the
time she talked she waved broom,
and | thought every moment that she
would hit me with it. But just as
soon as ! could get chance / held
up my wrists, and said, sdOes that
look as if Iwere going around break
ing gates?' She dropped her broom
and stared at me minute, then said,
you poor child p and just made me
90 in the house with her. It seemed
like the fairy stories I used to read,
where the ugly old women always
turned out to be lovely young prin-
cesses or something
"Why, Walter" said I, laughing,
"did she turn young and handsome?"
"No, not young, but she did look
almost nice looking: and she got
dinner for me, and made me tell her
all about the accident, and she would
feed me. And / laughed SO that she
laughed, too; but she kept wiping
her eyes on her apron every once in
q while. You can't think how kind
she was
I couldn't help thinking, as Walter
told his strange experience with
queer, cross, disappointed old wom-
an, that there is way to every heart,
however hard, if we could but find
it: and l was glad to know, that
E'Mother Slocum," like other folks,
has her ''angel-side."
Finally, the rubber hands were
brought; and in a short time Walter
could not only assist himself in all
ordinary ways, but could write dis
tinctly, and is now working in the
office of the rubber factory, doing
type-writing.
A story like this makes US feel like
saying ':Blessings on the kind hearts
who were prompted to help the poor
boy, and blessings on the wonderful
science that can make new hands and
feet for the MANNED !''-Chrjstian Id
yOcGte.