Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-07-03

| she know thee had been exchanging
| blows thus publicly with a royalist"
asked the old Friend
My mother would regret it, nc
| doubt" replied Nelson, ''but Grandpa
Darrah, he insulted my father as well
| as myself. He called him a-a-jail-
| Bird and great sob rose in the boys
| throat
Wrong, indeed was that" said the
| aged man. But two wrongs never
make right, and tits likely the boy
| knew not that BENJAMIN Harding was
| unfortunate, not wicked. Long and
| bravely he struggled to support his
| family, and when reverses came it was
cruel thing to consign him to the
! debtors prison. 1t was the work of an
| enemy"
aye" cried Nelson, land for seem
ingly so small sum, too! 1t is large
| enough. however, to mother and me
| who are laboring to pay it off. We buy
| as little as possible, but the sum in
creases but slowly in the debt box,
| and sometimes ! fear the mother will
| die ere we can set my father free. She
pines sadly fer him."
AYE. aye" sighed the Quaker, ''truly
we have fallen upon troublesome times,
| and the hand of the oppressor is heavy
| in the land! Who would know our peace
| full Philadelphia with the red-cOa IS
| turning everything topsy-turvy! l pray
we may soon throw off this British rule.
By the way, the Continental Con-
| gress has been considering the question
for the past two days, and tomorrow
ic tn ha nd L
Wilt thee be at the State House, Nell
son Harding, to receive the first news
from the door-keeper and give me the
signal whether to ring the great bell or
no? will pay thee a shilling for the
job"
GLADLY will be on hand, Grandpa
Darrah. You think they will really
dare to declare our Independence"
MANY say not, but l believe they
will. There are great and wise men in
the Council, and then the motto on the
old bell l have rung so many years
seems verify prophe Proclaim lib
erty throughout all the land to all the
inhabitants thereof The Lord grant it
may do it, and the aged Friends Sc
rene countenance glowed with enthusi-
aSm.
''Oh, l hope, L hope it will, responded
Nelson: ''but now l must away home at
once. Good day, grandpa. Come, Penn"
and off he scampered with the huge
mastiff at his heels. The little home of
the Hardings in Letitia Court was plain
and modest in the extreme, and, as the
pale, fragile bonneville set the frugal
dinner on the table, Nelson thought she
What is it, mother?" he asked.
Has any thing gone wrong?'
Nothing new only the landlord has
been for the rent, and | have had to
draw on the debt-boX again, and each
time it seems like step further away
from your father. Oh, l wonder if we
shall ever, ever accomplish his free
DOM
"Of course we shallr' cried Nelson,
more hopefully than he felt. Cheer
up, nanny! | am growing larger every
day, so can soon earn more; and only
just now Grandpa Darrah, the bell-man,
promised me shilling if 1 will wait al
the State House door tomorrow and
give him the signal if independence be
declared"
will fret and fume at being shut up and
unable to fight for his country. He was
always such a true patriot!'' And the
unhappy woman turned away to her
sewing with heavy sign. A lump, too,
arose in Nelson's throat, and he ate but
sm all portion of his savory stew, Civ
ing the lions share to Penn, who en-
ioyed it with hearty gusto.
As he finished the last morsel Mrs.
Nelson looked up ''That dog eats as
much as two men," she said.
''But he is such a grand, noble fellow,
m other, and l love him So"
$50 he is, dear, but wish his appe-
tite was less" while into Nelson's mind
darted the young Britisher's words:
such as you have no business with
valuable Thoroughbred
Was it true? Ought he to sacrifice
his dear companion and playmate for
the sake of the father lang uishing be-
meath the shadow of the law? He tried
to put the thought away, but the idea
haunted him and made him wretched
whenever Penn looked up in his face
with his soft, brown eyes or licked his
cheek with his warm, red tongue, as
though to ask; ''What ails you, little
master?"
But when, in the dead of night, Mel
son awoke and heard his mother Sob
bling in the next room and felt sure the
four guineas would appear TO her like
four seven-league strides toward her
husbands freedom, he determined that,
he could not put up with Regi-
maids overbearing manner he would go
to Captain Cathcart, who, in the phrase
ology of that day was said to be ''ge
NAL, whole-souled Old England man."
and offer him the mastiff on his sons
terms.
The next morning, however, he had |
little time to consider his resolution, |
for he had to be off early to the State |
House, and already the streets were |
filled with eager. excited groups, while |
a feeling of hushed expectancy seemed |
brooding over the quiet city of brother |
~ love.
No fairer day ever dawned than the |
4th of July. 177s, while, prompt as
Nelson was. the old bellman was before |
him and ready enough to welcome the |
boy to his little belfry and to point out |
the Congressman as they arrived one by |
one at the State House; for the old |
Friends Quaker garb covered a truly |
patriotic heart, while his genial nature
made him a general favorite. and he
was dubbed Grandpa" by half the
town.
First come Richard Henry Lee. the
Virginia member who first brought for