St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1891-05-28
MISCELLANY.
THE YOUNG COMPOSITOR.
An Incident of Jacksonville.

afternoon The sun shone with that
intense lurid heat peculiar to lands
lying upon tropic seas. There was
little sign of life in that plague-strick-
en- city. Only here and there feeble
pulse seemed to culver like that of a
dying man. The red and blue globes
still glowed in the apothecary's Win
dows, while at the corner shops
bread and meat were dealt ont to
the necessitous with reckless haste.
One half of the city had fled; the
other half were down with the fever
which had swept across seas to tester
upon the doomed town of Jackson
vile, Florida.
The trains could not carry off the
fugitives fast enough; the hospitals
could not take in all the victims the
earth could not cover its dead. Yet,
In the midst of terror and bewilder
ment, here and there man, a wom
an. or child, stood at his post and
waited for help to come in.
The whole country wrung its
hands and prayed; aid was sent
volunteers came pouring in. Nurses,
doctors, ministers, philanthropists,
responded to the cry for help, and
after months of struggle, of fighting,
nursing and watching, the Death
Angel folded his wings and passed
on. All, it was fearful time to try
mems hearts,
And deeds were done which shamed the sun;
And deeds were wrought which should be
known"
On the day when my story opens,
ayoung printer stood at his desk in
he nf
Union, busily engaged in setting up
type. He was barely sixteen, and
his cap was pushed back from a reso-
lutte young brow, shaded by thong hit
full gray eyes and a firm, boyish
mouth and chin. There was only
slim force at work this warm after
noon, and all had double duty to
perform, for the pestilence was at its
height, and the outside world was
waiting for the latest news from the
fever-stricken city, and for the names
of the latest victims of the pest.
A long list was spread out on the
form before him, and the boys fin
gers were busy setting them up, but
his thoughts were faster than his
hands this afternoon. He had spied
the name of a young friend on
the list, and it naturally saddened
his occupation. Poor Fred" he
thought, land only three days since
he was working by my side. James
Burnell, NJ D., >" he spelt; must be
a stranger, 1 guess. Mrs. Charles
Graham and child Judge Newman,
distinguished man. Rev. DIR. Beale,
good man taken;' Tom Rice, Jessie
Brown, colored;' high and low, no
one seems to escaped" He passed his
hand over his brow. 81 wonder
who will be the next 1t must be
fearful to see familiar name in the
paperl Suppose it was mine. l
wonder how it would look? And
what scare it would give mother
and Minnebah! What put such
notion into my head? | am not GO
ing to take the fever; 1 must not take
it for their sakes, for they would be
sure to come to me,
"And there would be three instead of one,
The fiery gauntlet of death to run
Strive as he would he could not
shake off the impression; the jingle
ran on in his head, and his name
written in letters of fire seemed to
hover in the air above him. 1t
the sunbeam. Mechanically he took
up his stick and picked out the letters
H-a-w-e-s Mcleod.
There, l will set it up and perhaps
the banshee will out!'' he exclaimed
aloud.
Halves Mcleod. 1t stood out
boldly before his eyes. "Whatever
comes" he muttered, II will not let
them know till the worst is over"
Copy" shouted the foreman, COM
ing in; while Halves, for such we may
now call him, brushed off the type
and swept them into drawer. His
work for the day was done, and he
turned to leave the office and seek
his boarding-hou was no
tempta ton to go elsewhere in those
dark days. So Halves took off his
apron and was hurrying along the
silent streets, which echoed loudly to
his quick footsteps.
Presently he slackened his pace
4 am walking too fast" he
thought; my heart beats strongly
and my limbs ache all over. believe
l will stop at the drug shop and ask
for something to quiet it."
, A trembling seized him; the fever
lay masked in his veins He stag
gered on, pushed in at the half-open
door, and leaned heavily against the
counter.
"Can you give me anything?" he
said, huskily. 81 believe 1 am taking
the fever
The clerk mixed something in a
glass and handed it to the boy
ssDriuk this ~ he said "and oct home
and to bed as quickly as possible
Il have no home here" murmured
the lad unsteadily.
''Then you must go to a hospital
/ will call an ambulance. Give me
your name, please ?"
"Hawes-no, Henry MCGUIRE"