Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1892-07-30
LICE.
BY PHILIP F. KING.

They called him that. But Thomas
Bnldie Elijah Sylvester Macodoucum
were the five proper names to which the
low, lean, languid boy had title. These
high sounding appellations We're, indeed,
all that the lad had. and being quite jeal-
ous of his possessions, he felt insnlted if
any one of his names were omitted in ad-
I,rcssiug him.
lie WAS san orphan boy, and reared by
his aged aunt and her husband. 1t was
,ar'lv due to the constant association Of
tI"sr two elderly people that he had such
an old, faded look. a weakly frame, an
injured and siIrunlien leg, constant hard
WORK ard no play, had added their part
in giving this lal of Is summers the sad
weary look. and ca,Iavsr"us appearance
ui a. aged soldier in the battle of life,
W'"." st"l gle had bee II ful "f wearinnss,
Hr,i upon Nhom care and trial had lel:
tair impress.
Thomas Eu,ldio Elijah Sylvester NIaco-
Grlucum was born an reared amid tho
hilIs and dalrs Of eastern ir,lu"4~rr. His
uncle and aunt lived ON small farm in
III" roIiEhcst part of the country. The
u chbors were several miles away. and
With few exceptions visitors never
came to their lonely and secluded cot
tr,e. Reared as he was, shut out from
the voices Of gladness, of youth and inno-
rrnce. deprived of a comrade or u
friend, it is not surprising that he should
appear timid and silent when in the
presence of robust and joyful children.
Certain it is that when, one morning in
September, he limped painfully and
slowly up to the little schoolhouse, four
miles from his miserable, isolated home,
and joined the band of happy children
gathered there, the lad felt strangely out
of place and greatly embarrassed. Such
a scene as this was new to him, and he
realized that his life was different from
theirs.
The children noticed his timidity and
were attracted by his pale face, his deli
cate body, and his shrunken leg; but
soon after the first surprise they began
to see something amusing about this boy,
and nearly every pupil had some anus
ing joke about him, and when he told
the teacher with remarkable rapidity
that his name was Thomas Buddie Elijah
Sylvester Macodolucum a mischievous
giggle passed around the room.
ANY more names left in your family ?"
asked one of the larger boys at recess
that day.
What, sir7" returned the lad, who
was not accustomed to chatting"
That's right-always call me sir, :"
said tho other, with mock gravity. Il
like it. Did you say that you used EN-
all up-not enough to 60 round1"
But the shouts OF the school children
told the new pupil that he was being
laughed at, and, coloring shyly, he
escaped from the mischevous group.
Had these young people only known
Of the drudgery of this poor boys life,
and how sad and lonely and friendless
he felt, they would never have INDUCED
in cruel jokes, nor curtailed his priced
high sounding name to prosaic "Lige."
But they did not know Lige bore
their jeers and jests uncomplainingly ;
and it was only during his lonely walks
home that his sad eyes would swim in
tears, and his heart ache for one loving
word, one kind friend, one affectionato
look.
One day, in return for some trifling
favor, Lige was given two glass marbles,
and these had beautiful red spots in their
centrrs, which appeared quite wonderful
TO him. His admiration for his newly
acquired treasure was SO great that he
Gazrd upon them during study hours.
O"cr. while examining them proudly, by
q ci i"nt one of them fell TO the floor.
The ciildrrn laughed anh Lige, in pick.
ing th" marble up, put it in the wron;
pork't-one with a hole in it-and again
the marble fell, and again the merri.
mcnt broke loose.
III that occurs again, said the teacher,
u will punish you.n
Directly in front of Ligc sat Paul
Mahrry, the largest pupil in the school
and his chief prosecutor. Paul saw au
opportunity for some fun. LAWN Il
marble he cautiously reached behind IL !
dropped it squartly unher Lig"'s d,,;.
1t fell quickly, ma ting a loud noise, ard
rolled the entire length of the floor, stop
+ ~ at the feet of the teacher. The re-.
suit proved as Paul had desired; tIIl
sc"olar, laug'ed and the teac er became
very AZ rV