The Columbus journal., 1893-03-29
A TOUCH IN THE HEART.

CID Abel Dunklcc was delighted.
and 30 was old Abcl's wife when little
Abel came. For this coming they
had waited many years. God had
nroSno.Td them clscwiSc: this one
supreme blessing only had been with
held. Yet Abel had never dcspaircd
II shall sometime have a SON" said
he. Il shall call him Abel. He
-hall succeed TO my business; my
house. my factory, my lands, my for
tunc-;.ll shall be his Abel dunk
lee felt this to be Il certainty. and
with this prospect constantly in mind
he shaved and pinchcd and baTecined
So when at last The listic one did
come il WAS heir &c /: considerable
property.
Had yra questioned him closely DR..
Hardy would have told YOU that little
Abel witS a> fraii ha'rC as ever did
battle fo.. iif5. DR.. Hardy would
surely never have dared say that to
old D,nklcc, for in his rapture in
the coming Of that little DO. old
Dunklec would have s.note the Of
fender who presumed even 10 intimate
that the babe waS not The most viz
orous As well aS the most beautiful
creature upon earth. The old man
was simply assottai upon the child
IN s1li!sh way. iin .Ouh;cdly, but
even this selfish love OF that bunv
little child showed that the old man
was capable of something better than
his past life ina 'c"n. TO hcar him
tx y"n might have fan:icd that
Mrs. tunklcc had nn part or parcel
or intcrcS; in thcir offspring. 1t Was
always "my little boy'-yeS. old
Abel Danl1iccs money had . rival lin
tie Old man, heart at last. and that
rival MA a helpless. shruml;cn, sicklv
little hanc
AmGng his business aS~n.ia.cs Abel
Dunkicc WAS familiarlv known =, Old
GrowlA. fc: til, reason that his voice
vas harsh and di>cnrdant and
sounded i0" I'll the world like The
hoar~c growing t, IN iil-naturcd
Gear.
But Old Growly abroad and Old
Growly ~ home were two very diff
fcrCnt people. Only the vuicc was
tho sa!n". Th" hnmrly, furrowrd,
wizcTcd fac lighted uD. and the
keen restless eyes 10! their "x;rrs-
sion uf .iirv-.li..'~~ ard :i:t. thin.
b"ny hands thar r'i-ou here ciutrhcd
and r'uf':h"'; and pinchcG AMI isinchci
r,,. ,.,...-i,,n ,,pI;,,, l,,,.,,l .F,..,,..,I,-c
in the presence. sf little Abel a!:d
reached .''' :,."Ir long fingers yca,n-
ing;y ami ct'"-Sin"iy toward he
little cnild. Then the huaT>c voice
would growl Il Sa!G'afinn full "f
tenderness. for i: ,.ar"' straight frum
the az! MANS heart: only. had you
not known how much he loved the
child. you might have Thought othrr-
wise. for the OLD mars voice was
always ho#rS,> a,}d discord; Mt. and
that was why they called him Old
Growiy. But what proved his love
every afternoon, when he came home
from 'iie factory, Old Growly brought
his little boy dime; and once, when
the little fellow had fever on him
frcm teeth:mg. Old Growly brought
hiri Il dollar. Next day the tooth
came through and the fever left him,
but yCu couldn't make the old man
believe bat what il was Tho dollar
that did IL all Thai wss Natural.
perhaps. for his life had beer spent
in grnhbing for money, and he had
not the soul to see tha: the best and
sweetest things in human life are not
to be he'd by riches alone.
As the doctcr had in che way and
another intimated would be the case.
the child tiu not wax fat and vigor-
chs. Although Old GrOwlv did not
seem to see the truth. little Abel
grew Older only TO become what the
doctor had fOretold = Cripple. A
weakness Of Che spine was developed.
- maiaIy that dwarfed the child's
physical growth. giving to his wee
face a pinchcd, starved look. warpin@
his emaciated body and enfeebling
his puny limbs. while at the same
time it quickcncd the intellectual fac
ultics TO the Gcgrcc of rrcccuity.
And 50 two and three and four wears
went by. little Abel clinTing to life
with pathetic hcroism. and Old Grow
~ loving that little cripple with all
the violence of his selfish nature.
Never once did il occur TO the father
that his child might die. that deaths
seal WAS already set upon the mis-
shapen little body: on the contrary.
Old Growiy's thoughts We're constant
lv of little Abe!'s famous future, of
the great fortune he was TO fall heir
to. OF the prosperous business career
he WAS to pur,uc, of the influence he
WAS to wicld in the world-on dollars
dollars. dollars. millions of them
which little Abel was some time TO
possess: these were Old Growlys
dreams, and he loved to dream them.
Toys and picturc-bookS were van
tiles in which Old Crowley never in
duigcd: to have expended Il farihing
for chattclS OF that character would
haze seemed TO Old (irowly like sin
full extravaganza. The few play
tniHHS WHICH ltttic .tDel llStu were
such as his mother surrcptitiously
bought: the old man believed that a
child should bc imbucd with proper
regard for the value of money from
the very start. so his presents were
always cash in hand, and he bought a
large tin bank for little Abel and
taught the child how TO put the cop
per and silver pieces into it. and he
labOred diligently TO impress upon
the child of how great benefit that
same money would be 20 him by and
by. just picture to yourself. if you
can. that fond. foolish old man seek
in. to teach this lesson to that wan
eyed. pinched-faccd little cripple.
But little Abel took it all very Sc
ricusly, and was 80 apt a pupil that
Old Growly made great jov and was
won't to rub his bony hands glcefullv
and say to himself: ..Hc has great
gcnius-this boy of minc-2reat
genius for finance
But on day. coming from his fac