St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1893-07-06
STORY FOR CHILDREN.
,ro,v Ted Did his Duty.

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Lad LAD was plunged through his dark,
n" 'Iv hair, while the sturdy knuckIes
e1 gtIe other beat time on the table
" o. he he chanted for the eighth time
a. ssocHy "Amo, Amas, Amat, ANA
e S"s AWAITS, Amant.' He was just
, "hout to begin again when regular
Tndian warwhoop, coming from I'M
t tD the low window, made him jump
o u,' suddenly that he very narrowly
oss O a hard bump from the
cSondelier directly above his head.
|Hullo, there, Ted" a merry boy
;.b voice called out, and then as Ted
,n his head out of the window,
he went on. "Buffum and the boys
ore Going fishing down in Ford's
meadow. Want to come"
81 lust guess | do. I'm always
,onr man for catch. Be down in
> half a minute" and Ted's head dis.
onoeared from the view of the boy
outside.
"Td give dime to know where
ny hats gone he said to himself as
h. vainlv endeavored to find that
always missing article. Finally he
Soed it, posing artistically upon the
Irame of a motto high up on the
wall As he reached for it, his eyes
fell upon the handsomely illuminated
text and involuntarily had he read,
half aloud: "Do thy duty, that is
best :.
Only six short words, but they had
great effect upon Ted, for his
bright face grew suddenly grave,
and the thought flashed upon him
that to go fishing on the day before
Latin examination when he really
needed great deal Of preparation,
would not be doing the best" thing
his duty.
His waiting friend outside was
beginning to grow impatient and
called out. Hurry up, slow poke;
haven't got quite all night to wait, y
and then Ted walked over to the
window and did a brave thing
brave for a boy who loved all sports
and especially fishing.
Bill" he said quietly, and so
soberly that his friend looked up at
him in wonder, "Bill, don't think
I'd better go. The final exam.
ONES tomorrow, and you know |
missed a good many days last
term" His voice choked little,
and Bill knew that he meant the
time of his mothers sickness and
death.
Bill was well aware that when
Ted made up his mind to thing he
generally kept to his decision, but
he also knew that the boy was
particularly fond of fishing, so he
said coaxingly: "Oh, come along
old fellow, you'll have lots of time
to brush up in the morning.
wouldn't let an old exam. make me
lose good catch. I'm going
and need the study worse
than YOU do He laughed as he
said the last words, but it was an
uncomfortable kind of laugh and
only strengthened Ted s resolve.
Come up here, Bill, the front door
is open. I've got something to
show you
Bill obeyed, rather puzzled to know
Just what Ted wanted.
DO you see that ?" Ted asked as
Bill entered the room, pointing to
the motto which had so influenced
him.
Bill nodded and Ted went on
gently: Mother painted that a
long time ago and it always hung in
her room. | used to like to look at
it when was little chap, it was SC
bright and pretty. Of course did
not know then what it really meant
But one night-it was my last birth
day. was sitting there by that
window, waiting for mother tc
come and have our birthday talk
we always did that ever since | car
remember-when the door opened
softly and she came into the room
with something in her arms. 1t wa:
that motto.
Teddy, boy she said, and II
never forget how sweet her voice
was. You always liked this be
cause it was so pretty. I'm going
to tell you about it so you will low
it, because it is so helpful And thel
she came and sat in that very rookie
and talked to me so beautifully tina
I'll always remember it. Then W.
hung the motto up there, just where
you see it, and mother kissed mt
good night and told me to be hel
brave boy and never be afraid to dc
my duty, no matter how hard II
might be. That was the last long
talk we had together, for mother
took cold the next week, and, the
boys lips were trembling and hi:
eyes were filled with tears. No one
knew how terribly he felt the loss o
his lovely mother, who was hel
boys conhdante in everything. But
led with a strong effort kept back
the tears that nearly blinded hin
and added quietly And that, Bill, is
the reason that I'm going to stay at
home today, and do what mother
would say is my duty"
.It IL