The herald., 1894-05-06
, concluded simply. but with a retro

| that 1t would be . mistake for me not
to got tho best results from your work
and fathers and my own. Out in the
world, motherl Oh, there's SO much to
see and to do, so much money to be
earned, so many bright pleasant people
to lulowl"
A little silence succeeded. Joe hoped
that his mother was simplifying his ar
guments in her own mind, and present
ly he ventured TO add:
II thought, mother, you would enjoy
living in Chicago in little house with
a furnace perhaps and stained glass in
/ the hall and curtains in the doorways.
She turned upon him with absolute
terror in her eyes.
''JoeP she cried in voice of intense
pain. Surely you won't make me do
that? Surely there's go law that'd help
you to drag mo away from here to a
place like that?'
"Mothcr-dear motherp said Joe
soothingly. II wouldn't for the world
ask you to go if you did not wisl to do
So / only wished to offer you n~etty
homo, and you know you have never
had home.
"Never had a home?" she echoed
scornfully. "What do you call The
Wandering Willie, then? Thcr1 no
woman in America that's prou, Of
her home than be. know ever nile
of the 800 an more between But an
Albany as we'll as most people d aeir
own miz' able little weedy doc. rds.
I've come by these fields fur so y Il an
seen 'em l9rewn an bare il the :. ring,
an then a faint light green, an then yal-
Ter as the sunshine, an then bare again,
like they be today. An sometimes I've
como by when the first snow has cover
ed 'em all up warm for the winter An
I know the very birds nests in the trees,
Joe An there amt town as we go
through but what I've got good true
friends in. How kin You say this amt a
home, Joe? It's been place to love in,
to work in to live an die in. What
more do you want?"
"Forgive me, mother, - said Joe hum
bly,. He dared not speak again for fear
of unwittingly giving her fresh pain. 1t
was some time before she spoke
Eve told you so often all about The
Wandering Willie that 1 don't s'pose
you'd keer to hear it all over agin, would
you, Joe?" she said wistfully.
Indeed l should like to hear it, :"
said Joe, with so much apparent inter-
est that his mother was visibly fiattered
and without urging plunged into sea
of retrospect.
''The very fust thing kin remember
is sittin by my father on the deck of
a boat like this, tied into my little
cheer. My mother was dead, an my IA
ther was all wrapped up in me. He was
as good man as ever lived, though
rough in his ways. He did swear dread
fully sometimes, but then all canal men
do mostly. But he was gentle as a kit
ten with me an would watch me in my
little cheer an tell me by the hour bout
the places we was passin. Sometimes
he would talk O. sendin me to school,
but he couldn't bear to part with me, an
hated TO go. Winters we lived in q
tavern at Lockport, an there / got lit
tie schoolin, so could read, write and
cipher some, an when l was only slip
of a gal 1 und stood all about freight
an managin the boat better than you
ever will, I'm afraid, Toe.
"Now, Joe, bout the name O. this
old boat-you do think it's "a pretty
name, don't your
81 think it's the sweetest ships name
that ever was invented!'' said Joe, with
conviction, for he knew that not all
the mythical ships Of song and story
had for him the significance of this one.
The Wandering Willie would always
represent to his mind the truest love,
the tenderest fidelity.
"Well, your grandfather sot a great
deal O. store by it. He called four boats
by it, one arter another, and finally [
give the name to this one. He'd got it
out O. some play or pome or bool1-he
never rightly knew where himself-an
it riled him to have any one make fun
of it. One evenin we was lyin to at
Buffalo. 1t was about z O'Clock, an the
dock was full o. people walllin up an
down to git the lake breeze, fur it had
been a very warm day. was talkin
with some gals forward, an father was
sittin in the stern, smokin. He had been
drinl1in some an was that ugly no one
dast speak to him but me. Presently we
see q young man starin at the name on
the stern an kinder snilin to himself.
He was q strong, good lookin young fell
ler, with laughin blue eyes--you never
see such eyes nowadays, Joe! Pretty
soon he speaks up to father, an says he,
very perlite:
Z" Could ye give me job O. work
sir?'
:" T could if I wanted to, says father,
with o snarl, but l amt agoin to give
no one a job that pokes fun at my boat.
why, 1 want a-polzin fun at yer
boatp says the young man very respect
full Only / see The Wandering Willie
there on the stern, an my names Willie,
an I'm a-wandorin round lookin fur q
Job, an it seemed kinder cur us.
''Well, there's never no relJin on
what drunken man will do-I'm
mighty glad you don It lleer fur liquor,
Joe My father got 'hoppin mad at ihom
inherent words an began swearin an
takin on awful. The young feller jest
turned round an walked off, sorter dis
couraged. Father kept shoutin to him
that if Le didn't come on board an git
polished OF he'd come on shore crter
him. An all O a sudden, while J was
a-shallin his fists an a-stalnpin h. ct,
he give q crazy lurch and wcIt Int
over the storm into the water!'
The old woman voice tremblod With
excitement as she recouRted this enc