Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1895-02-06
A GREAT MISTAKE.

cause l promised mother before | left
home that l wouldn't taste anything of
the kind"
"A little beer never hurts anyone"
"Idon't suppose it does, but of course
/ had to keep my word"
u s'pose so, but how scarey mothers
do get sometimes over little things"
Beg your pardon for i%nterrupting,
Master Will, but that's what makes no
end to trouble in this ~world-we don't
calculate right about the little things"
and Burling, the gardener, hoe in
hand, stood looking earnestly at the
two boys. IF you're minded to listen
l could tell you something that would
make you see it all so differently, Pm
pretty sure"
"Of course we'll listen" Jack, said
respectfully, for.there was something in
the mans manner that was very i'm
pressive.
DO you see the little lad yonderp"
resumed Burling.
Yes, | was noticing what beautiful
eyes he has, and Will here told me who
he is."
Jacks tones were very gentle as he
spoke, following the fathers glance to-
ward the little figure bending over one
of the flower beds.
Such a slender, m~isshapen little boy
as it was. Such a large disproporiion-
ate head dropped to one side upon the
uneven shoulders, and such tiny hands
and shrunk limbs and feet.
1t was indeed a sight to touch ones
heart to tenderness, and the boys did
not wonder there were tears in the
fathers eyes.
VI was telling Jack how fond you are
of him., !" said Will, land what a lucky
thing it is for him that you are his
father.
That's where you make a big mis-
take, my boy" returned the man with
an emphatic shake of his head; sit was
the unluckiest that ever happened to
the lad, and you will think so, too,
when you have heard what l have to
tell"
when | was young like you l was
the happiest sort of a chap, and there
wasn't any mischief or fun going on
that wasn't likely to have u hand in
1t. Then, as now, some of the bows
thought it was mannish to drink beer,
whether they cared for it or not. But
even if they did not care for it at first
it was not long before they began to
like it, and then after q while they
must have something stronger to salts
fly them.
II was as bad as any of them, and
by the time I was full grown l was no
stranger to strong drink.
II was married when l was twenty
five, and my wife felt dr~eadfully when
she found how fond l was of a social
glass.
I'VE had been married over five
years before the little chap over there
came TO us, and l was that fond and
proud of him that for a long time l
didn't care for anything SO much as to
bide at home and see him grow, while
l hardly drank at all.
but the old habits had a strong hold
upon me still, and every now and then
l had to have my fling, when for days
together | was more or less under the
influence of the beastly drink.
"All the time the baby was growing
prettier and stronger and wiser. He
was very straight and tall, and when
at night he would come running to
meet me, | thought him the handsom-
est child l ever saw.
Zone day, when he was about three
years old, l came home in a worse con-
dition than usual, and when the dear
little fellow ran out, holding up his
hands for me to take him in my arms,
L could not see him at all, but Just
stupidity tumbled over and upon him,
lying there like a log upon the poor
little helpless body.
How long | was there | could never
be sure, but at last, stupid as l was, l
was aroused by q terrible scream, and
discovered that my wife was frantically
pulling at my arm, while she cried, %,
John you have killed him!'
How it rang in my ears. How
quickly it sobered me; and, hurrying
for a physician, l waited in sickening
suspense to her what he would say.
For a long time he, with the assist
ancs of my wife, busted himself over
our child, saying as little as possible.
but when he had done all he could
for him, and our Bonnie was still IN
conscious, he turned to me and said
solemnly, All, John, my man, that
first glass Of beer taken somewhere
back in your life has brought a terrible
harvest
He was right, boys" and the strong
mans voice trembled, and his whole
form shook with suppressed emotion;
"as my little lad fell his back had
struck against a sharp stone, and my
weight upon him made it so much the
worse. Aspinal trouble was the result,
and FIVE years Of cruel suffering have
left him as you see him today.
at was not easy for me to tell you
this shamful story, but when | heard
You speaking so lightly of the hapin.