The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-03-29

And 1t made the old man happy for a
week!
Then: he quoted :.Cato's epics' and ''Hor-
TIL the farmer quite forgot his anxious
And eniy sadly wondered as he ponled up a
"Ef the 'tater patch 'ud stand ct three
New York Evening Sun.
Tommy Brown.
"What is your name?" asked the
teacher.
Tommy Brown, ma'am," answered
the boy.
He was pathetic little figure. with a
thin face, large, hollow eyes, and pale
cheeks that plainly told of insufficient
food. He wore suit of clothes evident
~ made for someone else. They were
patched in places with cloth of different
colors. His shoes were old, his hair cut
square in the neck in the Impractical
manner that women sometimes cut boys
hair. 1t was Il bitter day, vet he wore
no ovcrcoat, and his bare hands were red
with the cold.
How old are you, Tommy?'
Mine year old come next April. I've
learnt to read at home, and can cipher
little
We'll, it is time for you to begin school.
Why have you never come bcforey'
The boy fumbled with cap in his
hands, and did not reply at once. 1t was
ragged cap, with frayed edges, and
the original ;i, color of the fabric no man
Presently he said Il never went to
school -'cause-well, mother takes
in washin', an she couldn't spare me-.
But Sissy is big enough now to help. an
she minds the baby besides"
1t was not quite time for school to be-
gin. All around the teacher and the
new scholar stood the boys that belonged
confused explanation some of the boys
laughed, and one of them called out:
Say, Tommy, whore arc your cuffs and
collar" And another said: "You must
sleep in the ragbag ut night by the looks
of your clothcs!' Before the teacher
could quiet them another boy had yolun-
tccrcd the information that the father of
the new boy was ''old 81 Brown, who
was always as drunk as a fiddler"
The por child looked around at his tor
mentors like a hunted thing. Then, he
fore the teacher could detain him, with
a suppressed cry of misery he ran out of
the room, out of the building, down the
street, and was seen no more.
Tho teacher went to her duties with a
troubled heart. All day long the child's
pitiful face haunted her. At night it
came to her dreams. She could not rid
herself of the memory of it. After a
little trouble She found the place where
ne lived and two of the Womcn's Chris
tan Temperance union women went to
visit him.
1t was dilapidatcd house in a street
near the river The family lived in the
back part of the house. in a frame addi-
ton. The ladies climbed the outside
stairs that led up to the room occuDied
by the Brown family. When they first
entered they could scarcely discern OBJ
]ects, the room was so filed with the
steam of the soapsuds. There were two
windows, but tall brick building ada
cent shut out the light. 1t was a gloomy
day too, with gray. lowering clouds that
toroade even the memory of sunshine.
A woman stood before a vashtub
When they entered she wiped her hands
on her apron and came forward to meet
them. ~''
Once she had been pretty, but the color
and light had all gone out of her face.
leaving only sharpened outlines and bag.
gardness of expression.
She asked them to sit down. in . list
less: uninterested manner; then taking y
baby" '' e''e t''' 'ne
A little girl came forward from a dark
corner Of the room, carrying a baby that
she laid in its mothers Ian. q lean and
sickly-looking baby, with the same hoi.
low eyes that little Tommy had.
Your baby doesn't look strong" said
one of the ladies.
mo, ma'9m, she amt very well. I
have tn Wnrl- no nd
her." and the woman coughed as She
held the child to her breast.
Inns room was the place where this
family ate, slept and lived. There was
no carpet on the floor; an old table. three
or four chairs, broken stove, a bed in
one corner, in an opposite corner a trun-
die ed-that was all.
''Where is your little boy Tommy 2"
asked one of the visitors
He is there in the trundle-bed." re-
piled the mother.
rs he sick?'
'Yes'm, and the doctor thinks he amt
going to get we'll" At this the mother
laid her head on the baby's face, while
the tears ran down her thin and faded
cheeks.
What is the matter with him?'
lie was never very strong, and he's
had to work too hard, carrying water
ana Al! helping me lift the washtubs, and
rs his father dead?"
mo, he amt dead. He used to be a
good workman, and We had a comforiub
home. But all he earns now, and that amt
much, goes for drink. If he'd only let
me have what little I make over the wash
tub. But half. the time he takes that
away from me, and then the children go
hungry"
She took the child of her shoulder. It
was asleep now. and she laid it across her
Tommy has been crazy to go to school.
| never could spare him till this winter.
He thought if he could get a little cduca-
ton, he'd be able to help take care of
Sissy and baby and me- He knew he'd
never be able to work hard. So fixed
up his clothes as well as | could, and last
week he started. was afarid the boys
would laugh at him, but he thought he
could stand it. if they lid. ] stood in the
door and watched him going. l can't
eyer forget how the little fellow looked"
she continued, the tears streaming down
her face. His patched-up clothes, his
old shoes, his ragged cap, his poor little
anxious look. He turned round to me as
he left the yard, and said, "Don't you
worry, mother, [ amt going to mind
what the boys say But he did mind. 1t
an hour till he was back again.
believe the child's heart was just broke.
[ thought mine was broke years ago. If
it was, it was broke over again that day.
| can stand most anything myself, but @
can't bear to see my children suffer-"
Here she broke down in a fit of convul-
sivc weeping The little girl came up to
her quietly, and stole thin, little arm
round her mothers neck. Don't cry,
she whispered, "don't cry"
The woman made an effort to check
her tears, and she wiped her eyes. As
soon as she could speak with any degree
of calmness, she continued:
"Poor little Tommy cried all day;
couldn't comfort him. He said it wasn't
any use trying to do anything. Folks
drunkard's little boy. tried to comfort
him before my husband came home. l