The herald., 1897-04-18
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{ THE STORY OF
I A HEATHEN
fwritteu for The Herald.)
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j am going to tell you the story OF a
heather. I suppose your idea OF nea-
then Is a picture of a strange looking
person without many clothes on. In
deed my childish idea was that their
usual costume was to be briefly described
as little before, nothing behind, and no
sleeves on" / thought, too, as perhaps
vou do. that heathens lived In far away
countries. in islands of the sea, In the
heart of Africa, under the burning sun
of India, In the wilds of inhoepitable des-
erts. The heather of whom am going
to tell you was born in America. Yes, he
was born In our own fair country, where
there are churches and schools, where
there is a knowledge of the great God.
and where on Easter people meet to-
rether in thousands of churches to hear
the beautiful and tender story of the
Christ Child, how He was born in man
ger, was worshipped by the wise men of
the east, grew into lovely childhood,
thoughtful and gentle boyhood, noble
manhood, died on the cross a martyr to
truth and holiness, and rose again on
Easter day.
This heather was not the only one of
his kind, alas! no. There were thousands
like him in the great city where he was
born, and there are thousands like him
In every great Christian city of our
Christian country.
My heathen's name was Billy. and the
other heather among whom he lived
called him "Snubby." He had in the first
place, of course, a mother and father.
His mother died when he was about 3
years old, and his father was sent to
1ail a year afterward. The poor little
heather was thus cast on the world at
the age of 4. but to tell the truth 1t would
have made little difference had both his
father and mother lived, for they them
selves were heathens, and their baby
from the time he could toddle about the
streets had been almost as much aban-
doned as IL he had been little stray
puppy. He knew from the time he knew
anything what 1t was to be cold and
hungry, dirty and wretched. When he
was very little he used to cry and fret
a great deal when he did not have enough
TO eat, but before ne WAS years oiu he
had learned to be patient, to take what
he could get and make no complaint.
There had been times when a raw carrot
was a luxury, when the broken victuals
from the restaurants and beer saloons
about which he tumbled in the cutters
with other little ones of his own age
were delicacies to be fought over. His lit
tie face, before he was years old, had
the pinched look that comes to the hea-
then who shut out the pure air from the
rooms where they lie huddled together in
sthe night, because the air and the cold
come in together. He knew about as
little about the virtues of soap and water
= Ao, xro xrhnlacnna fnOd
yet in the world in which he lived
there was some little goodness. mixed in
with a great deal of evil When the
boys mother died, victim of too much
drink and too little food, Molly Doolan,
a good-natured Irishwoman who lived in
a single room in the same crowded ten
ement house, took charge of "Snubby"
Billy. That is, she caused one of her own
dirty boys to look about the streets for
him at night until he was found and
bring him home where he might be put
to sleep on the floor where her own five
children slept on q bed made of pile of
old clothes.
Molly Doolan was a Woodworking wo-
man and did washing and scrubbing for
money to pay for the room where she liv-
ed and for her scant food and the liquor
WHICH BIC uidiih. L1Ci hfC
ranging from to IA, contributed their
mite, for they blacked boots, sold pa
pers and did what they could find to do.
Billy was dead weight on the family
at first, but when he was 5 years old
he began to sell papers on the streets.
He was so little for his age, and had
such a clear. piping voice, that he often
used to earn as much as 25 cents in an
evening standing at the door Of thea
ter and calling out Evening Post"
Here's your evening papers! Micky
Doolan, who was two years older, took
charge of the little fellow, and, being
burly, well grown boy, with ready fists
and sharp tongue, managed to protect
him pretty well, although it did some
times happen that after the two boys
had stood at the door of the theater in
the rain selling their papers and had
reaped quite a harvest of pennies, they
were waylaid on their way home by the
other heathens of their tribe and robbed
of the last one, and went home hungry,
wet and sobbing and started out next
morning to their days work or play
without any breakfast.
These heathens had their sports. When
the weather was warm they would gath
er in the alleys, and such games of mar
bles and mumblepeg they would have.
Billy himself had lived on one scanty
meal a day for week to buy knife.
He had gone to the dime museum, too,
several times, although to do so he had
to forego for two days the five-cent
lunch that went with glass of beer.
Yes, he drank beer, Billy did, though
he was only years old, and had no idea
that 1t was either wrong or injurious.
Now heathen, you will find by look
ing in your dictionary for the definition,
10 person who knows nothing about
the true God. Some heathens have never
even heard of him. Billy had. There
was not an hour of the day that he did
not hear that sacred name used in hor-
rible oaths from childish lips. He him
self used 1t so, but without single idea
of the meaning of the words, and thus
let us hope that the dear God who loves
and pities such little ones held him limo :.
cent. He had often heard the church
bells ring, too, and had seen the well
dressed people going thither. To tell the
truth, Billy and the other heather hated
in their hearts these well dressed peo-
pie, for many glance of disgust had
been cast at their dirty faces and ragged
garments. They hated, too, the well
dressed boys who went to the public
school, and more than once they had
with cries Of "dude, dudy, dude!" had
caught some such urchin unawares and,
rushed upon him, blackened his eyes.
form his praftv clothes and vv,vtiIo od