Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-14

boys for the best and second best art1-
Gle delivered by the writer upon THE
Battle of Bunker HILL" the compost
tions to be read before a committee of
the school board and invited guests
early in November, and the prizes were
awarded on the Wednesday before
Thanksgiving, 1908.
Reuben Andrews had written very
creditable one for boy of his years.
and the time was drawing near for the
contest to take place. A few evenings
before it, he rushed into his home as q
cyclone to say: Mother all the boys
but me have new suits, or are to get
them for the contest; you know I did
not get mine this fall; when am I to
get it?"
7 am fully aware that you have not
had one, and am sorry to disappoint
you, but your father does not see his
way clear to buy you one this season."
None at all? Why, my coat is out
at the elbows and my pants torn at
one knee
rs it as bad as that? Go bring the
suit and / shall see what can be done
Reuben left the room. to return
shortly, saying: Here it is; see there
and therei"
Eyes. / see, and believe 1 can repair
1t SO that these bad places will not
show"
DO you tEluk want 10 wear IL suit
like tramp when all the other boys on
the platform will have new ones? No,
indeed; l will stay home first"
"Reuben!" came from his mother
1.-THE. boys would laugh at my get up,
darns or patches would show awfully
under the electric light; no, indeed 1
shall stay away"
And miss the chance of winning one
of the prizes; you foolish boy"
81 would ten times rather do so than
wear that old suit"
Grandfather Roberts, who was seated
In the room. had been silent listener
to what had been said. He now Joined
in. Reuben, have a few words to
say about boy much poorer than you
who at your age would have been glad
to own such a suit as that even when
he grew to manhood he had as much as
he could do to keep himself properly
clad"
Was it you. grandpa?"
did you know him, grandpa?"
II had not the honor of his acquain-
lance, but saw him once riding in an
open barouehe."
What was his manner"
THAT will come after a while; do not
spoil my little story by asking for the
ending before 1 have got fairly started.
This boy was born in a log cabin in the
backwoods of Kentucky. His father
was a carpenter by trade, but I fear
not a very industrious man. His early
education had been sadly neglected, as
after he married his wife taught him
to write his own name. He may have
preferred hard work to study. / think
the boy inherited his ambition and
force of character from his mother
'The father moved his family from
Kentucky to Indiana as long ago as
1916, where he put up cabin fourteen
feet square. 1t had only three sides to
It, Those cabins used to be built some
times, but do not think they could be
made very comfortable in cold weather.
1t seems to me carpenter might have
made a better job than that. 1t was
wild part of the country, and when the
little boy was but Z years old he was
sent regularly on horseback, and must
have looked very funny upon a big
horse, distance of seven miles with
a bag of corn to have it ground, there
being no mill nearer, and no other way
of getting the meal. Rather a young
boy for such an undertaking, but there
was nothing else to do, he being the
only boy in the family. He had a sister
a few years older than he. but 1t did
not dc so we'll to send a girl.
THE farm they lived upon was quite
far away from any town. The family
had not been living there long when
the mother took sick, and as the
nearest doctor, VINO might nave helpeu
her. lived thirty miles away, she had
to do without his attention and died in
a few days, which was a great loss to
them all. She had been loving, intel
ligent, Industrious woman, who seemed
to have the energy that the father
lacked and kept their humble home
going as well as 1t could be kept with
such limited means at her command.
Some months after her death the
father married again; this time it was
a widow with three children. She, too,
was good manager She got her hus-
band to put down wooden floor in the
cabin; there had been none but the
earth, although he was carpenter.
She did not stop there. but was con-
tinually improving family matters by
her advice and the work of her hands.
She was very kind to her two step
children; seeing how anxious the boy
was to get an education, she encour-
aged him to study and gave him what
assistance she could. He never once
gave up the idea of being educated, al
though knowing 1t would only be at
tanned under difficulties. When pencil