Year: 1871

our citizens, ard are decidedly or
namental. He is constantly in re-
ceipt of orders, and, when we saw
him last, was engaged upon a very
large sized frame for Mrs. R. L. C.
Bostick, which viii doubtless be the
crowning specimen of his handi-
work in this department.


He performs the entire work him
self, orders the lumber, prepares it,
measures it, cuts it, earYes it and
joins it, unaided by any one, and
using only such simple instruments
as a plane, a saw, file and knife.
By the way, he exhibited to as a
four bladed knife which has little
history of its own. Madame Dem
crest, the celebrated naodisfe Of New
York, had offered especial induce
ments to the getter up Of clubs for
'sDemorest's Monthly" Tt toccuEed |
to this little boy that here was an
opportunity of turning an honest
| penny and increasing his stock Of
instruments by his own exertions.


So he went to work, succeeded in
getting the club and winning the |
prize, and received from Madame
Demorest three well bound, inter
esting books, and among b m the
knife above alluded to. This fred
his ambition to see how much work
could be done and money made by
that little knife alone. So he laid
aside his other tools and worked
with this weapon only; and at the
time we saw it he gravely informed
us that he had made with it ore.
one hundred good saleabIe picture
frames, and that he thought it was
safe for hundred more. We ex-
amined the blades and though a lit
tie worn we found them with the
edge of a razor. He grinds aad
sharpens them himself and couldn't
be for a moment induced to entrust
this important part of the work to
a blunderer with two eyes.


Some time ago he manifested 3
longing to examine the internal ar
rangements of clock. He had a
fancy that he could dissect it anat-
omy, take out all its separate parts
and put them back again in good
working order. His uncle tried to
procure a clock simple in construc-
tion, which he thought would better
suit his capacity, but failing to get
a clock of this description, and the
boys eagerness having assumed al
most the degree Of a mania, he was
given a clock of very intricate me-
[ chanical construction, but which
was in disuse. He took the clock,
and though guided by nothing but
his sense of touch, he took it en-
tirely to pieces, cleaned eye-y wheel
and tooth and screw and pivot, re-
placed them all in perfect gear, and
restored it to it's place upon the
mantel, working and in excellent
order.


His great desire is to be pecunia-
rily independent of all aid. He has
a horror of being a burden upon
the charities of others. He knows
that so long as his relatives live
there is no danger of his ever suf-
fering for the necessaries or even
luxuries of life. But like a true
philosopher, he looks forward into
the distant future and he cannot
close his mental vision to the fact
that in some of the far off days to
come, the devoted kindred who
minister to his happiness and com
fort now may be taken from him
and be left upon the grudging sup
port Of busy and unsympathetic
world. For this reason he is anx-
ious to learn some trade or profes-
sion which viii yield him a substan-
tial, independent support. He has
a fancy that he could learn to tune
pianos. From what we have seen
of his capacity to learn anything
which he undertakes, we have no
doubt of his success at this bust
ness. His faculties Of perception,
memory, abstraction and concen-
tration upon any given subject are
such as to warrant any reasonable |
inference of this kind. With no
special talent for music he has
learned to play on the guitar by
note and with much accuracy and
feeling. When we saw him last,
besides performing several waltzes,
he sang, with accompaniment, two
ballads with sweet and plaintive !
sadness that was really touching
We sincerely trust that he viii con
tinue his music, and that he may
find in the JOY of song and concord /
of sweet sounds some slight com /
pensation for that more glorious !
beauty Of earth and sky and sea |
which God hath debarred from his /
sight.





There are people in the world so |
selfish that they seem to be moved |


-. - - Al j. e. |