Year: 1875

always liked Professor Tomlinson. IN fac


unless you were very disagreeable perso


yourself, you could not help but like him.
is true the Professor smoked increasingly a
enormous cofee-colered meerschaum. Th


very ordor of his clothing and hair, althoug


he had left his pipe at home, perfumed you
house for week after he had made an hour
call upon you. Yet our children all liked thi
fragrant memory Of the Professor, because h
loved them SO much. That was the secret o
the somewhat shabby old scholar,-his child
like affection for all the world, especially for tn
children, as being the objects most loveable il
world. Before he had fairly taken his sea
anywhere, all the children in the neighbor
hood would be hanging around him and clam
berng into his lap like tacks clinging to mag
net His hair was very long and dry, and rare
ly brushed smoothly; and his beard was san
dy and struggling; yet the shyest little girl
whom no amount of candy could draw in reach
of the incest of visitors, came to him to be kiss
ed on sight. The Professor was teacher. He
was very learned, and mad, people said, al
amount OF talent WHICH amounteu grnfus
|
cause he was too indulgent to his pupils. L
certainly was not Incidence, for buster man
| pipe in mouth among his books and papers
never knew. The worst-ever il it was the
| best of all--was that the tall, STOPPING, near
sighted, ray-headed, OLD, yet young man thai
ne was, had been married, when | knew him
for years. Although he never, OF course, said
syllable TO q soul IA bout 1t, / am satisfied he
knew he was too poor TO marry, had not the
remotesL idea OF II at the time. There was
some mystery about it; but the lady was one
OF his pupils, the daughter OF an old Colonel
Clay brook OF Baltimore, one OF the richet men
there. The Professor left that city in haste,
throwing up profitable school to get away
from an affair which he knew would be as un-
suitable to him it would be dspleasing to
the Colonel. | never knew the details /; but the
young lady was so desperately fond of her
teacher that she followed him to Washington
city, and matters were so Implicated that the
Professor, then handsome but very unwerld-
ly young student, was married before he knew
it. One thing do certainly know, that he was





ever met.


Let me endeavor to state the facts as briefly
as l can. The Professor was teaching, when it
all happened in the city in which lived at
the South. He had four boys and two grls,-
fine, thriving, remarkably clever children, all
exceedingly fond of their unfortunate father
Unfortunate in this, that, although one of the
most learned of men and faithful of instructors,
he never could accumulate any money. You
saw that the moment you looked into the face
of his wife. The Colonel, her father, had never
been reconciled to her, and her life of care had
broken her health and spirits.


1t was just then that, for the first tue in the
history of the Southern States, Thanksgiving
proclamation was issued by the Governor of
the State, who must have been from New Eng
land. None of us understood Thanksgiving
Day. Fourth of July and Christmas we did
comprehend, but of Thanksgiving we only
knew by stories we had read about turkey and
pumpkin pies. AS it was to be the first occa-
sion Of the kind, Professor Tomlinson deter
mined it should be marked occasiop,s or Sordi Jbjs
to wife and children. At the Christmas before
the Professor had been so uncommonly press
ed for means, it was just after they came
among us, that the children had but gloomy
time of it, Now the Professor had flourish
ing school, for we people at the South appre-
ciate him far more than he had ever been be-
fore, and this excellent man determined to
make up for the shortcomings of Christmas
He was connected with our Church, and it was
on pastoral visit of mine that found him
gone one night to his school house, and follow
ed him there. His wife merely said that he
was busy; she neither knew nor cared what it
was about After knocked at the door of his
school-building it was long time before
could get in, he seemed so busy hammering
and saving At last did He had his ener-
nous pipe in his mouth his long hair and
beard, as we'll as clothing, all covered with
shavings and sawdust a hammer in one hand
a saw under the other arm. As soon as he saw
who it was he let me in with laugh, and told
me all about it. am almost ashamed to write
it, but assure you that, queer as he was, bet
ter man never lived. He was just finishing a
doll's house for his two little girls who, by the
by, were twins. He had knocked goods tox
to fragments, and had made as nice house of
the boards, two yards long by yard or SO high.
as ever saw; eight rooms, papered and fur
nished from the toy stores stairs, doors, dolls,
and all complete. AS a Thanksgiving present,
you see, it was the silliest for man who could
read Latin and Greek to do ever knew and
vet could not despse him for it. His love
made it sacred. He had been at work on it
three weeks, in a room of the school building
used as a lumber closet. No one knew of it,
for he had worked only at night. He had
found time, toe, to write an article upon some
point in Sanscrit learning, I think it was, for a
quarterly had, the day his toy house was fin
ished, got the money for it. Like the queer
loving soul he was, he had turned the checque
into one hundred silver dollars had wrapped
each dollar in brght-colored tissue paper
placing them all in gaudy handkerchief box
he had bought That was for his wife.


Thanksgiving Day was summoned in haste
to his house. It was before breakfast, and
was shown into the parlor, into which no one
had entered as yet, it early. There
stood the doll house all complete He hac
brought it home in the night for the astonish
ment of his girls next morning. lifted 1
heavy box lying on the mantel. "For my dea
wife" was written on a card hanging from thu
kew in it, and knew what it held. AS pu
it down the eldest son come in, weeping, anC
said, "You can go up now" They had told M
all about it when they came for me. Colone
Clavbrook came for them all in two weeks af
ter, and took them to Baltimore, where they
are now living, am told, in affluence. Fo
nv poor friend the Professor was found dea'
in his bed Thanksgiving morning The doc
tors said it was aneurism of the heart, lesion
angina pectoris or something Of the kind. l d
not wonder that he broke just there; it wa
the weakest part of the man. was not sorr


to know he was dead, although his family seem
ed as terribly so as if he had been million
aire. Such u man is better off in heaven
rated more highly there than here. One thin
is sure, from all I knew of his piety, h
Thanksgiving was on more magnificent seal
than it would have been had he stayed with u
~>


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