Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 May 1875 — Sympathetic Folks. [ARTICLE]

Sympathetic Folks.

If you never had a mother you have never kiiown how good it was to have her take you in her lap when you had stubbed your toe and hear her say; “ Poor one—don’t cry!” When my boy or girl comes home from school, tears falling and chin quivering because some one has snubbed them or because the teacher has befen cross or the lessons hard, I know what they want. I take them on my knee, smooth their hair back and say: “I am sorry. I used to be so when I was a child and I know how hard it is. But never mind; some day we’ll have our horses and carriages, keep hired girls, five coachmem, live in a palace, and the sun will rise on our front stoop and ,set in our back yard.” It .helps them at once, and it isn’t ten minutes before Smail Pica is playing horse with the table-leg, and Long Primer is singing “ Yankee Doodle” to her doll. It does me good, man. though I am, to have old Mrs. Harrison come over to our house. She hardly gets her nose inside the door before she exclaims: “My soul alive! Why, what ails you?” “Nothing,” I reply. “ But you look pale; you are writing too much; you poor man—you’ll be in your grave in a month ?f you don’t take better care of yourself!” I know in my own mind that my health ■ is good; that I sleep well; ttiat my ribs are accumulating fat, but nevertheless it does me good to hear her go on as she does. If I were a boy of ten or twelve I’d fall from a tree or get half-drowned just for-tlie sake of seeing her wipe her eyes on the corner of her check apron, and hearing her say: “Poor boy! I’d'give a thousand dollars to take your pain away!” Mr. Cooper is one of my sort of men. If a woman comes to him with tears in her eyes, and says that her cow is dead, or her boy is sick, or she can’t pay her taxes, he doesn’t lean back and go to figuring'the interest on fifty cents for five years, or wondering if he can’t take an advantage amd get a mortgage on her little home. It would do you good to see tne dimple in liis fat chin grow deeper, and his big bosom swell as he strikes his knee with his fist and exclaims: “I’m glad you came to me first. I’ll go right out this minute and see about it' Go home, my good woman, and don’t you shed another tear!” " I meet a few other such men. If they come across a lad wailing over cold toes, or a fall, or a beating, they will stop, pat him on the head, and by speaking a dozen kind words they will lhake the boy almost believe that he lives under a new sun and in a new country. * When sickness or fire or flood comes. I Hke a man to knock at jny door and inquire if he can be of any use. If he can do me a favor I shall ever feel grateful; it there is nothing for him to do/ I feel grateful for Iris offer, and I almost wish that he had some trouble so that I could offer my purse and my services.* I say hang a man who skulks along in the fence-corners for fear that some one will want to borrow a dime of him, or will ask his strength for a moment to help roll a log away. The Lord put us here to help each other—to work together—to lift each other over life’s stum-bling-blocks, and when I can’t do my full share of such work I’m going to take poison, and no one will care.—if. Quad, in Our Fireside Friend. There is a noticeable absence of lace on haas this season.