THE OLD GRANDFATHER.
Once upon a time, as the story book says, there lived an old man, in a snug little cottage. There was only one room, and one door, and one window, and a small garden on the side. Old as the poor man was, he used to go out to work in the fields; and he would come home at night so tired and so weak, with his tools on his shoulder, and his hard-earned loaf tied up in his bag. And who do you think used to meet him at his cottage door? Two children, the little ones of his son, a boy and a girl. They were too young to work, except to weed the garden, or fetch water from the brook, or pick up stones in the meadows. For such little jobs, the farmers would pay them with a few old clothes; and the bread the aged grandsire earned, with what fruits and things grew in the garden, just kept them from starving. In winter, when it was cold, they had no lamp, and very little fire; so they used to huddle close to each other for warmth, the girl on one knee, the boy on the other, and listen to the old man. Sometimes, he would tell them droll tales; sometimes, he would teach them a prayer or a hymn; sometimes, he would talk to them of their father, who was at sea, and of their mother, who was in the grave. And then they would nestle in the old man's bosom, and so, lying down on their straw pallet, they would all fall into sweet slumber.
The Old Grandfather.
Pubd. May 1, 1831, by J. Harris, St. Pauls Church Yard.
Each year, the old man grew weaker; but then his children, each year, grew stronger: as he ceased to labour, they began to toil. Oh! what joy to work for him, who had so long worked for them! Things were mending each day at the cottage; for four young hands could do more than two old ones; but yet they were badly off.
One stormy night, a stranger knocked at the cottage door. It was the sailor, the long absent son and father. He had saved a little money, and was come to live and die in his native cot. What joy! What comfort! The old man worked no more. His son and grandson worked for him; his girl nursed him; and all loved him: so his life was calm and blest, and his death was holy and peaceful.