OCR Text |
Show A LltUe Heroine. A little girl, named Elizabeth Hope, entered the Franklin Grammar School in Lowell at the age of nine years, and attended constantly for lour years, lacking lack-ing two months, under the following discouraging circumstances : She lived nearly a mile from school, and the whole distance lay through cross streets and by-ways, with no sidewalks, and often in winter, with not so much as a path broken through tho deep snows. She always went home at noon, and it -o happened that for a long time she was the last of over one hundred girls to leave the school-room. At length she was observed to )ion leaving the door; and it was also noticed no-ticed that her naturally pale face was often glowing with unusual heat on her return in the afternoon. Perspiration Per-spiration stood in large drops upon her forehead, and not unficquently her blue eyes were moistened with tears as she sank exhausted into a seat, and commenced her alloted task. Upon inquiry, it was ascertained, that during the hour and a half at noon iu winter, and the two hours iu summer, she walked home, carried a dinner to her father, who worked over a mile from home, ate her owu and returned to school. From that time she was allowed al-lowed to leave the room when the signal sig-nal for laying aside the books was given, giv-en, thus giving her five minutes mure time in which to perform a journey of three and a ha'f miles, and 'eat a dinner. din-ner. But the half is not yet told. For several weeks during the last term ofi her constant attendance, she was afflicted af-flicted witn one of the most awful diseases dis-eases that "flesh is heir to' a felon on her finger. Day alier day .-he kept up with her class; while that throbbing throb-bing finger, swo'len to the sie of three, was pressed upon the desk, or held in the other hand, with the vain hope uf relieving the intensity uf the pain. Tliree times it was laid upeu to the bone, and at last a large pie.-e of the latter came out, which she brought to schoul and showed to her teacher. ''Alany a time," said her mother, "would Elizabeth come Lome at nii-ht. throw herself upon the bed, and lit there till morning in a hi;-h fi ver, without with-out tasting food and villi but little sleep: but r.o'.hing coull keep her i from hool the next day." And she went, !,.;r ur foul, sick or well, for nearly four years: wa- never tardy, ! and never dismissed ! What an exaiii-j exaiii-j pie of fortitude, patience and pen-evcr-I ance, and what a rebuke to the hun-! hun-! dred- of girls who plead a litlie mud ur a b.ack clou 1 as an excu-e to May ' awav from s hool. O.;,- J!,,,,; mid ! (;;,-!. I |