Show BREAKING THE NEWS an old engineer will with a tender heart perform a delicate looking over the tile journals of old father ward tor for many years a pastor in iron burg a railroad and mining center of 0 pennsylvania I 1 came across a narrative which shows allows the difficulty ot of breaking the news of accidental death and also rl it the he fact that the roughest roil bliest natu natured res have I 1 in n them true a sympathy and tact the wigi nee r of 0 whom father ward speaks cwi r we well I 1 I 1 known character in isonburg Iron burg 11 II billed two year years ago father wani ward vv wa v v writing in his aoudy one morning wini the bell rang and hit his wife came up to L 1 that a rouge looking g man wanted to see him lie ile went down at once and then there stood a railroad engineer evidently juat off from a run he ile was standing in tin the hall and the minister asked him to coma inland inand sit down much obliged but id rather not said the engineer 1 I halat time fact is we run over a boy comin in and I 1 thought C maybe you mind comin down to see it if you knew his folks and could brelik the news to cm em gentle like why of course ill go at once I 1 went along with the messenger asking questions as we wal bcd hasti ly down the tracks how low did it happen well that beats me you know LL the big embankment this side the bridge wo we were running by it when the boy seemed to fall from the very top of 0 it rolled down to the track and under the engine wheels was ho be killed at once I 1 was dreading the whole affair and especially ally the telling the news to hia his mother whoever she might be yes I 1 dont think he be was conscious when the train hit bit him he ile was spared suffering we picked him up and when I 1 reached the station at the end of my run I 1 had bad him carried right into my houe and then I 1 came up to see you you remember when you came and broke the news of my willies sudden death to me tile parson it seemed to me then that it if anybody could sympathize you could I 1 recalled the time when I 1 bad had been obliged to go to this man and tell him cf of a distressing death in his own family a death t hat that had occurred while be he was off on a long run the engineer spoke e again after a slight pause death ideath ia Is awful sudden sometimes I 1 hope you will be able to comfort the mother parson irwill it will bo be a great blow to her yes a great blow how now old was tle tic tl e boy about ten A beautiful boy brown curly hair and blue eyes about the age of my willie you dont think do you par parson S on that you will dread too much to go and tell the mother that her boy is in to I 1 heaven eaven no but of course I 1 dread tho the duty think if it should bo be my own boyl boy I 1 t yes and of course it might be samo same as mine was taken sudden when I 1 had no lie thought ot of it we ought always to be ready we parson always 1 answered with a curious feeling of dread upon me we had bad reached the house there was a crowd about it they parted silently and respectfully for us as we passed in ill and even as I 1 drew near the bed where the man mangled led form lay I 1 did not realize what had actually happened my ay friend the engineer laid one hand on my shoulder as ho be drewn drew a covering from off the face of thedeas the dead and said in tones of sympathy which nothing but his own sad loss lose could have taught him parson its the hardest thing I 1 ever had to do and ive bungled about it but god can help you and the mother to bear it and I 1 looked into the face of the dead and it was the face of my own boy boyl I 1 had bad forgotten that ho be was at play that morning with a neighbor near the tile embankment in IA some way we never learned how ho he had fallen over but to the day of my death come it soon or late I 1 shall never forget the feeling that came to my wife and myself when time had healed the wound of our loss the feeling of kindred sympathy and tact which sorrow teaches even the roughest hearts to show to others in bereavement those words god can help you and the mother to bear it proved to me the value of my own consolations in the presence of the last grim enemy and of my own great loss cor youths companion |