Show liE WAS ONLY A KEWSBOY The Stor of KravcHTcartetl tad I Whose Strength Failed at tast It was a very small funeral procession that wended its way slowly from the Kings County hospItal to the Holy Cross cemetery at Flatbush the other morning There were no handsome carriages no long string of hacks only the hearse containing a small plain coffin followed by a solitary coach But the mourning was just as sincere as at the largest and most imposing funeral And it was not confined to the four boys who accompanied ac-companied the body of their dearest friend to its last resting place A hundred hearts were touched by grief A hundred faces were wet with tears Its only a newsboy said a policeman True only a newsboy waif from the streets of the great city But no philanthropist ever kinder no friend more true no soldier braver than little Joe Flanigau Every newsboy about the offices of New Yorks great journals j knew and loved him Allowed All-owed him a debt of gratitude for the many good deeds he had done in his humble way Little Joe first appeared on the streets of New York two years ago He wassmall and slight with great brown eyes and pinched lips that always wore a smile Where he came from nobody knew and few cared His parents he said were dead and he had no friends It was a hard life Up at 4 oclock in the morning after sleeping in a drygoods box or an alley he worked steadily until late at night He was misused at first Big boysstole papers or crowded him out of a warm place at night but he never complained The tears would well up in his eyes but they were quickly brushed away and a new start bravely made Such conduct con-duct won him friends and after a little 110 other dared play tricks upon Little Joe His friends he remembered and his enemies ene-mies he forgave Some days he had especially es-pecially good luck Kindhearted people pitied the little fellow and bought papers whether they wanted them or not But he was too generous to save money enough even for a nights lodging Every boy who got stuck knew he was sure to get enough to buy a supper as long as Joe had a penny But the hard work and exposure began to tell on his weak constitution He kept growing thinner and thinner until there was scarcely an ounce of flesh on his little body The skin of his face was drawn closer and closer but the pleasant look never faded away He was xincomplaining to the last Two weeks ago ho awoke one morning after working hard selling extras to find himself too weak to move He tried his best to get upon his feet but it was a vain attempt Tne vital force was gone Where is Little Joe was the universal inquiry Nobody had seen him since the previous pre-vious night Finally he was found in a secluded corner and a goodnatured hack man was persuaded to take him to the hospital hos-pital in Flatbush where he said he once lived Every day one of the boys wont to see him On Saturday a newsboy who had abused him at the first and learned to love him afterwards found him sitting up in his cot his little blueveined hand stretched out upon the coverlet I was afraid you wasnt coming Jerry he said with some difficulty and wanted to see you once more so much I guess it will be the last time Jerry for I feel awful weak today Now Jerry when I die I want you to be good for my sake Tell the boys But his message never was completed Little Joe was dead His sleep was calm and beautiful The trouble and anxiety on his wan face had disappeared but the expression ex-pression was still there Even in death he smiled It was sad news that Jerry bore back to his friends on that day They feared the end was near and were waiting for him with anxious hearts When they saw his tearstained I tear-stained face they knew that little Joe was I dead Not a word was said They felt as if they were in the presence of death itself Their hearts were too full to speak That night a hundred boys met in front of the City Hall They felt that they must express their sense of loss in some way but how they did not know Finally in accordance accord-ance with the suggestion of one of the larger boys they passed a resolution which read as follows Resolved That we all liked little Joe who was the best newsboy in Now York Everybody Every-body is sorry he died A collection was taken up to send delegates dele-gates to the funeral and the same hacknirii who bolO Little Joe to the hospital again kindly offered the use of his carriage The burial took place yesterday On the coffin was a plate purchased by the boys whose language was expressive from its very simplicity I sim-plicity This was the inscription LITTLE JOE aged 14 Time Best Newsboy in New York WE ALL LIKED HIM There were no services but each boy sent a flower to be placed upon the coffin of his friend After all what did it matter that little Joe was dead Ho was only a newsboy This is not a fancy sketch Every word of the above story is true Ar < w 1 ork IVnrhl |