Courage.
{"newspaper_name": "The Southern journal.", "edition": "01", "page": "p1", "byline": ""}
{"character_count": 2657, "word_count": 480, "ccnet_language_score": [0.9837999939918518], "ccnet_perplexity": [1422.699951171875], "fasttext_language": ["en"]}
OOldSge.


A widowed mother, whose husband
had taken an active part in the ''tug
of war" which tried mems souls, had
son in whom she was wont to take
much pride. She fondly wished that
as he grew to manhood, he would ex-
hibit the same patriotic fire which
shec so luminous halo around the
pathway of his lamcnted sire. At
lenght the day came which was to
put our heroes courage to the test:
the time when Jonathan's age requir.
ed that he should attend a militia
training in proprla persona. The en-
thusiastic mother accoutred her prom>
ising son in the style Of a regular sol,
der. She saw him armed cap-a. pie
with the habiliments of revolutionary
veteran, with sensations Of evident
patriotic pleasure.


He soon began bis solitary march
to the drill. The profound Joy of a
fond mother can be better imagined
than described, as she beheld the sole
star, upon which she had so long gazed
with mothers proudest hopes in the
ascendant. 1t happened, on that day
that they were to try the experiment
Of firing "nine rou,ads." Now came
the pinch. for our hero had never seen
the flash Of gun, without autul
fright! To hold so fearful a weapon
was what he could never do, and this
want of courage was what had serious.
ly baffled the swelling hopes of his he.
roic mother. Jonathan made an ap~
pearance which quite eclipsed many
Of his comrades in rank. At the word
''load" Jonathan obeyed the COM
mand, but at the order to ''fren! his
palpitating bosom shrunk from obe-
dience. At every successive COM
mand to load our hero obeyed the or
der, and sent home the charge with
the full force of his ramrod.


The mother heating the volleys
which were fired on that day, consol-
ed herself with the thought that her
darling boy had trinmPhed over his
foolish fears Of a gun. Hence upon
his return, she FASTENED to meet HIM
with hearty congratulations. As he
approached she exclaimed.


'Well-it has not killed you to
shoot gun has it?'


'Why-why, no, mother,' was the
agitated reply, which was the exact
fact; for he had the whole nine catri-
ges in his gun at the time, and well
rammed down. The mother, upon
learning this painful truth, seized
the fuzee, and with look of keen
reprimand, placed it at her shoul-
der, while the cautious lad skulked
behind the door. There was an awful
pause. At length click went the ham
er. Almost instantly the gun was
shivercd into thousand atoms, and
the kind old mother seated very
unceremoniously in the fireplace;
from which she soon began to crawl, j.,
when the panic stricken son, alarmed
for her in any other situation, bawled
out, "Don'tgi up yit, mother--there
is eight more on EN- to come, sar-
in."-Sat. Eve. Post.