Page 445 - The model orator, or, Young folks' speaker : containing the choicest recitations and readings from the best authors for schools, public entertainments, social gatherings, Sunday schools, etc. : including recitals in prose and verse ...

« LITTLE JACK*”

H E wore a pair of tattered pants,
A ragged roundabout,
Atid through the tom crown of his haf
A lock of hair stuck out;
He liad no shoes upon Isis feet,
No shirt upon his back;
His home was on the friendless street,
His name was 11 Little jack,1*

One day a toddling baby-boy
With head of curly hair
Escaped his loving mother’s eyes,
W ho, busy with her care,
Forgot tht: little one, who crept
Upon the railroad near
T o play with the bright pebbles there*
Without a thought of fear.

But see I around a curve there comes
A swiftly flying train—
It rattles, roars! the whistle shrieks
With all its might and main ;
The mother sees her child, but stands
Transfixed with .sudden fright 1
The baby clasps his little hands
And laughs with low delight

Look I look ! a tattered figure flies
A down the railroad track !
His hat is gone! his feet are bare !
’Tis ragged " Little Jack !”
He grasps die child and from Lbe track
The babe is safely tossed—-