A Biographical Sketch of the Life and Character of Joseph Charless | Page 3

the borders of the river
of life! And may you, my sweet children, have a pleasant and happy
childhood, loving all that is lovely and hating all this is evil, that you
may grow up to be good men and women; and in old age, when
memory fails, may you, like her, rejoice and revel again amid the
innocent scenes of early life, looking through them up to that glorious
world above us, where the “inhabitant shall no more say he is sick,” or
shall feel the infirmities of age.
Affectionately, GRANDMA.

Letter Three

MY DEAR GRANDCHILDREN:
You, Charless and Louis, often say to me, “Grandma, tell me about
when you were a little girl,” and many a little story have I told you. But
now I am going to tell you about “Grandpa,” when he was a little boy.
That dear, good grandpa, who looked young to grandma, but who
looked so old to you, with his pretty, glossy grey hair, was once a little
boy, just like you are. He had a dear mamma, too, who tenderly loved
him, but she used to punish him when he was naughty, and kiss him
when he was good, just as your mamma does to you. He was a very

obstinate little fellow, though, and generally submitted to a good deal
of punishment before he would confess his fault and beg for
forgiveness. His mamma would sometimes tie him to the bed-post, but
he would pull against the string until his arm would almost bleed, and
frequently he would free himself by gnawing the cord in two. But he
was a good-humored little boy for all that, and “mischievous as a house
pig,” his mother used to say. Once she locked him up, for some
naughty trick, in a room where there were a number of nice fresh made
cheeses, arranged around for the purpose of drying, and said to him,
“Stay there, Joe, until you mean to be good, and then I will let you
out.” He very soon knocked at the door, calling out, “Mamma, mamma,
I’ll be good now,” and his mamma thought “my little son is conquered
very soon this time; he is certainly improving.” She opened the door,
but what, do you suppose, was her dismay, when she found that the
“little rogue” had bit a mouthful out of every cheese!
When he was a small child he strayed off from the house, away down
to the spring, and, stooping down to see the pretty clear water, fell in,
and came near being drowned. Oh, how his poor mother did cry, when
her sweet little boy was brought to her so pale, and almost lifeless. But
she rubbed him and warmed him until he came to, and was as well as
ever; and his mamma thought “surely such an accident will never again
happen to my dear little son.” But when he grew to be a larger boy,
some time after his parents had removed from Kentucky to St. Louis,
he went one day with some boys to have a swimming match in the
Mississippi river. Most boys like to swim or wade in the water, and
sometimes are so eager for the sport that they forget, or give no heed to
the expressed commands of their parents; and many a boy has lost his
life by breaking the fifth commandment, which says, “Honor thy father
and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord
thy God giveth thee.” Many a boy who, had he lived, might have
become a good and noble-hearted man, doing much good in the world,
has thus early been summoned suddenly and unprepared before the
judgment bar of God, simply for having forgotten, in a moment of
pleasurable excitement, to honor his parents by a strict obedience to
their commands. But, thanks to our Heavenly Father, this was not the
case with little Joseph Charless, for, although he was drawn by the

current of the terrible Mississippi into a whirling eddy, he was saved
from such a dreadful doom. A good, brave boy, who was larger than he,
and a better swimmer, rushed into the whirl and pulled him out to the
shore. Poor little fellow! he was almost gone, for he was insensible, and
it was some time before he breathed freely again. He was carried
home–-to that dear home which came so near being made
desolate-–and with deep penitence did he confess his fault and beg for
pardon. His last thoughts when he was drowning (as he thought) were,
“I have disobeyed my mother! It will break my poor mother’s heart!”
Children have a great deal of curiosity, and perhaps you will ask, “how
did grandma know so much about grandpa when he