smoke, he
felt a tear of tenderness rise to his eye.

"May God always protect those who live under that roof!" he murmured;
"for where pride made me see creatures incapable of understanding the
finer qualities of the soul, I have found models for myself. I judged
the depths by the surface and thought poetry absent because, instead of
showing itself without, it hid itself in the heart of the things
themselves; ignorant observer that I was, I pushed aside with my foot
what I thought were pebbles, not guessing that in these rude stones were
hidden diamonds."

JOHN HOWARD PAYNE AND "HOME, SWEET HOME"

About a hundred years ago, a young man, little more than a boy, was
drawing large audiences to the theaters of our eastern cities. New York
received him with enthusiasm, cultured Boston was charmed by his person
and his graceful bearing, while warm-hearted Baltimore fairly outdid
herself in hospitality. Until this time five hundred dollars was a large
sum for a theater to yield in a single night in Baltimore, but people
paid high premiums to hear the boy actor, and a one-evening audience
brought in more than a thousand dollars.

About the same time in England another boy actor, Master Betty, was
creating great excitement, and him they called the Young Roscius, a name
that was quickly caught up by the admirers of the Yankee youth, who then
became known as the Young American Roscius.

He was a wonderful boy in every way, was John Howard Payne. One of a
large family of children, several of whom were remarkably bright, he had
from his parents the most careful training, though they were not able
always to give him the advantages they wished. John was born in New York
City, but early moved with his parents to East Hampton, the most eastern
town on the jutting southern point of Long Island. Here in the charming
little village he passed his childhood, a leader among his playmates,
and a favorite among his elders. His slight form, rounded face,
beautiful features and graceful bearing combined to attract also the
marked attention of every stranger who met him.

At thirteen years of age he was at work in New York, and soon was
discovered to be the editor in secret of a paper called _The Thespian
Mirror_. The merit of this juvenile sheet attracted the attention of
many people, and among them of Mr. Seaman, a wealthy New Yorker who
offered the talented boy an opportunity to go to college free of
expense. Young Payne gladly a