Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1848-11-30


tanned in the "Black Aunt" story book trans
lated BY G. A. Dana.
THE DEAR MOTHER IN HEAVEN.
man once lived with his wife and
child, happy and contented, for they loved each
other, and God had given them everything good
and necessary In the morning the man went
out to work and the child remained at home
with her mother and played, and the mother
told her pretty stories such as she liked to hear
and caressed her tendery; or else she went with
her into the garden and the child gathered and
ate the sweet strawberries and the finely flavor
ed raspberries. And when the father came
home at night they we're all three happy because
they were together. In this way they lived for
some time till at last the mother became feeble
and ill and had TO 60 to bed Then the father
went sorrowuy to work in the morning and
was more sorrowful in the evening when he saw
that the sufferer grew no better, But the child
remained with her mother and when she was
told that she might go alone into the garden she
did not wish to go, but would hide her face on
her mothers bed and weep. AT last the moth.
er felt that she must die and called the child to
her and said; IL shall soon go away from you,
for our dear Father in Heaven is calling me to
himself, but if you are good and kind | will
come sometimes to see you, my darling, and if
it is Gods will, take you where am in Heav-
en-" Soon after the mother died and was buri-
ed in he garden and the father was unhappy and
shed tears. The child was unhappy too, and
would like to have gone to heaven with her
mother, but as she hoped her mother would come
to see her or take her to herself, she was soon
cOnsoled again. But the father was sorry for
the child because she would have to be alone
while he went away to work and so he married
another wife to be the mother of the child. But
she was bad woman aud did not love the child
and did not speak to her, moi even look kindly
al her. She took no care of the child nor did
she wash her clothes nor mend them, and when
she went to bed at night the new mother did not
arrange her little bed for her This made the child
unhappy aud very often she went into the gar
den and sat down on her mothers grave and
said: "Ah dear mother in Herven come and
take me away" But when the bad woman
saw the child sitting on the grave, she was angry
and drove her away, for she could not bear that
the child should think of the departed one, and
she saw plainly that she had no love for her
second mother And when she saw the child
eating strawberries and raspberres as she had
been accustomed to do when her own mother
was living she beat her severely for she would
not let the child have the berries but wanted to
eat them herself At last she became so bad to
the child that she would not let her go into the
,Io., h. haVpo
she fastened the child up in dark loom. Then
the child would break into loud lamentations
and weep for she was afraid in the darkness
"Oh mother in Heaven, "-she said once when
she was shut up re,-"Oh come ard take me
away"-Then bright light came into the dark
chamber and the mother in white robes beautl-
ful and loving, Just as she had been in lire, only
much more beautiful, and took the child on her
knee kissed her and caressed her and told her
stories lust as she had used to do. But now they
were stories in heaven about the eternal gardens
Of paradise where imperlshable flowers bloom
and flourish where heavenly sweet fruit rlpens
where angel-chdren play Joyous plays and dance
celestial dances, and sing their hymns before
the throne of God our Father. The child was
happy to dream this and became still and luie
and finally went to sleep. When the bad wo
man came from the garden and went into the
chamber to fetch the child she found her pale
and asleep in one corner and woke her up will
hard and unkind words.
At evening the child told her father how he
mother in heaven had been to see her and wha
she had said to her. At this the father wa
thoughtful and though he told the child that i
was only dream, 1t made avyhcartet
for he had loved his first wife more than the sec
ond and knew that the latter was not a goo,
mother to his child. But as he did not know
how bad she was, he was silent and said moth
ing about it. After that whenever the chill
was shut up in the dark chamber she was cain
and quiet fer she did not stay long alone in tn
darkness Her mother in Heaven came to Sc
her with soft clear light and colnforted her an
told her about Heaven and the Angels, The
the child grew more and more full of l0nging 70
the Heavenly delights and begged her mother i
every visit TO take her with her, but the mohe
alpays said it was not time yet and she mu:
wait And as the child grew paer and NOR
silent and often looked out of the window tC
ward Heaven with folded hands, the bad woma
was more unkind and hard to her and fastene
her up oftener IN the dark chamber Once whe
she had shut her up there and went to bring he
out again from the darkness the child locke
much paler than usual, aud when she called he
did not stir. Then she saw that she was deaf
The mother 10 heaven had been with her all
rocked her 10 sleep end promised her that sh
should wake in Heaven. Aud there the chill