Weekly American. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1858-1858, 1858-01-30


"Thank God thank Godl My soul is at
peace now. She Is provided for, and they,
too. Read to me, sir, please: twill rouse me
up--I feel drowsyish."
The curate opened his pocket Bible, and in a
sweet low voice read from the fourteenth to the
seventeenth of John. As he proceeded, the
little boy peeped up from his straw, and suck
ed in the words. The sick man opened his
stiffening lids from tine to time, and murmur-
ed prayer from impaired motionless lips,
which sounded strange and unearthly in the
small chamber. The pale wife, with her in
fant daughter in her lap, wept silently; and
the little boy, Jenny, was seated on one of
the worn-out hassocks, holding the candle,
which was stuck in a bottle, for the good pas
tor as he read. The other boy was gone of an
errand for neighbor. Night had set in, and
gentle breeze famed the chamber through
the opened door and paneless window. Peo-
pie glided cautiously by, from time to time,
urged by pity or curiosity.
After about an hours stiffness, the sick man
stirred, then tried to sigh, but the groan died
within him, and for time he whispered but
nobody knew what he said AT length, after
the curate had applied few drops of moisture
from an orange to his lips, he spoke audibly.
Il was dreaming, Mary, as we war happy
with God. The children had enow to eat;
they give me my good name back agen; an we
war all very happy. After pause, and much in
ternal muttering, heresumeda perceptible spirit
ofenergy, although his spent powers made him
scarcely audible. "Oh, Mr.. Godfrey, if more
would, like thee, only come and see the poor,
and what they suffers! Tell the lads, sir, to
wait bit--but to struggle on, for there is hope
for the working man. An bid the rich folks
consider the laborer, an the parsons to be all
like thee, an England will be right Mary,
drink, dear the heart is as dry as cinder with
in me-"
His wife brought him little cold water, in
to which the curate squeezed some orange
juice
Mary To our Father, commit thee, girl,
when am gone. am dead afore | am dead,
leaving my Mary. Kiss my forehead, girl
God bless thee! Comfort these little child
rep, God! they be orphans now"
And he prayed inwardly. In that hour he
had no succor but prayer and the remem-
brance of any good he had done in his life
The baby was crying on its mothers breast,
and the candle trembled in the hands of the
weeping boy who still held it, The wife was
still and pale her heart was being rifted from
her. The curate had bent his knee in prayer,
and comforted the dying and the desolate
SOUND DocTRINE-T following arguments,
in favor of advance payments for newspapers,
were advanced by the Ohio Editorial conven-
ton, at its recent session:
"What would you think of farmer who
had raised thousand bushels of wheat, and
who should sell it to Thousand different per-
sons scattered all over the State; and agree to
wait year for his pay from each of them, and
if one half Of them did not pay at the end
of the year, he should give them another BUSH
el of wheat and agree to wait another year for
his pay, and thus go on year after yearH How
long would such farmer escape bankruptcy
probably not very much longer than publish
ers Of newspapers who followed such prac-
tice. 1t costs the editor of weekly paper as
much, to supply a thousand subscribers with
it for one year as it costs farmer to raise
thousand bushels of wheat The farmer sells
his grain in bulk, and either takes the cash or
note, just as good as cash upon delivery. The
editor cannot sell his thousand papers in bulk
They are sold to a thousand different persons
living in different towns IN the county, and
different counties in the State, and he must
wait until the end Of the year before he can
get his payment and then he depends wholly
upon the honesty and responsibility Of the
subscribers, for it is impossible that he should
know the character of all his subscribers. 1t
would not pay him to go around or send
around the county or State to collect his dues.
1t would cost more than the collection would
come to-"