New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-09-10
THE wRArrH-A SECTIONS STORY.
By J, RaoH, T. B.

with ALI, my mother1ess, sick boy in my Ian.
There had been missionary meeting t--street
church chat evening; half hundred saints had sat
In the comfortable pews, in the warm church, list
e1ing to an able discourse, by the Rev. DIR. Strong
upon the horrors of idolatry, and to an eloquent
appeal in behalf of the poor Indian mother casting
her Child into the Ganges while the wind, fierce
north wind, pushed against the windows, and hal
looed among those absurd battlements upon the
building. The last person had left the aises and
VANISHED through the arched doorway. / had
closed the furnaces, extinguished the lights locked
the church doors, and now sat before my hearth.
Alfs hot cheek was upon my shoulder, his sickly,
feverished breath upon my face.
My brain was in q sleepy, confused state reality
and creams played such q 8 bo- peep n game with
each other, that at one moment plainly heard the
wind blowing, sweeping down snow in petty ava
lanches from the roofs of neighboring houses-then
with sudden slide into sunber, mp arose host Of
memories, clothed IN the garb Of dreams-the fifty
saints were again before me, their earnest, eaet-
lRting prayers fer the dying heather alternating
with such baechanalian cries and laughter as had
heard Issuing from those gambling hells upon the
lower street while stood in the chureh's shadow
locking the VestbuIe door.
Just as the clock upon my manteI began to
Them and haw@ before calling out IL o'clock, /
heard violent stamping and tapping and before
could say come in, = my door few open. The
wind that came ranting in-blowing out my candle
aud eddying ashes and smoke from the chimney
INTO my face-was as welcome as Squire Wilson
himself, as ne stood upon the door sill.
Squire Wilson'S buriy form was well shieldsd
against the cold, II there is any virtue in woolens
and furs his Voice issuing from the depth of fur
collar and knitted, wooden scarf sounding as from
the bottom Of q we'll.
Tie subscription list was dropped and left upon
the R0or, this evening the mountain of coats
oyeFeeats and wrappings began, without deigning
to notice how he incommoded US all-vz me, my
baby ana my fire--hy letting in such gusts Of
wind through the open door.
eil, q 4 hunt for il in the morning. said
meekiy IS | carried little All to the Bed where
H0HHf,ifs HIS older brnfJ,ara wa snnriner
Z: Twont do--Dr. Strong leaves in the morning
train q II wait here while you 60 for it't-he re-
marked, as he closed the door and ensconcod him.
self ia my easy chair before the hearth.
Light from my lantern flor the moon was now
DOWN. fitted, here and there, over the snowy
pavement, as walked to the church. The wind
had lulled !; every sound seemed distinct. Near
est to me, vas the sound of my feet crushing the
sriow; more remote, across the street mother
singing to her peeyish child, while from those
" haunts Of sin, upon the lower street, came up
coHnterparts oil those hideous sounds that had
heard An hour ago.
The clnk OF the door-loek, the sound Of my steps
through The vestibule and up the broad stair way
broke harshly upon the vault-like silence around
me, The warmth Of the sanctuary, the cushioned
pews and richly carpeted aisles, you may fancy
had cheering effect moan atmosphere filled
with Imaginable terror seemed pressing around me.
the light from my lantern, darling, hither and
thither among the gilaed hymn books upon the
seats, seemed awakening siumbering terrors, and
my step PIP the carpeted aisle sounded mufied and
fuflereaI.
STOPPING holding the light near the floor, /
searched around the altar and in the pulpit
was found at last With long drawn sigh of re-
lief ESQ loud that it started an echo in the choir
gallery placed the paper in my bosom, ssnatched
church
Was dreaming or crazy An unearthly light
was around me; before the altar lay an open coffin
the pale face within IT will haunt me through
life. Upon itWere the traces of suffering not Of
shit Was angel like in its purity. How those
shrunken, folded hands had bled upon the thorns
of life
Inaedi lat tell you that / fed down the aisle-my
hurried steps, and CALCULATIONS Of prayer and hof
ror, Weakened confused, jabbering echoes among
the galleries. WhenI reached the doorway stared
behind me that hght-that coftin-that pale face
was still there. Bang, went the heavy door behind
me, and darted down the stairway into the lower
vertibule.
Once out upon the pavement, in the practically
cold night ar, half my courage returned still
was trembling with excitement set nv lantern
upon the door steps. while with awkward, nervous
fingers locked the door.
As turned to leave, saw woman standing
not rod from me upon the pavement--she had
appeared with noiseless tread upon the snow.
dressed m black seanty shawl drawn closely
around ner slender form. she silently asked for
compassion, What is more sad than thread bare
mourning clothes = Bereavements and poverty
how terrible when following each ether
raised my lantern Good Heaven, that face
again = hurried away IN dismay. Her coffined
wrath had seen before the altar and now that
face-a ehild's IN innocence, a womans in sorrow
and patient endurance had terrified me as an as
sassin's dagger could not.
Hours that night dragged by "a though they
were fettered. could' nj sleep-flied with self.
reproach for my inhuman cowardce, walking the
aoor with my moaning sick child in my arms, i
listened to the wind blowing SO cold and seating
from the north, while before my mind arose two
strangely contrasting Twain effort to thrust
them aside the Well.warmed church, with its
stricken poverty stricken woman trembling with
cold. upon the pavement at its door
Next morning, gaping knot Of men collected
Gods children had persisted with cold upon the
doorszill Of His house. cincinnati World