Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1861-11-28
From the Atlantic MOnthlyl /
A STORY OF THANKSGIVING
WTHFV

erable, with a hundred hard lines, telling o
the work Of time sad struggle aud misfortune
iurroRing bis pale face, he looked the incar-
nation of silent sorrow aud hOpelessness
| waiting In quiet meekhess for The advent o.
the King Of Terros waiting, but not hoping
/ for bis coming; without desire TO die bul
with no dread Of death. 40 t1 .l E
At q short distance from him, 10 an ancient
\ straight-backed rOcking-chaiF, dark with age
and clumsy IN It's sntiqne carvings, sat bis
tSite. Stifhy upright and with 81 almost
/ painful pfimness In dress and figure, she Sal
knitting rapidly and with closed eyes. Her
face was rigid as e mask the motion in her
fingers, as she piled her needles, was spas
modie and machine-like; the figure, though
quiet wore an air Of reposs that was most
uneasy and unnatural. Still, through the
mask and rom the figure there stole the as
peet and air of one who had within her, deep
1 wells of sweetness and love which only strong
! training or power Of education had thus COW
cred up and obscured. She looked OF that
stern Pngilanical stock whose. iron will con.
I quefed the severity Of New Engalnd win
J ters and overcame the stubbOrnness Of its
granite hills, and whose idea Of a perfect life
consisted in the rigorous discharge Of all
I Chistian daties, and the banishment, forever
snd at all times, OF the levity Of pleasure and
I the folly OF amusement She could have
walked, il nsed were, with cOmposure to the
stake; but she could neither have joined in
a game Of cards, nor have entered into romp
with little children. All this was plainly to
he seen in the TePoss OF her c0untensnce and
| the stiff harshness OF her figure.
Upon the stainsd deal table, standing lit
tie in the rear ald partially between the two
rspOsed an open Bible. Between its leaves
lay pair Of large, old fashioned,s IS ilver-bow-
ed spectscles, which the husband had but re-
Gently laid there, after reading the usual daily
chapter of Holy Writ he had ceased bat a
moment bsfoFe, and had laid them down
with 2 heavy sigh, for his hesrt to-day was
sorsty oppressed; and no wonder; for, fol-
lowing his gaze around the roOm we fnd
upon TIE otherwise hare walls five sad me
mentos Of those who had ''gone before, -
Eve cosrss and unal stistic, but loving tributes
to the dead.
There had, indeed been one other but OF
him there hung ne loving memorial. He was
the Youngest CT sll, aud such noble, strong
and lusty infant, that the father, in the pride
of his heart, and with his iondRess for Scrip
tural names, had christened him Samson.
He, too had gone; but in the dread gallery
that hung about the room there was no
framed funereal picture "To the Memory Of
Samson Newell" If in the tomb of his faith
e.'s or mother's heart be lay buried, 10 out
ward token gave note thereof.
L was On & Thanksgiving Day, fifteen
years ago, chat the boy Samson, then seven
tsaa years old, was brought home drunk aud
bleeding. BE had passed the previous night
at ball at the tavern, sgaihst tie express
command Of his father, who would have gone
to fetch him away, but that he could not
bear to enter upon a scene he thought 50
wicked, AMI especially upon Eueh an eTTsnds
When the dance was over, the boy had lin
RsFsd al the bar, until be got into fight with
Ihe bully Of the village, whom he thFashsi
within az inch Of bis life, and then be mad
sal down in small side-room with a few
choice spirits, with the avoWed puT1o5s Of
getting szaur-rtu = nc EAu sSN
drunk. s1gioriou5iy drunk" ss bis friends al
the tavern styled it, aud had been carried 10
that state home.
Oh, the bitterness Of the misery Of that
Thsnksgiving-Day 10 Jacob Newell BE
msy live hundred JesTs aud nsTer know
| such another.
The next day Samson sWoke nom a
6Tetchsi stupor to ind himself weak nsr-
! voas and suffering from binding headache
| In this condition bis father forced him to the
barn, and there, with q hasTy raW-hide fog
| ged him without mercy. That night Samson
] Newell disappeared, and was thencsforWaFd
! sean 10 mora il ths village.
Sore trouble had fallen on them since theiI
voungest son had disappeared. One by one,
the eldest children had passed away, each
winters snow for five years covered fresh
grave, till the new aaictious that were in
store for them scarcely seemed to affect them
otherwise than by cutting yet deeper into the
sunken cheeks the deep lines of sorroW and
regret.
Il was not strange that on this day there
should come into the hearts Of both Jacot
and Ruth, his wife, sad and dismal memo
riss, Still his gaze wandered silently
about the room, and she piled increasingly
her sti6, bright knitting needles. One
would have thought her 8 figure Of stone
sitting so pale and bolt upright, but for lhl
activity Of the patiently Industrious an
Meanwhile the snow fell thicker ant
faster without, and blew in fierce cloud
: against he windows. The wind was ris
ling and gaining power, and 1t FhisSle
vfsthfully about the house, bowling ss il
hitter mockery at the scene within. Some
Zines 1t sWeiled Into Wild laughter, an
again dropped into Low and plaintive val
iRgs. 1t vas very dismal out ia tie colo
) aud hardly nofe cheerful IN the warm sit
? tag room, Hhers those two jsded soul
a knelt in earnest prayer.
6 A railway train was fast il snow bshl
8 There it had stuck, unable 10 move eith(
= backward and forward, since nine O'oloc
on Wednesday evening" il Wss now Thur
= day morning, the snoW was still fallin
3 and still seemed likely to fail, blocking U
7. more and more the unfoFtunRte Train. The
we're two locomotives, with 8 huge sndV
plough on the forward one baggage 90
- express car, and four cars filed with pa
J. ssRgers. Two hundred people, sll sRIiou
ia most Of them grumhling, TeTs detsint
"a fhsFs HrisoueTs snow bound and helplss
! Il Vas a hard oase, for they we're mo
q than two miles distant-EiIh three fe
ia depth Of snow bstWssn--frOm ths nsaTs
u beuse. The nearest village Wsa i've mil
j, away at least.
= Ii was Thanksgiving Day too, and tht
hsd almost ell Of them had allotted" on
r New England Thanksgiving dinner vi
TO old friends, brothers, fathers, mothers S.
l. grandparents. And there they were, vii
e. cut Sc much as a ration Of cTsekeTa 81
q cheese.
y II one OF the cars RsTs clustered sc G
e G family Frsup as ths sTe would desire
,. Tsst upon. 1t consisted OF FomeWt
al large and aeFid. but firmly sid eomPsei
N built man Of thirty years CT thsrsabout.
ed Tonsn, evidently his Wits and apparent
re scze two or thrss years younger, and thl
d. beautiful children
81 The nan was large in frame, EithS
be being coarse, with chest bread aud ami
n s. a gymnsst's, snd with arms whose nj
ie- calar power vas evident ct every mo-
Of ment. His hair and beard (which lat
-