The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1861-03-27


shoulders. On one side was dark-hared
boy o. some six years, on The o,hcr side a
girl one year younger, with light blne eyes
The Bible-an old and venerable volume
lay open upon the mothers knee And
now the pale faced tory flung himself upon
his krees, and confessed he had butchered
her husband on ihe night of Paoli, and beg
ged his life at her hands.
s'Spare me for the sake of my wife
child-n
He had expected this pitful moan would
touch the WIDOWS heart but not one reIent-
ing CLEAN sof,ened her face.
s.The Lord shall Judge between u.s." she
said in cold icy tone that froze that the
mnrderer's heart. "LooK, the Bible is in
my lap; will close the volume, and this
boy shall open it, and place his fingers at
rardom upon a line and by that you shall
live or die"
This was strange proposal, made in
good lailh by wild and dark superstition
of older times. For a moment the tory,
pale as ashes, was wrapped in deer thought
then in a fainting voice he signified his
consent.
Raising her dark eyes TO Heaven, the
mother prayed 10 the Great Father 10 direct
the finger Of her son. She closes the book
she handed it TO thar boy whose cheek
redeemed with loaihing as he gazed upon
his fathers murderer. He took the Bible
opened its holy pages at random, and plac-
ed his finger upon verse.
There was silence. The continental
soldier, who had sworn to avenge his BROTH
er's death, stood with dilaiug eyes and
parted lips The culprit kneeling upon the
floor, with his face like discolored clay, felt
his heart leap 10 his throat
Then in clear, bold voice, the widow
read this line from the Old Testament. 1t
was short, yet terrible f:
'.That man shall d;ef'
Look the brother springs forward TO
plunge knife into the murderer's heart !;
bu, the tory, pinioned as he is, .clings TO The
widows knees He begs that one more
trial may be made by The little girl, that
child of five years old, with the golden hair
and laughing eyes.
The widow consents There is an awful
pause. With smile in her eye without
knowing what she was doing. the lilte girl
opens The Bible as it lay on her mothers
knee; she turned her face away and placed
her finger upon line.
The awful silence grows deeper. The
deep drawn breaths OF The brother, and bro
ken gasp of The murdered, alone disturb the
Stiffness the widow and dark haired boy
were breathess. The little girl, as she
caught feeling of awe from those about
her, stood breaihless, her face turned aside,
and ner tiny fiufier resting on The line of
life and death.
Al length gathering courage, the widow
bent her eye upon the page and read: 1t
was line from the New Testament:
f-Lore your enemies"
@Oh; book of terrible majesty and child
ike Iove-of subhmily that crushes The
hgart with rapture. you never shone more
strongly than there in tha. lonely CO; of the
Wissahcon when you saved the murderer's
heart.
Now look how wonderful are the ways of
heaven. That very night as the widow sat
by her fireside-sat there with a crushed
heart and hot eye-lids, thinking of her hus-
band, who now lay mouldering on the
drenched soil of Paoii-there was tap at
the door. She opened i, and that husband
living though covered with wounds was in
her arms.
He had fallen at Paoli, but not in death,
he was alive, and his wife lay painting or
his bosom.
That night there was prayer in The wood
eEbowered cottage of Wissahicon.