The sun., 1864-12-24

" "N%S s-"i ftoe'If Nuo -toOu pTsNetn ucu an
,cr she would hsve con ddsied hcrssH wieked
'he bad ever dared even 70 sttnk him asre. tbous
's certainly'm be was an upright m'n. 80 ssrsa
wn he bard. stern, ind 0cxible. But for thrv
vesrs the moan and tn ~ lurmur had never been o.
II hnr heart ;sho had \ elici asAmst her husbsn
" sgsinst tyranL Ndih hidden suilen rcbsrlloa
which tore up the old landmarks Of wifeiy du,
and affection, and POI sonod the fountains wbenc
sentles, love and rw ,rence hsd been forever .p~n,
Ing.
But those last bb issei words replaced him on b
throne In her her 4, and called out pcntent anglr
for al the bitter ostrangsmsni Of later years VIZ
this which mao hsr refuse all the entrcatios Of be
sons, that abe ~oud see tho kind-hearted peist
bor- who ca led ,hoir way from church, W syn
psihi1e and oonddo. MOI abe would stay with II |
dead hush And that had spoken tenderiy At last.
for three FEARS he hsd kep, rlsDoe; who knew b.
what hhe had only been more gentle aud los
angrily reserved he might have rclented earlier
and "a time.
SIC sat rocking herselfto and fro by the ade
'b bed. while the footsteps below went In aud out
she had been In sorrow too long 70 have any vioer
burst Of deep grief now the burrows were vel
worn In her chookS- and the tears flowed quietly,
inennSantlS all the day long. but whom the vim
suS night drew on. and the ncighbors had gon,
s.'sy to their homes shc stole to the window, an
'Fazod out long and w!stfully, over the dark srs:
rnoors. she did not hear her sons voice as r.
spoke TO her from the door, nor his foo,s,ep as b
drew nearer. She started when he touched her.
"aother! come down 10 us. There's no one bu
VIII and me. Desrcs, mother, we do so want you
The poor lads voice trembed, and he began toery
II Appeared to require An efor, Mrs Leighs par
I N tesr herself away from the window, but with I
sssh she compiled with his request.
Tho two boys tfor slough Will was nearly twenty
one, she still thought OF him as q lAd) had don,
everything in their power to make the housepl.c.
comfortable for her. She herself in the old day,
before her sorrow, had never made = brighter Ar,
or clesner hearth, ready for her husbands roturt
home, than now awaited her. Tho tea-things wer,
all put out, aud the kettle WAS boiling and the boy
had cslrncd their grief down into a kind Of sober
cteerfulness. They paid her every attention tie,
ca 'sld think Of but re,eiyed little notice on her part
sne did resst-she rather submitted TO all their
arrangements, but they did not seem 10 touch he,
heart
When the tea endcd,-t was merely the
form Of tea that had been gone through, win NOV
ed the things away TO the dresser. His mother
lesnt back lsnguidly In her chair.
"Mother, shall Tom read you chspter' Hes .
better scholar thsuI"
AYE, lad" said she, almost eagerly. " rhst'i
1t, Read me the rrodigal Son Aye, aye, lsd. Thank
thee"
Tom found the chapter, and read II in tho high
pitched voice which customary in village schools
His mother bent forward, her lips parted, her eye,
hlsted her whole body instinct with eager alton
ton. VIII sat with his head depressed, and huns
down Ho know why that chapter had been cho-
sen and to him IL recalled tho famy's disgrace
When the reading was ended, he still hung dowr
his head in gloomy silence But her faoo was bright
or than il had been before for the day. Her eye
looked dreamy, as u she saw n VISION and by-and
bye she pulled the Bible towards her, and put,ins
her finger underneath each word, began to read
them aloud in low voice to herself; she resd again
the words Of bitter sorrow aud deep humilistsop-
but most Of all she paused and frightened over tho
fathers tender reception OF the repentant prodiga
30 passed. the Christmas evening in the Upclos,
Tsrm,
The snow had fallen heavily over the dark ws~
ing moorlsnd, before the day Of lhe funeral. Tn
black, stormsden dome q heaven lay very still and
close upon the white Garth, they carried the bod
forth out Of the house which had known his prosenc'
~ long as It's ruling power. Two and two the mour
ners followed making black procession, in thoil
winding march over the unbesten snow, to Milne
Row Church-now lost in somo hollow Of biaci
moors, now slowly climbing the heavy Ascdnts
Thar m tarr Vii Aft ths htpe ~
| many Of the neighbors who accompanied the body
to tho grave hsd far to go, and the grea. white ako
which came slowly down, were the boding fore-run
ners OF a heavy storm. one old friend alone sccom
panied the widow and her sons - Lhe'r's.
The Upclese Farm had belonged for genorationi
to the Lo!ehs; and set ts possossion hardly raised
| them above the rank Of sborers. There WAS th,
house and outbuiliings all OF An old-fashionec
Kind and about seven acres Il barren, unproductiv
land, which they had never possessed capital enough
to improve indeed they could hardly rely upon /
for subsistence and 1t had been customary to brin.
up the sons to some trade-such as wheelwrgbt's
| or blackmth's.
James Loigh had let . will In the possession o
the old man who accompanied them home He ress
| it aloud. James had hequesthed the farm to hi,
faithful VIE, Anne Leigh, ior her lifetime, and AZ
terwsris 10 his son William. The hundred an,
| odd pounds in the sAyiugs-bAnk was TO accumulate
| for Thomas.
| Aiter the reading was ended, Aune Leigh sat si
lent Tor a time and she asked to lPeak to sam
| uel Orme alone. The sons wont into the bsckkit
chen, and thence strollei out into the field regard
less Of the driving snow. The brothers were dear
| hav A 10