The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1865-02-23

heaven and hell contended for little Kitty's
will So they do for every one. Happy child
whose parents steadfastly keep the the right
side in the conflict. .@H8t sg
Kitty found an ally in the morning. A
woman who occupied the adjoining tene
ment having learned the state Of things
from the children came in to plead for her
She assured Mrs. Hart that she was Kill ling
the child that it was down right cruelty
to- treat her so that II she had a little girl
she would never see her suffer when she
could helpit All this fell on sore and
aching heart. The mother had already been
tormentei with fears that the heat, thirst
and excitement would really be the death d
her naughty little darling. She tried tc
think of some compromise by which Kitty
could be relieved without a sacrifice Of pa
rental government, At last she quietly
placed mug ofmiIk IN q low chair, and lef'
the little girl alone in the room, her father
and mother watching her unseen J aiiH
il, They saw. her come to the mug and press
her hands againstits cool sides and begin to
raise it to- her. thirsty lips; then suddenly
set it down with piteous look, and went
away moaning. : 1t was cruel battle be.
tween desire and honor, for such little
heart Again and again the little creature
would come up and look wistfully into the
mug full of white milk-sbake her head
mournfnlly and turn away. Kitty would
not stink ont of the difficulty though her pa.
rents would let her; she or they must open
ly surrender. This little display of charac.
ter made them clearer that they should do
the child a cruel wrong in helping her to
break the demands of her ow1 conscience.
In the course of the morning Mrs. Hart
was relieved to, see the family physician
drive up to the door. i She fastened to tell
him the whole story, and asked whether she
was risking too much. He advised her to
''put it through the little thing couldn't
stand out much longer" Moreover the good
doctor straightway conceived a little strata.
gem for bringing her to terms. It, was q
great treat for any one Of the children to ride
with him, and one to which Kitty had never
yet arrived; so that when he proposed to
take her this morning, she flushed up with
delight, began to caper about the room in
high glee. 7f >'a
run, ask. your mother to please put on
your hat" '2'.
Instantly the bright little face faded she
had lost all desire to go If there was please
in 1T. So the expedient failed.
1t was getting towards noon; nearly twen-
ty four hours during which Kitty had TASTED:
neither food nor drink. Persuasion and
authority had been exhausted upon her, and
still she wandered about the house, a wan,
disconsolate little object, ofton crying, l..
obstinate as ever.
Almost heart. broken to see her so. the
mother took her into her arms once more
and corried her to her chamber Once again
she showed the little girl how wretched her
wlfulness was making herself and all the
rest, and how it was grieving the dear Sa.
vior. Then she knelt and with strong cry
ing and tears, implored the blessed Spirit
who can melt every heart to subdue tie
stubborn will. Suddenly the baby threw
her arms around her neck ana burst OUT
e"Pease, pease, pease, pease !"
The grateful mother covered her with
tears and kisses, and carried her down in
the sitting room, where she sprang into her
fathers arms crying, "pease, pease y as If
she never would have DONE Now she was
all radiant with love and peace. The other
children came running in to hear ho W Kitty
could say please. She was ready to hug
and kiss everybody. The whole family stood
around laughing and crying, to see her drink
her cup of milk. and hardly able to let her
alone long enough to do it.
The house was full Of joy. The battle was
ended. Right had triumphed. 1t had been
a terrible struggle, but it was once for all |;
from that day to this. Kitty Hart has shown
no disposition to resist rightful authority
Her, will was not broken" that IS an ugly
phrase-it is good strong will yet; but it
was brought under her conscience It was
rescued from being mere wifulness.sH 70 IS
These parents had tried oil along to make
their children understand that to resist them
was to disobey her Father in Heaven, and
that this was the bead and front Of her offend
ing. iEsss z .asd hge7
As time went on, they found, to their
thankful surprise. reason to believe that she
had understood itrso well that in yielding to
them at last she had also. submitted herself
to him, Mature years and new experience
'deepened and developed her Christian life,
but it never seemed necessary for Kitty to
be converted after she was a year and a
half old. Itappeared that the Redeemer
had orowned their prayers and fidelity, and
ended that long contest by changing the
heart Of stone to heart Of flesh and send
ing bis Spirit into it crying. Abba, Fa:herl
Ah. these, cries IN child,hearts mean more
than ne t1iDkl Eternal issues are pending
when we little dream ofia-Co9grsggtion
ist. .,,;0 ;0;s., ,a,5e sfl4 ,d ssisssi sy35 4s.
Z DAN RIcR's MoNJMENT-The vet
eran Snowman, who, in his cap and
bells, has so often amused us, has de-
voted asportion of his well earned for
tune to the erection of a monumen,
commemorative of the soldiers of Erie