The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1866-03-15
Short Storp.
From the New York observer.
THE PURITAN OF 1863.

1t was in the early of October
-, that the Rev. NJ. Allan starte,
to walk to Farmer Owens over tn
hills. lie had to cross two loy
spurs on the Green Mountains
and as ho climbed to the top O
the second the rich valley of tn
Otter Creek lay spread out beior
him. AT any other time he woul,
have stopped to admire its gentl,
fluctuations it, great flower gar
den OF forest trees, rich in ever,
color and hue its silver thread
winding their way to the waters o
the Champlain, and the glorioh
autumn light which lay like a gol
den mantle over them all. But
this afternoon he seemed oppressed
by the beauty which surrounded
him. lie looked upon it with eyes
misty from tears. There was {
dull, heavy weight upon his hear
"a weight which even the low
icrvent prayers that he had uttered
SO increasingly since noon had iail
ed to move. Between him and
that landscape, we might almost
say, between him and the mercy
seat, there moved a slight, tall bov,
with a laughing blue eye, cluster.
ing brown hair, and lips always
ready with a merry pleasant word
To-day, there was Bennic, nutting
under the bare, brawny arms of the
butternut tree throwing his line
into the little brooks, that came
babbling down from the steep
mountain side; driving his cows
along the narrow foot-path stand.
ing with Blossom under the bright
maple, and shouting with pride and
JOY as she wreathcd her pretty face
in the gay leaves.
"Oh, Bennie Bcnnie!" Mr..
Allan hardly knew he was calling
the name, until it came back to
him with such an empty, mocking
sound, from the hcartless echo !;
" almost Mr.. Allan thought,
startling himself by the seeming
impiety of the words-" almost as
if there was no great, kind Father
over us all. "
AS he came near Father Ovens
house, he saw his Oxen yoked to
the plough. He new they had
been there since the telegraph had
came. Mr.. Owen had read it in
the field, had gone to the house
and forgotten them, and no one
had dared to put them up. He
wac a man fully capable of taking
care of his own affairs under any
circumstances, never having been
known before to forget.
Mr.. Allan beckoned to an irish
man who was passing, and asked
him to take care of them. The
man came with an awed look "pon
his face, ms IL even there he stood |
in the presence Of a great sorrow,
md without the leas. noise obey
I'd.
Mr.. Allan walked on slowly to.
ward the house. lie had known
MIR, Owen for many years, and he
knew him well. Indeed, there was
, peculiar bond of sympathy be-
.ween the two men. In his largo
parish, there was not one upon
whom the minister relied as he did /
lpon this strong, sturdy farmer. -
Many and many an hour he had
walked by his side when he was
'pturning the brown earth, and
lad discoursed with him on topics
which would have sounded harsh
md repulsive to common ears, but
which were fraught with deep and
'ital interest to them. Mr.. Owen
vas a direct descendant of the Pu.
itans, and every drop Of blood in
lis veins was tinged with as strong
nd true q " blue, as if he him |
elf had landed in the Mayhower. /
1e took naturally to the sterner
octrines of religion, while Mr.. |
Allan, versed in all the modern !
Dre, questioned and doubted. The II
eystone of Mr.. Ovens theol. +,
gy was the sovereignty of God l
=" Shall not the iudge of the /
arth dc rigbt2n This was the t
pan upon whom God had now laid b
is hand SO heavily; and Mr.. AL.
IN thought that ifthe trial brought n
o murmur, no rebellion again st a
nat mighty Sovereign, the stern i
id faith were indeed rich one in Y
,hich to live and die. He knew /
nat one element in this war was a
'uritan. Sons of the Roundheads +
He'd up the Northern army. They ID
,arched to battle to strains of the ID
Id tunes that had fingered, In theiIs
ursery aud the sanctuary fromthe lii
ay that Cromwell and his sol. 70
iers chanted them on M arston II
ioor. srAll down the allies Of time I,
Ame tramping to the music mailed c
len, bearing on their shields the In