Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1867-04-27

me two or three days perhaps week, ,sto
get strong again, and In that time / can't
work. I'm all of a tremble now.s oh,
you don't know how weak am. 4
And want glass of spirits to.---No,
Eno cried john, yehemently, I don't want
any. such thing. .S4ssssT,5ss ef.l5 - .ls8
| The husband looked up wonderingly.
Polly he. saidtremblingly > mean to
keep my, promise but can yau keep
yours if / amt able to work? : yl.si
> There. was much of fear-so much of
prayerfulness in the fainting mans look
as he spoke, that the wife felt her heart
warmed toward him as it might have
warmed toward a suffering child. His
face was a mirror upon which she could
read all his thouhgts and feelings. He
wanted to succeed-=he. wanted to con
quor, the enemy, and he wanted help. He
knew his weakness, and he; feared that in
the hour Of his sore distress, his wife's
kindness would fail him. She read all
all this and much more as plainly as it
could be spoken. At that moment she
could not, had she tried, have spoked
| harshly. When he came to her.so humb-
ly and beseechingly for help, she could not
cast him off, and it cost her no effort to
put her arm around his neck and say to
him. IS 4af s...rfea,f d .s.ssrf.
John, fear not for me. will keep my
promise if yon will keep yours and if
weakness and sickness come upon you
from your drinking, I will be good, KIND
nurse and help. you all I can. -,
And then John let his head sink upon
his wife's bosom, ard there he cried ike
r. This was a new experience to Polly
Nudgkins; but it was very sweet one
How her heart softened and melted be-
meath the influence of those tears !-soft-
ened and melted never to grow hard afd
callous again! Who could have thought
that the oman had such heart?
Aye, who could have thought it when
she herselfdid not know it? The capaci-
ties of the heart are like some of those
rare capacities Of mind, which may not
manifest themselves until some wonder
Gus emergency calls them to the light OF
day. Many and many poor wayfarer
of earth has plodded darkly and wearily
over life's rough and rugged road, outcast
and forsaken, degraded and denouced,
sinking atlength into a dishonored grave,
who had "a rich. mine of wealth in his
heart-only the vein was never struck,
and the heart wealth was never brought
to the surface. -
John Nudgkins became very weak, and
his limbs shook as. though with palsy
but it did not last a great while. AT the
end of week he was quite strong, and
MIR. W ainwright, who had heard OF the
reformatory movement, came up to see if
he could hire him to work upon a build
ing that he wished to erect as quickly as
possible. Help was very. scarce, and it
was almost impossible to obtain house
carpenters at any price.
John went to work at once, and his
wages were more then he had thought of
asking. The summer passed, and John
kept s11romise, and Polly hers. From
the keeping of Johns promise came neat
ness and thrift to all outside while from
The keeping of Polly's promise flowed
peace any comfort within. Aud it had
come to pass that neither kept the prom
ise becanse of fear that the other might
fail. They kept their promise as the
Psalmist would keep the statutes of the
Lord Because 'sih the keeping of them
there is great reward" -as.-ls s-sfas
1t was Christmas evening, The chill
dren were away iii one corner playing
with the TOYS which had been found in
their stockings that morning, while the
husband and wife sat by the cheerfully
blazing fire. -. $ srl- Ifliizs1 4
Ideelare, Polly, cried John, the refeei
tion of the ruddy blaze upon his plump
face givir g him very much the apparenee
of a blush--H folks should see us actin
so they'd think we was two old fools !!
And who cares if they do, exclaimed
the wife in reply, at the same time giving
her husband hearty smack. l tell you
John, we commenced to be good an low
in an happy SO late in life that we'll
have to'hurry upif We expect to get any
where's near our fall share of comfort. So
kiss rue again, you dear old soul.