Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1868-06-04

never be tired Oh, father father God
give him to me out Of the roaring seas-to
Hmen fatheri You won't take Dim
away ~
He drew his coarse coat sleeve across bis
eyes. :,
'aWhat do you say, motherw
His wife was weeping.
WAnita's handy little thing; and power
ful womanly for her age. / guess we
might let her try, father"
The unnatural glow faded from the
child's face, and the little strained figure
relaxed. and she sank down in her place,
sobbing historically. AS her tears fell on
its forehead the babe turned uneasily but
at its first low moan Anita was quiet 10 an
instant. A marvellous expression OF ege
and selfreliance came into her face. She
held the child closer and commenced
a low, grooming lullaby.
The fisherman rose and went out, Deck
oning to his wife. .,-
Gods work for the child-leastways, l can
not galnsay herp
Months were counted into years, and
there was none to interfere with Anlta's
strange adoption. The boy-"Rescued" 7"
was the odd, old-fashioned name she gave
him-developed into wonderful beauty.
Anita seemed to have no life but in him |;
at home and among the nelghoors, she
came to he known only as " Mother ANITA"
or 'tThe Little Mother" So proud OF him
she was! From the first she seemed to
have accepted 1t as a quiet certainty that
he was fashioned Ofa finer material, and Tor
higher sort of life, than she had known
She was never quite content without him
At her side. How much she suffered as he
grew old enough to be taken sometimes
with her father and brothers in the boat,
was limited by the red glow in her cheeks,
and the restlessnesS of every look and mo-
ton, tin she had him safely back again.
Citv pooplo, Who began to find the little
village pleasant for a summers fishing or
bathing, were quick to make friends with
the delormed girl whose spiritual face,
radiant with love for her beautiful young
charge, attracted them like some rare pic
ture. Many offered her gifts OF money,
which she declined with gentle gratitude,
asking for books instead-always adding,
apologetically, Ito teach him, you know"
So it happened that various library &C.
cumulated by degrees in her little chamber.
As she read and studied glimpses Of a
new world opened before her, but as the
little that she learned only limited at what
she could never know, the sad conviction
forced itself upon her that she could, after
all, never be her boys teacher.
The wrench of her life came when Res
cued was twelve years old. Judge Thorne,
with his wife and little daughter, came
down to the sea-shore, their hearts sore for
fhe loss of their only son. The strong
resemblance Of Rescued to her dead child
quite overcame Mrs. Thorne, as she
CHANGED to see him for the first time, play
ing on the beach and when his strange
history was told her, she begged her hus'
band to take him for their own.
When Judge Thorne preferred his re-
quest to old John Grey he shook his head
'Not but twould be the maxim of the
boy, Judge Thorne, bnt you see my darter
why! the little mother d grleve to
death if Rescued should be took away !"
But as the Judge still urged he said at
last, 'Theres no use talkin'; but if you'd
like to hear what she'd say for herself, I'll
call her in, for there she comes"
Anita came in, and Judge Thorne stood,
half abashed before the quiet dignity which
comported so i'll with the small, deformed
figure. Having once heard Anita speak,
one must respect too much to pity her
Unconsciously he dropped the manner
with which he had spoken to her father,
and in few broken, half-felt sentences,
pleaded his doubtful cause.
Anita grew deathly pale, and her finger
lips, resting on table beside her, were
white with pressure, but otherwise she
seemed calm and quiet, never or once TAX
ing her eyes from Judge Thorn's face,
reading him through and through.
II will answer you Tomorrow" she said,
when he had done then she turned away
and went up to her own room. What
fierce conflict she waged there with her
own heart, we can never know but her
unselhsh love conquered at last.
With the Autumn the little Rescued went
to his new home.
''You shall come to US often, Anita"
Mrs. ThorDe had said but the quiet ans
wer was, mo, Mrs. Thorne, 1t is not best
1t would be all the harder to leave him
again, and my place is here"
The little mothers face grew somewhat
paler and thinner but there was no other
out ward change, except that the wealth Of
care and tenderness which she had lavished
for years upon the one loved object was
distributed now to bless and cheer the
many.
1t was she who gathered the little chill.
dren of the village together into school,
which she taught not 80 much from text
books as from shells and stones and flowers
planting in their young hearts that seed of
love for God and al that be has made
which would spring up by and by in a
plentiful harvest Of faith and right living
It was she who read the Bible to the old
who smOothed the pillow of the sick who
wept with the widow and the orphan and
whose sweet voice put in words the last
prayer of the dying,
She herself sickened at last, wasting
slowly but surely.
81 don't think we'd ever rightly known
how much she suffered all her life,' old
John Grey said to me as we sat together in
the church door one Sabbath afternoon
dllcI SeINlCei iOOhlnB IOWdu lDt kTdVeyaTu,
whose simple stones were shining in the
prophetic glory Of sunset. "She was so
CHEEKY and patient like, never talkin' of
herself. It was so to the last. There was
only ore thing which she loDged for after
she felt she couldn't live, and that was to
see the boy again. She hadn't seen hi
for six years, for the Thornes' had been In
England for that long. AS she got weaker
she mourned the more. "Oh! want to
be willin," she used to say; "but if II
could be Gods will to let NE see him once
moreW
There was heavy storm the night she
died The wind howled around the old
house, and we could scarcely hear one
another speak for the noise Of the sea. II
never can forget how she looked, as she
lay there listenin', with her white face and
her eyes so big and bright. All at once she
spoke "Its eighteen years ago to-night,n
says she, "in just such storm as this,
that God sent my boy, and while the words
were in her mouth, heard noise of wheels