Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1870-07-06
Light out OF Darkness.

tle faded woman, so wcarily stitching, because
she had found her in tears, she had set down
to talk with, and try to comfort her.
"l'l, tell you why because I've been de-
ceiyed all my life. from the time | was a
chid-uothing but deceit from the cradle to
the grave. Anyhow don't look for much
else"
Thee will find that shall not deceive
thee said the other softly.
The woman turned to the face in the neat,
gray bonnet and scanned it for a moment
You'll be the FIRST | was about to say
the Lord forgive me. 1 believe my trouble
has made me bitter, somehow. There have
been a few Of your kind good to me-you're
Quaker amt you2
Yes, | belong to the Society Of Friends,
was the quiet reply. But there are many
outside our society who would be Just as kind
Thee mustn't lose faith in human nature en-
tirely."
You see I've been cheated! " the woman
walled again" at least il seems so. When
| was a child | had a stopmother-yes, two
but the first was as kind as my own mother
could possibly have been; the second-O my
dear madam it makes me shudder to think
Of her deceit, Of her meanness, of her cruelty
| My father suffered as we'll as | for ten long
years, and at the end Of that time was mar
ried Everything promised well then; my
father gave US a house and we were happy
But my husband-he, too had deceived me
his habits were bad. For time all went
well; 1t was only gradually the truth leaked
out for my husband loved me- and tried to
do bis best by me, but the faults Of his youth
clung to him.
"The first time he came home drunk was
in agony. prayed God to let me die for |
had never seen such sight before. Well, l
need hardly tell you how it went on how
year after year we grew poorer until with
five little children | found myself one day in
miserable tenement house and something
standing in the middle Of the floor that hope
you may never see, husband brought home
dead.
"Ah that was dreadful time. My father
had died, and my stepmother possessed her
part of his property so that | had scarcely
a friend. Still, some of his relations buried
him, for which | was very thankful, but they
did little for me and the children.
"Oh it was trouble to live all those
years you would have thought so, and five
little children to bring up | couldn't give
much time to them, and / was so hurried and
driven by work. that / couldn't bring them
up properly. They mixed with bad company,
and saw the worst examples, aud I've often
been thankful that my little Lottie died, and
got out of the way Of temptation She was a
beautiful child was my Lottie too beautiful
to grow up in poverty, and the Lord took
, her. She died when she was just ten years
old and | kept her in comfort if l half
starved the rest" cried the woman, with a
laugh tina. was terrible to hear.
" Not a comfort did the darling want, not
one. begged, | believe | would have sto-
en" she added, with hard look, ' before
she should have suffered. Her talk ought to
have made Christians of us all, for | do think
she saw the very angels of heaven, days and
days before she died. Dear little soul she
wasted away to shadow" sobbed the wo-
man, wiping her eyes on the coarse work she
was busy on. see her every night, though
f it's fifteen years ago, lying in that corner her
/ great, pitiful blue eyes fixed on me, and
t masses of shining curls all over the pillow,
for the disease made her hair grow, and |
never saw such hair on anybody in my life
like yellow gold, almost
All, dear Lord-well, it's a comfort to
' think of her in heaven, and almost the only
comfort I've got, too. | know she can't suf-
d fer, nor make me suffer she added, with hall
| savage energy.
5 But what became of the rest of thy chill
\ dren? ?"
A bitter look crossed the careworn face.
"They grew up-two boys and two girls
tb,,.fI -, 20, I,,t
I've looked aud looked for that, and not found
it yet.
, Mary and Anne were handsome girls but
. Mary did the same thing with her eyes open,
that had done ignorantly--she married a
q drunkard, and is living in New York in worse
misery than | am. But warned her, and
; don't know as I'd help her if could. Why
q did she put herself deliberately in the fire 7
. She writes to me sometimes, but she's always
. worse of and worse off and now there's a
$ prospect of her going into consumption. She
has two little children to live in misery, |
G suppose"
o AT this moment the postman tapped at The
door, lie brought ottor The widow tore
o it open eagerly, read it, and burst into tears
r Well-oh it's only more trouble, I've
4 been expecting it. There's never good news
comes to me-" she cried defiantly "They
talk of God remembering all his children
no, no-He's clean forgotten me. lie cares
c nothing for me-"
q "Oh, | cannot hear thee talk so," CRIED
4 her visitor, in a distressed voice,
OF course not, because you know nothing
of the misery that is killing me by inches
day after day, dare say you have ploas,
O ant home, and everything to make you happy
IS What should you say if you held in your
!. hand letter telling you that your daughter
n writes from a sick bed, that her husband died
I last week, and asking in Gods name, for
# shelter with her mother, for herself and tw,
\ miserable children. | am in such beautiful
J. circumstances you soe-barely earn bread foi
e myself"
Il Do try and trust Cod my poor sister
Il He has sent me here, and | pledge thee m,
!. word will do all | can to help thee and tn,
r. child. There there she said soothingly
for the woman had relapsed into piteous weep
ing--more at the kind sweet tone Of sym
y pathy than for her own trouble. She got s
Is little Of it, poor soul
+ 81 didn't tell you about my boys; one 0
1t them followed the ways of his father" sh
e said after short pause, aud is a wandere
IS | know not where, The other-my noble, m
a my brave boy Benny-went into the army
e. aud the last heard of him was that he die
N in Andersonvile Oh that broke my heart
y The poor boy went into the army to help IN
is as well as to help his country for work fel
e. slack end just before that we were gettin
y along so nicely. Sometimes | lie awak
,e nights, thinking of him, till am near crazy
,r Oh would have gone in the midst of dan
le ger, only to see him before he died bu
e. the good Lord of heaven only knew whothe
c. he starved to death or went mad they tel
he horrible stories ycu know. Then there's An
ha--sbe left me because l would not let he
have anything to do with wild young ma