The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1872-12-06
SsIRrteo StOrp.
RAY

1t was up fight of stairs, quit,
laway from the dust of the street
The room was almost pleasant
least there were windows, four o
them, and air and sunlight. There
was also a bed, table, stove, chest
two broken chairs and a cradle. Or
the wall hung a little old mirror, anC
a photograph in a thread frame. Ii
the rocking chair sat a woman. Hers
was a peculiar face; young, YET
strangely old; face that might have
been pretty but for the sad look, as
Of something gone out of her life
A baby lay in the cradle,and leaning
over it, with great wondering eyes,
was child of twelve summers, who,
presently, lifting her eyes from the
tiny face, and fixing them upon the
woman in the chair, asked:
'Haye you named the baby, Su-
san?"
"Why yes, Miss Lou, I've been
thinking of it off and on, till now he
is nigh on two months old and you'll
be surprised when I say his name is
Christerfer Columbus"
Lou certainly did not look sur
prised; but she only drew long
breath and said, Ohw and Susan
went on:
sits not 1 that would be giving
him the name, but John used to say,
Susan, if ever we own boy l shall
call him Christerfer Columbus 1
used to laugh at him then, but now
he's dead and gone" And the wo-
man leaned wearily back in her chair,
and gazed at the photograph in the
thread frame, while hard, grey
look came into her eyes, and over
spread her face.
Lou sat quietly looking at the
baby, while the SUI crept in through
the half-open stats, and lay across
the cradle, and the woman rocked
rapidly back and forth, as if to es-
cape some dread memory. Present.
ly she sat still, and turned her face
to the child.
"Lou, 1 want to talk to you; 1
must speak or 1 shall go crszed.
You know the many years l lived at
your fathers house. He took me,
an orfn-a young thing like you,and
l lived on there, and the family
treated me kind and I went to church,
and said my prayers, and done my
work well, and none could say but'I
was a good girl. Then John came,
and married him. l loved him
God knows how 1 loved him! and
we were happy. Then he worked at
this thing and that, and at last got
a good place and pay on the railroad.
Then one Saturday night, when /
looked to have him home to tea early
he didn't come, and he didn't come;
and when I had given up, there was
a noise on the steps outside, and
opened the door, and the light shone
down in bis white face, as he lay in
the mems arms, all bruised, and
bloody, and dreadl
So when 1 look at his picture up
there, / grow hard-like, and angered,
and wicked, thinking about it I'll,
and wondering what wrong I've ever
done that God should take away
from me him that was so grand and
beautiful"
But,Susan," Lou said, "God knows
all about it, and He loves you all
along"
"Ah, Miss Lou, I don't knoso that
4 can't think about it that way.
Now what would yo& think if your
pa cut off that right hand of yours.
Would you call it lover"
Lou looked puzzled. She didn't
know. She would ask her mother |
about it. Then, as if to turn the
subject, she said:
"But, Susan, the baby-and if you
wouldn't mind-I thought 1 would |
ike to call it something else. Christ |
opher Columbus is so big for such |
little wee speek, I don't believe he'll |
sUer grow into it; and if you don't |
mind, dixie to call him Rag. Cos
when the sun shone in on his beauti-
full little head, it looked all shining
like a ray. Do you care?'
"Call him what you like, dear; tits
ike you to call him something heart
some"
So this tiny ray Of humanity grew,
and grew; and after aWile he learned
10 creep all about the room. Then
be would stand up, and walk slowly |
around the rocking-chair, Finally |
one day, when he was over a year
Did, he let go the chair all together,
and walked proudly across the room;
80, after that, there must be a board
before the open door, to keep him /
rom rolling down the long fight of
steps on to the the ground. But it
vas great trial toRay. He wanted i
10 to see what was beyond. To be !,
,ure, he had often been taken over
he board, when his mother went
,ut to wash, but then his head was
Ill covered. So, one day, when he
lad grown quite boy, and could
ipeak as many as a dozen words, his
mother went for a pail Of water, and
le tugged, and pulled, and jerked,
ill the board fell, and he trotted
orth.
Now Lou was coming down the
Dad, and as she glanced up at the
anding at the head of the steirs, she
saw a small piece of red calico; but,
nefora she cODld breath. il rolled it A