The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1874-03-19
The Magic of Love.

Two or three years ago, the superinten
dent Of the Little Wanderers Home, il
Boston received. one morning, a reques
from the Judge that he would come up Il
the courtroom. He complied directly
and found there a group of seven littl,
girls, ragged, dirty and forlorn, beyond
even what he was accustomed TO see.
The Judge pointed TO them and said:
Mr.. r, can you take any OF
these?"
Certainly, I'll take them all, twas the
prompt reply. 1890
''All what in the would can YOU do
with them all %
''f1l make women of them"
''The Judge singled out one, even
worse in appearance than all the rest. and
asked again:
"What can you do with this one ?"
'1'll make a woman of her" Mr.. T
repeated, firmly and hopefully. He
took them all home. They were washed
and dressed, and provided with good
supper and beds. The next morning
they went into the school-room with the rest
of the children. Mary was the name of
the little girl whose chance for better
things the Judge thought was small.
During the afternoon the teacher said
to Mr.. r, in reference to her:
81 never saw a child like that. /
have tried for an hour to get single smile
and failed"
M. r said afterwards to himself
that her face was the saddest he had ever
seen, sorrowful beyond expression; yet she
was a very little girl, only seven or eight
years old.
After school he called her into his office,
and said pleasantly; MARY, I've lost
my little pet | used to have little girl
here that would wait on me, and sit on
my knee, and | loved her very much. A
kind lady and gentleman adopted her,
and she went to live with them. | miss
her, and | should like you to take her
place and be my little pet; will your"
A CLEAN of light fitted over the poor
him. He gave her ten cents, and told
her she might go to a store near by and
buy some candy. While she was gone
he took two or three newspapers, tore
them in pieces and scattered them about
the room. When she returned, in few
minutes, he said to her: "Mary, will
you clean up my Office for me? pick up
those papers, and make it look real nice"
She went to work with a will A
little more of this sort of management.
treating her just like a kind father would
wrought the desired change She
went into the school-room after dinner
with so changed look and bearing that
the teacher was astonished The child's
face was absolutely RADIANT and half
fearful of some mental wanderings, she
went up to her and said:
MARY what is it? What makes you
look so happy?"
"Oh! Pve got somebody to love mel"
the child answered earnestly, as if it were
heaven come down ON earth.
That was all the secret For want of
love that poor little ones life had been so
cold and desolate that she had lost child
hoods faith and hope. She could not at
first believe in the reality of joy or kind
ness for her. 1t was this certainty that
some one loved her and desired her affec-
ton that lighted the child's soul and glo-
rifed the child's face.
Mary has since been adopted by
wealthy people, and lives in a beautiful
home but more than all its comforts and
beauty, running like golden threads
through it all, she finds the love Of her
father and mother Shall we, who have
many to love and to love us, refuse to be
comforted, to see any value and use in
life, any work for our hands to do, because
one of our treasures may be removed from
our sight, from our home and care, to a
better?
And, OH shall we let any Of these lit
tie ones go hungering for affection-go up
even unto Gods land, before they find
somebody to love them ?"