Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-01-21


king their meaning felt in our souls
fillingsmine with an awful dread of the
snow covered road beyond. Ten miles
to go yet, the night coming quickly
on, the cold growing more intense, the
road r0ugher, more precipitous, the
horse evidently giving out! But the
boy took up the lines, the bright, frank
smile upon his face, the CHEEKY words
upon his tongue. Goodbye he said
to the man in the doorway.
The man stood for an instant in the
doorway looking after US. Good bye,
he said.
We went on along the road that from
the beginning of time it was ordained
we were to go. l crept back into my
corner.
DO not go to Sleep the pleasant
voice warned me from the front. 90
Thank you,' replied, cheered and
warmed by its hearty glow. 'Pll not
go to Sleep
Then followed a long silence, in which
had views of the falling snow, the
white hills above us, the white hills
still below US, in which heard sonnds
from creaking, grooming branches, from
the wind sweeping savagely past US.
Then unconquerable drowsiness, fast
coming darkness-then night.
felt hand on my face, then on my
shoulder shaking me roughly; sweet,
cheering voice in my ears calling me
back to life.
If you go to sleep now you won't
wake up again. it said.
Invoke with a sudden start, for an
instant, to full consciousness of time
and place. / was not cold, only sleepy.
Il am quite awake l replied. Have
we far to go?'
Five miles, and the voice was still
the same CHEEKY voice that had heard
from the first. He spoke to me often
after that; then 1 saw him, as in a
dream, fixing blanket that he had Ia
| ken from the horses back, to the hick-
ory bows overhead to keep the snow
from driving in upon me, for 1 was
covered with it to my knees. As God
is my Judge, did not then know what
he was doing, or would have stopped
him. l did not then feel cold, though
I knew afterward that / was then
freezing, and 1 did not think he was
cold. l did not think at all. l was far
past that. had begun a longer jour-
ney than 1 had started upon.
In that longer journey / dreamed of
home; of the Wondrous Christmas mira
Gle, the lighted tree; of the glad faces
of children, whose voices l heard. l
heard one of them repeat two or three
| times, " ith startling distinctneSs, 'We
are lOst!' was conscious that the child
who said it had thrown herself into
my ar.us and was lying there dull,
heavy weight. But aside from the cry
it was all bright and pleasant-this
real terrible journey through the snow,
over the rough, dangerous mountain
road in that far-Off December. The
dream lasted long while. through all
that night and the day following, and
the night following that.
When | awOke from it I was in a
large room, which had never seen be-
fore. There were piles of the Softest
| blankets upon me, there was great
wood fire blazing on the hearth, and 1
| never felt so warm and comfortable in
all my life. There were two strangers
| in the room, a man and a woman,
whose faces were kindly ones, but sore
ly troubled. When stirred, and they
saw | recognized them, they came and
stood by my bed
Where am Il? asked of them.
AT Ilium, i'm the house of the Meth
odist minister
'How long have l been here?'
Since night before last. You came
ia the stage, and the horse stopped be-
fore our door, the man said.
'What day is this?'
'Itis Christmas Day. the woman re-
piled, taking my hand in hers.
4 have been ill, then?'
'Yesp
There was boy brought me here.
Where is hep
He is here, too.' The voice that
said it was husky with tears, and the
hand that held mine shook.
Has he been ill, too?'
'Yesv
SIS he better now?'
He was never so well. He will nev-
er be i'll again.
looked into the face of the woman
who said this, and l saw that her eyes
were red with weeping.
disengaged the hand she held and
turned my face to the wall.
The woman laid her hand upon my
arm.
You must not feel like that. 1t is
better so. He had only one friend ,and
he is with Him this beautiful Christ
mas morning. He had no home here.
1t is Christmas Day, and he is at home
there
1 took in mine that comforting
hand that lay upon my arm
Il would like to see him. said. He
gave his life for me-
They took me down afterward to
what had been the family sitting-room.
There were warm red curtains at the
windows; bright, glowing carpet on
the floor; there were bunches of holly
and laurel scattered here and there, and
over all was the atmosphere of home,
They left me at the door. / went in
and stood by the side of the couch on
which they had laid him. The eyes
of tender blue were closed forever, the
yellow hair was parted over the boy
ish brows, and still about the brave,
sweet mouth the bright smile played
as it did at the first moment of our
meeting, when my implied doubt of
him called it there. He lay before me
dead, i'm all the glow and promise of
promise of his youth.
But the smile, which triumphed
above deaths ruin, rebuked me, and
as 1 stopped to kiss the lips of the
beautiful boy knew, as well as man
could know, that he was not dead; that
He who had given more life to the
dead girl and the widows son, had
given it also to him; and that he had
only gone farther upon his journey than
Into a sweeter, fuller, more gracious
life than he had ever known. Aud l
also knew that 1 should see him again
if but made my own life as brave,
unsclfish, esd true as his had been.-L.
CLARKE DAVIS, in Scribner's Monthly.
The question of abolishing capital
punishment will come prominently be-
fore the Maine Legislature this winter.
The ore In those newly discovered