Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1875-07-24
What q Child Saw.

Yesterday morning some people llv-
ing on Macomb street entered house
to find father and mother beastly
drunk on the floor, ard their child,
boy four years old, dead in his cradle.
The parents looked like beasts-the
child wore thesweetest, tenderest smile
on its face that any of them ever saw.
1t had been ailing for days, and its
brief life had been full of bitter woe,
but yet the women cried as they bent
over the cradle and kissed its cold
cheeks and felt of its icy hands.
Father and mother lay down at dark
the evening before, and people passing
by heard the child crying and wailing.
1t was too weak TO crawl out of the
cradle, and its voice was not strong
enough to break the chains of drunken
stupor. When the sun went down and
the evening shadows danced across the
floor and seemed to grasp at him the
boy grew afraid and cried out. The
shadows came faster, and as they
reached around the room and scowled
darkly at the lone child, he nestled
down and threw the ragged blanket
over his head to keep the revengeful
shadows from seizing him. He must
have thought his parents dead, and
how still the house seemed to him.
Its dark, mother-it's dark !" the
neighbors heard him wall; but no one
went to comfort him and to drive the
shadows away. The night grew older
the feet of pedestrians ceased to
echo, made the child tremble and draw
the cover still closer. His little bare
feet were curled up, and he shut his
eyes tightly to keep from seeing the
black darkness.
By and by the ragged blanket was
gently pulled away, and the child
opened his eyes and saw a great light
in the room.
rs it morning?" he whispered, but
the drunkards on the floor slept on.
Sweet, tender music came to the
child's ears, and the light had driven
every shadow away. He was no long
er afraid. The aches and pains he had
suffered for days past went away all at
once.
"Motherl Mother! hear the music
he cried, and from out of the soft,
white light came an angel.
Il am thy mother !" she softly said.
He was not afraid. He had never
seen her before, but she looked so good
and beautiful that he held up his vast
ed hands and said
Il will 60 with you"
The music grew yet softer, and the
melody was so sad and tender; and yet
so full of love and rejoicing, that the
drunkards on the floor moved little
and muttered broken words.
Other angels came, and the light
fell upon the boys face in blazing
shower, turning his curls to threads of
gold. He held up his arms and laugh
ed for joy.
Heaven wants you'll" the angel
whispered. Earth has no more sor-
row-no further misery. Comet"
And he floated away with them,
leaving the sleepers lying as, if dead,
The golden light faded out, the music
died away, and the old house was again
filled with the grim threatening shad-
ows, which sat around the sleepers
and touched their bloated faces with
their gaunt skeleton fingers, and laugh
ed horribly when the drunkards groan-
ed in uneasy slumber.
When people came in the shadows
went out. The sleepers still slept their
sodden sleep and no one minded them.
Men and women bent low over the
| dead child, smoothed back his curls
and whispered:
Poor, dead boy"
They knew not that he had seen the
angels, and that they had borne him to
heavens gate.-Detroit Free Press.