Knoxville Whig and chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1875-1882, 1875-06-30
What a Child Saw.
From the Detroit Free Press. I

Yesterday morning some people living
on Macomb street entered a house to find
father and mother beastly drunk on the
floor, and their child, boy four years
old, dead in his cradle. The parents
looked like beasts-the child wore the
sweetest, tenderest smile on its white
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 old
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 raced around the
room and scowled darkly at the lone
child, he nestled down and drew the rag
ged blanket over his head to keep the
revengeful shadows from Selling him.
lie must have thought his parents dead,
aud how still the house seemed to him.
It's dark, mother-it's dark ~ the
neighbors heard him wall but no one
went in to comfort him and to drive the
shadows away. The night grew older
the feet of pedestrians ceased to echo,
and the heavy breathing of the drunkards
made the child tremble and draw the
cover still closer. His little bare feet
were curled up, and he shut his ewes
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 great light in the
room.
SIS 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 longer afraid
The aches and pains he had suffered for
days past went away all at once.
" Mother Mother hear the music .
he cried, and from out of the soft, white
light came an angel,
4" | am thy mother ~ she softly said.
lie was not afraid. He had never seen
her before, but she looked so good and
beautiful that he held up his wasted
hands and said
= | will go with you
The music grew yet softer. aud the
melody was so sad and tender. and vet so
full OF love and rejoicing, that the drunk
ards on the floor moved little and NUT
tered 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 laughed for joy.
" Heaven wants you ~ the angel wills
pered. Earth has no more sorrow-no
further misery. Come ~
And he tloated 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 shadows. which sat
around the sleepers and touched their
bloated faces with their gaunt skeleton
fingers, and laughed horribly when the
drunkards groaned in uneasy slumber.
When people came in the shadows
went out. The sleepcrs still slept their
sodden sleep and no one minded them.
Men and women bent low over the dead
child, smoothed back his curls and wills
pered:
Poor, dead boy go
They knew not that he had seen the
angels, and that they had borne him to
heavens gate.