Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1875-07-08
What q Child Saw.
From the Detroit Free Press.


Yesterday morning some people living on
Macomb street entered Il 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 bcasts-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 ut 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
hoor, 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 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
| 10 him.
| sslt's dark, mothcr--it's dark" the neigh
bors heard him wall but no one went in to
comfort him and to drive the shadows away.
| i
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 hc shut his eyes
tightly to keep from seeing the black dark
I ness.
| By and by the ragged blanket was gently
pulled away, and the child opened his eyes
and saw great light in the room.
''1s it mornngf' 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?" lie
cried, and from out Of the soft, white light
| came an angel.
81 am thy mother!" she softly said.
He was not afraid. He had never seen her
before, but she looked 80 good and beautiful
that he held up his wasted hands and said:
81 will go 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 aud muttered broken words.
Other angels came, and the light fell upon
the boys face in q blazing shower, turning
his curls to threads of gold. He held up his
arms and laughed for joy.
'Heaven wants you!" the angel whispered.
earth has no more sorrow-no further mis-
cry. Comet"
And he floated away with them, leaving the
sleepers lying as if dead. The golden ligh,
faded out, the music died away, and the old
house was again filled with the grim, threat
ening 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 slum'
Der.
When people came in the shadows went
out. The sleepers still slept their sodden1
sleep and no one minded them. Men and
women bent low over the dead child, smooth
ed back his curs and whispered:
''Poor, dead boy!"
They knew not that he had seen the angels
and that they had borne him to heaven 1
gate.