Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1876-02-11
An Obscure Life.

people. 1t is story which suits all
classes or any time, yet perhaps tins
especial time best, when men and woman
in the cities who have anxiously tried to
be of service to God and their fellow
men are apt to be daunted and depressed
by the contrast between the great work
accomplished by others and their own
domestic quiet labor. The story is of
moor seamstress in mill town in Indi-
ana, who was left widow some fifteen
years ago, dependent on her needle for
her daily bread. She lived near one of
the factories where hundreds of both
sexes were employed, and night and
morning large gangs of girls and men
passed her door miserably hungry and
gloomy, or more miserably boisterous'
1t was mill where the hands are driven
like cattle and regarded as cattle in
every other sense. The woman who
saw the young girls pass so often that
she learned to know their faces pitied
them as a mother might have done. In
deed, we question if she had any excep-
tional quality or means of influence In
the world other than her motherly ma
ture. She was an uneducated, homely
little body, but with patience and ten
derness enough in her heart to serve all
the children in the world. " / wanted,
she said, g to give these girls chance
| like other women they had a chance
as it was to be anything better than the
mules which drew away the stuff they
spun" Our readers will imagine, no
doubt that by some virtuous hoeus-pocus
such as we read of in reform novels, she
suddenly converted the mill into mod
ell abode of order and refinement, and
made of its drunken, vicious inmates
amiable Christian characters. We have
read of such change being produced
by bringing the mill-girls in to listen to
Beethoven and Mrs. Browning. Our
poor reformer took one, just one girl
into her kitchen. She half starved her
self to do that. She made the girl clean
and taught her to remain clean taught
her to scrub, wash, cook, and tell the
truth. 1t took years to accomplish so
, much years of patience and self-sacri-
fee. When she had finished, instead OF
, coarse dirty animal, she had nodded
/ for use and service in the world clean
f minded honest woman, with skilltul
) hands and intelligent brain. She took
t one after another of these wretchec
e girls and trained them as seaastresses
cooks, chambermaids, at her own cos
e of time and money. Situations wer,
+ readily found for them the housekeep
a ers of the town soon discovered how dit
e ferent the women were whom she trained
e from any others; butshenever parted witt
J. them unless she was confident that tn
e work sta had begun would be carried o
n in the same hearty spirit. In two case
a the girls whom she thus adopted wer
1s deformed and sickly. These both RI
re NAMED with her until her death, supper
ct ing themselves by some light handiworl
to In other cases they were rescued fro
lie worse places then the mill. A few
ae the girls became sincere Christians, bl
is all Except one) led virtuous, homes
ne useful lives. One peculiar effect OF h
s. training was that pupils caught fro
re- her own genial, helpful spirit; tn
i'll were missionaries of kindness in the
as humble world and cheerful face IL
ed cook, or gentle, tender manner IN
Ter nnrsemaid, are not merits so common
ed to be despised.
Of. The widow and her work was ney
wn known to fame, even in the town wht
err she lived. People supposed when
The took larger house SO as to accom-
date more inmates that she kept XII
ed. of intelligence office, or cheap boa
in ing house, and there were not want
os- many in her own rank Of life to h
Of she paid herself somehow from the laI
ing Of these poor that she g feathered
vas nest we'll" None of the women VIII
me she had helped never wronged her b
ess- suspicion. Next to God, whom
ne faithfully tried to teach them to ser
Ter they believed in her. If she had pro
her humbug, the faith of many p
rem soul in His goodness would have b
ton shaken, for all they knew of the &C
Ter; ness or beauty or pleasure He has
'wn into the world they knew through
case poor woman. There were other wol
onal who could preach of Christ by W.
IS of more efectually than she; some Of t
] in quite as uncultured had a gift of P
eless er," or real native eloquence W
A moved their hearers in class-meetins
gave the church. Aunt Hannah, as she
Sc of called, never spoke in class or meet
upon she was slow and dull of speech
ceful where She often no doubt felt hen
A 6noianeies bitterly and wished that