River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1877-10-25

seemed to want to make every thing 90
on as usual-not like a scene OF any sort
The young woman carried the l ably out
among the flowers and left il for Jacob
TO study with a kind of grave curiosity
while che went back to help her mother.
A great load seemed 10 be slipping from
her in this old atmosphere of home. 1t
was again a holy sabbath day; she had
wept for such-as left behind forever.
Then Dolly We so happy She went
about singing Jerusalem the golden, y
and murmuring, She'll never 90 away
She is here at lastl Jacob can't turn
them off nowr'
OF the two women Dolly was really the
younger. She had her lifelong walked
in the Light; and the other had been
Swallowed in Blackness, and il is sin, not
time that tells in this way. The baby
crowed and shouted at the strawberries
grandmother displayed for dinner, and
chung to its grandfather as if il had
planned its own siege upon his heart; so
as the hours went by Dolly was perfectly
content about its power. When all the
cheerful hustle of dinuer was over, and
baby asleep along with the shut morning
glories under the friendly steeple, then
Jacob said:
"Cone, little Grannie. Get We into
yer pulpit and preach us our Sunday les
son p
Dolly laughed softly, for she knew what
he meant Ever since Jacob secured the
old carved chair in the perversion of
the church to its present uses, that had
been invested with a kind of sanctity.
Jacob would never sit init. Dolly, when
alone, when in bodily suffering, when in
agony of soul for her fallen one, used to
kneel there as in an oratory. Again, Sun
day afternoons, the condition upon which
Jacob would listen TO Dolly's "psalms and
hymns, and spiritual songs" was, that she
sat here in state; sweet in her holiday tidi-
ness, and as much of saint in his eyes as
any ecclesiastic who in older times might
have used il.
Come, come, Dolly. Give us text;
yen get no bigger congregation by
waitin'n
"Put away teasing, Jacob. Ye need
no sermon this day; we've lived it for
yourself. Haven't he lifted our Janey up
with We where Gods sunshine can fall on
here Let a body do the same and there
Is Stiidll itNu VI NN4uo dOONl ll-tAilN
it'll fall back upon We in blessing out of
the tender hand of the great Forgiven,
mind We that, Jacob! And now, Janey,
child the wee baby has been baptized
with over many tears; let ii lift up its
little head with Gods other pretty flow
ers; they'd never thrive under no end of
rain and shadow Yen do no harm to
note il, moreover, Janey," she added
softly. "that body torgets all about the
dirt any of 'un comes up out of, if only
little ii blossoms out sweet to the very
heart of it, I'm feeble now; and then a
Twin up here above the people, I'm out
of sight of things that used to seem black
to me; but with the lilies and the steeple
and seeming higher TO heaven, | can't
worry or get afeerd. / believe SO much
in the light that is s0wn for the righteous
and the 'gladness in the upright in heart
nay, nay, Janey, don't We hang yer
head. I'm not a shutting you out from
that blessing. The Lord raiseth them
that are bowed down. And when He
raiseth We, veil be upright never fear"
The little old woman's breath began to
come with labor, and Jacob made her
stop talking that Janey might read 10 her
instead. Then the baby awakened and
seemed to find great deal too much sol
emnity in the AIR, for it laughed and chat
tered and spun about with most insabati-
cal activity. Jacob wondered at it, and
"as he gazed the wonder grew" with
wonder came admiration; with that a soft
ness in his blue eyes. Anybody might
have seen that before many days that
tiny foot whose shoe he so fiercelY flung
away would have trodden a little
path straight to the warmest corner OF
his heart.
"Bring me to baby, Jacob" called
Dorothy, after a while. "Let it lie
in my lap and look out of the
window. Ye can stay out with Janey and
see the sun set.n
So Jacob lifted the child and carried it
to her The baby was charmed by the
soft radiance, shifting rainbow like over
its white dress 1t waved its small hand
back ard forth in the blue and crimson
rays, and watched them wonderingly rs
thew PLAYED over DorOthy's snowy locks.
Without they heard her grooming softly
to the child, and it, in response, cooling
like a dove. BY and by, when the air
grew chill, Jacob and his daughter re-
turned to the room. The old head rested
back upon the carved cherubs; the little
one lay quiet having just discovered the
pictured Agnus Del. Dolly's face could
not be paler than usual; but Jacob did
not see as usual, the outward signs of the
poor fluttering heart. Janey bent for
ward-then both knew that the mother
had "gone along the way of peace to the
land Of everlasting light"