Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1878-10-18
Faith that Aearen wiII Reward.

There is one bed-Or, more strictly
speaking bundle of rags-in the corner.
The household consists of an old man as
ragged as Rip on the mountains, woman
whose face the wrinkles have twisted
and fuIToWed so deeply that It requires
an immense sweep of imagination to
think that it was ever young. -Four
children, from five to fourteen years of
age, pale and hungry, dart about the
room like dock rats. Except one, the
little one, whose hair lay back on her
white forehead as if it had been swept
there by the winds, whose hands were
like shadows, and whose eyes seemed
to be fastened on the dingy and desolate
looking ceiling. She lay upon a pallet,
and the mother sat on the floor beside
her and administered now and then
taste Of water,
''She,s the only white one in the fock," "
said the man as he tugged at his short
and bristling beard.
"She's the only one of the gang that's
fitted to be an angel, she is" he continued
as he stared upon the sick face before
him. "She won't never get out of it;
there aint no use tryin' it on her" he
went on in an abstracted way. "We have
had the county doctor, but such as them
amt given to hangin' round a sick bed
like her'n. He left some truck and she
took it, but it never mended her ailip',
and guess he'll not come back"
The little face turned over on its
mothers arm, and there was hardly life
enough In it to be perceptble. "Byme-
by,m the father said, a few minutes later,
ssome Weemen came in here and left
pone of bread and made her somethiR
that kind o. seemed to make her peert-
Like, as she was when she crossed the
,hio, and then they read piece outen
the book, and one of 'em-she was a
smart lookin' woman, and wasn't afraid
of dirtyin' her clothin' nor nothln',
though her goods was fine-she got down
on the floor thur, and shut her eyes
kinder close, halfway, and held her
hands, one of sem on her busum, and
tother on the child's head, and the brats
quit runnin' round, and it was awful
still. And the woman turned her face
up aEin the ceilin'" He paused for q
moment, as if he had to gather little
strength. And then: ''Talk about
prayin'l She put up the best one ever
heard south of the 'hio, and reckon 1t
was as solid with Him as heard it as any
that was got off, 1t kinder made things
more hopeful around, and the child
opened her eyes wide, just as if she
knew the woman was putin up for her.
1t got down into me, though there wasn't
any stakes put up for me ct all. When
she went away / said to Emily-thats
wife-that I would try my hand on just
one prayer, it seemed to help things 80.
The old woman shook her head, cause
never thought of such thing before.
But | got down and put up every cent
had-I mean everything I could think
Of And when got to the last word,
the amen, it stuck in my throat, but
Emily got away with it. She said it
right out Like it was in meetin'."
II guess I made misdeal somewhere"
ne continued rather mournfully. 'The
little one didn't look up any, and she's
been CROWN weaker every day. Emily
said had spilled the whole business, Gn0
crowded the poor woman's prayer out.
But l never ment it. Eff I'd known l
was interferin', I'd never put up agin her
hand"
There was blast Of wind that came
and ratified the window, and kind of
moan, and then the head Of the sick child
and its face turned over in the mothers
lap. It's thin lips met the wrinkled ones,
and the struggle was over.
The grim-faced, hardy-looking man
bent over the pallet, but there was
good deal Of good sense left in him
still. He turned to the reporter, who
had gone to the scene Of misery, and
said: "But am not the man to 60 back
on good prayin', even if didn't win
reckon the hand that the woman put up
will win for somebody else's little one,
eff it don't for ours. For it was the solid
est hand l ever see, not 'ceptin' the south
clio r.f The lIns.n L. rlI Ks.l....I-