The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1880-05-15

No matter TO you who old jan.
further than that she was old AM ~aa'
and that the boys sometimes u -, !
on the streets for a hag, ~ .u n1l
passed her by without a Woon n" gsopte
II she had been q hea' aen in Sar off
AFRICA every effort -.sould have been
mace TO 'fsave her sr al, but as she was
= = Masn|o@an an i beggar at home she
nn u % soui ~ save. at least no one
a. neo 10 t-lDk so. Wasn't it curious
Ias ne,er man or woman had a
kisny word for that lone cid woman
e4H an hour before her &eashp Think
vi the number of churches and clergy
men and Christian people in Detroit.
and then wonder that no one ever
stopped this lonely exile on the street as
she hobbled along and took her
trembling hand and said:
"Pscr old woman, how fares it with
theee Have you any sunshine in Your
last days, or has the world given you
burdens and shadows and sears and
heartaches p''
But no one ever helted her-no one
looked into laereyes to read her sorrows
mo one cared more for her than for
the dogs which trotted past them I'm the
street. The other day as night was
coming down mere accident brought
strangers into rocsn SO full of dreari-
ness and SO lonely with shadows as to
make the heart ache. In that drear
room old Jen had been dying by inches
for days, and now Death sat beside her
ON her wretched bed. 1t was little that
human hands could do for her, but when
words of symp THY fell upon her ears
when she felt the pressure of hand
and knew that some one pitied her
all that wild, haggard look went out of
her face in moment, and was replaced
by soft lines and eyes full of tears.
ell didn't believe there was any
one in all this big world who cared for
met" she gasped, as her tears came
afresh, and she wiped them away to
Took in wonder at the sad faces around
her.
Il know that am in TIE shadow of
dea.h," she said, as tsse. silence grew
long, "but I am hot afraid. For a
dozen years ANve starved and shivered
and been All object of scorn and con-
tempt-not word of pity-not kind
wish-not an effort to better my life. 1t
can not be worse beyond the dark
river"
"And shall we bring some one to
pray for youp"
!" 1t would be mockery!" she whis-
pered. Churches have not been for
me. Prayer-meetings are not for beg
CARS. have cursed the boys when they
hooted at me. I have hated people
who had more than had. Lying here
on this old bed, hungry and cold, | have
sometimes doubted that there was q
God OF Heaven. / have been wicked,
bat / was old and poor and weak, and
all the world seemed to hate mel"
Tears came again, and after awhile
she said:
"But there is God and Heaven. 1
have faith in both. Years ago my Rfst-
born was taken from me by death. He
was bat a child, knowing no sin, and he
Is there among the angels. He will ask
God to forgive me. When l cross over
the dark river he will be first to meet
me on the Heaven-lit shore. Oh! l
know that God will, for / was bis
mother, and l know that God will for
give me, for the life He gave me has
been drear with sorrows."
As the minutes licked away her face
grew white and had q tender, womanly
look. Her eyes no longer had that
story of lies sorrow in them, but in
stead was CLEAN of triumph. 1t was
the triumph of lone old woman's faith
over the contempt of world. She seemed
to have fallen asleep, and when the
watchers were wondering If she would
awake again on earth, she suddenly
threw up her arms, clasped her hands,
and gasped out:
"My Jamie has pleaded for me, and
/ will not be kept out Of Heaven!
have sinned, but all the world was
against mel"
On her face, when she lay dead on
her bed of rags, was such a smile of
peace and joy and contentment as sell
dom comes to mortals. Within that
poor old body was soul after all,
though the world had denied it, and
when it passed through the valley of
the shadow it had not one sin to answer
for.-Detr0I Free Press