Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-04-29
Old Jen's Faith.


No matter to you who old Jen was,
further than that she was old and poor,
and that the boys sometimes hooted her
on the streets for bag, and people
passed her by without second glance.
If she had been a heather in lar off
Africa every effort would have been
made to save her soul, but as she was
. washwoman and beggar at home she
had no soul to save. At least no one
seemed to think SO. Wasn't it curious
that never man or woman had a
kindly word for that lone old woman
until an hour before her death? Think
OF 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:
"POor old woman, how fares it with
theep Have you any sunshine in your
last days, or has the world given you
burdens and shadows and tears and
heartaches?''
But no one ever halted her-no one
looked into her eyes to read her sorrows
no one cared more for her than for
the dogs which trotted past them on the
CAOOos AC OCACl ooy DO W dS
coming down mere accident brought
ness and so lonely with shadows as to
room old Jen had been dying by inches
for days, and now Death sat beside her
on her wretched bed. It was little that
human hands could do for her, but when
words of sympa thy fell upon her ears
u,h> oh ola he, IS ho~
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
mel. she gasped, as her tears came
look in wonder at the sad faces around
her.
Il know that am in the shadow of
DEATH" she said, as the silence grew
long, "but I am not afraid. For q
dozen years l have starved and shivered
and been an object of scorn and con-
wish-not. an effort to better my life. It
can not be worse beyond the dark
river.''
"And shall we bring some one to
pray for youP'
s. 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. 1 have hated people
who had more than had. Lying here
on this old bed, hungry and cold, have |
sometimes doubted that there was a
God or Heaven. I have been wicked,
but was old and poor and weak, and |
all the world seemed to hate me!''
Tears came again, and after awhile !
she said: i
"But there is God and a Heaven. I |
have faith in both. Years ago my first
born was taken from me by death. He |
was but a child, knowing no sin, and he
is there among the angels. He will ask |
God to forgive me. When cross over |
the dark river he will be first to meet |
me on the Heaven-ht shore. Oh! 1 |
know that God will, for 1 was his
and 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'a tender, womanly !
look. Her eyes no longer had that |
story of life's sorrow in them, but in
stead was CLEAN of triumph. It was
the triumph of a lone old woman's faith |
over the contempt of world. She seemed |
to have fallen asleep, and when the !
were wondering if she would |
awake again on earth, she suddenly |
threw up her arms, clasped her hands,
and gasped out
ssMy Jamie has pleaded for me, and
I will not be kept out of Heaven!
l have sinned, but all the world was
against metz
On her face, when she lay dead on
her bed of rags, was such smile of |
peace and joy and contentment as sell
dom comes to mortals. Within that |
poor old body was soul after ali,
though the world had denied it, and
when it passed through the valley of
the shadow it had not one sin to answer
for.-Detroi1 Free Press.