St. Landry democrat., 1880-05-15
Old Jen's Faith.

| mo matter 10 you VINO ora Jen was
further than that she was old and poor
and that the boys sometimes hootod he
on the streets for a bag, and reopl
passed her by without second glance
If she had been a heather i'm lar of
Africa every effort would have been
made to save her soul, but as she wa
4 washwoman and beggar at home sh,
had no soul to save. AT least no on,
seemed to think so. Wasn't it curiou
that never man or woman had :
kindly word for that lone old woman
until an hour before her death? ThinE
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 q.
she hobbled along and took hel
trembling hand and said:
"Poor old woman, how fares it witt
thee? 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
street. The other day as night was
coming down mere accident brought
strangers into room 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 a 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, rs her tears came
afresh, and she wiped them away to
look in wonder at the sad faces around
her.
Il know that I am in the shadow of
DEATH" she said, as the silence grew
long, {" but I am not afraid. For a
dozen years | have starved and shivered
and been an object of scorn and con-
tempt-not a 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 you?'
i" 1t would be mockery!" she whis-
pered. "Churches have not been for
me. PraYer-meetings are not for beg
gars. | have cursed the boys when they
hooted at me. l have hated people
who had more than l had. Lying here
on this old bed, hungry and cold, have
doubted that there was
God or Heaven. / have been wicked,
but was old and poor and weak, aud
all the world seemed to hate mel"
Tears came again, and after awhile
she said:
"But there is God and Heaven.
have faith in both Years ago my first
born was taken from me by death. He
was but child, knowing no sin, and he
is there among the angels. He will ask
God to forgive me. When I cross over
the dark river he will be first to meet
me on the Heaven-lit shore. Oh! |
know that God will, for I was his
mother, 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 q tender, womanly
ook. Her eyes no longer had that
story of LIES sorrow in them, but in
stead was a CLEAN of triumph. 1t was
he triumph of a lone old woman's faith
'yer the contempt of world. She seemed
o have fallen asleep, and when the
were wondering if she would
wake again on earth, she suddenly
brew up her arms, clasped her hands,
md gasped out:
my Jamie has pleaded for me, and
will not be kept out of Heaven!
have sinned, but all the world was
gainst mel"
On her face, when she lay dead on
Ter bed Of rags, was such a smile of
'eace and joy and contentment as sell
ON comes to mortals. Within that |
'oor old body was soul after ali,
hough the world had denied it, and
7hen it passed through the valley of
he shadow it had not one sin to answer
Free Press.