Sharp County record., 1880-10-07

"Have we got to go to bed without
any superb moaned, rather than
asked, little Frank. "pm so hungry l
shall die before morning.
"rn risk your dying. Yes you've
got to 90 to bed without supper. |
must take what the supper would have
cost and pay fora new light. See what
comes of being naughty"
The children started, but on the
threshold they paused, turned round
and stood irresolute, as if longing, yet
fearing to ask a favor
"What do you want now?" said the
mother, in a tone that was still shrill
and discordant -
"We want you to kiss u.s." faltered
their white and trembling lips. "And
we want you to forgive us, cause we
never meant to, and we are sorry all
the time.n
"Kiss me! Do you think you deserve
to be kissed? No, shan't kiss you to-
night. 1 can't give my kisses to such
naughty children. Go to bed and pray
God to forgive you and make you good,
that you may be comfort to your
mother, and not wear her life out with
your bad conduct" and she impa-
tiently pointed to the door.
" Well, l go,' said the elder one,
with an angry twist of his sore should
ers, and he shut the door after him
with a good deal more noise than was
necessary; "and perhaps I'll pray too;
but won't pray to God to forgive me,
for | hain't been naughty at all; but I'll
pray to Him to give me mother that
don't whip, and that'll love us and kiss
u.s."
And with hearts crushed and torn the
little ones sought their chamber and
strove to undress. A weary time they
had of it, for their fingers were sore
and swollen and their eyes so blinded
they could hardly see the button holes
and much less the strings to their gait
ers. .
"rll have to 90 to bed with my shoes
on" moaned little Frank, as, pulling
the wrong way, he drew his lacing into
a hard knot. 80! dear, 1 wish Mary
would come" and he burst out afresh.
"She darsn't, cause mother won't
let her." said Henry, as giving an i'm
patient jerk to his jacket, he drew it
off, with q sad rent though, and the
loss of a couple of buttons. "Here,
I'll help you off with your things" and,
taking out his pen-knife, he severed,
with little ceremony, the Gordian tie,
and with a twitch here and pull there,
succeeded, at length, in stripping his
gentler brother. ...
"We hain't said our prayers said
Frank, as Henry leaped into bed.
"Well, l amt going to say 'em, eth
er," responded the other in an angry
tone. It's no use trying to pray when
you feel so ugly, the minister said 50
the other day; besides, my hands and
shoulders ache so | can't think about
anything but that old whip. She did
whip us awful hard, didn't she?"
"Yes. 0, it did hurt, though, and it
does now; but IguesS I'll just pray God
to make her love us, and never whip us
when we don't mean to be naughty"
"'Twon't do no good to pray that,
Frank; cause when she's so cross she
dom think about God nor nobody else"
"Well, old granny used to say, if it
don't do no good, it won't do no hurt
to pray, and it'll make you feel gooder
than it did BEFORE" And so the little
child, though every nerve within was
quivering yet with pain, and though he
was tired and hungry, just in that frame
of body when he needed to be folded to
a mothers heart and kissed and lulled
with the holy music of her evening
hymn, knelt down and folded his red,
smarting hands, and prayed to the
Good Father not only to make him and
his little brother good boys, but to make
their mother love them and never whip
them again when they didn't mean to
be naughty. If ever the recording
angel was tempted to blot out moth
er'S sin, it must have been when that
prayer was heard in heaven. c..
There was holy beautiful look on the
face of the suffering child as he raised
it to his brothers. His old granny's
words were true-he felt "gooder''
than before that knee was bent, before
that petition was lisped, But he could
not make his brother feel so. Dark, re-
vengeful feelings were boiling in that
young heart, and they bubbled over
soon in expressions like these:
81 think it was real mean in mother
to whip us when we didn't mean to do
nothing bad. What if we did break a
window? Father has got plenty of
money to pay for it and if he ain there's
no use of making such q fuss about a
dollar | wish we'd broke two; we
might Just as WELL Its her own fault,
too, if she'd let us play in the parlor
with our blocks it wouldn't have hap
pened. She needn't have killed us if
she did think she must whip us. l wish
l was a big man. I'd clear out some
where and never come back. Iwonder
if everbody's mother is so awful cross.
O dearr' but here his voice melted into
sobs again, now wild and convulsive,
stirring the whole frame, then deep and
passionate, choking the throat and
again so low and mournful that they
seemed but audible pulses of a break
ing heart. But healthy childhood has
ever true and gentle comforter for all
its woes, and the little boys, in an hours s
time, were fast asleep, their veined
eyelids fearfully swollen though, and
their brows and rosy cheeks sadly