The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-12-02

"Then I'll make your yelled the
rufiian, and Selling him by the throat
he made q ferocious lunge with . std
letto.s. Fs-sP ~ 'e~
The parties in and around the saloon
had by this inc gathered near. and ex.
element deep and intense prevailed.
No one needed the fact that carriage,
with lady ROBBED in deep mourning
for its only occupant, had halted near
the door, as boy rushed in and called
to his companions without, "Balfour's
gettin' cut by Mexican Joe!'
At the sound of the name the lady in
the vehicle called to the driver to per-
NIT her to alight, and trembling with
terror and agOnized suspense, she foand
her way into the saloon, where a crowd
was rapidly collecting. With nervous
haste she threaded her way into the
room from which the noise of strife
proceeded, the gamins making way for
her in silent wonder as she advanced.
And we'll might they gaze at her in
startled surprise. Such q face and
presence were never seen in the pur-
lieus OF that region before, save to pass
by in public conveyance, perhaps, and
then as rapidly as possible. as if to avoid
contamination with the coarser ele-
ments of the degraded resorts.
Tall, stately. with streaming eyes and
quivering lips, her black robes sweep
ing behind her as she walked, she
entered and saw her son just as he
reeled from the blow inflicted by the
cruel knife Of his vindictive foe. His
glance. full of terror, despair and agony
in that dreadful moment, saw and
recognized her, and his bleeding form
fell into her loving faithful arms with
the simultaneous exclamation: "Oh;
mother?' and s.My dear Frederick, my
precious boyr' fell on the ears of the
astonished multitude.
A hush of respectful sympathy moved
those rugged hearts, as quickly and
carefully they assisted in removing the
sufferer from the dreadful scene.
Speedily summoning aid, the mother
drove TO the hotel with her cherished
burden, once strong and athletic, now
weaker and more frail then herself.
A physician was called in, and to her
great relief the wounds, though
dangerous, were not pronounced fatal. A
faint hope still fingered, and with care
and watchfulness he might survive.
And need it be added that there would
be no lack of afectionate care, when
devoted mother keeps sleepless vigil
beside the couch of her suffering, vet
youthful and only son.
Reader would you follow the fortunes
of Frederick Balfour, go with me TO
great city in the West, where the
tapping waves of peaceful ocean
caress the beautiful concave of the
Golden Gate; where, amid the hum of
business, the dreams of the most
visionary are often a bright reality;
where fortune. like the far-famed
palace of Aladdin, rises in a night and
gladdens the surrounding plains with
its splendor at the rising of the morn
ing sun. txe = &
1t is the holy Sabbath day, and as the
voice of .deep-toned bells, calling to
cathedral and chapel, linger family on
the air, the throngs of expectant and
devout people hasten to the temple of
worship. In one of these. the young
minister takes his place behind the pull
pit, and for a few moments bows his
head in prayer.
In this vast assemblage there is one
whose heart throbs with far deeper and
grander joy than it ever pulsated be-
tore. There she sits. Her pale face
has borrowed from excitement a faint
tinge of youthful bloom; the clear dark
eyes are true and earnest as of yore;
and the slightly curling threads of hair
which touch her placid forehead so ca
ressingly are now quite silvered, yet
seeming to wear Heavens hottest benz
son nesting among their waves of
snow.
The choir began their solemn anthem,
"God is the refuge of His people, !" and
as the deep, sonorous chords melt and
mingle in the lofty temple, and then
float away to Heaven, a solemnity
brOOds over the hearts and minds of the
eager and expectant congregation.
The anthem finished, the minister
rises. 1t is the same Frederick. changed
more, perhaps, from within than with
out, for the frank, earnest eyes are still
there, the scarlet lips, surmounted now
by brown mustache, the waving locks
are brushed back except where here and
there a hayward curl will steal from its
restraint, and hint that boyhood has
scarcely passed, though stern yet noble
manhood, on the brow and in the heart,
now reign supreme.
His voice, deep and musical, enchains
and enrapts the hearers, as filled with
reverence, fervor and holy enthusiasm,
he leads them in prayer, and points
with unerring distinctness to the snares
and pitfalls Of the path once trodden by
his own youthful feet, and with glow
ing zeal. invites them to fairer road.
where blossom the flowers OF purity and
holiness, Conducting the tired wayfarer
to the refreshing haunts of wisdom,
"whose ways are ways of pleasantness
and all her paths are peace. LOUIS
ellie C0uraer-IOurn0l.