The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1881-03-24
THE OLD MOTHER m TINE WHITE
MOUSE.

When Garfield came safely to Wash
1ngton he gave his arm to his mother
who has lived with him all his mar
ried life. and she was taken by thu
Hayes family to the White House di
rect, and gwen n chamber there, anG
80 preceded her son, who went to a no
tel with his wife. The great iron
gate, carved with white pillars, va,
swung wide for her, and mp the beau
tiful, broad drive to the lofty porticC
aud the prOdigiOus house rolled the
plain little old lady Of eighty years, Al
observant as one Of the snowbirds that
hoped along the ledge of the plate
glass window on the first day OF
March. The bi00ded horses scarcely
felt the load as they kicked the echoes
up in the roof of the porte c0chere,
for she weighed almost a. little now
AS that baby which lay upon her lap
i'm the forest cabin, nearly fifty years
ago, and swallowed his toe audaci0us-
~ and squealed at the bringing Of wa
ter aud wash basin. He Is to lie her
Chief Magistrate tomorrow and ours,
and she, who saw him grow up hat
less and shOeless in the stump-strewn
fields, is the preferred guest of the
world on the first day OF spring and
the eightieth of her winters.
She is helped To the portico, but re-
quires no great help, having nothing
Of the very old woman about her, and
lighter on her feet to-day than many
in French heels, and she looks around
smartly. but with unconscious thanks,
as the porter bows her head into the
high, wide portal, and beneath her
feet are the thick, warm carpets of
the palace, while heat from brazen IA
dates on low glowing CRATES of pol
ished steel enters into her nostrils and
Is welcome to her dear old bones.
A sense Of holy recollectiOns comes
on that breath of heat of making the
cabin fire those many years ago when
this baby awOke and the embers were
out and the wood was gone, and she
wrapped her woods around her and
took the axe and opened her door ut
dawn. There stretched the gray sky
above the plain Of snow aud mOnOt-
cnous forest, and cold and penury
seemed blinking together ut her as ii
to say: Widow. how are your toes?
What's in the future for you? This
comes of love and marrying. The
top of the cold, March morning to
you, Widow Garfield" But the
brave young heart was already Crap
pling with, the knot of oak. and the
wOod-saw and the axe trenchantly
handled aroused her blood, till the bill
Its of firewOod Uttered the snow and
the baby, storming for its mamma,
stood i'm the cabin doorway and up
braided her. Then, amid his roaring
and clambering about her knees, her
hands work along to start
the stubborn wood into flame, which
will not take the rattling sparks from
the assisting flint. Again aud oft
again the fire goes out. Her temper
rises now, and now tears, but II In fire
or hunger. and she returns to the COM
bat. At last the obstinate splinters
catch the sparks and burst into COM
bustion and light upon the cabin raft
ers the intruding daylight, as her soul
almost exhausted. speaks, Thank |
God for the fire :"
They leave the little old lady in her |
luxurious room, and she is very weary |
with riding all night. All! heaven
Is good To me-" she thinks, 'but am |
weak. Tomorrow, and tomorrow,
and then my son and daughter will be |
here. for this house is too big without
then" She lays her head upon the bed |
and the sleep which follows us into
the world and precedes us leaving il,
comes like mesmeric hand upon her
temples, and the voice of dream re-
pea,s: Honor thy Father and thy |
that thy days may be long i'm
he land which the Lord thy God
hath given thee. "-NeW York Tribune