Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1881-05-10
SISTER wEEDrN'S PRAYER.
BY SHERWOOD BONNER.


the song says, 70 see a sight as might have
surprised the angels Their was a crowd.
sure. They had come from the four mile,
an the SIX mile, an the nine mile, and
from down in the timber. and ther was
even pretty smart sprinkhn o town
folks Kind Of apart from the rest, with
plenty OF artificial flowers IN ther hats an
an air of gen'ili,y that differed 'em from
the farmer women with ,her sun. bonnets
an babies. /, was four clock on Sur
day afternoon, an they were all assembled
10 see young Roland Selph baptized by
Preacher Powell, who exp1unded the
Word four times year a; Big Muddy
meeun' house.
Il was amost like a miracle. Roland
was hard case. Ny husband, who.
bein' one o the ''swearin Walters as
they was called in Grandpa Walters day,
bad a SORT Of ancestral talent for usin
strong words. an better that than for
usin strong drink, says when ,witied,-
for what l. words but slap dash thrown
together of letters: an If man chooses
EN- hard like goose -quills instead o soft
like goo>e-down. an nobody's hurt, then
where's the harm well, my husband he
allus said that Roland was the "darndest
man TO cuss on the prairie" He never
had no bringin' up was the trouble. His
father, a rrle active. nice man, was K lied
in a mill six months before he was born,
an his mother she took on so that she
didn't have no strength to git him even
50 taf along as leelhin. So his grand.
mother she raised him on Sleeps milk an
a peach-irce switch Kicks and cuffs
were sandwiched between the poor ehilds
meals. until the old woman died an left
him. kithless an klnless in the land. A
wild-lO -lOokin lad he was, with shock o
/ black hair that YOU couldn't combed
with a wool card, an biz eyes bold as the
/ hub of a wheel, an clothed summer an
winter in rags He was NIGHTLY in de-
mand at harvest time, for he was as
/ strong as a horse an hadn't had chill
/ since hiS grandmother broke en- on him
al the age Of fourteen with black pepper
| an molasses an santoine an bag o
camphor at tae pit Of his stomach. But
people was powerful shy of associatin
with him. tie was druv to the saloons
for company; an they said he could drink
quart o whiskey as If 1t was spring-wa
Ter.
How it came about nobody knew.
Brother Powell never was counted 10 have
much influence. an he looked powerful
little an meachin' ike beside Roland, tall
an broad chesitd an as hansome as any
body in bran new suit o brown Jeans
an a " hite shirt clean as clean.
As he went down into the water the
men took off ther hats with a soft loose
sweep, an the women hushed their babies
al ther breasts. The sun shone out broad
an mellow; everything seemed 10 listen,
somehow, as the words was uttered over
tina, wild, forsaken one that made him a
member o Christs great family. Then
what a crowdin' roun' an han shakln
as ne came out drippin an casun
glance round half beseechin' an half a.
DARN, L, was wuth comm long wa!
lest TO see that poor sinner a-welcomeo
inter the fold.
But noticed one curious thing. Mrs
Blseoe was there with her two daugheer:
Lelie an Jenny,-Rose an Lily we useC
20 call EN-, seem how one was reC
beauty an one a white. Jenny-she wa
the fair one-was the most help to he
mother. Leila, for all her rosy cheeks an
black eyes, was lazy little hIttergibbet
: Mrs. Biscoe she was a widow; little
straight. dark woman, with plenty o
snap 10 her, who took in sewin for liv
in an was much respected in the BaPtis
society. Well, she gave quick littl
! nod TO ards Roland jest before ne wa
dipped, an she said in kind Of an under
tone. They do look nice, girls, don
: they - Istudied quite spell over thl
}, peeeh. but couldn't exactly make ou
: what she meant by 1t.
e Some davs alter the batisin, Mrs. Wys
nicker of the four mile invited all the SO
ciety to a wool pickin' There WASH
: any declinations, for Mrs. Wysnicker wa
a mas,er-hand for dinners. Never dl
; she sit YOU down to her table unless sh
o had .tIesh." au' maybe couple o chick
ems besides; an her pie-crust would brea
: inter honest flakes if YOU SO much
> ,;p,ed a knife at it. Furthermore, W
. wanted to see ii her wool was SO muc
j. 6ner than anybOdys else. She ha
boasted considerably about it, an we ur
. derstood that she had sheared fourtee
!. y mounds to a sheep. So 1t was candle
y rub. b,ssktsss ell vvsr ths pssir'e, an' b