The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1885-01-16
DEACON M'NAB'S PRODIGAL.

1u6 uGhCOu WhOCuCu dlAlOub1J " LIE bOh y
reply to his letter. He felt sure that Alexan-
der would reply. He judged from his W
standpoint, and from his knowledge of the
disputatious young man. He forgot to take
into account the influence Of marriage, and of
living I'M community where men have to be
careful in matters Of contradiction. He was
ignorant of many circumstance in his sons
life which made this letter of less importance
to him than it was to the lonely, anxious sender
of it He was sorry at its tone, and he said to
his wife: 81 have been a little premature.
Scotchmen have long memories for an offense
as well as for a kindness. l will wait a year
and write again"
But a year passed and he did not write two
and three years, and then he began to think he
could hardly write again unless his father re-
quested it. He might be suspected, if he did,
of mercenary motives. He had better let
things alone. So year after year passed away
and the silence was unbroken.
In the meantime a great change had taken
place in the deacon; but it had been so gradu-
al that his oldest friends rather thought their
estimate of him had been wrong than that his
character had been altered "He is hard
when you first know him, but he mellows as
your friendship grows" said McLaurin, who
had been a familiar friend for forty years. BUTT
was something more than the mellowing of
time. AS drops OF water will wear away gran
lite, so the preaching of Dominic Frazer had
told upon the deacon's spiritual nature. There
had indeed been times when he had seriously
disapproved him, when he had even feared he
was listening to something very like Arminian-
ism, but through it all very few sabbaths when
the words of Jesus had not found his soul,
even in It's most secret places.
In the ninth year of his sons absence he be-
gan to remember him very tenderly and to find
excuses for him. sHe was very young, and he
had my ain high temper and quick tongue. l
ken weel / haze a gunpowdery temper, and the
laddie was like q fash o. fire; in the vera
nature o. things mischief would come. / wish
/ kent where he is ct a.. Perhaps | ought. l
mean, perhaps it would be kind Like to look
after him wouldna like TO meet his mother
in another warld If / had failed in mercy TO the
lad. Whatever way can ! make it up WI him
it was in a mood of this kind he went to
church one morning. His thoughts wandered
q great deal until they fitted into the words
which the dominic was r~eadlng-the words IN
4 (which the Wise WOIldn Oh lbkUhn u.SCQ DhftQ
to bring back his banished son Absalom. He
pointed out the imperfection of David's forgive
ness, in that, though he bought him back, he
suffered him not to see his face. Then he
turned to the father of the newer dlspensation,
limned in Christiike colors, running TO meet
his prodigal when afar off, taking him to his
breast with kisses of forgiveness, called to-
gether his friends TO rejoice with him over the
son that was lost and found.
When the deacon left the church it was with
one fixed purpose-to go and find his son.
sand you'n do right, deacon said the
/ dominic. s'You are hale and vigorous, and
medina fear the travel. You haze plenty o.
siller to go to the lad; maybe he hasna a baw-
bee to come to you. He may haze fallen very
low-hae you thought of that?"
SAY, have l. If / can find him, however,
low he has fallen. Til lift him up and gle him
a sons portion in a. things"
eff that is the spirit you are in go your ways,
deacon, and the Lord go with you Where to
first?n
ssHe wrote me a letter frae a town on the
Gulf o. Mexico in Texas; but | haze written twice
to that place and got no answer back, for Did
him leave it on pain o my disploasure. and he'll
tells
In a month the deacon was in New Orleans,
and from there he went to Corpus Christi; but
since Alexander McNab had lived there IT had
been visited by an epidemic OF yellow fever,
and the population had been a constantly shift
ing one. No one remembered him.
"rll 90 up to the seat of government" he
said to himself; where there is law-making
there'll be lawyers. Maybe I'll find the lad
4 among them.
So he bought q horse and buggy and went
leisunely through the country. 1t was in the
first week in June, and he was lost in amaze
ment and delight There was a pomp and
glory in the sunshine and flowers which he
never dreamed of; and as he rode through
4 A.s1na - xrs and a q u fhn anrInflaal
herds of cattle, and felt all the lonely beauty
and peace sank into his soul, he said, raptur-
ously. Here one kens that the earth is the
Lords" The highly oxygenized atmos-
phere gave him a feeling OF exhiiaration
ne found himseif singing lines of
authorized songs as "Auld Lang Syne,n or
sScots who haze wi Wallace bled." Bnt the
strange happiness in his heart he put entirely
down to the credit of his conscience. sIts a
gram thing he thought, 'sto be on an errand
Of mercy. / dinna wonder now there are sac
many philanthropists.n
However, on the fourth day he left the open
p~rairies and got into the pine woods. The
heat increased, unknown insects troubled him,
no saw huge snakes gliding away into the
underbrush, thore were strange sounds
all around, and a sense or awful solemni-
ty came over him He was alone
with God in the thick woods and he
feared Him as he had never done before. All
day long the prayer OF contrition and adora-
zion was on his lips Toward the cleaning
he was delighted to reach the prairie again
and 10 meet two travellers.
Good night, stranger
ssGude night to bath o'you, Ken you whar
i can get a bite and a sup and q nights lodg-
ing?"
Eyes, sir-straight ahead You'll come to
the judges in half an hour They are right
smart folks, and you'd best light there for to-
night, | reckon.
ssThank you, gentlemen. Guide night.
He rode on very anxlously. The sun was
around linn. One lonely, silent bird flying
hastily 10 its covert gave a p<ssseer1er feeling
to the hour and scene. Suddenly he heard the
oyful laughter Ct children at play He