Mower County transcript., 1888-03-28

too bad, too thoughtless!" she cried. The
sun climbs higher and higher, YET manages
to cling with one slender finger to Liy's
locks The sparrows that had rowdily scutn d
and scolded betwe cen intervals OF domestic
gossip, fluttered from the window ledge up
to the spout above, their chirping a fitting
accompaniment to the benedictory hymn
of this congregation-Milton's sublimely
simple words:
LET US with gladsome mind,
Praise the Lord, fG- He Is kifd;
For His mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful. ever sure.''
Now, Lily dear. I am going down to con-
suit cook about dinner" says Bessie, as she
placed her sister On the bed. Lily smiles ut
the well-worn fiction which clothes the
k ndly privilege accorded by Mrs Milligan
of the floor below, to "use the cooking
stove honey, whenever the fires goin', for
it costs no more for the two of us than the
one of us, ye see.
Left alone, Lily lies and looks toward the
light, wondering where the sun has gone;
wondering whether mamma knows which
window to look in at. or can see her df she
knows) from so very far away. She is still
wondering and more wildly when: tap!
tap! May I come in?" ind there stands
Mrs. Marsden. The sight of that sweet,
startled, child face puts Mrs Marsden at
her bes', which is saying every thing, for
it makes her irresistible
Il am Mrs Marsden, dear. Your doctor
assistant The doctor gave me no medi
cine, so I brought some flowers. Yes,
vlolets; sent and robbed the church this
morning. You needn't look serious, the
flowers were my own YCu love flowers,
can see it by your eyes-and it was for your
T th1,, T IT. tn
take the chair, but sit right here on the
bed, so
Who could withstand Mrs Marsden in such
mood? Not little Lily. who capitulated at
once and let her hand lie willingly in the
warm, soft clasp of its cap1or.
@Now. tell me- aren't you very mach sur
prised?"
Liy's wondering had taken such celestial
sweeps that an angel would hardly have
Ieen surprise; so she answered:
Eyes. ma'am, that is, not SO very much
did think mamma would tell God, and am
so gla1 1t is better to be a little girl than
a sparrow, isn't its Sister says God cares
for the sparrows: only sometimes when she
is so long away, it seems as if God might
forget a little girl that couldn't go out of
| doors, where He could see her real plain"
Certainly the pain of yesterday has gone
| TO Mrs Marsden's he:rt And oh! the fan
| tastic ghost of that murdered bonn 1T! Why
would it pursue her! She pats the little
| cheek, and smooths the bright hair
Where is your sister, child? Why is she
not with you?"
The child fancied an implied rebuke in
| the question: and fastened to the defence
~Sister never leaves me except when
| she's at work, and even then, if she is nea1
| 1o NJ hoy ~ 0t
| lunch-time. 1t was much nicer when she
used to paint and do Kensington and that,
because I could watch her. but people
would not buy her things though they
were so nice; and sometl we had such a
| little to eat that sister could not put any
crumbs out on the ledge for the sparrows
She always puts some now before she goes
and sometimes a beautiful pigeon comes
and cats the crumbs Iwish I could have
it for NY own"
Kiss the child, Mrs Marsden. and try tc
| SIN other an uncomfortable suspicion that
DR.: Lucy deliberately stopped short of tell
ing her story last night
Sister will be SO glad you brought the
flowers" says the child, because sh.
meant to bring me some last night, only
she couldn't because" and Just here
Bessie enters, flushed from her work at the
stove, and stands looking in bewildermen1
at the scene The situation would have
been much more embarrassing for Mrs
Marsden had she not been a good woman
| Like many another good woman, her v.soI
was usually focused for long-ra benev.
olence. You can't see Breeds court whe1
you are looking at Benares But there was
no hesitation when Mrs Marsden did see
Impulsively, she moved to where Bessie