The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1891-04-08

ulu NlslOub Debb 0bHTQ 0eT ndIue 6pOken
in the front part of the store: " Is Miss
Maynard in2 Her brother was hurt out
at the Sabin minel" She sprang for
ward almost stunned, but could learn
only that an accident had occurred, and
that her brother was injured and had
been taken home.
She fairly flew over the way. "They
would not have sent me word" she
argued with herself, "unless he had
been badly hurt, and, oh, those awful
minesl" She seemed to herself scarcely
to move. The half!mile which in the
early morning was so short, now seemed
an infinity of distance. AT last she APP
preached the door, where her mother
met her, pale and anxious, but thor
oughly self-controlled. Bess was re-
assured by her manner and soon found
out the particulars. Fred was at his
post by the engine, careful and watch
full as ever. 1t was no fault of his.
One of the men had gone to the SUI
perintendent with some dynamite,
which, from dampness or the intense
cold, was unfit for use. The superin-
tendent directed him TO place it near
the boilers in the engine-house. 1t
was carelessly left there, and by some
unknown means exploded. A terrific
blast occurred, killing a companion
workman, injuring several-Fred most
severely. His right arm and shoulder
were torn till the bone was exposed
and the flesh hung in shreds. His face
was filled with particles of dust and
sand, and his eyes were injured. DR..
Curran was called, and dressed the
~ ,Lot al 1
could from the face. "And how about
his eyes, doctor?" said the anxious
mother. The DOCTORS face showed his
deep sympathy as he said "I can not
tell yet, but trust the vision may not
be destroyed"
AS full consciousness returned and
the pain in her arm and shoulder sub
sided, the great question came to be:
" Will he ever see again?" The days
slowly wore themselves away and the
the nights were not quite endless, till
in the second week the doctor con-
firmed their worst fears. Poor Fred,
so young and hopeful, to meet with
such fate! "Just when l was getting
able TO support MOTHER" said he, I" TO
be thrown on my back care and a
burden to her." while the thought of
the future-a future of blindness-he
bravely kept to himself.
For some time Bess remained with
her brother as nurse, eXerting herself
to the utmost to bring cheer to the
darkened home. After few weeks,
however, the household affairs read
justed themselves, time smoothed off
at least the poignancy of grief, and the
inevitable bills began to accumulate
Then the question came up whether
Bess should go back to Mrs. Bar
rows to sew. She said she would
go, and the old life was resumed, but
much of the old joyousness was gone.
Down to the little shop she went in the
morning to toll till her eyes were dim
and her bones ached, and home again
at night. "You are a brave, patient
girl, Bessie" hermother said one even
ing when the sewing-girl laid her first
months earnings in her mothers hand.
But that night Bess wrote to John, and
for once in her life her buoyant spirit
sank, and she wrote a "blue letter"
"* Mother says l am patient;
but oh, John, if she only knew how l
feel, she would say / am awfully re-
bellious. do not say much. / sub
NIT. But it is all too cruel. How can
it be kind Providence that visits a
bright, ambitious boy of eighteen with
such calamity l would not COM
plain of it all-my own treadmill exist
ence and our poverty-but when shall
the end ever come? It's too much for
human hearts to bear!'
And yet Bess would not for the
world have given up her few Bible
verses every morning, and her prayer.
For though she often turned her face
upward when the heavens seemed as
black as the darkness Of Egypt, like the
storm-driven sailor she knew no other
place to look for the stars. Obi it is
the sublimity of our Christian faith
that, when the gloom thickens till no
human eye can pierce it, when the
hands grope in the darkness and touch
nothing, when only mists come driving
in the face, not daring even TO move
forward, it can stand still and trustl
Over and over during these weary
months did Bess read her favorite
chapter, one verse of which insisted on
making itself her motto: "Patient in
tribulation." She learned her lesson
well. No one could doubt it who saw
her coming ana going. winning as
ever, her sweet face grew into that
loneliness which only sorrow, borne
for his sake, can give, and showed the
woman where the girl had been. She
had become patient. For by one of
those strange Examinations which
which come only when we are prepared
for them, she had caught new mean
ing in the words just preceding her
motto. Now she was not only pa
tiently enduring, she was rejoicing in
hope" Along with strength and
steadiness had come sacred gladness.
One evening about this time the fam
lily received visit from Mr.. Curtis
Beck. The old lawyer had been a
friend of Captain Maynard and had not
forsaken the family in their bereave-
ment, nor in more recent affection.
He had often called to show kindnesses
tn the Hind how Alwovo liyoly on1 N