The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1892-08-25
BABY ANNIE'S PRAYER,
She Had to Say It, Because
Mamma Told Her To.


gloomiest passengers that ever got
together in a Pullman car one warm
June night coming up from Atlanta
over the Piedmont Air Line, says the
Philadelphia Times. There were
several reasons for the surly dullness
which deepened as the evening wore
on. The weather was clammy and
uncomfortable, while to open the win
showers of cinders.
With such conditions it was not to
be wondered at that an air of gloomy
moroseness pervaded the car. The
only party who did not openly evlnce
any evidence of discomfort was a
group Of sad-faced man, a woman
with a subdued countenance and a
tiny tot Of five, apparently the
daughter of the man and the niece Of
the lady. We all knew we'll enough
why they were SO quiet. In the bag
gage car was rough box, and the
little girl clutched tightly bouquet
Of the same tube roses we had seen
carried in with the coffin.
| Cheerfulness did not increase as the
night grew on. Three drummers
tried to break the gloom by relating
rather offcolor stories in an audible
undertone.
Two Atlanta sports were talking
over poker game, interjecting little
bursts of profanity into their conver
sation, hardly broad enough to merit
reproof from the conductor, but yet
not the kind of talk desirable in
family circles. Presently the porter
began making up the berths, COM
mencing at the rear, where the funeral
party was ensconced. The train
rumbled on through the darkness, the
hum of discontented conversation
filled the car, and none of the men
paid the slightest attention to the
white jacketed negro and his work.
By and by these were sounds of
slight disturbance from the back part
Of the car, which caused everyone to
turn their eyes thither. In the mid
die of the aisle stood little fairy
form clad in snowy night dress, her
golden curls shaking over her shoul
ders by the rocking of the car, while
her blue eyes were troubled and half
afloat in tears. She was saying in a
baby voice, which opposition had
caused to rise to its highest pitch,
distlnguishable above the rumble of
the train: "Papa and auntie, l must;
mamma told me to before she went to
Sleep" Seeing the attention Of the
other passengers drawn upon them,
the father flushed and made no
further remonstrance, and the lady
also drew back. The little tot got
down reverently upon her knees by
the side of the berth, clasped her tiny
hands and began:
Now + lay me down to s'eep,
Ipray the Lord my soul to keep,
and 50 on through it all until the final
amen, adding, "God bless papa and
auntie and poor little Annie, whose
mamma has goned away
Then, unresisting, they tucked her
into the berth. There was no more
storytelling, no more grumbling, no
more growing that night. The train
rumbled on with the sleeping mother
in the baggage car and the sleep
ing orphan in the Pullman.
The Third party candidate for Su-
perior Court Judge Of the twelfth dis
trict, w. H. Malone, Republican of
long standing, was placed in nomlna-
ton by T. B. Long, another Repubi-
can, of equal years, and this nomlna-
ton was seconded by Cebern L.
Harris, the Republican Superintend-
ent of Public Works, under the notorious
regime of 7S6S-69. Do not these
facts make the ear mark plain? One
other fact is clear: this Third party
convention has resurrected a great
many Republicans who have been
buried for many years, and the zeal
with which they embraced in that
convention the faintest gleam Of po-
litical hope was quite refreshing. They
must go back soon to their political
tombs, and next time leave all hope
behind. State Chronicle