The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-07-08
Lite SunIocks Dodge.

J. that once. a long. long time after sht
+ was no more II fell to that ! Vlsltea tm ,e
\, little town where Little Sunlocks -, Roo oSe
V had lived and where she died, ana Oh,
i afternoon stood by little sraI9 ti'% 80
Y was covered with flowers so deep M az 20
had stepped into them they wouid nave
come up 10 my shoe tops. -, ~,
!, Who were the father and mother VI
d Little Sunlocks Dodge Now, a 9,.
, every hid would say that Is a,, lutog
D that people In the village used TO asH
4 one another. although they never ASH
. the Kind old man and his little wlIe, Tn IL,
. was always busy and always neat anu IN. an
natty as any white winged yaCHi -"
ever saw. No one ever asked Litte sun
LOCKS who ner father and mother W.
she would have said. II she nad peer
asked, that the old people with Whom
she lived were. for she did not hIo"
! differently.
The kind old man was known as James
Dodge. lie was cooper ana ms "noR
was In the basement Of his house, ana
there you could find him from early IN me
morning till sunset among the DaIreI5
and slaves and shavings. He had once
been captain Of n steamboat on the ONO
river. An ailliction came upon hlnl-hls
eyesiSht was impaired, and ne quit the
river and opened this cooper SHOP IN the
town whSTe Little Sunlocks dled. Inc
house stood on bluff overlooking the
Missouri river.
lie was a very good man. lie was
Idlthiul IN all the requirements. lie al
ways went 10 church alone. his pew was
l,Nhi Nll' affair, ana n was NNIcIStOol
1ndi When the church was crowded Mr..
I'o1Se pew was to be used 3D. seating
slIahkers Aside from his attendance on
! sundays and the Wednesday evening
! prayer meetings. Nr. Dodge was not
CONSPICUOUS member. He prayed In such
low tone that sometimes people who
We're present would have 20 watch him
I 10 see when he said amen. He went
ana came In the quietest way. His wife
/ was never heard TO question her hus-
! pa"u sincerity. When she was asked !
] ffH lot gF.a
! satisfactory answer and the subject was |
! cropped 1 think She was q good little |
MO,,ian from an ever heard. You know, /
| perhaps, mat some people who DO not 20 /
To- church are good. But that is a matter
thaI nas nothing to do with this story.
blttie Sunlocks Dodge never went TO !
CHuItH She was always with her mother,
O. 'ne one "hom she knew as mother.
one never went 10 school for this mother
t&uSnt hcr. And one reason why ] think
inns mother was very good little woman /
Is that Little Sunl0cks used 10 repeat the
ttH Cohmandments, the Lords prayer and
we btaitudes. and she always knelt be-
,S,uS TINS mother at night and said the
niue prayer which all good children know,
Now ! lay me down 10 sleep"
ANA then she kissed this mother and the
one Wnom she thought was her father.
ana When she was in her bed this father
ana mother watched her until she was
sale asleep and then they read chap /
I,I; some liints one. sometimes the other,
ana thcu they knclt down. and Mr. Dodge .
would pray. And then Mr.. Dodge would /
take an old tin lantern. light the piece Of
Cdndle I'D IL, and 80 out and look all round
the house and through his shop and then
come back and go To- bed. He did this
every night until the night that Little
SunlOcks died.
You say he could not have had much
falth ia his prayers if be was afraid like
that
Wen, that is so. But there are a great
many MT. DOdGcs VINO pray and then
light their lanterns and go out % see if
thcir prayers have been answered.
=, another thing about Lutte Sunlocks
Dodge which you may think very strange
was that she had no paymates. She did
not want any as fnr as ! ever learned.
Ihis good little woman whom she thought
was her mother was her only companion.
, l. suppose you would Ike o. know tf
Little SuniOcks Dodge was pretty. \ very
good old man think fl was the poet
ROgers-Once said: "T0 us who are old the
Young are always beautiful" But Little
ouniockS as l am told by one whom
consider a judge. was pretty. Her hair
was what you would call red. But IL was
/ beautiful shade of that color. and very
are. II clustered about her head and neck
Ike a bunch Of flowers that comes sud
ienly united. il was fastened with a comb
nuch too old for her, but II was a costly
me- set with pearls. Her eyes were as
rOwn as buckeyes. and when you looked
nto them they seemed as II they were the
windows of some beautiful world Her
gure was 1.-the. and while she was not
uoyant, her step was like a pretty dance.
so need 20 tell you any more. She was
S pretty rs picture. and % her there
-as Onlv one world the home I'm which
he lived and onlv three neonle i'm n
he NAV have been selfish I'm this but IN
las nor her fault.
II was indeed q strange noet-tbase
No old people. growing older and fecb-
~ every day and this child who blossom
q like a flower and became more radiant
! She grew
one day the people who lived across
De- way missed lttlc Sunlocks from her
lmps about the door OF .ie old coOnor
.Cp And the next dav and the noxt and
, ON She was missed She vas never
en again Iv tie ueople who looked for
.r ovorv mornire
hat follows was known Rut ~ vy9s
ll % me by that one whose stories and
oris were TO me- as true as those which
lur mothers tell You.
one evening Little Sunlocks called her
other and fathcr-thesc dear old people
no watched her 50 carefully ~ h.r
e hal been in dreamy condition an
~. She would open her brown ewes 10
e. good OLD people. and look at them.
d them close them. and smile would
n.y. about her face. and in the afternoon
f. sunshine fell upon her ripping hair
u IL wanted o. llnger When she call
the good old people go her I'm the even
; she told them that she had been
ay 10 a country which she described as
D Of rivers and Islands and noun
ms, and where the birds sang ana
4. She had seen a Wonderfully hand
ne man, who had taken her IN his arms
ID asked her 10 make q wish. She wish
that her mother and father might
'w youns again and that they might
H' some time TO live whore She W4s