The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1897-09-16
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A 81 Blooms
- ....-.kGld Men and women
Live Near Natures Heart.
By JOHN
By JOHN McELROY.

eZ they uns. | purpose t find out atore Pm
a week older Jest who's gwine t stay in this
here settlement. Hits entirely too small fur
ali o us, Somebody's got t quit"
" Clay, my son." said Robert Inrule,
anxiously II beg YOU do nothin' rash Not
| fer yo' sake alone. but still more fer the sake
O. those who look up t yo' ez leader. lo'
know all 'uns feel ez strong on this Ell yo
do. but We uns must all act together, an one
mustn't GO faster'n the Others kin toller.
= I'm gwine out t. the loom-shed Z see
| how Sally got along weavin them towels
today" said Miriam, picking up heavy
/ iron candlestick, and lighting the dip IN 1t
with silver of fat pine. Come along with
me, Clay"
They passed through the kitchen, where
! Sally was seated. with her cheek resting on
her hand, and her eyes looking intensely into
the fire. while her foot kept rocking the sugar
trough in which her sleeping babe lay
Graded.
What air yo' studyin' on so airnestly,
Sally ?" asked Miriam, pleasantly.
"l've been studyin' powerful strong over
| the queerness O things, she answered frank
ly IAN why the good Lord lets 'em be so
queer, for He must let 'em. or they cOuldn' t
be- The Elder says that hits the devil that
goes about spi lin the Lords good works,
an yit hit seems t me that the Lord must
let him, fer the Lord could git shet o the
devil eff He wanted to, couldn't Hep"
| Miriam declined to discuss a theological
point which has been stumbling block fol
believers in all times
q don't know anything bout hit" she
said eyasiveiy. " never tried t study hit
out. The Elder knows a wonderful sight
more bout these things than ! do, OF ever'll
find out. an what he says must be 50.
a. try T. believe all that the Elder says,
but all the same I'm puzzled Perhaps I'll
understand hit when get more grace, ez the
Elder says. But since I've been here my
eyes have been opened. l see so many
things clearly that dreamed of and guessed
at a1ore / knowed all-the time wuz not
! Twin the life should, and that Jim wuzzent
but ! didn't know what the difference WIZ
betwixt that an the life ] see yc'uns live.
Mebhe hit wuz bekase ] wuz in the miTe an
( sloth o sin, Ell the Elder says. Then Won
der ef hit Is altogether religion that makes
yO ways 80 different from ourn. Does re-
J ligion make yo' work hard all the time at
something useful? Does bit make yo' keep
1 clean an be sweet an kind L each ether an
/ even t me and baby? The preacher says
/ that giitin religion makes one stop drinkn'
]
moss racin' an that's why | used & wish
Jim'd git religion, but he never would But
the preachers don't say notlin' bout religion
bringin' these other things I've mentioned
( Whar do they come from? I've heered
more kind words in the weeks sence I've bin
in this ere house than I've heaTcd from every
body an TO everybody in all the years sence
WIZ born. An ct the Lord 5 ez good an kind
ez they say lie is, why don't He make every
body ez kind an good Ell yo' air? Why does
He let EN- he e. pzen an wuthless ez the
lioskins tribe? Why didn't he make me L
be q nice ez yo' air, and Big Jim i be ez
manly al gentle ez Clay Pollock, thar"
Come, Mis- sally. you're gittin flatterin."
said Pollock, awkwardly, lor he was scarcely
used 20 such comparisons.
: don't intend L be fatterin', . she said
stoutly. amt talkin' to praise nobody I've
Jest been thinkin' an irwin to study things
out for my own self. I'm putin things 'lolg-
side o one another, Jest as / would compare
line oak tree L measly cottonwood or one
o 70 bosses L the cr0w-bait that Pid Pan
cake rides / s'posc tie Lord has His own
purposes in maxim people different. Jest as
He naAeS trees and critters different from one
another But hits monty tough on some o.
those that He makes different ] wonder ef
He intends they uns TO alluz stay that away,
in spite o all they kin do"
10 air gittin' too hard for me. Miss
Sally, laughed Pollock, as he followed
Miriam out TO the weaying-loom she'd AK
the Elder
Pc sally" sad Miriam, as with Pollock's
arm around her she stood beside the
loom and critically examined the weaving
which had been done; " she tries powerful
hard t do things right. but hits uphill work
She never seed things dope the way we do
I EN-, an in spite o her willingness to larn.
she makes bad work. / feel 50 sorry for her
that / haint the heart { find fault She
haint t blame. but the people that raised
her
They'uns don't raise their children
said Pollock; they just let EN- grow like
weeds
feel SO sorry fu Sally" continued
Miriam, that don't correct her oftentimes
but jest wait till her backs turned. an then
. quiet y do her work over agin the right way.
/ That's why come out the loom-shed !
s'poscd size was in bed with her baby. asleep
Now SIZE knows that I've bin here, I'll hev t
let hlt 90. though hits powerful 20 weayin
llt shes lamin lots, every day. but she 5
tryiu L larn IN 4 few weeks what / We bin
al ny lie laIin'"
lie main trouble begun in the fust
place with her not hayiD' sich grand
mothers 81 20 had, honey" SAID Pollock,
londiy. Hist / wonder what's the mat er
with them hosses," and he looked toward
the stable, from which unusual sounds had
struck his quick ear. They air actin ez
Of some stranger was pokin round thar"
lie saw spark Of fire. which at first
seemed to him an unusually large and
! bright FREELY. Then as a sudden blaze
broke ont IN the shed flied with corn blades
ted together in bundles, he saw like a
4 lightning flash the face Of Pid Pancake
! blowing coal OF fire TIL it would catch the
dry fodder. Pollock yelled Tor Bildad and
Reuben, and sprang down toward the stable.
Hls fist thought was TO put out the fire
aud save the stable, forage, and horses. As
tie boys came running up he started them
/ after The Two men whom he had seen run
away. He and Robert Inrule quickly saw
! tbat II as lmpossib 10 save The stable ::
/ the most they could do was TO get the
! animals out They managed TO do this.
after some difficulty, and as they turned
them into another Enclosure Bildad and
Reuben came back painting and exulting
Biidad was dragging Wis Clrke and Reuben
was swinging club over Pid Pancakes
head and threatening ali sorts OF violence
/ II he attempted 10 get away
! We haunt L blame mite" both the
/ prisoners whined, as they were brought be-
/