The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-01-06

it would he best not to have the child
there often. And Mamie mustn't worry
they could get along all right as long
as they could hear each other. Indeed,
it seemed as if the bond of suffering
drew them closer together. It was
beautiful to see the old mans care for
his wife and his tenderness in speaking
to her. The neighbors who had pitied
her at first often talked of it; they said
they never saw two deaf people take
such comfort in each other Often on
summer days the two high-pitched
voices would be heard, and the people
passing along would smile at each other
and sometimes linger little. "'Tis
kind O. social to hear them," they said.
So the winter passed and the summer,
and then quite suddenly, one night
when the earth was lying hushed and
silent under a soft fall of snow, the old
man passed from the silence of his life
into the greater silence that is beyond
the reach of human voice.
The neighbors for miles around came
to the funeral, and the house was full!
of grave, decorous whispers, broken
strangely when anyone spoke to the
wife. She was pale and silent; only
once did she speak O: anything that she
wanted done, and then she called Nam
ME hesitatingly: Tell him 1 don't
want him to speak SOS can hear. It
it wouldn't seem proper, somehow. It
won't make any difference to Ezra now,
and l." she faltered a moment, and a
tender light came into the faded blue
eyes-'I guess he can't say anything
about my husband that 1 don't know a
hundred times better than him"
''I'll tell him, mother" said Mamie,
gently.
Her mother spoke slowly, CHOOSING
her words. "And tell him." she said,
"that we've lived together 80 years, and
it don't seem more than 30 weeks as
look back. And tell him that in it all
was never an angry word. never any
thing but love I can't speak of; and tell
him." she was crying little now, but
her face was still touched with the Won
derful light, "tell him the only thing
I'm sorry for now is that there wasn't
more could do to show my love for nv
husband.''
II will tell him ALL" said Mamie.
That was a strange funeral-the
neighbors spoke of it afterwards. The
still figure that sat dead to the words
of tender healing spoken by the minis
ter seemed to lend an element of mys-
terry to the scene, and the contrast be-
tween the darkened room and the bril-
liant, sparkling world outside flashed
upon their eyes like a miracle
They spoke of it on the way home,
and said that Ezra had been a good hus-
band to her, and no one would fill his
place. mamie means all right" Mrs
Tarbox said, smoothing her black
dress, "but she hasn't time to set down
and make work of entertaining her
mother"
""Tis so,' answered Mrs. Slocum
"and Hester'll miss entertaining Ezra
too. faint as though she wasn't af.
flicted, either way. She's young and
spry enough yet, but it seems most as il
it's no use."
81 shall sort O miss hearing then
summer evenings" said her friend
1--WE were so near, you know-it seemed
almost like company"
II guess We'll all feel bad to see thu
house shut up" responded Mrs. Slocum
her voice full of the solemnity of the oc
casion.
y And Mrs. Banks, all unconscious O.
the talk, was being driven over to Nan
MES. She was 70 quiet that her, daugh