Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-10

lieve that your beloved is still with you, at
your side, constant though silent compan-
ion? Do take this comfort to your heart,
you who knew the breadth OF soul, the large
ness cf heart, the noble nature of your hus-
band so much more intimately than anyone
else could, can you not believe that these
graces of heart and life were but the mani
festation of the loving Father within him?
Can you not believe with me that this same
loving Father welcomed his son, running to
meet him, falling upon his neck, kissing him
and crying, This is My son Robert who has
not recognized Me these many years, but
whom | have been loving all the time. This,
My son, who was dead but is alive again,
has come back to his Fathers house. And
there was Joy in heaven! Take heart, dear
bereaved one Take to yourself this assur-
ance this hope, this comfort offered you
from the fulness of a loving, sympathetic
heart. He may not return to you, but you
snail go to him"
Some Queer Letters.
The percentage of illteracy in The letters
is something astonishing. one reads
mis- Maud Ingersoll: Dear Mad: en-
close you a tract what is the Soal, aud
hope reading same may Convert you from
the evil of yo'ir Ways. hope you Will write
me your Opinion of it."
The avalanche which has poured in upon
the family has taxed their utmost resources
to sort out what little wheat there was
from the chaf and to send repl,s to all
who deserved it. So far as has beea pos
sible they have sent courteous replies to
all really sympathetic and sensible letters.
Three large bureau drawers have now been
set aside for the reception Of future cor-
Iospondence and they are respectively la
boled "Well meaning" "SpirituaIistic" and
"Idiotic."
Up TO the present writing Mr. FlTrall
and Mr.. Brown are stocked with enough
tracts and general religious literature to fit
cut half the Sunday schools and misai2ns in
cur new colonies.
Most OF the writer's seem to doubt Mrs.
Ingersoll'a agnostlcism, She could scarcely
be anything oiher.
Mrs. EnGersoIi's Ancestry.
History has a fashion OF alludng to the
GOD fearing pioneer mothers of the COM
monwealth But there was at ela. one OF
that early band to whom such a descri9tioH
could apply, and that one was Sarah Buak-
man Parker, the grandmother OF Eva
Parker 1ngerson, the widow of the late
Colonel Ingersoll
Mrs Parker was the wife of a wealthy
shipowner or Boston and after her husbands
death she, with her two sons George aud
Benjamin crossed the country traye ing in
the primitive fashion OF ihnsa days and IN
1886 settled in central Illinois, teaore the
advent Of raiiroats into the state.
Here her home was situated In the cente-
OF triangle bounded on It's hrce points
b1 Springfield Bloomington and Peorll, ana
located as It was on the highway of travel
ii so2n became famous for the generous
hospitality dispensed In true western style,
albot IT was favored with more intellectual
sauce than usual.
Here the Parker family aouTiahed and ere
lcng exercised a decided influence on all
educational, political ana business inter-
os:s OF the growing community. George and
BoDjanin married and brought their wives
thlthCr in due tlme and George Parker
founded and brought 10 successful Issue the
town OF Atlanta, incidentally aceumulating
a fortune thereby. But il Was the mother,
Ms Parker who was ever he recognized
head. tha dispenser of the generous spi-
aliay, the leader in discussions, the moalder
Of thought She was a woman Of remarkable
ri>ntal attpinments, a deep and logical
thinker and one who formed Aer opinion
cnly after carefully studying, weighing and
comparing, Had she been man she would
have made a splendid juriet.
As Il WAS, in her well-stocked library
might be found more books than usually fell