The Savannah morning news., 1902-02-25
A SAD INCIDENT OF A FIRE.
How the Prayers of a Young Mother
Were Strangely Answered.

were answered.
From the New York World.
The night of the great fire in Pater-
son, n. j., some one, frightened by the
approach of the devouring wave of
flame, moved grand piano from his
house and left it in a nearby grave
yard.
The afternoon of that same day two
people had been in the place and left
a small white casket covered with
flowers and tears. There had been no
music in the brief burial service read
in the chapel of the cemetery, for the
couple were trangers-English people
seeking a new home in new country
and only stranger eyes were there to
look upon their grief when the little
girl died.
IF only some one was here to sing
for Annie" the poor young mother
murmured over and over again, the
roses quite washed from her cheeks by
her tears, II believe l could bear 1t
better to leave her here if there was
some one to sing"
But there was no one to be secured at
a moments notice, and it had all been
so unexpected and sudden. So the
strong -shouldered young Englishman,
with a mist of tears yelling his blue
eyes, put his arm around her very ten
derly and tried to lead her away. They
were to take the train that afternoon.
and he urged her to make hatse. But
she would walk a few steps and then
turn back and stretch her empty arms
towards that little grave. then throw
herself into her husbands arms in an
agony of weeping. Time after time she
tried to go away and the sexton, who
had taken up his spade. dropped il
every time she looked around, and
seemed TO have nothing to do but gaze
straight ahead of him into the bare
branched trees. But when, after much
hesitation and many pauses to look
once more, they went away, he brushed
his rough sleeve over his sorrow hard
ened eyes and fell to work to cover
the little form with the kind earth.
Sadly the husband and wife entered
the station and secured the tickets for
Chicago The woman was not weeping
now, but something in her look was far
more sad than tears. And her silence
seemed so terrible to the man who low
ed her that he put aside his own great
grief and tried to make her talk of
Annie.
"She loved music so much," she whis-
pered brokenly "and there was no one
to sing just one little, simple song"
''She is singing now herself, mother"
the man said. with his deep voice
trembling. I'VE must take comfort
thinking of that"
Then they began talking OF the child
and repeating, untlringly the sweet,
unimportant precious things that mean
so much to those who love and lose,
until their hearts were breaking with
longing TO hear again the soft. uncer-
ta.n notes she used to sing when they
were close enough to see the heaven In
her ewes and smile.
They took their train when II was
called, silently and started out into the
darkness OF the night
But In the city they had left behind
! them another tragedy was beginning.
| Flames, shot with sparks. leaped up
| ward 20 the sky and little tongues OF
\ hre tapped fortunes up as kittens lap
/ up saucers full 81 milk. The whole Of
/ the business section was imperilled.
ana on every side among the serious
! minded was terror and dism8y Only
ihe young and thOuFhtless we're un-
! troubled and late that night when a
] company 0i young folks were returning
Z from party Hnd saw the plano boz
the rhufrhynfd they thought only of
Z The novelty ~ tho scene.
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