Two days afterwards, I saw the body conveyed to the Potter’s Field, and the wife and children to the alms-house. During this period, no landlord came near the cottage. The widow mourned without hope, and the three children clung to her with unusual affection. The boy who was the oldest of the children, seemed to realize the calamity. He said:
“Mother, what shall we do now, my dear father is put in the ground?”
“I suppose,” she replied, “we shall be separated. Oh, my child, you distress me. You will see your kind father no more. They have buried him in the cold earth.”
J. Will he never come home again?
M. No; he can not come back here, James.
J. Will he stay there in the earth, mother?
M. His body will stay there, but his spirit will appear before the bar of God, at the great day of judgment. All will appear before the throne of God to receive their reward; so you must be a good boy, James, that you may go to heaven.
J. Has father gone to heaven?
M. I don’t know, my child; he was not a member of any church; but he never wronged any body, as I know of. He will wait till he receives the sentence of God, and then all will know.
J. How long will he wait, mother?