Christmas at Cedar Hill

by Lucy Ellen Guernsey

"She accordingly took up her candle, and calling Bose to go with her—not that she was afraid, but because she liked his company—she went into every room in the house, seeing that the windows and doors were fast and all things in order. As she came down and went into the front room—the keeping room, as it was usually called, she was startled to see how high the snow was piled against the front windows of the house."

"'It must be drifting in between the house and the ledge, as it did once when I was a little girl,' thought Fanny. 'Father will have a fine time shovelling it away.'"

"Seeing that all was safe, she arranged the fire so as to insure its keeping, set everything in order for the night, eat a little supper herself, and fed the cat and dog. Then she lighted a small oil-lamp which her mother used when she wished to keep a light all night, and set it in a safe place. She had made up her mind to sleep down-stairs in the small room which opened out of the kitchen—John's room, as it was still called—instead of going upstairs. By the time she had finished all her preparations, it was eleven o'clock—later than she had ever sat up in her life before."

"'How nice and comfortable it all looks!' she thought, surveying the large kitchen. 'Now, if I only knew that dear father and mother were safe, I would not much mind having to stay alone. The Rockville road is not like this; there are a great many houses on it, so that if they were stopped by the drifts they would have some place to stay all night. But very likely they did not leave Rockville at all.'"

"Fanny said her prayers as usual, asking earnestly that her father and mother might be taken care of and brought safely home. As she prayed she seemed to feel as though her Saviour was very near her in her solitude. She remembered all those precious words: I will never leave thee nor forsake thee; 'Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world;' 'I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you;' and God gave her grace to believe in His promises and to lean upon His mercy, which endureth forever. When she rose up, she felt herself no longer alone."

"Fanny had thought she should lie awake all night, but instead of that her head had hardly touched the pillow before she fell asleep. She slept long and soundly, but when she awoke there was no sign of daylight. All was dark and still. She did not even hear the roaring of the wind, and she thought the storm must be over. Presently the clock begun to strike, and she counted the strokes: one-two-three-four-five—six—seven—eight—and there it stopped. What could it mean? Was the clock wrong? Had it run down? It struck eleven before she went to bed, she was quite sure. She jumped up and ran out into the kitchen. There was no light outside, but the lamp was still burning. Fanny caught it up and looked at the clock. Eight o'clock, sure enough. The sun ought to be up and shining, and here it was still dark night! What could have happened?"

"Fanny went to the window and put up the curtain. She could not see anything till she held the lamp close to the glass. Then the truth flashed upon her all at once. She was snowed up. The house was buried in snow. She went into the front room, and then upstairs. All the same. A solid wall of snow was banked up against the panes. Not even from the upper windows could she see a ray of light. She was buried alive."

"Fanny stood for a few minutes as if stunned by the greatness of the calamity which had overtaken her. What was she to do? What would become of her? Would she be left to starve to death there in the snow? Would some one come before it was too late?"

"What would become of the cattle—the cows and sheep in their sheds, the mare in the barn? She could think of nothing at first, and she returned to the kitchen, and threw herself on the settee in a kind of stunned and stupid despair."

"But Fanny did not lie there long. She had naturally a hopeful and resolute disposition, and she had been trained in habits of thoughtfulness and presence of mind. She roused herself, and began to consider what she had better do."