Ruth bent low over the crib. The bounding pulse was quiet and steady at last; the breath came in slow, soft respirations, with no horrible gratings; the beautiful little hand, resting on the pillow, was doubled up as in the grace in which he held it when in health. Suddenly there rushed over Ruth all the probabilities of that solemn night, and all the blessings of this hour. After she had given him up utterly to God; after she had said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust;” after she had said, “I am thine forever, Lord, entirely, though with empty arms,” then he had given her back her trust—offered her one more chance to train the soul for him. With the thought came also the remembrance of the door through which he had opened this blessed paradise of hope, and she turned suddenly, and, burying her head in Mrs. Erskine’s ample lap, cried out: “Oh, mother, mother! God bless you forever!” And the first tears that her tired eyes had felt for a week fell thick and fast.
“Land alive!” said Mrs. Judge Erskine. “Poor, dear heart! You are all tuckered out! You just go right straight back to bed. I won’t turn my eyes away from him, and he’s all right anyhow. I know the signs. Bless your heart, I nursed Mrs. Stevens’ baby only last week, and this very Dr. Parmelee was there; and I saw what them little pills and powders could do when the Lord chose to use ’em. You just go back, dearie, this minute. You can sleep all day as well as not. Grandma’ll take care of her blessed little darling, so she will.”
And Ruth went back to the bedside, and to her knees; and among the sentences of her prayer that morning was this, from a full heart:
“O God! I thank thee, that, despite all the blindness and rebellion of my heart, thou didst send to me a mother. Thou hast given me ‘the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.’”
THE END.
Transcriber’s Notes:
Obvious punctuation errors repaired. Sometimes easy-chair contains a hyphen, sometimes not. This was retained as printed.
Page 102, “Esrkine” changed to “Erskine” (Judge Erskine, with a)
Page 146, “that” changed to “than” (observable than this awkward)