His two little daughters
stood at the foot of his bed. The dying man looked tenderly at his wife
and children, and said: "Be comforted and weep not. True, I can bequeath
you but little; but God, the Father of the widow and orphans, will watch
over you." He then invoked God's blessing upon them, and with his last
breath said, "In heaven we shall meet again." His eyes closed and he
passed out of this life. Mother and daughters stood convulsed in tears.
The widow now found herself in very straightened circumstances. Her
house was so heavily mortgaged that she could no longer hold it. The
pictures which her husband had bequeathed to her were valuable as works
of art, but the widow could not realize their worth in money. Soon it
became imperative to sell them at auction, at any price. Before the day
set for the sale, mother and daughters saw, with anguish, these works
hurried off to the auction room. The house, too, fell under the hammer.
The poor, miserable family left the home in which they had lived for
many years in love, peace and contentment. Still, a certain pride and
satisfaction filled the widow's heart when she realized that, though her
husband had died poor, yet he owed no one a penny--that his name stood
in the community respected and revered by all the good people. The poor
particularly held him in loving memory.
The widow was obliged to seek a new home in a cheap section of the city.
She was an expert in all household arts, particularly in the art of
sewing.
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