"Its ivory halls are bonnie, upon which the rainbows shine,
Ond its Eden bowers are trellised with a never fading vine;
Ond the pearly gates of Heaven do a glorious radiance fling,
On the starry floor that shimmers in the Palace of the King.
"Noo nicht shall be in Heaven ond nae desolating sea,
Ond nae tyrant's hoof shall trample in the City of the free;
There is everlasting daylight ond a never-fading Spring,
Where the Lamb is all the glory in the Palace of the King."
The widow lay as though she were dead, so tranquil was the slumber that
had kissed down her heavy eyelids, and her crossed hands were laid upon
the light coverlid that rested upon her bosom.
"Oh," thought Alice as she looked upon the scarcely animated human body,
"if it were not a sin, and if you were not so wearied, how I would envy
you, Mrs. MacLaren; you are soon to be so happy. Your tired feet will
soon press the 'Starry floor that shimmers in the palace of the King'
ond your tired een will soon 'behold the King in his beauty,' ond your
tired heart will throb with a divine feeling when He bids you welcome in
the 'palace of the King; ond he will gae you the title to your mansion
with a smile, ond you ken fine it is your ain hoose, ond after sich sae
travail you have coom hame to abide for aye.'"
After a while the old lady awoke to find Alice kneeling at her head, to
wipe the damp from her brow with her handkerchief.
Alice was the first to speak and she said quite endearingly "How are you
now, my dear Mrs. MacLaren? I hope you feel ever so much better."
The old lady with some effort raised her eyes and responded feebly,
"Better chiel. Ah my dearie," she said almost hopefully, "may be I'll
nae go to my ain hame the day. Just then I was so weary and I had almost
forgotten that you were still with me. Ond were you nae singing a wee
bit ago dearie? or was I dreaming ond heard the Angels singing, 'We'll
trust our God who reigneth in the palace of the King?' It might have
been the voice of my auld mither, I dinna ken, I dinna ken," she
repeated emotionally.
"If you are not tired, Allie, will you not read a passage from the
blessed book, just to make me think of the auld, auld story."
Alice took the Bible from the little deal table and upon opening its
pages a five dollar treasury note of the Confederate government, of the
issue of eighteen hundred and sixty two, fell upon the floor. It
appeared to Alice as a pictorial representation of war, its havoc, its
chariot wheels, with great cruel tires and knives, and its heaps of
slain. She turned it over and saw this writing, in a neat feminine hand
on the back, "It was not for the like of this that my lad was slain at
Gettysburg, it was for honor. With the tidings of his death came this
note from his hands. 'The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away,
blessed be the name of the Lord.'"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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