Trail-Tales of Western CanadaRobinson, F. A. (Frank Alfred)
Religion
Trail-Tales of Western Canada
Robinson, F. A. (Frank Alfred)
Canadian fiction -- 20th century; Missions -- Canada, Western -- Fiction; Short stories, Canadian
Through the trees a light flickered a few minutes later, and soon a
pioneer's home came into view. The little clearance with its
low-roofed log-house was not one the missionary had seen before, but
where there was a house there was hospitality on a night like this.
Bill Sanders was soon assisting the traveller to unhitch, and with the
aid of a "bug"[*] Queenie was crowded into the roughly constructed
stable. There were times when it would have been both difficult and
dangerous to have put her into such quarters, but that night she seemed
to understand, and behaved herself accordingly.
[*] A tin lard pail fixed to hold a candle and to serve as a lantern.
The occupants of the little home consisted of father, mother, two boys
and two girls. When the missionary introduced himself there was
manifest embarrassment on the part of the wife, and the children gazed
in wonderment from "the room" door; they were unwilling to run any
risks through getting too close to this human novelty until they saw
how he acted. "You see, sir, we don't have many people here, and they
aren't used to strangers: I guess you are the first minister that's
been in this house; and then, as the husband went to bring in a fresh
supply of firewood, she added half apologetically, "but I was praying
all week that God might send somebody in here that loved Him. When I
used to work for Home Missions in Ontario, I never thought how much I'd
long for the visit of a missionary myself some day; it's very lonesome
sometimes."
Before the missionary retired to his allotted space on the floor, he
asked permission to read a few verses of Scripture. There was no
response from the father: the mother said, "Yes, please."
The Scripture and prayer were for the encouragement of the heavy laden,
and tears were wiped away from the mother's eyes as the little group
arose from kneeling.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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