A real prince might be happy if he could only get in. Some of them have taken years to bring to such a state of perfection; now, a little addition is made here, and then a slight alteration there, until it is finished, and the happy pair set off to take possession of the fairy palace. But they never enter it: the more eager they are to get in, the more confused they become as to the position of the doorway; one thinks it is at the front, the other fancies it must be at the side, and every time they go around the house seeking the entrance, by some mysterious means the house seems further from them, and another effort is necessary to reach it. How tiresome! but they must be in, for storms begin to gather, and they are not prepared for them; the wind blows and whistles as if calling up other evil forces for mischief; night, like a dismal monster in a black cloak, and barefooted, is coming on; the pretty castle is fading out of view among the darkening objects around,--quick! quick! we must be in, for the hour is wild. On they hurry, and in their haste, they find an open door and enter; there is shelter and rest for them, but when daylight comes they open their eyes, and lo, the lovely castle is gone, and the home is a weaver"s cottage!
There is no doubt that Abe and his young wife played their part at castle-building, like most others in their position, and like others they found it a great deal easier to erect than inhabit. However, there is this to be said for them, which cannot be said for all, they had fort.i.tude to endure their lot without complaint; and though their castle was but a very little cot, it was commodious enough to hold them, and left room for a variety of joys and sorrows as well.
At the time when they were married, Abe was working as a cloth-finisher in a mill near Almondbury common, but not long afterwards, the work at this place failed, and he, with a number of others, was thrown out of employment. This was a sore reverse, for which they were ill-prepared.
If trade had been good in the neighbourhood, he could easily have obtained work under some other master, but alas! the reasons which induced his employer to discharge his men, operated with others in the same way, and consequently left no opening for Abe.
What was to be done? Ah! that was the inquiry which often pa.s.sed between Abe and Sally in their little home. The bread-winner was stopped, then the bread must soon stop, and then would come a dark _period_, that is, a full stop.
In their day of trouble they carried their case to the Lord, and asked His fatherly aid; many a time did they go together to vent their burden of trouble in His ear, and obtain strength to endure their trial. One day, after Abe had been in this way asking help and counsel of the Lord, he came and sat in a chair at one end of the table, while his wife sat near him, quietly st.i.tching away at an old garment she was mending. For a few minutes neither of them spoke; by-and-by Sally looked up from her work to thread her needle, and their eyes met. She had a very sad look upon her face, for her heart was full of trouble, and she was just ready for what she called "a good cry;" but the moment she saw his face, which was covered all over with a comical smile, she caught the infection, and burst into a laugh,--a kind of hysterical laugh that had more sorrow than mirth in it. She laughed and he laughed, one at the other, till tears came from the eyes of both, and their poor sorrow-sick hearts seemed as if they would rise into their throats and choke them.
"Naa, la.s.s, what"s matter with the"?" at length exclaimed Abe.
"Why, it"s thee made me laugh soa."
"Me, what did I do?"
"Ay, thaa may weel ask," said Sally, wiping her eyes with her ap.r.o.n.
"Why, thaa looked a"most queer enough to mak" a besom-shank laugh; thaa"s made my soides ache."
"Well, it "ll do thee gooid; thaa wants a bit of a change, for thaa"s had heartache lang enough," responded her husband.
Sally resumed her work, but said nothing; her only response was a deep-drawn sigh. A few moments of silence again ensued, which Abe broke by saying, "Sally, haa would the" loike to see me wi" a black face?"
"What"s "ta say?"
"Haa w"d th" loike to see me wi" a black face?" repeated Abe.
"What art ta going to blacken thee face forr doesn"t th" like thee own colour? what does ta mean?" inquired Sally looking at him.
"I mean," replied Abe with great earnestness, "that I"m gooin to turn collier."
"Nay, niver, lad!" cried his wife in dismay.
"Why, it"s only for a bit till things brighten up in aar loine, and then thaa knows I can get wark at th" mill agean."
Poor Sally wept in earnest now; it was a shock to her feelings that she was not prepared for. At length she said, "I niver thought of thee goin daan a coil-pit, thaa isn"t used to it, and thaa "ll happen break thee neck."
"Nay, not soa; I"ve warked mony a day in a coil-pit," said Abe. "Bless thee, my la.s.s, when I were nowt but a bairn I used to wark i" th" pits; niver fear, I"m an owd hand, I can do a bit o" hewing wi" ony on um."
And then when Abe saw the first burst of feeling on his wife"s part was giving way, he went on to make good his position: "Thaa knows I mun do some"at, and there is nowt else I can see to turn to, and it "ll keep us going till I can get back to my own wark; we mu"nt be praad in these times, thaa knows. I"ll promise to wesh th" black dust off my face every day," said he, laughing, and trying to get her to do the same.
"Cheer up, my la.s.s, we mun look th" rock i" th" face."
"Ah, th" Lord help us," responded Sally.
"Naa I like to year thee say that," said Abe, "because I believe it was the Lord that put it into my yead, for I niver thowt abaat such a thing till I were telling Him my troubles just naa, and then it came to me all in a moment, like as if someone spake to me, and I says, I"ll goa."
And he did go, and he got employment in one of the coal-pits in the neighbourhood, where he received so much per week as wages, and a lump of coal every day as large as he could carry home, as a perquisite. Of course he took as big a lump as he could manage, and sometimes he was tempted to overtax his strength. Many a time poor Abe had to stop on the way home, lift the coal down from his head, where he usually carried it, and rub the sore place; and many an expedient, in the way of padding, had he to resort to, in order to compensate for the soft place which nature, so prodigal in her gifts to some, had denied him.
However, day after day he struggled along under his dark and heavy load, each day finding himself oppressed by another weight--of coals.
The new work was hard and trying to him, but he kept toiling on, and patiently waiting for the time when his heavenly Father would open up another sphere for him; meanwhile there was this consolation, that his toils kept fire in the hearth, and bread in the cupboard at home, and knowing this he was happy. He didn"t envy any man his wealth, or his ease; he many a time on his way home, with the lump of coal on his head, was happier than the rich employer who pa.s.sed him in his carriage; he had no ambitious schemes with which to hara.s.s his mind, his highest object was to glorify G.o.d in a consistent Christian life, and try to lead others to do the same. When his day"s work was ended, he could lift his burden on his head, and journey homeward with a light heart; the only weight he felt was upon his head; many a day he came over the ground singing, certainly _under a difficulty_, but no matter, he did sing. Abe was an alto singer in the chapel choir, but in these homeward songs one would almost fancy he would have to take another part, as the lump on his head would render it rather inconvenient for him to reach the higher notes; ground-ba.s.s would be more in keeping with his circ.u.mstances, and probably he himself was more inclined to sink than soar; be that as it may, he sang and trudged along home, and any one that met him, might know he was happy as a king, aye, and happier than many.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Clouds begin to Break.
Abe had not long laboured in the coal-pit before all about him began to feel he was a good man. He did not hide his light from anyone, masters or men, and though they may not have followed his G.o.dly example and Christian counsel, they all respected him for his pious and consistent life among them.
It so turned out that one day the foreman ordered all the men to stay and work overtime at night, in order to complete some important matter which they had in hand. This was a terrible blow to Abe, for it was his cla.s.s-night, and he had never yet missed that means of grace, nor would he, if he could by any possibility get there; but now, what was he to do? He felt it was his duty to obey his master, and take his share of the extra work if required; on the other hand, his heart yearned for the fellowship of saints: how dear that little cla.s.sroom seemed to him then. All the day his mind dwelt upon the subject; he fancied his own accustomed seat empty, and his leader and cla.s.smates wondering why he was not there; he prayed earnestly for deliverance from this snare, and yet saw no way of escape. Evening came, and the usual hour for leaving work, but no bell rang the men out; on they all went at their task, and Abe along with the rest, yet all the time he was groaning in spirit; half an hour pa.s.sed away, when the foreman came in. He was a hard, resolute man, that seemed to have neither fear of G.o.d nor devil before his eyes. "Abe Lockwood," said he, "isn"t this thy cla.s.s noight?" Abe looked up in an instant, and replied, "It is."
"Drop thee wark this minute and go then; if I"m going to h.e.l.l, I won"t hinder another man from trying to get to a better place," and before Abe could find time to thank him, he was gone again. In a twinkling Abe was out of the place, and away over Almondbury common, like a fleet hound just slipt from the leash. He went to his cla.s.s-meeting and was very happy there, but he did not forget in his own happiness to pray for the man who in this instance had bowed to the better spirit within him, and shown him such a mark of favour.
There is a heart in every man, however hard he may be, and when once the Spirit of G.o.d a.s.sails that heart, He may break it, or at least reason it into submission. We don"t know all the power that G.o.d has, nor the many ways in which He can exert that power on the minds of men; we often hinder its operation by our want of faith. O Lord, increase our faith! Then "all things are possible to him that believeth."
For some time Abe continued working at the coal-pit. Although he made no complaints, he greatly disliked the employment, and looked forward with intense longing to the time when he could again return to his own calling. He told the Lord all his heart upon this subject, and often implored Him to lift him out of the pit and bring him again to the employment that was more congenial to his feelings. Nor did he pray in vain, as the following incident will show:--One day a gentleman came to the pit, and said, "Have you got a man here called Abe Lockwood?" On being answered in the affirmative, he expressed a wish to see him. Abe was at once communicated with, and fetched out of the place where he was working. On seeing him all begrimed with coal-dust, the gentleman said, "I"m sorry to see thee like this, Abe; I have been troubled about thee for some time."
"Have you, haa"s that, maaster?"
"Why, I hardly know, but I have felt for many a day that I ought to come and offer thee work in my place, and now I"ve come, and if thou wants to leave here, I will find thee something to do in my mill."
Abe"s grateful heart was almost in his throat; his eyes swam in tears, his face beamed with smiles, and he shouted, "Hallelujah! When mun I come?"
"Come at once if you can."
"All roight," said he, "I can leave here ony time. I"ll come i" th"
morning; bless th" Lord! I knew my Father would foind me another job somewhere."
That night he went home singing with the usual lump of coal on his head. When he got into the house he threw it down with a crash that startled Sally, his wife. "There," he said, playfully pretending to be vexed, "I"ll fetch thee na moor coils on my yead, so thaa needn"t expect it."
"What"s matter wi" the" naa?" she said, looking at him.
"I tell the" I"ll fetch the" na maar coils," he responded, rubbing his scalp as if it hurt him.
"Well then, we may as weel let t" fire goa aat first as last," rejoined the good wife, a little ruffled.
"Noa thaa shalln"t. I loike a gooid foire as weel as onybody; and if thaa grumbles ony maar, I weant go to th" pit agean."
Sally looked hard at him for a moment or two, and in spite of the thick layer of coal-dust on his face, she could see there was a smile just underneath struggling to burst through. "What dost ta mean?" she said, half laughing herself.
"Mean!" exclaimed Abe, jumping from his seat, and seizing hold of her hand, "Mean! Why, I mean that I"ve done with coil-pit; the Lord has gotten me a job in Huddersfield at my own wark, and I"m goin" in th"
morning, bless th" Lord!"
Sally smiled, wiped her eyes, and said quietly, "Well I niver; aye, but I am glad; come and get thee teaa, my old collier." And that night there was sunshine in Abe"s cottage hours after the great orb of day had gone down and left the world in darkness.
CHAPTER IX.