﻿JOHNNY LEONARD AND HIS MOTHER. 307 



" But though I could talk, without ceasing, of his mercies to me 

 for such words are ' honey to my taste ' yet I will not detain you. 

 I will tell you of them in ' the general assembly and church of the 

 first born in heaven.' 



" Seventeen years had passed away. It was just a week to-night, 

 two gentlemen came to Mr. Ford's about eleven o'clock at night; 

 they were well dressed, fine-looking men as you will see with a 

 handsome horse and chaise. They asked if Mrs. Leonard was 

 there. Mr. Ford pointed them to where I was, said I was probably 

 asleep, and invited them to stay till morning with him ; but one of 

 them replied, he must see me then that he was my son. 



" Mr. Ford came over with them. They knocked at my door ; I 

 awoke, wondering, and let them in. Wishing to see if I would rec- 

 ognize a son in a stranger, they merely bowed as they passed me, 

 requesting permission to look at the room talked as if they pur- 

 posed buying it, occasionally glancing towards me, as I was sitting 

 wrapped in my old cloak, shivering, upon the side of the bed. I 

 thought they had taken a strange time to purchase a building, almost 

 midnight ! I had heard of speculators, and of their being about cra- 

 zy with business, and concluded these were some of them. 



" One came toward me, and asked me if I lived there all alone ; 

 and if I were not very lonesome. I replied, I had been so at first, 

 but was now accustomed to it. He then asked me if I had no family. 

 I replied, ' 'None.' 1 ' Have you never had any ? ' he asked. This was 

 always a hard question for me. I paused a moment to control myself, 

 and could only say, * The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken them 

 away.' No one spoke. I looked up suddenly the bargain had 

 been forgotten tears were in the eyes of each. One of them 

 turned away and leaned over the fire-place, while the other, (who 

 had not before spoken to me,) throwing his arms around my neck, 

 said, ' Mother mother / am your little Johnny ! ' " 



The old lady wept, and said to me "I tell you what, I felt pret- 

 ty sinky." 



The son, since he was ten years old, had been almost constantly 

 at sea ; what little time was allowed him in any New England port 

 he had employed searching for his mother, but knew not where to 

 find her till now. He had then given up the chances of a life upon 

 the deep, and established himself in business at S . 



