Rural Scene [pp. 371]

CHERISHED MEMORIES. 371
If it be true that "the cold in clime are cold in
blood," when I must seek a stranger's home, may it
be at the sunny south, where kindness, frankness,
cordiality, and true hospitality are found, and which
are so grateful to the stranger's heart! And what
more delightful and gratifying, than to instruct and
guide those who return your anxiety and labor by
every demonstration of affection and regard!
The young ladies of Landon were peculiarly in teresting, many of them possessing strength of mind
and vigor of intellect beyond their years. But the
insidious destroyer entered our happy circle, and
selected the fairest, the loveliest, the most gifted the favorite of all, and the idol of her fond and
widowed mother. He seized his prey with an iron
grasp, and would not unloose his hold.
She was thought to be dying, and never shall I
forget the deep tone which spoke to her of eternal
things, at that awful midnight hour. Nellie was
not a Christian. Possessing every other grace, alas!
she was destitute of the graces of the Spirit. In an
apparently unconscious state, she was pointed to
the " Lamb, who taketh away the sins of the
world"-to a Savior ready to receive her, even at
the eleventh hour: but delirium had done its work;
that mind, once accustomed to think, was now
powerless, and the soothing words died away on
her ear, without producing the desired effect.
In the same room sat an almost heart-broken
mother. How can she spare her darling child; and
that, too, under such agonizing circumstances? If
she were only prepared, she might feel resigned. In
this moment of bitterest anguish, she poured her
deep feelings into the ear of her heavenly Father.
"0, when the heart is full, when bitter thoughts
Come crowding quickly up for utterance,
And the poor, common words of courtesy
Seem such a very mockery, how much
The bursting heart may pour itself in prayer!"
And who will say that that prayer was not answered? The sad night passed, and the bright
morn found our loved one somewhat better; Reason
seemed again to have asserted her dominion in a
small degree; she could clasp her mother's hand,
while she conversed with her on heavenly things..
She said, "Ma, I am not afraid to die now." "Why,
my dear?" " I put my trust in Jesus."
"How deep, how thorough felt the glowv
Of rapture, kindling out of woe!
How exquisite one single drop
Of bliss, that, sparklig,, to the top
Of misery's cup-how keenly quaff'd,
Though death must follow in the draught!"
Now was the heart of that Christian mother released of a burden that had been almost too heavy
to bear-now did she feel willing to suffer all her
Master's will; she was enabled to say, "Thy will,
not mine, be done." She was a holy woman, in
whose character was evinced more unwavering confidence and trust in God, a calmer resignation to
this most afflicting dispensation, than I had ever
een, and never expect to see equaled. She sat,
from morn till night, from night till morn, by the
bedside of her lovely daughter, with the utmost
composure, and her quiet spirit acted as a charm
upon all around her.
School duties had been suspended for the week,
and now Saturday morn dawned. All was glad
and bright without, and we fondly hoped that our
stricken one was improved. 0, sweet to the soul
is the whispering of hope! It buoys the sinking
spirit, and helps it to endure. But we were permitted to hope, only to feel the disappointment
more keenly, Death was even now doing his fearful work-he claimed the bright one for his own.
One of her class-mates alluded thus touchingly to
the event, in her valedictory, at the close of the
same session: "As the fair flower of morn fades and
dies before the evening sun has set, so her pure spirit
passed away. Her bright cheek faded; the' curtaining fringes of her soft eyes' were bound by Death's relentless fingers; her trembling heart ceased to beat.
Still, as we gazed upon her lifeless form, yet beautiful in death, she seemed to wear an angel's smile."
No sudden outbreak of feeling told of grief and
bitter anguish; it were not befitting such a scene.
The deep sigh, the moistened eyelid, the pearly
tear silently stealing down the cheek-these tell
loudly of anguish. There is a mournful eloquence
in mute sorrow; it is touching-thrilling; the heart
seems to be consuming itself. The day following
they left us for their home in Virginia. The last
parting with all that remained of one we had loved,
perhaps too well, was sad indeed. So gently had the
destroyer fulfilled his unholy mission, that we could
scarcely believe that his signet was indeed set upon
her brow. There was a loveliness and serenity
about the sealed features that were unearthly. The
adieus had all been spoken; and, slowly and sadly,
the carriages moved up the avenue, and soon were
out of sight.
Thus must we all pass away; but may we not,
like our dear young friend, put off repentance to
the dying hour! for, like her, we may not then be
assisted by a mother's prayers, or find that pence
which takes away the sting of death. She is gone,
and, doubtless, now joins in swelling the chorus of
the redeemed around the eternal throne. May we
all meet her there!
RURAL SCENE.
SWEET was the sound, when oft, at evening's close,
Up yonder hill the village murmur rose;
There, as [ passed, with careless steps and slow,
The mingling notes came softened from below:
The swain, responsive to the milkmaid, sung;
The sober herd that lowed to meet their young;
The noisy geese that gabbled o'er the pool;
The playful children, just let loose from school;
The watchl-dog's voice, that bay'd the whispering
wind,
And the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mindThese, all in sweet confusion, sought the shade,
And fill'd each pause the nightingale had made.
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371
CHERISHED MEMORIES.