The Litchfield County post. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1826-1829, 1827-02-09
FOR THE COUNTY POST.

imam loves sweet star whose tH6tlOW IlEnt
First cheers the evening sky,
And liquid pearl, that glitters where
No sorrows can intrude;
A richer gem than mOnarch's wear
The tear Ofgratitude."
Though the last debt of gratitude, due
from independent America to those who
gained that independence. can new be can
celIed-yet the statesmen, heroes, and soldiers
of the revolution, are in words, if not in deeds,
ackn owledged to be the benefactors of their
countryside donors of gift Invaluable
The head and the heart, the pen and the
tongue, knowledge and wisdom, genius and
eloquence, pride and ambition, have all con-
spired to give, to extol, and to perpetuate
their remembrance.-Their strength Of mind,
resolution, and strength in arms, have been
portrayed in all their hues of glory-and truth
has given colouring which time can never
eface. But there were patriots in those days
Of trial, less powerful in action, but not less
steadfast in principle, who have not. even in
words, received the need of praise SO Justly
their due. 1t is true that the historian, & occa-
sionaly some other writer, aludes to the fe-
males of rs, and to the courage and resolution
they manifested-but these ars feeble streams
compared to the torrent of eloquence that set
forth the deeds of our forefathers-this is
perhaps as it should be; their course, amid
the changes of time, was, .compated with that
Of the more hardy race, as different as the
gliding stream and the rushing torrent-yet it
should be remembered, that the gentle stream
and the mighty torrent often tend towards,
and meet in the same reservoir-so the result
of female patriotism, though it can only be
evnced in the miIder forms, may conduce in
great degree to the attainment of that libcr-
ty for which men confront dangers in the
cabinet or the field of battle. The heroism
of our revolutionary mothers consisted in
great acts of self-derial and soul-trying sacri-
fices--they bore without repining the depri
walton, and often made voluntary resignation
of many Of the comforts and. conycniences Of
life. But these were trfling ills compared
with the sad task of preparing fathers, broth
ers, husbands, and sons, for the direful con-
flicts fwar-putting their trust in the justice
Of their cause, and in the God Of Justice, they
parted with them perhaps for life-the sad
certainty of this was often brought home to
the care-worn, lacerated heart-but that heart
could still exult amid its many sorrows, in
thinking that the loved one fell nobly, and in
the hope that he fell not in vain. Others re-
ceived those who left them in health, with
scarce vestige of life remaining-siCk, or
weunded--but the reflection that those
wounds, or that sickness, were sufferings gal
ned in a contest for sacred rights, soothed
and strengthened the wife, the mother, the
sister, or the daughter, in performing the sad
Offices of observation-disclosures were not the on
ly recipients of Offices of kindness-they were
often the offspring of pity and love for hu-
man kind, strengthened by the love of coun-
try. Many poor distressed soldier, whose
..me had been left at distance, found ref
uge and relief from female pity and female
patriotism they felt for the woes of all, and
as far as their ability would allow, extended
their aid to lesson them-the destitute were
often clothed, and the hungry fed, from stores
supplied by female industry;-their own wants
Were forgotten in the wants of the nation.---
Whole villages were sometimes left with none
but women to perform the necessary labours
within and wi1hout--helpless old age and
helpless childhood were all Of men left among
them. Difficult indeed is it for US to realize
in any degree the sufferings they must have
STANDARDIZATION gaining intelligence up
on which they could dcpend-day after day
was spent in anxiety and suspense concerning
the fate of every thing this life holds dear and
yaluable-and often from the near approach
of the tools Of oppression and outrage, fearing
the extinction of life itself. The innate ten
derness of mothers heart would check its
own apprehensious to remove those of her
timid offspring, while she spoke words of
comfort and hope to their anxious grandsire;
occasionally the daughters Of Columbia evin-
ced courage in actions as daring and noble as
any that our history can boast. In general,