Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1828-08-06

: morrow. On this occasion she wishes
the presence of her old and only friends.
l accepted the invitation.
The next morning dawned as clear as
the preceding evening had promised
As l walked out to enjoy its freshness
met my friend. annette is ill., said
he. 'She exposed herself to the damp
| and dews in her walk last evening, and
is now threatened with fever 1t prov
ed more than threat. A violent fever
had seized upon her. Night after night,
and hour after hour her mother sat at her
| bedside, watching the progress of the
| disease, ministering to her wants, and,
tho hardest task Of all, wearing a smiling
face, lest the increasing dependency OF
her own heart should alarm her child.
There is something Of sublimily in this
| trait Of female character-this deep, en-
during tenderness Of mothers love-
| With man, even when the object is one
Of his deepest and dearest regard, there
is limit beyond which he cannot pass;
| when exhausted nature ,ciH claim repose; ;
when the weary flame ,cii sink, and the
dropping eyelid close. 1t is in this mo-
ment Of weakness that woman first puts
forth her strength that the frame so
feeble and delicate as to shrink before
the breeze, and bow beneath the dew
drop, rises at once in its deep, strong
energy;-through nights Of watching,
and days Of despair, unbent by fatigue
without, unsubdued by the bitterness
within-oflering the language of hope
amid the hidden anguish of an aching
heart, anguish more deep, more bitter,
because it may not be uttered-turning
in for strength and support, to the mex
haustible fountains Of her own deep at-
fection-and with the tabled devotion of
the pelican, nourishing her offspring
again from the warm llfe-blood of her
own selcsacrificing heart.
Meanwhile triumphing over every
remedy, the deadly disease went on
None but they who have witnessed it can
picture the intense earnestness with which
tho anxious mother watched the cnunte-
nance Of the physician; while day after
day he felt the almost futtering pulse,
as if in his eye she could read the fiat of
life or death; and none but they who
have felt it, can tell the sinking, sicken-
ing of the heart, as that enquiring look,
read hut too plainly, there is no hope. ;
But Annette was not deceived; and
though she long forebore to allude to
her situation, lest she should add to the
distress Of her friends, she at length VEN
tured to speak freely. 1T is not she
said, addressing the three individuals who
were dearest to her, it is not so hard to
die. know my Redeemer liveth, and
that the silken tie is not severed forev-
err For you, she said, addressing her
lover, you will not forget her memory,
who to the last will so love yours. Death
seals the VOW, that our hearts and our
lips but pledged; and though we meet
not as we would have met, we are in the
hands of him who judgeth wisely. You
should have been son to my parents;
for my sake be so still. They will soon
be childless. If you love my memory,
love them." Then addressing her par
ents-' if in the course of life l have
sometimes erred, 'and who has not! il
| have cost you pang, or tear, for.
give me. | do not ask you sometimes
to think Of your child; fear you will re-
member her but too well.-But be no,
nhappy-remembe we meet again.
| When l called the next morning to in.
qure after her health, was received al
the door by her father He took my hand
in silence, and leading me to an apart.
ment, pointed to a coffin. 1t bore the
name and age of his daughter. He
watched the expression of my counte.
nance, and his lip quivered, and his voice
faltered as he said, 'she has left us now
but Gods will be done.' His emotion
was but momentary; and he again stood
in calm and dignified composure at my
side. l regarded him with astonishmen
and reverence. Friend after friend hat
gone; hope after hope had withered; tht
strong link that had bound his spirit tt
the earth, was now broken; and he stoot
unbent by the storm that had laid his las
earthly hope in the dust. His soul seem
ed to rise in its strength as afflictioI
} weighed more heavily on ito towe
in is majesty above the darkness below
to dwell on the light its eternal hopes
as the mountain lifts its head above tn,
} clouds below, into the pure light above.
There is something peculiarly sad il
thus visiting the deserted places Of thos
whom we love; every object awakenin,
] anew some melancholy remembrances
3 calling up the bitter and unuttered groa
, from the silent sanctuary within. L
: one place lay Annette's work, anothe
her chair; here her music, there he
a books; and when we sat down in tn
2 lonely apartment, how strongly did tha
y very loneliness remind us, that here in
: deed was the deepest solitude-the So
n itude of dcsolate and broken hearts,
9 Alas! the chain of affection clings bl