Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1837-01-19
THE REUNION

49," w anu naIu 10 please
But when affliction wrings the brow,
"A ministering angel thou"
IL was autumn: the foliage had put on its
Variegated mantle. like the pstriarch's coat
OF many colors; and hill, grove, field, and
pam flashed back upon the declining beams
OF the sun the thousand reflections his spIen.
doris had lent them. IL was tina, gentle se.-
son OF quiet melancholy, that tender and sad
dened time of the year when the heart is IN
unison with the gorgeous mourning of ma
lure when the sensibilities are the most vi
V,d IN :heir emotion, and the wailing breeze
s"e eps chord IN every soft and suffering
bosom.
Proctor was in his library and alone.
book was in his hand, but its contents could
not Danish the busy thoughts that possessed
d counterspell 10 the poets imagininys His
retrospective glance travelled back through
Inc pensive vista of twelve solitary wears.
since the gordian knot of his nuptial chord
had been severed by the relentless hand of
destiny, whose shears had heen sharpen'd by
human passions and the wretcbed cavillings
o, faiiihie and yet unforgiving creatures.
Ills mind was dw cling upon the days of his
youth: he recalled the hour, the scene, " hen
he frs, saw Kate; and all the fresh feelings
oi that hour, and the associations OF that spot.
were renewed within him. He dwelt upon
an The iond endearments that then agi,ated
nus hosom; and, he knew not wherefore,
nush came upon his cheek, pang shot
through his heart, his lip trembled, and. why
he knew not, but he could have went like a
Child IL ls true he was no longer Young:
but the world had gone prosperously with
him, and wealth had crowned his exertions
he had ouilived all The ISLANDERS and i'll. will
OF those who had misjudged his feelings,
and knew nothing Of his motives; and ali
MS early impressions had been mellow ed by
the soothing hand of time. Solitude was un.
congenIai TO his nature, and although il gave
quiet TO his mind, yet il did not bring happi-
mes. TO his heart
noanced a visiler. He was glad 10 be inter-
rupted, and the door was immediately omen.
ed, when his daughter, now a blooming.
iight-hearted, joyous and lovely girl between
that uncertain. but interesting age of gi-l
aEd womanhood, bounded into his arms like
lawn, and, as she covered him with her kis.
ses, the words "dear father broke from her
rosy lips.
She had just returned frem school for the
season, and had come to spend a few weeks
with her father; whom she loved with oil the
fondness OF her innocent heart.
In kate's character there was one conspi.
cuous feature she had educated her child to
love and respect her father, and, notwith.
standing the obloquy that was heaped upon
him ny her own relations, she never gave
vent to one single remark that implied zen.
sure OF his conduct, nor allowed any one 10
do 1t IN her presence, and least of ALL in her
daughters hearing. Her husband had been
very liberal TO her; she had never known a
want since her separation from him, and her
days OF reflection, which had glided on in
tranquility, had The effect of showing the
FOLLY OF her former rash undertaking, while
her present lonely condition daily demon
strated its discomfort.
w hat all who knew them had in vain en-
deavored 10 effect, their mutual reconci!a-
ton, which they both proudly and steadily
declined, accident at length brought about.
Proctor was suddenly seized with a malig-
nant fever, and when the hirelings of his es-
Enlistment shruDk from the performance of
their duty, the daughter, perceiving her pa>
rents imminent peril, made her mother ac-
quainted with The fact.
Strange and inscrutable feeling of the fe-
male bosom, which opposition prompts, and
winch difficulties excite, to the noblest and
most devoted efforts! This woman, " no in
The very wansonness of prosperity, when the
swelling waves Of happiness had invited her
10 iau'ch her bark of life upon their tide, had
madly daihed it upon the rocks and Quick.
sands OF adversely, now that the whitening
blast was raging and the sirocco breathing
poison around, discovered in the recesses Of
her heart, fibre which now first yibra,ed to
love and oil the fond endearmenis of our ma
lure and came, like ministering angel,
bringing balm and comfort 10 the disturbed
and restless couch. Her long and assiduous
viglis were at length recompensed by The
restoration TO perception and consciousness OF
The chastened and afflicted father of her child
the beng 10 whom she ever afterwards clune
with devotion no foes could ALLEVIATE, no
misctnsruction impair, no time could
change: they bad each discovered that, as
IN all similar cases, both bad been in error
and had learned that most important OF ali
secrets, that mutual forbearsnce is the tails
man OF human content, and that desire 10
promote the happiness of another is the surest
way of securing our own.