The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1842-03-15

And death, who called thee hence away,
Placed on his brow o gem of light
The town Offs beautifully situated in one
of the western counties of Massachusetts, lis pop
| ulaon somewhat sparse for a New England town
of The present day is pretty equally scattered
| its low ely territory, hemmed in by mountains on
the cas-, and west, and the health and longevity OF
the inhabitants had from the earliest settlement of
the place, been a subject of great notorety. True.
the churchyard inscription gave assurance thai
those of every age had sough, refuge from tur-
bulent world in the holy sanctuary oftho tomb but
their number were greatly in favor OF the aged who
| like shocks of corn, had been gathered in their
proper season. Or like the ripe fruit of autumn, 'had
fallen matuiely TO the EARTH Consumption, and
most of the diseases that flesh is heir to, had had
! their victims; n,emperance, 'like strong man ar
med had overpowered the young and robust, or
with the lattering song of Deliah, had robbed
them OF their strength, by enticng motives, and
| hurried them pIemaiureiy from earthly usefulness
Sthe warm embrace OF affec,io the unreler tin
land of forgetuness and sIl ence yet, in unusual
number Of instances, man, having lived his appoin.
ted time upon the earth, 'had given up the ghost, ;
and gone home to a better and more enduring in
heriiance.
But tho early part OF the autumn Of IS4-intro-
duced a new in the history of disease and death
IN that beautiful valley through which the baImy
noun tain air, il passed along. had hitherto i'm
parted health and elasticity of spirit to the nhabi
tants, and awoke hopes in the bosom Of the in
valid who came to WOO its heathfu breeZcs and
partase OF their salubrious influence. The pesti-
lence that goes in darkness, and destruction that
works noon day, walked hand in hand through
out The length and breadth of this hitherto vale Of
health. Typhus fever, with its malignant, scorch,
l. n !.
and rapidly Frustrated old and young; here, after
long and anxious watching, tearing the kind and
affectionate father and husband from the embrace
4 of those whose lives bound in his, and usher
ing him to the land of SPIRITS there in spite of the
cries of infancy and tho pIeadngs Of affection
strong as life calling the young mother from the
circle where her life the soul and centre Of
present enjoyment and much future hope, and con
signing her to the place of dreamless silence
where sorrows voice cannot penetrate, or wearied
soicitude extend her influence. Buoyant youth
too, whose claims on life were guaranteed by rosy
health and mistaken frmness, (aaswhat are youth
and health when the power Of disease comes upon
them,) the stay and support of aged w:dowhood
felt the whitening grasp, and, shrinking back, tell
into the grave.
1t is often the case that when malignant disease
passes through region of country, IFS recurrence
in the following year, may be calculated with some
degree Of certainty, especially when natural causes
ifsuch in any way exist may DO supposed, under
like circumstances, to produce similar effect
And how an nvetcrate fever can break out in a re-
glon which, for more than half a century, had been
char acterzed for its healthfuTness, without some
natural cause, is matter on which we viii not
risk speculation. k
IT might have arisen from severe drought and
sul.rv sunshine acting in concert upon the exten-
sive swampy regions of those parts, and bringing
nm bv their united influence, miasma from depth
, which their decomposng power had never before
I penetrated At any rate she season succeeding
that whose events have glanced at, so far as the
operations of nature were concerned, claimed close
affinity with it, and scarcely had the heat of
\ mer reached its climax, before events, kindred to