Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1844-01-26
VT. WATCHMAN & STATE JOURNAL.
so IN ADvANcr-s2 50 AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
THE EMIGRANT's SABBATH.
ny II. HASTINGS WELD.
tWill the baby die, mother p

the parent COuIG hot speak, tcSeu 10 lllut
iy of intelligence which the lot of the children
of the poor To us this union of matured per-
cepton with juvenile features, is among the most
painful OF the traits which distinguish the OIL
spring Of these whose every step is contention
with obstacles, - whose every gesture seems boi'
Jet with The world. Bur il the face OF the daugh-
Ter was painfully Interesting, that of the mother
was moi less so. Though still young, toll, nnxle-
~ and care, and above all grief had marked her
counten0nce with the evidences that young though
she might We III years, in experience she tad ved
ont lifetime. She was bending oyrl the cradle
of an infant, whose quiet sleep seemed The sus-
pension of its lite being Pale aud wan she
seemed scarce urher irola lie grave than her III
FAINT charge in watching, whose almost iiEpettuP-
tible brealhiDgs, her whole attention now absorbed.
"Wil hite sis die notO mother 7" the elder cnlld
again asked. There was q volume OF meaning, IN
the tone in which The inquiry was put. lteXpressed
the resignation which oil in that hltle household
hud made--the conviction that their well beloved
infant companion was sick unto death ana all
that Mary could hope in answer was, that IIie mo-
fnent of departure of the infant was mol Wt-u0I
that instant. i half an hour seemed long iu-
tnrc "a dGy seemed years. Who that has watch
cd the life Of child wasting away has ever ior-
gotten it? The unconscious sufferer, incapable
alike of approaching its danger, or OF commune
eating its feelings to the earnest uttecuoh when
surrounds its bed-the meekness OF endurance
the supplicatiug ganccs from the eyes OF ndying
chlId-oh how deeply do they move The heart
When man sinks from hisslrengih, or woman
wastes from her Iovelin6ss no arms of death,
at each stag of the disease UgsTnvGld can coul'
munlcate with attendant friends; at each pause
like respite in the journey through the valley OF
tie shadow, adieus may be re-eXchnnsed between
those who are 10 par al the grave, but To meet a.
gain beyond it, But where the babe, IN pam, Dut
unconscious from what cause or 10 what end,
looks up impioringly to her who, though no"
powerless 10 aid, has hitherto been lis soace Inc
mother feels that she could willingly die win her
child, ii she could make the sufferer understand
that it is death the death appointed 10 all which
is slowly but surely sitting the pulses OF lis lnno-
cent heart.
So felt the young wife and moher-but still she
spoke not. No sound broke the stiffness OF that
house in the lorest-no hum of passengers, no
notes of busy life, in discord with the scene
Knocked the silent grief of the mother and sister
Of The dying child. There was q melancholy ap'
poslleness in the solitude Of the place, and III The
stern natural simplicity without and within the
dwelling. The light vernal winds moved ihe
branches of the primeval tree oil the forest when
shaded the humble cabin, and, as the sun stoie III
between the omen door among the leaves, me
shadow of II lesser branch Of the tree trembled to
and fro upon the infants lips, as if 1t eihbenled
there the Pickering OF lis breath. This painfully
beautiful thOught entered the mind OF the mother
and while she still dwell upon it, the door was
darkened-the poetic vision was lost-and her
husband and her brother entered with noise
less step. The boy had plucked violet in the
vain hope of attracting the dying chd's attention.
1t had wilhered in his hand as he walked, and
while lie stood over the COUCH struck with The al
teration which in a few hours had taken place, he
let it fall upon the pillow The mother took it up
she looked at The withered blossom offspring, o.
then al the withercd flower OF her maternal hopes
Turnng to her husband, she sunk upon his neck,
and wept.
The child was dear to them. Exiled, in part
perhaps by lruant disposition, and that reckless
spirit of enterprise and adventure which is charac-
terlstic of the American people, they had wan
dered far before they had here pitched their tent
Accustomed in New England TO the comforts
which industry places within the reach of ALTO
tue refinement OF mind which education creates
the soeia, hnbts which the institutions aud
manners of New England osler-and above all
TO the religious privileges which bless the descen-
dans Of lhoss who sought new world TO wur-
ship God aftsf their own coDscences, the Fan
West for many weary month seemed to them q
Solitude dreary indeed-but never quite solitude
They had early learned that there is One fron
whose presence no creature can lie banshed and
isolated as they were in the mighty forest, the lit
tie family never forgot that lie lives, of whom i
is written, "If take the wings of the mornin!
and dwell in the utmost paris OF the sea, even
there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right han'
uphold me-
To moiher--to falher--io sister-and to thu
brother who had accompanied them in their wan
derlng, the birth of tina, child had been new
creaton-it had consecraled Tor them new home
and created tic which had bound them TO IN
spot. The gift OF Gods mercy to them it hat
been as The rose All their hearts chung to til
little stranger every feeble opening Of the pre-
cious bud was watched every gmmer OF fu
lure intelligence in The child was to them as til
earnest of coming perfect day. The smiles of il
nfantile Joy had been the sunshine Of their heari
The tree before their door appeared greener an
stronger when the little one crowed its admire
ton in looking up, and vany slrove TO grasp il
branches--the clearing aboutIhe door was though
of only as little ElIen's play ground-the hous
which seemed before her birth dull and narro'
and dark, was now paradise upon earth, sine
there the cherub first saw the day. ANY shela
would seem palace 10 them in which The bat
could stand upright and learn to walk.
And now The hand Of Gealh was on these hop
--und silently they waited the fearful consumm
alton OF his work. Thought was busy with h.
father aud moiher,-one sentiment they held
common. But week before, had any one doub
ed in their presence, that their collage was an
lysium, each would have eloquenlly defended i
but now TO each it seemed u charne house, III
they fell as it the damp Of death was on its wa.
The mothers mind wandered back 10 the hon
of her chl!dhood-to The pleasant places whlt
she had deserted Tor the iOTest-to The cheert
house, and friends sympaIhzug in her Joy wht
Mary, her eldest was born. She conned over OIL
by one the kind faces which there would ha
crowded around her, in scene like this 81
remembered the villnge pastor, who would ha
been ready with his words Of consoltllon, wor
flly chosen, like apples oil gold, in pictures
silver" She recollecled The kind physician, al
can we wonder il she felt in her grief, that
skill might alleviate aud postpone il not avert i
death which threatened her dearly beloved inian
The father as he unused. thought not of the pa
but of the future, To him, 10 her, longer re
dence in that spot, seemed insupporIabe-l
while visions of the home she had left occupi
the mind of the mother, the father looked forwa
TO still another home, as it, by rerealing fro
mankind, he could remove from exposure to d
ease and death. To neither could their recen
pleasant dwelling longer be loerable-wilh be
The place would seem 10 create none but meia
choly associations. But he fell at last Thai II "a