Litchfield enquirer., 1844-11-21
FsOn' the Religious Souvenir for 1886
~ THEsSEAMSTRESS. se g. se5'

,- BY MRS. H BEEcHER STOWE.
Sew save the poor feel for the poor;
!, The rich know not how hard ~
tits to be Of needful food, sllg.iiae @H
And needful rest debarr'd, 's-"" Fffa'
Their paths are paths of righteousness; !,
They sleep ON silk and down; .'-..
They never think how heavily - 80.
Ia ~ The weary head lies down. ~ .5,r.es s.,. 4
"They never by the window sit, .ss.z 81
And see the gay pass by; sd
Xe take their weary work again, H. "a .,.s
And with mournfll eye.' L. y. Z. "
However fine and elevated, in. sentimental
point OF view, may have been the poetry which has
euanated from this gifted writer we think we have
never seen any thing from this source, that ought
to give better opinion Of her, than the little bal
lad from which the above verses are taken They
show that the accomplished authoress possessed,
mot merely knowledge of the dreamy, ideal wants
Of human beings, but Of those more pressing and
homely ones, which the fastidious and poetcal are
often the last to appreciate The suferings Of pow
erty are not confined TO those Of common, squa,
lid everyday poor, Injured to hardships, and ready,
with open hand, to receive charity let it come 10
them as it will. There is another class on whom
it presses with . still heavier power. The gener.
ous, tue decent, the seif.Tespecting, who have
things" and willing to endure all things, rather
than breathe word Of complaint or to aclSnowl-
edge, even to themselves, that their own efforts
will not be sufficient for their own necessities
Pause with me while at the door of yondes
small room, whose solitary window overloois lit
tie court below. 1t is inhabited by widow and
her daughter; dependent entirely ON the abours Of
the needle, and those other slight and precarious
resources, which are all that remain to woman,
when left to struggle her way through this bleak
world alone" 1t contains all their small earthly
store, and there is scarce article Of its little
stock Of furniture that has not been thought of,
and toed for, and tsprice calculated over and over
again, before every thing could come square for its
purchase. Every article-is. arranged with the ut.
most neatness and care is the most costly fur
niture of fashionable parlour more sacredly pro-
tected from dust; more sedulously guarded from a
scratch or q rub, than is that brightly vanished
bureau, and that neat cherry teatable and bedstead
The floor too, boasted once carpet, but old Time
has been busy with it picking a hole here,' and
making thin place there; and though the old fsl.
low has been followed up by the most indefatigable
zeal Of darning, the marks of his mischievous fin
gers are too plain to be mistaken. II il true
kindly Ieighbor has given faded piece of baize,
which has been neatly clipped and bound, and
spread down over large and entirely unmanagea.
bic hole in front Of the fire place. and others have
been repaired with piees of different colors; and
yet, after ALL it is evident that the poor carpet is
not long for this world. But the best face is put
upon every thing. The LITTLE cupboard in the cor
ner, that contains fewchiRa cups, and one or two
ANTICIPATED silver spoons, relics Of better days, is
arranged with jealous neatness; and the white
muslin window curtain, albeit the muslin be old,
has been carefully starehed and whitened, and
smoothly ironed, and put up with exact precision;
and on the bureau, covered with snowy cloth, are
arranged lew books, and other memorials of for
mer times and faded miniature, which, though
it have little about it to interest stranger is more
precious to the poor widow than every thing be-,
sides. Mrs A. 10 seated in her rocking chair
supported by pillow, and busy cutting out work,
while her daughter, a. slender sickly looking girl,
Is sitting at the window intent on some fine stitch
Mrs. A. was in former days the wifesOT a
prosperous merchant; the mistress of a genteel and
commodious house, and the mother of an Affection
ate family. Butevil fortune had followed her with
steadiness, which seemed more like stern decree
Of some adverse fate than the ordinary dealings Of
a merciful Providence. First came a heavy ron Of
losses in business then. long and expensive sick
ness in the family and the death Of children. Then
there the selling of the large house and elegant
furniture, to retire toan humber style of living -
and finally the sale of all the property, with view
to quitting the shores of native country, and
commencing life again in new one. But scarcely
had the exied family found themselves in the ports
Of a foreign land, when the father was suddenly
smitten down by the hand Of death, and his solitary
grave made In land Of strangers. The widow,
broken hearted and discouraged, had still weari-
some distance before her. ere she could find herself
among friends With her two daughters entirely
unattended and with her finances impoverished by
the detention and expenses Of sickness she perfor-
med the tedious remainder Of the journey. I, AZ.
Arrived at the place Of her destination, she found
herself not only without immediate resources but
considerably In debt to relative, who had advan.
ced money for her travelling expenses, With ST.
lent endurance she met the necessities of her stu
alton. Her daughters delicately reared, and hith-