Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1847-06-03

TO her feet, listened again, and then sprang tol
the door unIastened and opened it. AS she did
so, the cold air, thick with large flakes of snow,
rushed in upon her, and for a moment took away
her breath and blinded her eyes. As soon asI
she was able to see, she perceived that a basket
had been placed by some one upon her door
step; at the same instant the cry that had before
| fallen upon her ear rose from the basket, and
explained the mystery The truth flashed over
her mnd-some heartless mother had abandon
ed hei newborn babe.
Bless me- exclaimed the widow, sezing the
basket eagerly and lifting it within the room, at
the same time that she closed the door and lock-
ed it. Enveloped in many folds of fine soft
blanket and entirely protected from the cold
and snow, she found a male infant, apparently
not more than week old. Several changes of
clothes were in the basket, and paper contain
ing small sum of money. But there was no
message from the cruel mother to her to whom
she had consigned her babe-not even the simple
request that the helpless one should at least re-
ceive kindness for its own sake, Fully and en-
tirely had it been abandoned, seemingly without
thought for its welfare
In the morning, it soon became known that
an infant had been left, on the previous night,
at the door of the widow Oliver, and the
neighbors came in one after another to see the
babe and to talk over the strange incident
'What are you going to do with it, was the
universal question, and
Keep it, was the unvarying answer.
Indeed, then, and | would do no such thing,
said one, you have enough to do to take care of
what you have
Il wouldn't take the bread out of my chill
dren's mouths to put it into the mouth of a stran-
gers, said another.
Send it to, the aims house, advised a third.
But Mrs. Oliver had but one reply for all
these suggestions, 1t was the reply of true
woman
God has sent this infant to my door-shall |
refuse to take it in and nurse it for Him! No
hencelorth it shall be as one of my own children.
| will know no difference
As she said so she acted From that hour,
the Little Henry, as she called him, was to be as
her own child, and it was not long before her
owe for him was as tender and deep as for her
| own children. With the care of an infant on
) her hands, Mrs. Oliver could not earn as much
by sewing as formerly, but the deficiency arising
from this cause was made up to her in another
way. With the money she received with the
babe she bought COW, which gave her enough
milk for the Children besides several quarts to
sell every day. She had lived in the country
all ahn no M
: COWS, and had long desired to have one. Milk.
ing and attending to the COW afforded her healthy
exercise after sitting for hours at her work, and
= was no loss of time; for the money she received
for the milk she sold was very nearly double
: what she could have earned with her needle in
| the time it took her to milk, feed and see after
the animal she had bought Thus, Heaven, that
had sent her the babe, provided the means In hel
hands for its sustenance, without increasing per
ceptibly heI burdens.
From the hour when she received her little
Henry no word or token had ever come from
those who had left him to perish, it might have
BEEN in the cold at her door. As to who hi
mother was, or to what family he stood related
she remained in entire ignorance.
Year after year passed away and the babe
grew from infancy to childhood and youth HI
: proved to be a brighter boy than any of Mrs
divers own children, and had prouder spirit
But he had generous qualities of mind, witt
independence, love of truth and frmness anc
decision of character His most serious defect
was, high temper, but all his good qualities
we're encouraged and all that showed itself al
evil gently yet firmly restrained and kept as qui
escent as possible.
AS soon as Henry was old enough to learn
Mrs. Oliver taught him to read, as she had done
her own children, and then sent him to one o
= the common schools Here he made in thu
course Of a few years rapid advancement. Al
the age of fourteen, a gentleman of eminence il
the profession of law, named Hallam, unde
whose notice the lad had several times fallen
and who saw that he possessed more than ordi
nary abilities, offered to pay for his instruction
in the higher branches Of education in one o
the literary institutions in the city, for tire,
years, if Mrs. Oliver thought she could bea
the expense of his maintenance as we'll as furn
ish him with suitable clothing Her oldest child
| boy. had been apprentced two years previously
and she had begun TO talk about putting Henr,
! out TO learn trade also
For the sake of such advantages, she re
piled, 4 will do any thing in my power
Asproposed, Henry was entered at one of tn,
best institutions and completed course of stud
u les, in three years, of greater extent than i
Il usually accomplished in four years by student
of good capacity. So much was the individual
who had generously offered him these invaluable
+ facilities gratifed with the result, that he tool
= him into his office, and IRON that time bore al
his expenses, until he was Of age and ready Il
n be admitted at the bar.
e During the four years that Henry remane
II in the Office of his generous and disinterestec
n benefactor, he devoted himself not only to tn
II study Of the profession for which he was destin
e ed but to general literature and science; furnish
d ing his mind at every point, and laying tn
d foundation upon which he was to build in tn