The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1847-02-04
From the Saturday Evening Post.
THE
REJECTED MANUSCRIPT.
BY IL. MEEKS.
CHAPTER /.
THE BEREAVEMENT.
BY IL. MEEKS.
CHAPTER I.

a sad blow Is 1t to MS WFeGcheu laulily iot
is said that Mr.Mansfeld had invested all HI
means in this multicaulis speculation and los
all and if so know not what will becom
of his helpless widow and orphans"
God only knows, Mr.. Collins, it is His t
temper the wind to the shorn lamb, and FL
will doubtless provide for this destitute fam
lily"
Mr.. Ryan uttered this in careless tone
which plainly indicated that if God did no
provide for the widow and her children, it wa
BY no means his intention to do so.
A slight disturbance inside the house, ant
the suppressed sobs Of grief gave lntimatiol
that the mortal remains OF Henry MANSFIELD
were about to be borne to their final resting
place and the conversation on the outside
was suspended,
How solemn, oh Death, are thy visitations
How deep the silence Of that thoughtful throne
now in thy immediate presence How awfu
that presence How keen the anguish thai
follows thy ruthless footstep
The sad procession moves slowly on, with
out pomp or pageantry, for
'Sorrow's sembance weeps not DER his tonnb;"
the common heart is touched and tears flow
from eyes unused to weep, as with Unconscious
step, the mother and her tatherless children
follow their father to the grave The last sad
words are pronounced, " Earth to earth, ash
es to ashes, dust to dust" and US the clods fall
heavily upon the coffin lid, crushing the heart
with the sense of utter and hopeless destitu-
tion Il frantic shrek breaks upon the ear, and
the daughter of the departed sinks overpow-
cred with emotion to the earth. Friends as
sist to convey her home, and the mother is
aroused from the stupor Of her own absorb
ing sorrow, by her fears for her child.
Night has now spread out her mantle Of
darkness, the stars CLEAN out with their won't
ed lustre, and the music of nature keeps up its
eternal harmonies in all places, save in the
bosom of humanity. Overcome by the IA
tigue of grief, the children ofMansfeld sleep,
but to their unhappy mother there is no re-
pose.
Oh how unutterabIy desolatc are those
first dark hours Of widowhood How oppres-
sive burden of care thus suddenly thrown up
on her How cherries that once happy
hearth
Her thoughts are with the dead-and as
the remembrance of ten thousands tokens of
affection crowd the mind, the fountains Of the
heart are broken up, and the aching bosom
finds relief in tears. Falling upon her knees
she seeks consolation and counsel from the
Father of the fatherless-let us not intrude
upon that sacred hour.
A few hours after the funeral obseques, a
party were gathered aronud the tea table of
Mrs Ryan, having been invited at the grave
by that lady. The melancholy bereavement
was the topic of conversation.
allow excessive was the grief of Mary |
Mansfield" said one of the lady visitors.
{" Dear me Mrs. Price, you do not suppose
there was any sincerity in lido you ?" said
Mrs. Ryan
Certainly I do" said Mrs. Price, why
should not ?"
'Oh! see you don't know that artful girl |
as we'll as do; / am not given to speak harsh
ly of any one, but my word for it, all that fuss
at the grave was pure affectation."
But" said Mrs Price, 81 can Sc c no
cause for such needless hypocrisy-what mo-
tive could she possibly have. ?"
"Motive !" said the hostess, /" is it not mo-
tive sufficient to excite the sympathy of the
public ?--for Notwithstanding the Mansfelds
carry their heads so high, they are desperate
ly poor"
that poor people do so, it is regular game
an old trick"
The grief of the poor may be more vio-
lent in its manifestation" said Mrs Price,
il" but that is attributable to another cause a
deficiency of education gives them less power
to control their feelings"
Yes, yes" persisted Mrs Ryan, "but
Mary Mansfield is not one of that class, she
has had very superior education
Mr. Ryan smiled approvingly, as though he
felt that his wife's argument was irretutable,
and her triumph complete.
e 1t is no matter" said Mrs. Price, {" in rich
or poor honor the genuine tribute of the
heart. 1t may show what the world call
weakness, but it also proves that they who
weep can feel"
The conversation was here interrupted by
the entrance of young gentleman from one
of the fashionable dry goods stores who
brou ght magnificent shawl for the inspec-
ton of Miss Juliet Ryan, or as she was usual
ly called on account Of being the eldest da1gh-
ter, Miss Ryan.
Let us pass over few months in that fear
ful struggle which the poor and dependent
have to maintain with the world though first
we will recur to the earlier history of the
Mansfield family.
- Henry Mansfield had married, in opposi-
ton to the wishes Of his parents, who were
both fashionable and ambitious, on. deemed
by them below him in her sphere of life; and
he was in consequence virtually disowned and
disinherited by them, though nevertheless
rich in the unbounded wealth of her pure
love. BY his uniform amenty of manners,
strict integrity, and assduous attention to bu-
siness he had won the confidence of his fell
low citizens, attained high position at the
bar, and laid the foundation Of an easy for
tune. This, however, he had been persuaded
by Ryan to invest, jointly with him, in amul-
tcaulis adventure. Is was considered lost,
AMI before he had time to retrieve his for
tunes, malignant fever hurried him to the
grave.
This Mr. Ryan was a kind of peripatetic
Spectator. Without any regular place of
business, he was always ready to drive a bar