The Middlebury galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1848-1850, 1848-08-08
THE FORTUNES OFAN ORPHAN
AN "owER TRUE" SKETCH.

q rich lustre on the yellow bosom of the Mi,
slssippi. There were then not so man
plantations in the vicinity of New Orleans
: and where now wave the long green leave
. of the sugar cane, was then an almost I'm
o cultivated waste. The banks of the rive
l. teemed with cottonwood trees, and tn
0 long grey moss swung lazily in the sol
breeze of Autumn. The "Dirch- Weed,
a noble ship from Amsterdam, slowly mad,
her way up the river. She had on boar,
some forty or fifty emigrants. The ole
Germans, in their long>tai!ed coats, deco
rated with many small brass buttons
smoked their pipes complacently, and ev'
cry now and then grunted "yaw! yawp
in assent or reply 10 some question. The
young girls displayed themselves in their
brightest kirtles and ~boddices, and larded
their hair to make it smooth and bright.
There was not n on board that vessel
who did not have a Thousand thoughts
melted into one as the ship neared the Lc-
wee. One thought, and his memory trav>
elIed like lightning, of the little cottage
on the Rhine. around whose porch the
honey .suckle grew, and the bees hummed
singing as it were an insect song Of
praise to Heaven for its bounty. Then a.
cross the mirror of the heart of the immi>
grant there came the shadow of a sweet,
pale face, with eyes moist with tears, and
lips soft and crimson as the moss rose.
The stoIid Switzer-he smoked his pipe
in silence no one saw his tears, for they
were wept inwardly. and the eyes of his
soul looked upon the green borders of his
own blue Rhine, and the sweet face ofthe
pale and fearful girl he left behind him.
Standing on the quarter deck, there was
a woman who seemed to be almost lost in
thought. She was poor and friendless,
and had Come to the land of liberty to seek
along lost brother. Ten years afterwards
that poor Dutch maiden was the wife of
member of Congress.
Now let's to the Storage cabin of the
birch Woed." In a miserable cot there
lay 4 man who was dying. His wife stood
by him, and ever and anon bathed his tenn
pies with vinegar, and in her own lan>
guage whispered TO him some words of
comfort. AT the foot of the bed OF the
dying man a little girl with bright blue
eyes and haxen hair, was playing with an
apple that had been given her by one ofthe
cabin passengers. Unconscious of the sit
nation of her father, she toyed with her
little present, and every now and then a
Sigh laugh would escape her lips. Just
Is The vessel touched the wharf ofthe First
municipality, the wife OF the dying man sat
down by him. She thought that he had
sunk into Il sound Slumber-that he would
recover, and that in the new country"
she would have his stalwart arm and able
Judgment to protect her and the little
child, the offspring of their love. His
face was very pale, and she thought for a
moment the dilation of his ~nostrils had
ceased Her heart lhrobbed wildly in her
bosom, and going to a little wooden chest,
she took out a broken bit of glass. Pla-
cling il before his mouth, for he was very
still, she endeavored to find out if he still
breathed. There was nc moisture on the
glass! There was a slight tremor Of the
heart of the dead man, that like bird un>
willing To leave its nest, gently heaved his
snow white bosom, and then all was at
rest
The widowed woman clasped her hands
before her eyes, and thought, but dared
not look upon her poor little daughter,
who still sat playing on the bed where her
father dice. 1t was all gone! The home
that she had left-the vision of the blue
waves fringed with silver laces that she
had crossed over-the hopes O fwealth and
happiness in the land ofliberty-the pleas
ant thought of sending on, when they had
got rich, for her own aged mother and the
gray>haired father of her husband! Her
husband She wildly Withdrew the thin,
white fingers that were clasped over her
eyes, and saw the placid features of her
husband, who was cold in death, and her
daughter still playing with her little apple I!
The tides of her heart rose with such We
locity that she fell upon the planking. and
when some of her companions picked her
up they saw that the blood was gurgling
from her mouth, and that her fingers were
~clenched, and that her wan bosom heaved
with tumult. A few moments more and
her pulse ceased to culver, and her glazed
eyes looked upwards, as tito God She
was dead, he was dead, still the little fax
en-headed, blue-eyed girl sat smiling by
those who were her parents. There were
two inquests that day, and two rough cof-
fins conveyed the dead wife and husband
to the grave! The little orphan thought
it a gay thing TO take them away, for some
one had told her that they were asleep,
and then she laughed and clasped her tiny
hands. In a little while, however, she
commenced crying for her mother, and
little tears as bright as pearls trickled
down her pure cheeks. A broad-shoul-
dered man. at the time that he was lifting
a box out of the hold, saw the little girl,
and asked who she was. He learned her
history, and with his horny hand wiping
a tear from his eye, asked il he could take
her. The Captain and those around,
glad to get rid of what they considered a