Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1848-12-06
Written for the Portage Sentinel
ISABELLA lIOIR.
BY MARLIIANE

aWeep not sad moralist ocr desert plains
Strcwcd with the wreck of grandeur, mouldering
fanes,
Archie. of triumph, long with weels oergro wn,
And regal cities now the scrpcn!s own;
Earth has more dreadful ruins one lost mind
Whose star is qucnched, has lessons for mankind,
or deeper import than each prostratc dcme,
Mincling its marble with the dust of Rome
The accomplished lmner may spread
upon the snowy canvass fascinating forms
Of beatty; he may delinea'e 10 the enrap
tured eye, those aerial and viewless beings
who hover round US while we sleep; his
fairy pencil may d'pict with unerring
tru,hfullness the shadow and the gloom,,he
sunshine and be Joy which cammingle up
on earth be may so ali this, bu, ever with
the skill Of an Apelles he cannot paint Il
mind in ruins. Tho vacant eve, the cold
sullen abstraction, the wild flful laugh,
are but outward tokens the sunless night
that has fallen up,n the soul. And yet
:he proud citadel Of thought, that which
makes man the image Of the invisible God,
and inspires in his unsatisfed bosom the
hope Of Immortality docs, not t2mely perish.
1t ESSAYS, and struggles, and fain would ny
from itself; but relentless destiny bears it
down, and lifes sober realities appear only
like the vain phantasm ofa delirieus dream.
And though reason is not onnihila.ed, The
dilapidated walls Of its stricken tenement
attest the mental ruin; though the fire Of
intellect is not totally blotted out, lis mani
festation is like the erratic CLEANS OF a dy-
ing taper.
John Nor native Of Scotland was the
descendant Of distinguished ancestors who
for many centuries had occupied an elegant
Gothic mansion, situated near the boundary
chain of hills, called the Cheviat, which sep.
crates England from Scotland. In ancient
times, when property on this island was held
by feudal tenure, and when struggles be-
tween rival chieftains were not uncommon,
these border hills were the scene of many
q sanguinary conflict. Turbulent knights
and military adventurers, swaying at will
the various clans around them, and foster
ing on insatiate thirst for the glory Of arms,
were ever ready at the call of the shrill
carton for deeds of daring and Of blood And
thus rs centuries passed on the warlike spir.
it:of the people was cultivated; so much SC
indeed, that it became the master passion,
and valor and dexterity in arms was es.
ieemed the highest honor. 1t is not surpri
sing that those reared amid such scenes
should feel proud satisfaction, while con-
templating the chivalreus and heroic deed
of their ancestors; nor was it possible fo
any to dwell where romance, and associa
ton, and scenery, were thus spread out be
fore them, without feeling the inspiration
of those who had long since slumbered witt
the dead. Thus educated and thus inf1u
enced, Mr.. Moir, in1sl7 ,obeyed the impuls
Of noble feeling by emigrating with hi
family to 'sthe land of the free" Prefer
ing the unobtrusive retirement Of rural life
to the less attractive scenes of the city, h
purchased beautiful residence in the Sci
OTTO valley, to which he repaired with hi
family AS he was man of polished man
ners, and of commanding talent, he wa
soon widely known, and his influence wa
as widely felt. The ardor of his feelings