Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1849-08-16
THE GIRL AND THE ANGELS.
Sleep "saintly poor ono !" sleep, sleep on !
And waking find the labor dono.-C. Lamb.


since passed into oblivion, young girl
whom we shall call Alice, with an aged
mother dependent upon her exertions for
their sole support. And although at all Pc
RODS they Jared hardly enough and some
times even wanted bread, Alice never suE
fered herself to be cast down, placing her
whole trust in Him who "tempers the wind
to the shorn lamb" And when better days
came again, who so glad and thankful as
that young girl?
1t may be all very pretty and picturesque
for poets and artists to picture to themselves
calm, peaceful scenes OF rural loneliness,
in the foreground of which they generally
place some happy village maid, sitting in the
cottage porch at the sunset hour, and sing
ing merriy at her wheel; even as bright
eyed and glad-hearted damsels of our own
times take up their sewing only as plea
SAINT excuse TO be silent and alone, that they
may indulge in sweet and gentle musings.
But let us not forget that that which is
pastime to the few, may be to the many
weary and never ending toll, engrossing the
day that seems SO long and yet not half long
enough for all they have to do--breaking
into the quiet hours set by nature for rest,
dreams. Thus it was oitentimes with our
poor heroine And yet she sang too, but
generally hymns, for such sprang most rea
Oily to her lips, and seemed most in harmo-
ny with her lonely and toilsome life while
her aged mother would lie for hours listen
ing to what seemed to her gush of sweet
prayeriul music, and not questioning but
the song of the good upon earth might be
heard and echoed by the angels in heaven
For years Alice had contrived to lay by
enough to pay the rent of their little cot
tagc, against the period when it should be-
come due but now, either from the widows
illness, or the hardness Of the times, which
ever presses, in seasons of national or COM
mercial difficulty, most heavily upon those
least able to struggle against its additional
weight, the day came round and found her
unprepared. 1t SO happened that the old
landlord was dead, and his successor was
one Of those stern men, who, without being
hard hearted, have peculiar creed of their
own with regard to the poor, which they
are never weary Of repeating holding pow
erty TO be but another name for idleness, or
even crime Ia baneful error which has
done much to plunge its unhappy victims
into their present fallen condition and yet
even he was touched by her tears and meek
deprecating words, and consented to give
her one weeks grace, in which time she
reckoned to have finished and got paid for
the work she then had in the house. And
although the girl knew that in order to eff
feet this, she must work day and night she
dared not ask for longer delay, and was
even grateful to him for granting her re-
quest.
at will be a lesson to her not to be be-
hind-hand in future" thought her stern
landlord, when he found himself alone
"no doubt the girl has been idling of late,
or spending her money on that pale color
ed hood she wore, instead of having it rea-
! dy as usual" And yet, sleeping or waking
her grateful thanks haunted him strangely,
almost winning him to gentle thoughts
we say almost, for deep rooted prejudices,
such as his, were hard, very hard to over
| come.
Alice returned home with light heart
WELL" said the widow, anxiously
"All right, mother; with Gods blessing
we will yet keep the dear little cottage in
which you tell Inc you were born"
"And hope to die"
Not yet-not yet, dear mother!" ex-
claimed the girl passionately. "What
would become Of your poor Alice, If she
were to lose you p
"And yet, am but burden on your
young life"
Alice was right; labor and toll only ask
an object-something to love, and care, and
work for to make it endurable, and even
sweet. And then kissing her mother, but
saying not word of all she had to do, the
girl took off the well-preseryed hood and
cloak which had given rise to such unjust
animadversions, and putting them carefully
aside, sat down in hopeful spirit to her
wheel. The dark cloud which had hung
over her in the morning seemed already
breaking, and she could even fancy the blue
sky again in the distance. All that day she
only moved from her work to prepare their
} simple meals, or wait upon the helpless but
, not selfish invalid, who, but for the eyes o
watchfu love ever bent upon her, would
have striven painfully to perform many a
little duty for herself, rather than tax those
r willing hands, always so ready to labor in
: her behalf And when night came, fearing
to cause that dear mother needless anxiety
, Alice lay down by her side, watching unit
) she had fallen asleep and then rising noise
lessly, returned to her endless task. And
yet, somehow, the harder she worked the
more it seemed to grow beneath her weary
fingers The real truth of the matter was
she had overrated her own powers, and was
not aware of the much longer time it would
: take for the completion of the labor than
she had allowed herself But it was toe
late to think of all this now; the trial mus
be made; aud Heaven, she doubted not
would give her strength to 60 through with
it. Oh happy-thrice happy are they who
have deserved to possess this childlike faitl
shedding its gentle light on the darkest
scenes of life.
Morning broke at length over the distant
hills, aud Alice, hinging open the easement
felt refreshed by the cool breeze, and G lad
dened by the humming of the birds, alrea
dy up and at their prisons or exchanged 1
kind good morrow with the peasants going
forth to their early labor. No wonder thai
those rough untutored men, gazing upward
to her pale calm face, and listening to he'
gentle tones, felt a kind Of superstitiou'
reverence in that kindly greeting that bodee
e