The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1850-03-16

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! All day long wns that sullcu bell ,olling-
from morning I'LL night II scarcely ceased a
moments Tor hs soon HH Il had rung the knell
of another departed spifit. II ere was a fresh
funeral at the chufch.ynrd gate, aud nrnin
That "dingdong" ponlcd mournfully through
ihc sad aud sullry atmosphere. Those who
were loit behind, too III to join the funeral
procession, heard not always the returning
footsteps ottho mufllcd mourncrs, Tor some.
times deuth again entered the house while
they were nbscnli aud when they reached
home tlJy found another victim ready TO be
horrc 10 The grave; then they eat down and
Mcpt III very despair Dcnih came no long
az ns Of old, knocking painfully at tie door OF
life, but strobe .noirlGssly iu, aud before one
was well aware, snotc his yictim--no one
could tell how, for tie strong man who ap-
pcnred hale and we'll one hour, was weak and
helpless Ia the next, aud fell withou, know
ing whence the blow came.
Little children were clothed suddenly In
black almost before they could reconcile
themselves TO the belief that they had lost
their parcnia- Before thcy could well under
stand why their father slept so long, or was
placed IN dark box, T. carried out at the door
Ia such basic, ,l!c mother had also ceased to
live; aud hen they began To comprehend
ihcr loss and wcpt bitterly To find Themselves
iHtherless, mothcrlcss. md destitute. Some
OF these wotc 30 AJllc, that they could but
lusi repeat their prayers. Never more would
thcy knccl ht the feet of that dear fond molh.
rr, nsthes had done bet night or two be-
fore! never murc would those eyes beam on
them again, and, with a smile, repeat the
words over aud over agnin, until llcy knew
them all ty rule. Alas they Were the other
night borne Ia n strange bed; "A sfrnngc fnrs
hent over thctn--uud when they rose TO kiss
IT, il turned away. Then the little orphans
pressed oach other more closely, aud wepi
lnuder for the loss of their Inolhor. Al last,
their subbng subsidized. though not until long
allcr they had fallen asleep, perchance on
the hard wurkhousc hed-Cvcn those who
were before uurscd 80 delichtcy that the
cold wind had never visited their tender
cheeks Many such sudden changes ms ihcsc
have we met with; homes lin which one day
happiness and comfort rclgncdl changed on
the morrow to the abodes of sorrow, anguish
aud uaked dcstltution; or, by The cnd OF Tie
week, empty and closed
Life and thought have gone away side by side,
Leaving door aud windows wide;
Careless tenants thcyt
All within ia dark as night: in the windows is
no light,
And no n,utn,nL at The door, so frequent on
its hinge befure
CioEr the door--the shutters close,
DT through the wtndows We shall src
The make dness aud vacancy
or the deserted house [TESSIsoN. 4
In sowe houses, all died; aud, nfter the di-
lapidaled building had been closed n few
days, other tenants took possession, aud, in
two or three of these chnnges,s the tenants
also porishoti--the mcrccnnry landlords new
or breathing word about what had befnilcn
the others The purid cesspool and stag
uant sewer still yearned aud .bnbbled and
steamed in the sunshine, and poisoned all
who itthaled the deadly gases; and when but
few human were lcil, an investigation took
plaee, and The evil wns removed. la sever
al deaih-engendering courts, the whole OF
the inhabitants were driven out, and fresh
shelter found them, until their wrctched
dwellings were purified.
So few at first escaped after they were at
rnckcd hy the malignant and mysterious DIS
ease, that you looked upon them ~ persons
who lhad trodden the confines of another
word-as being rescued from the jaws of
death, and destined to accomplish some great
nissrn You gaZed on them IN awe and
wonder. Those ii the prime of life, and
ruddy with apparent health, fell around you
like summer flowers beneath the scytho OF
the mower. Then medical men of loEg
standing began to drop of, you missed one
here, another there, and with Them, hope at
last. nod. "They cannot sovc themselves"
exclaimed ule terror -strlckrn poPHiUc1i'-t tf1rr
how can We hope 10 escape hihe diseaSa o.
yertakes us ?" Old nurses, who had grown.
grey in the service ofDea,h, shrnnk back and
shuddered ns Ihey heard themselves st',f'-
tnoned to attend the sick. Thousands who
had the means fed mio't country and has
tened to the sen side, where they thought
themselves secure; but the wings Of lhe An