Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1851-06-13

/ ness, Mr.. Bacon. These, no man should shrink
from hearing. Seven years ago, your farm
was the most productive in the neighborhood
and yon in easy circumstances. What has
produced the sad change now visible to all
! eyes ? What has taken from you the ability
to manage your affairs as prosperously as be-
| fore What has made it necessary for your
child to leave her fathers shclterng roof and
bury herself for two long years in factory, in
order to save you from total ruin Go home,
| Mr.. Bacon, and answer these questions to your
own heart, and may the pain you now suffer
lead you to act more wisely in the future
My daughter shall not go' exclaimed the
old man passonatey.
q hold her written pledge to repair to Lowell
at the expiration Of three weeks and TO repay
the loan | made her in two years. Will you
compel her to violate her contract? 2
i will execute another mortgage on my farm,
and pay you back the loan.
Act like wise man. said Mr.. Green. Iet
your daughter carry out her noble purpose, and
thus relieve you from embarrassment
NO, no, Mr. Green! cannot think of this ,
Oh, sir, pity mel Do not force my child away.
Do not lay so heavy burden on one so young
Think of her as your own daughter, and do to
me as you would yourself wish to be done BY
But Mr.. Green was deaf to all these appeals
He was a man Of great firmness of purpose,
and not easily turned to the right or 10 the left
During the next three weeks. Mr. Bacon
tried every eXpedient in his power, short Of
total sacrifice of his little property, to raise the
money, but in vain Except for circumstance
new in his lie, he would, in his desperation,
have accepted Dycr's offer OF six hundred dol
lars for his farm, and thus prevented Mary's de-
l.. 4 bat, az. a..
perfect Sojriefy Not since the day when Mr.
Green charged upon him the responsibility OF
his chd's banishment from her fathers house,
had he tasted strong drink His mind was
therefore clear, and he was restrained by rca-
son from acts Of rashness, by which his condi
ton would be rendered far more worse than it
was already.
Bitter indeed were the su1trings of Mr.. Ba-
con, during the quick passage of three weeks
at the expiration of which time Mary was to
leave home, in compliance with her contract
and the more bitter, because his mind was un-
obscured by drink. At last, the moment for
separation came. 1t was a clear cold morning
towards the latter end of March, when Mary
left, for the last time, her little chamber, and
came down stairs dressed for her Journey
Ever in the presence OF her father and mother
during the brief season of preparation, had she
maintained cheerful and confident exterior: !:
but, in her heart, there was n painful Shrinking
back from the trial upon winch she was about
entering. On going by the door to Mary's
chamber, few minutes before she came down,
Mrs. Bacon saw her daughter kneeng at her
bedside with her face deeply buried among the
clothes. Not till that moment did she fully COM
prehend the trial through which her child was
passing.
The stage was at the door, and Mary's trunk
strapped up in the boot before she came down
In the porch stood her father aud mother, and
her Younger brother and sister, waiting her APP
pearance.
Good bye, father said the excellent girl, in
a cheerful voice, as she rea ched out her hand
MIR. Bacon caught it eagerly, and essayed 10
speak some tender words But though his lips
moved there was no sound upon the air.
God bless you = was at length uttered in a
sobbing voice. Il fcrvent kiss was then press
ed upon her lips, and the old man turned away
and staggered rather than walked back INTO the
house.
More calm the mother parted with her child
1t was a great trial for Mrs. Bacon, but she now
fully comprehended the great use TO flow from
Mary's self-devotion, and, therefore, with heI
last kiss. breathed a word OF encouragement.
1T is for your father. Let that sustain you
80 the end
A few moments more, and the stage rolled
away, bearing " it'll it the very sunlight from the
dwelling of Mr.. Bacon. Poor old man! Rest
! lessy did lie wander about for days after Mary
departure, unable to apply himself, except ioi
Il little while a. IA tine, to any work; but hls
/ inquetude did not drive him back to the cup
| he had abandoned. No, he saw in it too clear
y the cause of his present deep distress, to look
upon and feel its allurement. What had ban
/ ished from her pleasant home tlat beloved
child and sent her forth among strangers to toil
| from early morning until the going down OF
the sun? Could he love the cause OF this great
evil No! There was enough virtue IN his
heart to save him. Love for the enid was
stronger than his deprayed love OF strong drnE
A few more Intellectual efforts were made t.
turn Mr.. Green from his resolution to hod
Mary to her contract, and then the humble
father resigned himself to the necessity he could
not overcome. and with a clear mind and new-
ly awakened purpose, applied himself to the
culture OF his farm, which, in few months
had a more thrifty appearance than 1t had pre-
scented tor wears.
In the mean time, Mary had entered one o
the mills at Lowell, and was doing her work
! tlere Win Il UfdNc anu CueeEIuI SPlTll' 'VHlt
painful trials, to one like her, attended her ar
rival in the CITY and entrance upon the dutie'
assumed. But daily the trials grew less, anC
she toiled on in the futilIment OF her contrac
with Mr. Green, happy under the ever presen
cons sciousness that she had saved her ta,her'
property, and kept their homestead AS the gath
ering place of the family. At the end oI tnre'
months, she came back and spent week. How
her young heart bounded with joy at the grea
change apparent in every thing about the hous'
and farm. but, most of all, at the change IN he
father. ii, was not so light of word and Sml
Iingv cneerful as in former times, bnt he wa
sober, perfectly sober; and she felt that tn
kiss with which he welcomed her brici return
was purer than it had e"er been.
On the very day Mary came back she cae'
over to see Mr., Green, and paid him thirty
seven dollars on account OF the loan, for whlcl
he gave her receipt. Then he had man,
questions to ask about her situation at Lowell
and how she bore her separation from home, L
all of which she gave cheerful answers, and
in the end, repeated her thanks for the oPportu
nifty he had gwen her to be OF such great ser
vices to her father.
Mr., Green had son who, during his teri
at college, exhibited talents OF so decided
character that his father, after some d'libers