Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1851-06-03

Then j raised my glance to where,
"Placcd against the oakcn wall,
Stood the old clock, grim and tall -
And thought of the bright eyes that had
once watched the slow movement of its point.
ers, with hope or fear. joy or sorrow, now
closed forever; and the merry voices which
had drowned its monotonous tick with their
laughter, but BOW silent in death and in
voluntarily repeated these lines from Lissic
BARRIERS beautiful poem:
1.-THE OLD CLOCK,
thine speeds en-, and years have flown,
And the old house stands alone;
Where are all the eyes of light,
of the household band to night2
Where the hopes ofchildhoods morn,
And young Loves delicious dawn?
Gone! Gone
Gonei Comet
So my heart beats sadly on"
Gone but where-how ?" I nurmured.
as bent my gaze on the Pickering fire
How lived-how died they--those troops Of
bright-eyed children, who
Laughed to hear that old clock tick7
AS ifin answer to my query the following
picture seemed to rise before me; but
| whether they were wakened from the glim-
Hering freight, OF whether they were the eff
| feets of kind of Weakening dream, cannot
tell; but suddenly the wrinkled, withered
visage of the old dame in the white canopied
bed in the corner of the room gave place to
that of a fair, youthful matron. While /
was wondering over this, caught the sound
OF foot steps in the wide entryway-heavy
steps, mingled with the pattering oflittle feet.
They paused at the door, and then followed
low whispering, above which, as if forget
ing or defying all restaint, rose occasionally
childish voice, sweet and clear like birds
trill breaking the silence of midnight Then
the door opened, and tall, hale, ruddy.
checked man entered on tiptoe, leading two
little fair haired girls.
They rather hung back at first, Influenced,
perhaps, by the awe with which the children
OF some families are taught to regard the
spare rooms of the house, but as soon as
they caught sight of their mothers face be-
meath the white drapery. they sprang for
ward and would have clambered upon The
bed, had NOT their father gently held them
back. He lifted them up to meet their
mothers kiss, and then taking from beneath
the counterpaine something which seemed to
be little bundle of white flannel he some
what awkwardly turned back the fold, and
then looked out the fair round face of--a
babyl
"a brother-a baby brother" the father
whispered; and then it was right pleasant to
witness the wonder, curiosity, aud delight
that cleaned in their round blue eyes, as
they examined his little feet and hands.
touching them timidly with their chubby
fingers, until embroidered by their mothers
smile, they ventured to kiss the soft check
of what seemed to them, very much as it does
to the wisest among us, an inexplicablc mys-
terry.
Then the picture faded slowly away, and
In its place came another-a bright winter
scene. The snow lay heavy and deep over
the barren landscape. edging the green
branches of the cedars and Jumpers
"Wlth ermine too dear for an earl,D
and hanging in feathery wreaths over the
edges OF the shelving rocks and leaning fem
ces.
That pleasant, motherly- looking woman
who had smiled SO sweetly upon those little
girls in the painted chamber" was standing
at one Of the narrow windows of the old
house, watching the progress of an ox-sled as
1t swept down the street, leaving two broad
smooth tracks glittering in the sun. Plant
ca on the front beam of the sled, with his
feet far apart, after the fashion of the pic
lures OF the Colossus at Rhodes" stood
that same ruddy- checked man, and behind
him, clinging close to the beams to guard a.
gainst tumbling off, sat two tall, laughing
girls. Now, as nothing ever seems strange
IN dreams, or by the freight at midnight, /
was not at all surprised to recognize in those
tall maideus the little girls | had seen before.
nor in the brighteyed boy, who one moment
stood planted on the sled in imitation of his
father trying in vain to maintain bis posi-
tion without touching hands to the stakes
for support, and the next was measuring the
length of his new boot tops in snow drift
the baby brother who had excited their
curiosity and delight in the former scene.
| watched them until they tumbled off in
front of a low brown building, which. from
the number of children about the door, and
other signs. knew to be school house
and 10. new picture grew clear and bright
in the cleaning light
1t was no longer winter, but glorious
spring morning. The beams of the rising
sun had tipped the highest points of sur
rounding hills with fire, while from the mea-
dows and glens rose the light mists, cliuging
to their bases, or creeping slowly up their
sides, like clouds Of incense around fire.
crowned affairs. The winds were still asleep
in the cedar boughs. but occasionally show
err of glittering dew drops fell to the ground
as some belated bird sprung from its leafy
perch and scared upward with it's morning
song Of Thanksgiving. On little knoll few
rods distant from the old farm house. a flock
Of sheep was shaking the dew from their
lately washed feeces and near the bars of
the pasture on the left stood group Of
young cattle, some stretching their sleek