North Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1850-1852, 1851-08-16
From the Flag of our Union' !
THE WIOOW'S DREAM,
Or, An Oasis in Tie Desert Of poor SEa"'77eS'


THE WIDOWS DREAM,
n l., or.;, :; he Dsssr, or n door SeamstreSs' Life
A. F. WHITE
Ill., ool5 nierc;no winds OF a December hIgh
,ubstIed and moaned around the old frame 'eilelen
ola Door widow, who resided IN narrow ua I'm fn.
of populous city, whereof stngad the few surplus
tattered neces of her sparse wardrobe into the
of the Shattered door and windows 10 eHc!uue ~ 49,.
nipping breath of Jack Frost as IL ooLtu and his
bnphIe APARTMENTS for the fierce winter king anu .
snowy train drove furiously through inc u.s. 1
streets, and in bUsterous gee Knocked inc small
hers of the poor woman's hreslde. Low, ohair
deal table before her, she croucheu IN d ~" o: al
beeide the expiring fire, dmy burned la NJ "nle
the benumbed fingers of the widow g4ioeI Gy nei
weary eyes, were plying over nan nniS 3. sai
Of cheap tailoring establishment Ever and
M tho moor woman would cast her eyes towards a
large and l-accoutered bed, in corner OF the roo'
and as she did So she would renew her wasted ener-
gies to complete her task mat h1moe coucn Si1
tained all on earth that dearto her-her Two emu
dren slept, nothing the less sound because OF tnelr
wretched poverty, but slept that sweet ana refreshing
sleep that knits up the raveed sleeve OF care, ana
falls as gently upon the beggar in his shed, as Inc
millionaire in his palace. sobbing moan escapes
the poor widow, tears suffuse her hollow cheeks.
Il can work no more, my light is nearly gone, I'm
chilled to the bone. But, o, what Will my cnliuIe
do for bread tomorrow They almost broke my near
when put them to bed hungry and cold to-hign''
Tomorrow they'll have nothng-no 1000 no hIH'
Great God, they must not perish, "hlie We : an ~
hand And the poor woman asJ,n III on ,ntiI
needle, nodded sobbed sighed and worked on emu
the last ember of her fire was gone. Inc lSnl oi
the lamp fickered in the socket Tor m0lnen'' anu
the last stitch in the garment was competed DIS tue
faint sreakS of day broke thFouS" 'ie i'olSOoS Vi
the windows.
demand, almost rigid with cold, too, the wlooW
arose from her seat crossed to the bed, gazed upon
upon her still quietly sleeping children, and falling
upon her knees beside them, she prayedprayed that
God would call them all home, as nothing but des-
pair and misery seemed before them but the sun
began spread his broad rays over the frozen ear
and the hum and of busy city resounded again
in the streets. The poor woman donned her pam
habments, kissed her waking children, and oldding
them sleep until she returned with food and hre she
rolled up the finished garment and started, through
the deep and keen morning air. to the tailoring
establishment.
It was one of those large depots where ready made
clothing holds such great aluremens to the eco
nmical wearers OF such GOODS "a ong-estabshed and
tolerated species of aterday BaStie for the torture
of those poor females who fight TO the last against
most overwhelming odds and chances OF Wretched
existence, in defence of their honest poverty, and
purity of purpose, which, when preserved, scarce at
passing COMMUNICATION; yet, II lost, all the
world, the law of the land, and pulpit maleVoencc,
fail not to seattle to the hearts the misery goad-
ed wretch. She stood beside the proprietos counter,
while he, arrayed in his f1ashy wardrobe, and orna-
mented with seals, keys and chains, tumbled over
the garment, examined the seams tested the strength
of the sewing, found fault CT this, and objected TO
that and with all the vu gar coarseness and yrani-
cal stupidity peculiar to the drrer of soP shop,
the debauched manager OF a second-rate theatre,
Shears, the proprietor dealt out his i'll humOr TO the
half famished, pale woman before him. At length
he consented TO take the garment ln half finished as
he proclaimed it to be- and sulkiy threw the wretch
ed seamstress quarter Of dollar upon the counter.
She grasped it, it the link between her and dis
solution. She stood for moment, waiting for more
work.
" You may CO. said the proprietor.
{" Have you no more work, sir o.
No dom dos any NOR If intended
to give you any more work / should have made you
work the button holes of that coat again.
But, sir, how can afford to do neater work, on
such coarse garments, at such price e.
8" Price Why, can get better work done, hun
dreds will be glad of the chance TO make one of them
coats for three fppenny bisr'
"Ah, sir, have two small children to provide
bread and fire for! l work necessarily on one Of
those coats from daybreak until midnight. l, "a
Well, well-no matter. I've no more work for
you at present, anyhow, so you may 60 along"
And the arbiter of the fate of this woman, and ma
ny others in the same miserable situation, stood off
to enjoy his cigar, while the seamstress retraced her
steps back to her home of fororn wretchedness AS
she paced along, in a frame of mind bordering on
frantic despair, she passed aPothecary's.
strange, mad notion flashed upon her brain AS if
propelled by invisible spirit of destruction, she
entered the medicine shop and called for an ounce of
iaudanum! The shopman, of course, hesitated not,
wild ard desperate as his customer looked, to sell
her the deadly draught, and extracting his pay from
tie poor woman's last, hard-earned con he threw
her the change, and she again bent her steps towards
her dwelling. The few pennies remaining sufficed
to buy small loaf at a neighboring grocery,-ths,
and some dregs of tea warmed over the blaze of a
handful of shavings on the hearth, provided for the
meagre repast of the Widows children
Atter.their meal, some preence other the Wild
ow sent her children to neighbours house, and then
drawing the vial from her bosom, she PRAYED God to
be the protector of her offspring, while she sought
refuge from her unbeatable burden of poverty and
woe, in self-destruction.
She's not dead, she's warm yet, and breathes,'
said one.
Poor dear SOUL sighed another. She has look ,
ed like death for long time and her little girl says
her mother never went to bed last night at all the
poor dear creatures out-a good long sleep will
do her good
'Ay, says the first speaker, old woman, and |
she'll sleep sleep that knows no waking; quick
some on you, get the doctor, the woman's taken poi
son; look, I've found the bottle under her head y
Some OF them cried, some screamed and bawled, |
while none started for the doctor and amid all the
DIN and walllng, In came the widows children, though
some pains had been manifested to keep them away |
from the scene The children, supposng their parent
dead, screamed in concert with the neighbors who
mad come In upon the first ntmation from the chill
uren that returning home about noon they had found
tner mother so fast in sleep they could not arouse
her.
She awoke; the din aroused her. Her eyes were !
CLASSY, her lips parched, but over her still pleasant
and comedy features played smile She gazed |
around her Tor moment upon the anxious faces ben
Jung over her bed, she grasped her children to her
breast, and In a calm sweet voice, spoke:
o, why did you call me back from heaven!
Mother! Mother! screamed the children
Fy God Ny Chtldren!' and with the first force
OF rescued consciousness, the widow almost fran
ueay hugged her children and then in the next in