Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1851-02-17

J
u Il he thunder ofheaven could not so hay,
shaken the iron nerves of that strong man
4 as did the simple reply of the idiot bov
fbut was it not-thb thunder of heaven tha
spoke in that small liyoice-'I have no othel
4 ffather.'' g.. i. J.. ~ - s ~.
'Come, come said the boy, taking hin
kindly bv the hand-and the unneryecf
man suffered himself to beled away as 4
be was both MANNED and blind. Marvel
not at that; men Of the slernes, minds. al
times, allow themselves 10 be led away by
idiots.
I They reached the widows cottage as she
wasin the act ofdismissing herli,ile school
They paused and overheard the admoni.
tons and blessings she bestowed upon.her
pupils, about to. leave her for the night,
while each shook hands with her as if i'm.
patient for the coming morrow. The maj,
bowed his head and wept, asifhe was a
child again. Children always make good
men feel as children; and at times they re.
store the blurred record of childhood SO
,vividly to the. minds ofthe impure, that they
wish they were children again. But thut
! is impossible, let them indulge in pros.
pective view of their second childhood
early vice is the seed. -. .,s.., ,...,...-..
They enter the cottage-Miriam was
surprised at beholding stranger thus in
troduced; she turned her face towards him
Recognized him, and clasping her hands,
sunk upon chair exclaiming, Mark More.
land.' - -.
Where she sat was the place where the
boy was accustomedto pray. at nights. =
He ran to her and knelt, saying. 'Mother
It pray as Christ prayed;' phrase she had
taught him. He commenced, and coming
to the passage Forgive US our trespasses,
as we forgive those wholtrespass ugainst
us,-twhich the widow had taught him 10
pronounce with the solemnity due to lis i'm
lportance-she looked into The eyes Of The
lconlrite man, then into the secret recesses
Of her own heart, and the prayer passing
from the untutored lips ofan idiot child,
sunk more deeply than ever before, thoug
aided by theatrical geslure-pomp-and
the studied elocuion of the preacher,-
Mark was forgiven as far as human in6rm-
ity can forgive f'e4 81 .@ ST @.7a'=
Daring his absence be had acquired
some property. His habits had undergone
change, and all with whom he had deal
ings pronounced him an upright benevo.
lent, and industrious man. Yet he felt
himself vagrant ON the earth, without
the prospect 4ofever becoming denizen Of
heaven. .z4.s.. 7:..,.-s.s So A-E- rz- n.
The widow received him as her son, and
he employ ed himself to render their home
the abode Of peace. True-it was lighted
Iup with genial sunshine, but light rays
never played there. Clouds seldom in.rud-
ed, except upon Marks soul, when he
contemplated the vacant stare of his child
He had brought him into the light of life
only to give him darkness. Morning and
evening he beheld the boy appealing to
his God in the darkness of his intellect,
and arise from his prayers, happy. The
thought occurred-I have intellect Of which
/ was once proud, yet stand aloof from the
path that leads TO him who gave ii He
knelt a humbled man beside his idiot son,
and. prayed. The boy smiled to sec him
pray, and patted him on the head in imita.
tion of his grandmother's benediction; and
ever after led him to their bedside, and
prayed together. Truly, in this instance,
s'the child was father 'ofthe man,:' though
not in the sense the poet intended. s5 sic
f. All nature is at times oracular, speak
ing in a voice too plain to be misunder-
stood. The earth, the sky, the ocean, un-
swearied and eloquent preachers. The
rustling of the autumnal leaf may awaken
faculties that would slumber ON the sea-.
beach-the ripping brook babbles its. les
son, and even The stroke Of the dark iron
upon the dull flint, may elicit spark suffi-
cient for some minds, man knows not
when nor whence he may mbibe the SEM
inal idea that expands the soul, until dark
ness becomes luminous, and light CLEANS
through, chaos. Gods minister's are le.
gions.
We move in circles. Miriam's unofend.
ing life had promised all, .and yet she suf-
fered ALL. Her child died, hamless; had
she lived longer, would she so have died!
The widow infused glimmer Of light into
blank mind, which guided the footsteps
Of a cast,away. His sacrifice of the unoE.
fending had worked out his own salvation,
Good came out of evil. The persuist ON
earth was. sacrificed for the sins Of man,
and human nature should strive 10 initiate
the example. The grea: evil has. confer
| red on man the greatest good
| a The boy lived and died q blank, still he
was born fo- good. The widow soon fol.
lowed him % the grave, having fulfilled
her duty; and Mark is living this day a
gray.haired wealthy man-and, Of course,
respected by all; yet he would give all
earth to be respected by himself and God.
Advics to Husbands.-Let your homes
be provided with such comforts as -piety
pickles, potatoes, pots and kettles, brushes
brooms, benevolence, bread, charity, cheese
crackers, faith, -four, affection, sincerity
onions, integrity, vinegar and WISDOM
Have these always on hand, and happiness
| will he with Won Don't drink envthino