The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-05-01
r,o,o ,bs Friend Of Youth.
PICTURES BY FIRELIGHT: OR, A NIGHT In
THE "PAINTED CHAMBER"
BY MARTHA RUSSELL.

THE "PAlNTED CHAMBER"
BY MARTHA RUSSELL
You must know, my young friends, that my
home is in n ouiet. country village, which,
since nv memory. could boast of quite mum
Der of large. old-fashioned houses, bullt far
back in the " colony times" beneath whose
roofs generation after generation OF old-iash-
toned people, resembling each other as closely
in temper, habits, and manners, as the buttons
on your sacks, were born, lived, and dled. moi
long since, spent a night IN one oil 'heSe oid
houses, watching by the bedside oil an aged
woman, who had often borne me IN her arms
and rocked me in the cradle IN the days OF my
infancy. 1t stands in a remote corner oil the
township, wedged in between lodges oil gray rock
and barren-looking hills, covered IN some places
with a stunted growth of cedar, mingled here
and there with few beach and birch saplIngs.
1t is wild, solitary spot, for the mus moe al,
vestges of the neighborlng farm-houSes' ana
the road is now seldom travelled, save oy
whorteberry parties in the summer, ana Such
farmers as own woodland and pasturage below;
The house itself, composed partly OF WOOD
and partly of stone, is in perfect keeping WIN
the landscape. The main part dates from be
fore the Revolution, and. lonely as 1t is now,
was used as a tavern in those days, when
that solitary, grass grown road was the CHEF
thoroughfare between THIS and the nelghbonng
town Of q. The children Of the present pro-
prietors have built themselves houses in pleas
anter locations; and the old people, thinking
that the house would bide their hme," have
contented themselves with making two or three
rooms comfortable, and abandoned the rest to
decay
There was little TO be done for my friend,
whose chief disease was old age so seated
myself in an old-fashioned arm chair, and
gazed round the room, which, often as have
been within it, always wears strange aspect.
1t was a large apartment, with massive beams
projecting into ii, so as to form an inside cor
nice and that transverse beam or summer, so
common in such old houses, running through
the centre of the room, overhead. There was
no plastering, every inch Of wall on the sides
and overhead being ceiled IN elaborate panel
work. Everywhere the eye rested on panels
OF all dimensions and shape. But the manner
in which these panels were painted and orna-
mented was what gave 10, tbe rnom us unique
appearance-the mouldings were chiefly white,
while the panels were red, blue, green, yellow,
and pink. From the four corners of each panel
sprang something which was intended for a
flower, judging from the general outline; but
whether the painter ever found their originals
beneath the blue heavens, is more than can
tell, so stiff, ungraceful, and awkward, they
are. Poor man. | trust his sense OF beauty
has been quickened ere now, for he has been
dead many long years even his name is for
gotten, while his colors are still as fresh as is
desirable on the panels of the "Palnted Cham
ber" A bright fire burned in the wide, an
cient fireplace, and, in its Pickering light and
shadow, the room wore an appearance even
more fantastic and grotesque than usual.
The night was dark and stormy the rain
poured in torrents, as if it would level every
Thing, even the wind itself, fiat to the earth,
only pausing occasionally, to take breath and
catch the rushing murmur Of the countless
brooks, which were hurrying for
ward 10 mingle their waters with the llmpid
waves of small sheet of water, Graded amid
the hills, few rods distant.
tried to read, but my thoughts seemed pos
sessed with a strange, vagrant propensity, con-
stantly wandering from my book to the strange
herbarium above me, or the quaint, old-fash-
toned furniture around me- The chairs were
of the genuine Puritan model, high-backed and
stiff jointed looking articles, with flag bottoms
and the table was supported on quantity carved
claw feet. One Of those old chairs had for me
a new and peculiar interest; for, during the
evening, before the family retired, we had been
speaking OF venerable gentleman whose name
is well known 10 all lovers of the curious and
antique, when an old, white haired dame, who
had been, as | thought, too much occupied
with her knitting to heed our conversation
suddenly laid down her work, and, lifting hel
glasses, exclaimed
What! the son of old priest r., who died
in this very clairl" laying her hand on the
arm of the deep old chair which she occupied
"Died IN that chair murmured to my
self, as gazed on the old seat, and tried to pic
ture that venerable servant OF God, as he sat in
the cool of the day, looking forth from his
study window, while the lingering sunbeams
rested on his hoary head like a crown of glory,
until suddenly, silently, lightly as fell those
very sunbeams--
Goods finger touched him as he slept"
Then | raised my glance to where
"Placed against the oaken wall,
Stood the old clock, grim and tall y
And thought of the bright eyes that had once
watched the slow movement of its pointers
with hope or fear, Joy or sorrow, now closed
forever; and the merry voices which had
drowned its monotonous tick with their laugh
ter, but now silent in death and Involuntary
repeated these lines from Lisse Barber's beau
tiful poem
"THE OLD CLOCK.
"Time speeds on, and years have flown,
And the old house stands alone
Where are all the eyes of light
OF the household band tonight
Where the hopes of Childhood's morn,
And young Loves delicious dawn2
Gone Gonel
Gone Gone
SO my heart beats sadly on"
SIS Comet but where-how ?" murmur.
ed, as ben, my gaze on the Pickering fire
How lived-how died they2 Those troops O
brght-eyed children, who
Laughed to hear that old clock tick2"
As If IN answer to my query, the following
pictures seemed to rise before me; but whethe
they were walked from the glimmering freight
or whether they Were the effects of kind O
waking dream, | cannot tell but, suddenly
the wrinkled, withered visage Of the old dam
in the white canopied bed in the corner Of tn
room gave place 10 that of fair, youthful
matron. While ! was wondering over this,
caught the sound Of footsteps in the wide entry
way-heavy steps, mingled with the PATTERNS
of little feet. They paused at the door, an
then followed low whispering, above which
as if forgetting or deiyng all restraint, rose oc
casionally childish voice, sweet and cleal
like BIRDS uill breaking the silence Of mid
night Then the door opened, and tall, hale
ruddy-cheeked man entered on tip-toe, leadn
two little iair-haired girls.
They rather hung back at first, influenced
perhaps, by the awe with which the chidre
- - G. - Lee /. 70 tannhf 10 regard the % snar