Minnesota weekly times. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1859, 1854-07-25
Written for the Times.
THOUGHTS FOR THE PEOPLE-No. S.
A SKETCH FROM LIFE.

street. -FOUR years had elapsed since had seen
him before, and then he was all youth, life, cheer
fulness and hope; his manly countenance was
flushed with the ruddy hue of health, his bold
voice spoke forth in tones of confidence and love,
while his sprightliness of manner, natural good
ness of heart and great amiability of character,
made him the beloved of every circle, and when
in company ''the observed of all observers" His
business was active and good, and the prosperous
future loomed up before him pleasantly, and in
stilled new life and vgor into his every motion !;
he was, in addition, about to enter the married
state, and new ties, duties and responsibilities
would then devolve upon him. Knowing his duty
to his God, to society, himself and posterity, he
shrank not from the responsibility, and every pre-
paration was made for the approaching marriage
an event of much anticipated pleasure, and
which was looked forward to with longing by a
large circle of admiring friends and acquaintan-
ces of both parties. TheI lady was every way
worthy of my friend, and their hearts beating in
unison were never once ruffled by single bill
low; for once the course of true love seemed to
run smooth. But ah, the sunshine, glittering but
to deceive and then destroy, only preceded the
storm-a wreck rapidly followed-a wreck of a
perfect man-not through sin, idleness or vice
no, indeed, he were incapable Of either-CoN-
SUMPTION, that dreadful destroyer, whose victims
are more numerous than those of pestilence, war
or famine, had marked him for his own he sick
ened from slight cold soon after our separation,
and now at the end of four years, that shipwreck
of happiness, of hope, and of fortune in the shape
Of my own long absent friend, had left the crowd
ed city of Philadelphia, and was even here, be-
fore me, in my own St. Paul, walking along the
river bank, in silent, and as l thought, bitter
meditation.
walked up and laid my hand upon his shoul-
der. ''Horace," l said gently. He raised his
head languidly, cast his eyes upon me, while they
beamed with a rapture and wildness that al
most startled me "a sickly smile played
over his countcnance. "Horace, my FRIEND"
said, chow are you?" again he smiled family,
and with a feeble voice exclaimed, "yOu see my
condition''-I shall die-we must all die but it
is hard to die thus early in the very flower and
morning Of our lives, with bright hopes clustering
around us, and Il path of future usefulness and
happiness just opened to our delighted eyes. A
little longer and like yondcr curling smoke which
passes heavenward and disappears-I too shall
pass away and be forgotten" ''NO, no,' | re-
sponded, ''not forgotten, Horace; though young
your brief life has not been without it's uses you
have done much, very much, to make you remcm-
bered; you are treasured like saints nched in
Cathedral aisles, in thousand hearts but why
dcspond you may yet live perchance and be
honor to yourself and friends-greatcr and more
worthy of their great affection and esteem than
you have ever been. The sky is at present over
cast and your spirit borrows its despondency from
the external world Cheer up, and all may yet be
we'll" Then ray of sunshine passed through the
clouds and illumined his attenuatcd face and he
replied, swell, it may be so. Sometimes | fancy
may recover, and hope-all cheering hope, cur
sheet anchOr-ilumncs my poor soul like the
sunshine that steals for moment down from
heaven on us now.' His cheerful voice now
changed to one of soft sadness, like the strains of
soft, sweet, melancholy music, as he continued -
''Although l have long been resigned to leave
this world and all its cares, its Joys and miserics,
and am prepared to enter into better and bright
er existence in another happier world than this;
yet still, when hear glad voices around me, feel
the breath of your carly summer stealing like
rich incense to my forehead, and see the friends
like you, who were boys with me, bounding for
ward, animated with life and hope, feel indeed
reluctant to pass away so early-but why should
longer live?'' said he, in tone of such sweet
sadness that the tears voluntarily filled my eyes
and dropped silently on the green sward, as there
we stood upon the bank of our noble river, which
rolled away like the stream of life, fast ebbing,
from the frail body of my poor and much loved
friend. ''Why should longer live?" he again
exclaimed. "She whom loved dearer than any
thing in life is already dead and gone--she died
of broken heart. Here is a rose from off her
grave-I plucked it fresh and blooming few
days since and have worn it here, right next to
my heart. But oh, my heart is growing cold; it
beats but family; it has no warmth, TO life-the
rose has faded.'' He took it in his thin, emacia-
ted hand and burst into flood of tears, then
crushing the poor wet, withered flower as though
the last ray of hope had been exiting guished from
out his heart-he grew calmer and exclaimed
''Thus ends my worldly life; the light and flame
and warmth that illuminated its earlier periods,
have changed to smoke, ashes and despair"
tOOk the arm OI my IecUle lTleuu us VIC tuTHeu
our steps toward the city, conversing we did so,
upon thousand things pertaining to Life, Death
and Destiny. My friend INDUCED in many beau
tiful reflections on the glorious destiny of the
Christian-for he is Christian in the full sense
of the term. His life has been a blameless one,
and though he still clings with human feelings
and affections to those of his kindred, whose
hearts have grown warmer and whose voices have
been touched with a kindlier tone since his ILL
ness, he has no fear of dean, no gloomy appre-
tensions as to the world beyond. 1t is ever thus
with the true Christian, as calm and composed he
passes into his eternal Sleep while the soul wings
itself away to the God who gave it.
1t is in such beings, so situated that the Chris
tian Religion shines forth as the radiant bow of
promise amidst the storms and tempests which
surround the grave.
After all the trials and perplexities of this life,
when We feel the world rolling, as it were, from
beneath our feet, how glorious the consolation to
hear, even in the spirit, angel voices ringing in
the distance to exchange time and its mutations,
its sorrows and its weaknesses, for the hopes the
joys and the blessings of eternity.
One OF THE PEOPLE
NEw York, July IL.
We learn that the Harlem Railroad Company
will assume all the stock issued fraudulently BY
its agents whether the common is preferred or