Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1854-11-09


There is no one near TO hear her
When she breathes her latest sigh,
Save the angels that are wingng
Their bright way from the sky.
There'll be weeping on the morrow
Aye, tears from many an eye
That looked not on her sorrow,
But coldly passed her by.
They will tremble when they think upon
Her unresponded moan
0, the rustling OF the angels wings
Were heard by her alone!
They'll say it was a fearful thing
To yield up living breath,
Without hand to wipe away
The gathering dews of death.
o, how bles, that fulterng spirit was
On earth can ne'er be known,
For the rustling Of the angels wings
Was heard by her alone.
October 3Oth, 1854.
Will you please forward the enclosed note to
the person superscribed
o! my God, leave not nor forsake me in the
mortal agony of this awful moment.
To the lady we advertised about in our pa
per, and to her little boy, leave my love and
blessing. would have written to them and
others, but my mind is unequal to the task. /
have strange fear of losing my senses over
i i
would help me much. Besides know that
will direct how much to print, and how much
to repress. Remember me in kindness, for l
am exquisitely wretched. The great God
always held the first place in my affections.
He was always in my thoughts since can
remember anything, and / trust He will for
give me now, / leave world from which he
has removed one by one every hope that could
sustain me.
May He help all who feel this day as I feel.
Man may Judge, but God knoaceth the heart!
did not think things would have gone so
wrong with me as they have done. i did not
think that my fathers child would ever have
taken a needle in her hand to make a vest, but
Privation marked the life that Jesus led
And sainted Paul wrought for his daily bread"
had no correspondent except in my own
brain, and no Mrs. Van Bore One Well" ex-
cept in my own Imagination. / would not
mention this, but a person remarked to me
that it was strange for me to write in so whim-
steal a maner. My thoughts still run upon
poor old Mrs. Armstrong. She called me to-
day, and walked nearly home with her, when
l kissed, and bid her good bye, and walk on
But after few moments she ran after me, and
with an almost frightened look, said had bet.
ter 90 back with her. 1t seemed to me as r
she had some presentment. God comfort her.
0, shall be happy by this time tomorrow
night. / wish l could have spoken to you
once more, but that is impossible, / could then
have told you how ardently wish that you
would republish my Eman More, and some of
my original poems, for the advantage of that
poor creature l wrote about.
/ am sitting with children and ladies who
are all enjoying themselves. They think me
as happy as themselves, but l will die before
/ give my hand without my heart.
o, Christ have mercy on me,
For sorrow was born
o, Christ have mercy on me,
For he alone can say
Peace, Peace TO those poor wretches
Who go weeping on their way.
must make one more request won't you
think me troublesome? n do not let me be buried
without all possibility of my being yet alive is
entirely out Of the question.
/ open this to say that to Mrs. Elizabeth
Graham or her son Wilfred Edmond, / leave
the liberty of possessing all my papers, and
choosing whatever they may deem most adopted
for publication.
Tuesday, Oct. 3lst, 1854.
We never had an opportunity personally of
witnessing, to their fullest extent, the social
virtues and companionable qualities of the
gifted but unfortunate young lady Of whom we
are writing, for we never saw her outside the
Dispatch office, but If the heart-breaking sobs
and fastfalling tears of the mourning friends
who surrounded her coffin on the day of her
funeral are TO be taken as fair indications ofthe
esteem in which she was held, then she must
have been greatly beloved. The pastor of the
Stanton street Baptist church delivered an ap-
propriate and feeling discourse over her re-
mains, in the course Of which he stated that
she had formerly been a member of the Epis.
copal church, but had applied for admission
and been taken into the fellowship of the Bap-
fist denomination nearly two years since, and
be testified 10 her uniform exemplary conduct
while member Of his flock. She had the
charge of a class in the Sunday school Of the
church, and was greatly beloved by her schol-
ars, who, only short time since, presented her
with a handsome pocket bible, in testimony of
their esteem. This book she had with her
when found stupefed in the street, after having
swallowed the fatal draught and it is the i'm
preston OF her friends that il was her desire 10
reach the church, where she intended 10 breathe
! her last, but being overcome by drowsiness, she
was unable TO proceed.
Rash as was the last act Of her life, Il can.
not be denied by any one possessing the slight
est degree Of charity, that Anna Jane Maciean
was a woman Of noble impulses-possessinp
warm, generous, and loving heart. Under diff
ferent circumstances, her life would have had
different termination, and we think there is
evidence enough in the above letter to prove
that her combined troubles, acting upon a too
sensitive nature, temporarily unseated her rea.
| son, and led her to take the fatal step. The
fact that she was able to write and act cor.
rectly and to give minute instructions in her
letter concerning her worldly affairs, is no
proof Of her entire sanity, for person may be
demented upon one subject, and perfectly ra-
tional upon every other. And what else but
an evidence of insanity can be taken from the
language" Morning, noon, and night, hear
a voice whispering to my heart-fDier" To
the very last her beautiful and unselfsh nature
showed itself in her anxious solicitude for the
poor friends she left behind her--friends whose
troubles, ere "the rustling OF the angels wings"
had coaxed her away from earth, she had made
her own, and whom she strove increasingly
aye, and successfully, toto benefit, even
while she herself was struggling with adyer.
sity, although they knew il not
But enough. Like brilliant meteor in the
armament Of literature, She has passed away