Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1855-05-02
&aaiss' Department.
LIFE IN GLIMPsEs.
az THE ASSOCIATE EDITOR.
The Step Mother.

other and loved God too, and lie had given
them such comfortable thing as they desired
both good and pleasant. :
Now, this man was q tiller Of the earth,
and his labor brought up from the soil the
snowy corn and the golden wheat; and when
no went out in the morning TO his fields in
sight Of sweet Valleydale, the child remained
at home with her own dear mother who told
her pretty stories and sang herpretty songs,
such as good children SO love to hear; and
sometimes they walked together in the cool
garden among the green plants and the beau
tiful flowers, and the child was permitted to
gather and cot the red strawberries and the
purple grapes. And when the father came
Aome ut eveptide the child always had some
good grapes or mellow strawberries for the
father, and as they sat on the bench by the
door ofthe cottage under the arbor of Eglan-
tiRes,they were very happy, for they loved
each other. In this way they lived some
time very happy, till one day in the spring
time, just when the apple blossoms were
bursting. and the birds were beginning to
build their nests in the leafy boughs, the
mother became weak and feeble and had to
lay in tho bed oil the day long. In this way
many days passed, and ir sl that time the
poor sick mpther could not 20 out and sit
with her husband and child on the bench by
the cottage door where the moonbeams crept
: unoer the nrbor of Eglantines. Then the
father went sorrowfully to his work in the
morning. and did not sing the good old song
Of God speed the Plow" rs he returned in
the evening, for Ire was more sorrowful, since
he saw his wife grew more and more feeble
as the days passed. But the little child re-
NAMED at the side Of her mother, and when
she was told she might go into the garden
and gather flowers and play, she would say
she did not wish to go, and she would lay
her head on the pillow Of the bed where her
mother lay and weep in long, signing sobs.
After many days Of deep suffering, the
mother felt that she must die and go away
so, she called her child to Der and said:
a. must soon 60 on 6 great joprney, Ey
child, and mayhap | shall be gone n long.
long time, If not always for Our Father that
is away up in Heaven above the little stars
has sent for mo and | must go: but If it is
His will | will come to see you sometimes
and after p while take you with me to the
- beautiful palace apd the green garden where
the Angels sing heavenly GQngs.'
And very soon the mother died and was
buried in the garden Of the cottage under
the cedar tree and tho green sod was piled
upon the grave and dressed over with flow
ers, until the graEe was very pretty if so be
it any one thinks graves are pretty. The
father was very sorrowful when he found his
loved vito was taken away, and so great was
his grief that it bowed him under the cedar
tree aud he shed many tears for many days.
And the little child was very sorrowful too
and shed tears with the father, and said she
would like it better if her mother would
come back and take her to heaven, or where
ever Il was that the Angels lived in a palace,
walked in q green garden and sang heavenly
songs.
The fathers tears soon became dried up
and he didn't go into the garden and bow
over tho green grave MS he did at first, blu
told his noighbors in Valleydale that he wa
very sorry for his poor, lonesome child VIII
had no one to keep her company while h
worked in the field, and so he married anoth
or wife to be q step-mother for the child
But somehow the stcp-mothor was not Ek
the good mother that had died and the it'll
child couldn't kve her. She was a bad VIC
man and would not speak kindly to the child
and she never told her pretty stories or san
her pretty sings. She never fixed her clothe
-foEherSpNN went to her little bed with he
and kneeled down and prayed for her as he
other mother did. This distressed the chill
very much and she would sometimes 90 int
the garden and lay her head on her mother
grave so that her golden -curls fell upon IL
green grass and among the white rose buc
and she would pray:
Oh mother dear, away in Heaven,
Como take thy little child away
That / may to the Lord be given,
And with tho little Angels play.
But when the bad step-mother saw the /
Ito child bowling her head on the grave, 81
became very angry with her and drove b
away for She would not bear the idea th
the child loved the dead mother better TIL
the living. At last she became so wick
that she beat the poor child with sticks, a
would not suffer her to 90 into the garden
all so, the child could only look throu
tho wall ut the green grave of her moth
where the white rose,buds grew. And VIII
the step mother would 20 into the garden
eat the strawberries and the purple crap
she would not suffer the child to 60 with h
One day when she went into the garden
pulled up the white rose-bu6s that bloom
on the green grave under tho cedar and C
them away. When the child saw from
wall the next day what had been done,
raised q loud lamentation about the re
buds, for she loved to see that they s
bloomed on the grave though she could
90 near them. Ii made the step-mother v
wroth indeed to hear the child cry so m
about the rose-buds, so she took her by
arm and shut her up in o dark closet re
where the spiders weave their dusty VI
This terrified the child and she cried o
'0hl mother in Heaven, come take me
OF this dark place AVA to the green gar
where there is light and where the An,
sing heavenly songs
Then there came into the dark ROOF
bright light, first like one of the far off s
and then like long beams of spangled sill,
and somehow with the light came the chi
mother in q long robe Of satin, white as
snowy rosc-buds that had once bloomeC
her little green grave, and she smiled
looked very beautiful, end took the chill
her arms and caressed her very tende
ard told her stories of the blessed land
inhabited-of the green garden-the gol
frnits--the rich Howers-the pretty sky
Jesus-and Of the little angels and the
angels, all Of whom had harps of prec
metals and sang heavenly songs.
All this made tho child happy and
slept. And when the bad woman found
child sleeping calmly in the dark cham
she dragged her forth with unkind wore
That evening the child climbed upor
fathers knee and told him al about her
mother coming to see her and Of the pl
stories she told. This made the fs
thoughtful, but he told her il was not
bat a dream she had yet it made him
rowful, for he loved his first wife much
ter than the second, for he saw that thi,
ter was very unkind to his child an
loved his child dearly. He was very tho,
fal and would have been glad if the m,
would come 10 him sometima No aha bo,