True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1855-03-22

Itall gatrssts, Giter'
J, OHIO, THURSDAY, !
with smiles, as she came to greet his re-
turn. Unselfsh, too, had been her love.
Many time, VIII Ell he would have lavish
ed his wild profusion of kisses upon her,
she would playfully hold her child between
oh how pure; and she had given all
her love to him, when others, gayer, more
youthful, would have deemed her little
less than an angel, and taken her to their
bosom as holy thing, to be loved and
cherished, and shielded from aught that
could harm; she had danced in magical
light upon his pathway until-no, it was
not the coming of the tempter that chan
ged her; she had been light and joyous as
a summer bird. until, in his wilfulness, he
had trod upon the pure heart, crushed the
aspiring love, and even a worm would have
turned then. ...
The moon had well nigh reached its
meridian, and its coruscant beams crept
hither and thither, sometimes interrupted
by darkling cloud, and then bursting
forth in new effulgence from its transient
prison but Allan Everard sat by his
child's bedside, unheeding how the time
passed on. There were innumerable an
gels fitting in the light that silvered the
room, and weaving with their starry fin
gers, strange words, tracing many pictures
while Mercy, with her dew-drop eyes anc
pleading face, whispered, "evenso, beloved
ones, forgive one another as God has for
given you;" and she traced pale, tear
full face, whose blue eyes had lost theiI
lustre, and thin, attenuated form, was
ting, day by day, weaker and paler, no
with deep and unforgiven sin-no, dyinl
because there was none to live for-non
to love; fading as the rose whose stem ha
been bent, until the heart strings CAV
way and there left to wither; the palli,
lips quivcred for breath-one gasp, an,
they tremb}ed no more. Strangers cam
to shroud her, and fold the thin hands o.
, the breast-no sigh, no tear, no kiss i'm
, printed ON her cold forehead; coldly the
laid her in strangers grave, with n
, prayer, and unblessed-yet ever the pal
t face came back, and the thin lips tried t
, murmur, "Fathcr, forgive him"
There was another busy weaving, bu
=, this time the tracery was different. Their
/ were gay lights-gaudy, gllttering tinsel-
Y painted faces and decorated foms-harsl
discordant voices, and laugh fearful
hollow, mingled dwith boisterous merrimen
: that sounded painfully on his ears. III
o lights fickered moment, and then it WI
misty darkness, with a wild, ftful echo
G the past-then by the wayside shrunke
Y form lay dying. None came near it as
o they dreaded pollution, and then the roug
o man laid her in pauper's grave.
n Memory went back to the hearts fir
r, love, in its deep, ardent intensity-hc
is she had watched for his coming, and la
,r on his bosom, whispering, in lute-lil
q, tones, the depths Of her impassioued 10
h and how had it been repaid? VIII
j. the tempter came, he had left her
struggle alone-withdrawn even the lig
of his smile-planted thorns in her pat
ID way that might not be seen, but oh HI
- keenly felt. When she wished for 81
III tering home in the city, why had he tul
g. ed carelessly away, instead of unveiling
MS heartless gayety? After she had kno'
I'd its glittering was only an outside she
Il she would have turned lovingly to hi
and longed for her sweet cottage home
e. its wealth of love, ...
~ Thern are hlnssnd visitants alike 10 G