Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1855-04-19
THE WIDOWS son.

It was noon! Noon in the east, when The
rays o. the sun we're pouring down upon he
earth with their most in,ease heat. Tht
( flowers were all dropping, unable 10 sustain
their own weight in the great heat; the bird.
had ceased their songs, and were hiding from
the sun among The thick foliage of the trees
the still waters LOOKED like bands of melted
silver as they rejected the blaze of the ferv
orb in oil intensity; and even the tall cedars
that adorned Lebanon's proud summit looked
brown and scorched III the extrethe heat.
In the city, the dingy brick walls looked
like fires themselves meath The iervd 81 ire
the camels and horses were lasiIy basking in
the sun; the places of business were closed
and the human portion Ct the population
were sleeping away the hours while it was
too hot for work.
But not every one was thus lost in dreary
! furgetulness. In one Of the dwellings, at
least, was one whose heart was frousht with
anguish too deep and poignant for sleep; one
who, by the sht taper, as well as in the
| stiffness OF MONDAY. haG offered her agonized
prayers for strength 10 bear be- affliction. She
has wept till the fountain of her tears is dried
ops and now the agonized look of her pale,
| fearless face, is at once the index Of heart
torn by the most extreme anguish.
And wnat is it that has the power to move
her thus
Look but short distance from her, and
you will see the tause of he's suffering. On
that dismal bier, clasped in the icy embrace
of Death, is stretched the pule form of the
last link of affection that bound the soul OF
that weary mourner to earth. Il is her son,
who was in all the bloom Of youth and health,
and just budding into manhood, when relent-
less Death seized upon him as vic.im and
hurrying his soul away, left his noble body
cold pale, and motionless. Soon they will
come to bear him to his long, lost home; ard
then that widowed mother will haze more
left to love and cherish her as he had oone.
From the sad reality of the present, the
mind of the mourner wandered back to the
days of her own happy childhood, when she
had been caresscd by fond parents, aud sur
rounded by friends.
Then she thought of herself as the joyous
bride Of one who had loved and cherished her
as he would tender flower that needed his
protection from the chill blasts of winter; and
before her mind arose long train Of
years, all too happy and bllsSful to last. Then
darker scene arose before her. Again she
saw the noble form of that fond hus and
stretched upon bed CT sickness; when her
friends told her that he must die but she cod
not give up all hope that he would recover,
until she saw that his spirit hnl indeed wing.
ed its fight 10 the bright world of eternal
bliss. Then followed long days ard nights
Of unspcakable agony, in which she was con-
soled only by the reflection that she had her
son yet to love, and to care for. Then she
remembered how he had provided for her eve
ry want and had strven By every loving art
to cheer her loneliness, and alleviate her lone
liness and alleviate her sorrow; and how, at
last, that noble sen himself had been sez"d
with sickness and the long hours of anguish
she had spent while bending over his couch,
cooling his fevered brow, and attending to
his slightest wish; and how in agony she had
prayed that God would sp re her son to he
the comfort Of her declining years; how she
had consulted physicians and those skilled in
medicine,-al to no purpose. The destroy
ing angel had marked him fer his own. and
no earthly power could save him. Now she
was q widow, and childless, and all earthly
Joy for her had passed away. She was left to
make her way alone and in her cd age thro'
the cold and unsympathizng world. She
could bear to think no farther, and 1ury:ng
her face in her garments, she groaned aloud
in the bitterness of her spirit.
On eaden wings the hours flew slowly
by; and towards evening the friends began to
assemble, to follow the remains of the dead
to the last resting place. Many come togeth-
or On that sad occasion, for theirs was not one
, who knew her, that did not pity that poor
widow Id her bereavement.
The procession formed, and slowly winding
through the stteets, passed out at the gate OF
the city. Just outside of the gate they were
met by small party of pedestrians who were
about to enter the city. One of them by hii
mild benignsnt countenance, and noble, dig
nifed demeanor, attracted particular utten