Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1856-05-09
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!" outlived Her Ueefulness." !"

Outlived Her Usefulness"
REVERENCE for age should be in
stlled very early into The minds Of
children aud like all seed sown by
a mothers hand it will take deep
there Then will the virtues of the
aged shine very brightly before the
mind, and their inhrmtes be ked
on with great leuiency and pity.
Next TO motherless children do the
stricken IA years claim our sym
pathy
Not long since, a good looking
man, in middle hfe, came to our
door asking for the minister When
informed that he was out Of town
he seemed disappointed and anxious.
On being questioned as TO his bust
ness he replied
! have lost my mother, and as
this place used to be her home, and
as NY father lies here, We have
come to lay her beside him.
Our heart rose in sympathy, and
we said, you have met with great
loss
Well, yes replied the strong
man, with hesllancy, a mother is a
great loss in general--out our mother
had outlIved her usefullness-shc was
IN her second childhood, and her
mind had grown as weak as her body
so that she was no comfort to herself,
and was a burden to ever, body
There was seven of us, sons and
daughters, and as We could not fnd
anybody who was willing to board
her, we agreed 10 keep her among
us a wear about But I've had more
than my share Of her, for she was
too feeble to be moved when my
time was ont and that was more
than three months before her death.
But then she was a good mother IN
her day, nud toIed very hard to
bring us all up
Without looking at the face Of the
hearIess man, we directed him to
the house of a neigbborlug pastor,
and returned TO our nursery. We
gazcd on the merry mtle faces there,
which smiled or grew sad, in mI-
ialion of ours, those little ones to
whose eur flow no word 10 our Ian
guage half so sweet as Mother :
and we wondered # that day could
ever come when they would say Of
US, She has ouliyed her usefulness
she is no comfort to herself and a
burden To everybody else And we
hoped before that day would dawn,
we might bc taken To our rest God
forbid that we should oulIiye the
love Of our children rulher let US
die while our hearts are part Of
their own, that our graves may be
walered with their tears, aud our
love linked with their hopes Of
heaven.
When the bell lolled for the moth
er's burial, we went up to the sane
luary TO pay our only token of re-
spect TO the aged stranger; for we
felt that we could give her memory
a tear, even though her own children
had none TO she'd
She was a good mother in her
day, aud iolled hard to bring us all
up-but she had oulliyed her use
iulness-shc was no comfort to her
self, aud bmden 10 every body else
These cruel, heariess words rang in
our ears as we saw the coffin borne
up the aisle. TIE bell tolled long
aud loud, until lis iron tongue had
chronicled the years of the toil-worn
mother. One, two, three, four, five /;
how clearly and almost merrlly each
stroke told OF her once peaceful slum-
Der in her mothers bosom, of her
seat at nighllall on her weary faith
er's knees. Six, seven, eight, nine,
ten, rang out the tale of her sports
upon the grcen-s~ard, in the mead
ow, aud toy the brook. Eleven,
twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen,
spoke more gravely Of school-days
and Iiule household joys and cares.
Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen sound
ed out the enraplurcd visions Of
maldhood, aud the dream Of early
love. Nineteen brought us before
a happy bride. Twenty spoke Of
the young mother, whose heart was
full to bursting with new strong love
which God had awakened in her bo-
som. Aad then, stroke after stroke
told Of her early womanhood- of
the love aud care, and hopes aud
fears aud tolls through which she
passed duilHg these long years, illl
fifty rang oul harsh aud loud. From
that 10 sixty, zach stroke told Of the
strong, warm hearted mother aud
grandmother, living over again her
own Joys and sorrows IN those of her