The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-11-26
A TOUCHING EXTRACT.

"The room, then, was made ready: and.
though took some pains not to speak of the
arrangement too suddenly to Mary, yet there
was no need of disguise or hesitation for wher,
at last / told her, Is that all p said she. and
took my hand with one of her blessed smiles.
and vowed that she and Jemima would keen
the room as pretty and neat as possible. 'And
l will cook your Dinners added she; for YOU
know you said made the best rolly.polly pud-
dings in the world God bless her do think
some women almost love poverty; but / did
not tell Mary how poor l was, nor had she any
idea how lawyers, and prisons, and doctors
fees had diminished the sum Of money which
she brought me when we came to the Fleet. 1t
was not, however, destined that she and her
child should inhabit that little garnet. We
were to leave our lodgings OH Monday morn.
ing; but on Saturday evening the child was
seized with commissions, and all Sunday the
mother watched and prayed for it; but it pleas
ed God to take the innocent infant from us, and
on Sunday, at midnight, it lay a corpse in its
mothers bosom. Amen. We have other chill
dren, happy and well, now round about us
and from the fathers heart the memory of this
little thing has almost faded but do believe,
that every day of her life the mother thinks of
the first born that was with her for 80 short a
while; and many and many time has she
taken her daughters to the grave, in Saint
Brides, where he lies buried, and wears still at
her neck little, little lock of gold hair, which
she took from the head of the infant as he Law
smiling in his coffin. 1t has happened to me
to forget the chids birth day, but to her never;
and often, in the midst of common talk, comes
something that shows she is thinking of the
child still-some simple allusion that is to me
lnexpressibly affecting. | shall not try to de-
scribe her grief, for such things are sacred and
secret; and man has no business to place
them on paper for all the world to read Nor
should l have mentioned the chld's loss at all,
but that even that loss was the means of great
worldly blessing to Us, as my wife has often
with tears and thanks acknowledged. While
my wife was weeping over her child, / am
ashamed to say l was distracted with other
feelings besides those of grief for its loss and
have often since thought what master-nay,
destroyer-of the affections want is, and have
learned from experience to be thankful for
daily bread. That acknowledgment of weak
ness, which we make in imploring to be relieved
from hunger and from temptation, is surely
wisely put in our daily prayer. Think of it,
you who are rich, and take heed how you turn
a beggar away. The child lay there in its
wicker cradle, with its sweet fixed smile in its
face, II think the angels in heaven must have
been glad to welcome that pretty innocent
smile y and it was only the next day, after my
wife had gone to lie down, and l sat keeping
watch by it, that | remembered the condition of
its parents, and thought, can't tell with what
pang, that l had not money left to bury the
little thing, and wept bitter tears of despair.
Now, at last, thought / must apply to my
poor mother, for this was a sacred necessity !;
and | took paper, and wrote her letter at the
baby's side, and told her of our condition. But
thank Heaven never sent the letter; for, as
| went to the desk to get sealing wax, and seal
that dismal letter, my eyes fell upon the da
mond pin that l had quite forgotten, and that
was lying in the drawer of the desk. looked
into the bedroom-my poor wife was asleep;
she had been watching for three nights and
days, and had fallen asleep from sheer fatigue !;
and ran out to pawnbroker's with the dia-
mond, and received seven guineas for it, and
coming back, put the money into the landlady's
hand, and told her to get what was needfu
My wife was still asleep when 1 came back !;
and when she woke, we persuaded her to go
down stairs to the landlady's parlor, and mean,
while the necessary preparations were made,
and the poor child consigned to its coffin"