The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1857-07-18
A Sunbeam.

1t is morning. The king Of DAY Is slowly
| rising from his royal couch his daughters,
ehe bright sunbeafns; are preparing to set
| ortn upon their daily missions Of love and
mercy. Let US for time follow the wan
der'ngs OF our fair princess as she winds her
way to our little earth. A dark cloud now
| and-then fits before her, or piercing wind.
a tagrant from the north, darkens her psth
way, but regardless of these tr,fic. she
presses forward upon her mission. Nature
| rejOices in her coming for she has blessing
for all. The old trees feel her soft touch.
and she creeps gently between the leaves,
down to the little fl0y ers almost hidden in
the tail grass: she woos the little songsters
by her winning smiles, to wafble another
song OF praise; she finds her way to the
banks Of the little rivalet and whispers to it
gentle words, they dance lightly on, mar
muring praises Of love to the fair Sunbeam.
Let us turn for moment to the "hearts and
homes" cheered by her presence. There
stands prison, but the fair visitant from
the halls Of heaven passes not by the cell Of
the poor criminal. Behold him stretched
upon his hard codch=thfough the long
night, revenge only has filled his breast, his
hard heart is yet unsoftened, but he Is
aroused as the faint light creeps through his
grated window and falls upon his face, and
as he returns its gaze, glimmer Of the far
distant years when his mother blessed him,
stesls over him, his heart is touched-tho
sunbeam has subdued him. She wends her
way to the crowded city; the dwelling Of the
rich and poor sliks share her blessing she
rests her loving hand npon the careworn Ia
bOrer; she kisses the cheek Of the gentle
child reposing in its soft slumbers; she
steals to the chamber Of the sick and dying,
and as her light lluInines the head OF the
dying one, it seems an emblem of that
brighter crown in reserve for the trusting
spirit. She is now peepiDg into the win
dows OF the school house to leave o blessing
upon the heads Of the little ones, they love
her soft caress and gentle smile. Now she
Is softly entering the OLD church to beautiiy
the temple Of worship; . bridal group
stands before the altar-vows Of love are
passed between that noble youth and fair
maiden; trustingly she yields ali to him
who has promised TO love and protect her,
and as the bcautiful sunbeam rests upon
them, they feel the encouragement that
theirs is to be a life Of happiness She goes
onward with a smile for all-what a motley
group pass by, some there are pcrchancc
who heed or care not for sunlight or dark
ness. Bot tire day wanes, and we have wit.
messed but few Of the many scenes enlivened
by her prcsence--such are her daily mis-
sions Cannot they teach US lesson?-
Cannot sunbeam from the human heart do
even more than this-can il not cheer the
desponding soul and cause the waste places
again to become fruitful-can il not rest
kindly and lovingly upon all, and help to
scatter the clouds.it meets in its daily wan
dering? There Seems to come the answer,
yes. Then let us all profit by the teachings
of this skyborn messenger, ever seeking TO
scatter the flowers OF love and encourage
ment in the paths Of all. Juso.