Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1857-09-22
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TIL e ] U RY AN
BY MRS. L. MARIA CHILD.
4 SKETCH.

worse than other men. Left an orphan
IN his infancy, the paths of life were
| rough and lonely IN the outset. He had
a violent temper and a good heart The
hrst was often reused in;o activity. and
punished with energy kindred to It's own:
The last remained almost undeveloped, for
want OF genial circumstances, and recip-
rocated affection. One softening gieam
fell upon his early path, and he loved it
like the sunshine, without comprehendng
the great law Of attraction that made Il 50
very pleasant.
When he attended school in the Win
ter months he always walked home with
llule CIR. named Mary Williams. Or
the plays round he was with her. aiwavs
ready 10 do battle with anybody who dis
Obliged her. Their comrades laughed
and called HIN Marv's beau; and they
blushed and felt awkward, though they
had no idea what courting meant Things
had arrived at this state of half-revealed
| CONSCIOUSNESS, he being fourteen wears
Old and Mary twelve, when her friends
removed to the west, and the warm bright
| Influence passad out Of his life He new
! er nightly knew whether he was in love
with Mary, ut years afterwards when
! people talked to him about marrying he
thought OF her, wondering where she
! was, and whether she remembered him
| When he drove his COWS home from pas
ture, the blackberry lunches on the way
brought up visions OF his fayorite school
mate, with her clean cape-bonnet thrown
back, her glossy brown hair playing with
the winds, and her innocent face smiling
upon HIM with friendly greeting g She
was the best and prettlest child | ever
saw" he would say often to himself; u
wonder whether she would be as pleas
ant now" Sometimes he thought Of 60
ing to the West and seeking her OUT
But he knew not where 10 find her. his
funds were small, and his courage fell al
the thought; Oh, it is many years since
we were children together. Perhaps |
should find her married. Gradually this
one ray of poetry faded out of his soul,
and all his thoughts fell into the common
. proSaIc mold. HIS lot was cast with rough
/ people, who required much work, and
gave little sympathy. The image Of his
Ittle mate houted further and further
away, and more and more seldom her
clear blue eyes smiled upon him through
the rainbow mIs,5 Of the past, or from
the air-cas,lcs OF the future In process
of time he married, after the same fashion
that a large proportion of men do, because
it was convenient to have a wife, and
there was a woman Of good character in
| the neighborhood, willing to marry who
ever first offered her Il respectable home
Her character bore the stamp of harmless
mediocrlty. She was industrious aud pa
tlent. bul ignorant, dull and quietly OBJ
Sllnate. The neIghbOrs said she was well
suited to hIm, be was 50 rough and pas
slonate - and in the main he thought 50
himself though her imperturbable calm
ness sometimes fretted him as the rock
chafes the lashIng ocean into foam. The
child that was born to them they both
loved better than they had ever loved !;
aud according to their light, they SINGER
ely strove to do their duty. His bodily
wants were well supplied, often at the
cost of great wearin IS and self-sacrifice;
but their own rude training had given
them few good ideas concerning the cul-
ture Of an immortal soul. The infant did
more for them, than they for him An
gelIC Influences, unseen and unheard
amid the hard struggles of their outward
life, became visible and audible through
the unconscious innocence of their Illle
one. For the second time in his life, a
vision of beauty and love cleaned across
( the rugged path Of that honest, iaborious
man. Vague impressions of beauty he
had constantly received from the great
panorama of the Universe. His heart
sometimes welcomed bright flower in
the sunshine, or a cluster Of lilies on the
stream; he marvelied al the splendor Of
the rainbow, and sometimes gaZed rcver-
emily at the sun sinking to rest IN his rich
drapery of purple and gold. But these
were glimpses of the Infinite - their be-
auty did not seem to apper;ain to HIM IT.
It did not enter like a magic charm into
the sphere of his own existence, as did
the vision of Mary Williams and his own
little Joe. The dormant tenderness there
was in HIM lcaped up at the smile of his
babe, and every pressure Of the little I'm
gers made dInpIe in the fathers heart.
Like the outbuTsts Of Spring, after a long,
cold Winter, was this revelation of infancy
TO him. When be pIodded home, after a
; hard days work, it rested him, body and
soul, to have the little one spring into his
, arms for Il kiss, or come toddHng along,
tilting his little porringer Of milk, in ca
gerheSS TO eat his supper on his father )
knee.
But though this new influence seemed
, to have an almost miraculous power upon
his nature, It could not quite subdue the
power of temperament and habit. AS the
darling babe grew into boyhood. he was
sometimes cherished with injudicious fond
ness, and sometimes repeiied by bursts Of
passion, that made him run and hide HIM
self from the over-indulgent father. Mr..
Barker had himself been educated under
the dispensation of punishment rather
than attraction, and he believed in it most
firmly. If his son committed fault, he
, thought of no cure but severity. If a
: neighbor did him an i'll turn, he would OBJ
/ serve in presence Of his boy, Il will watch
| my chance to pay him for IT," IF the dog
stole their dinner, when they were at
| work in the woods, he would say: Run