Delaware weekly Republican. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1841-188?, 1857-03-26

n already wri ten my name in the book of life
may die in quiet. have been richly favor
with all the domestic comforts of modern pr
gress, and yet on the well-swept hearthsto
and carpetless floor of such home, the sun
my earthly bliss has shed its loveliest goldl
light and sweetest violet hucs. Home is
thing of the heart, and there is no place Ill
it, Our sweetest conception of heaven a
brought down to us under the idea Of home.-
On earth, never had but one home, and thi
was my cabin-home, with its little cOrn-helC
in the wild wood away.
But lengthiy digress. In Rising Sun thre
Of our rest days were to be spent. After
Sabbath Of my usual failures, resolved t
atone for the meagreness of my pulpit mini.
trations, by an increase pastoral faithfulnes.
commenced on Monday morning visiting i
good earnest. My attention was called by
brother to an interesting case. An emigrar
family, just from England, in Strengthened eli
cumstances, (they had evidently known bett,
days,) on their way down the river, had bee
compelled to abandon their journey, in cons
quence ofthe increasing illness of their olde
and favorite son, in whose behalf the dstan
transatlantic voyage had been undertaken
His mothcrwas reputed pious, but the dyir
/ boy was reputed taciturn on subjects pertain
ing to eternity, much to the anguish OF hi
mother. To this family of strangers and hous
Of afiiction hastily hied. | delicately intro
duced myself in my true character, and me
from the mother (the husband was absent
a most cordial reception After various ant
natural inquiries, introduced the great sub
| lect of my mission. A tear at once bubbed III
| IN the eye ofthe mother, but noticed in the
son no emotion. l thought that disdain ming.
| led with the fever on his cheek. He was con-
sumptive, and in its last stages. thought il
| not fit to address him directly at that time, but
learned from his mother the fearful condition
| of uncertainty in which his soul was placed
She sobbcd aloud, and still his emaciated
countenance seemed as emotionless as marble.
| lie had only spoken to me in monosylabes,
and hardly deigned to look directly at me-
Believing that there is road to all hearts,
changed the theme, spoke to him of the perls
OF coming to America, of the affliction of ex-
hausted means, and closed by stating that /
could speak from experience. &c | myself was
an English boy, and born near where your son
here was born, and it would seem that the dis
parity between our ages was not very great.''
PENDING the utterance of these words, ,,theyoung
man scanned me closely, his eyes of glass and
silver flashing out from their bony sockets
ESQ you are an EnglishmaH l' he at last said;
to which replied with honest and atfeetionate
pride, and his whole countenance and demean-
or seemed changed toward me. had touched
his heart, where there laya spell ofhome- sick
ness fatal to him in his emaciated condition.
Seduced by the fiattering whispers of his insid-
ious disease, he seemed unwilling to believe
that he would not yet live to retrace
the weary miles that lay between him and the
rural home of his hearts devotion. did not
thwart him in his hopes, but gently limited to
him of better home in heaven. His lip quiv-
cred, and relapsed in silence for some moments
when again he said, sc If / could believe your
religion, should, doubtless, be happier. My
pungent Affections here make me misanthrOpic,
thefuture is u cold vacuity, humiliation a terri
Die thought, unconsciousnessscarcely less to be
dreaded than your orthodox hell! The seal
was broken; the mother sobbed tears boiled
up in the eyes of the wan consumptive; fact
was revealed he had received good educa-
tion, and had been poisoned by the intdel
clubs aad iniidel books of the day; he had
even brought Thomas Paine " to America
L met his arguments, or rather those which L
knew he employed, as best could, and what
ever were my other deficiencies, he found me
at least so read up in this department, that he
seemed to respect my opinions. After refer
ring him to the gloomy conclusions Of his own
creed, proposed prayer. lett him with tears
IN MS eyeo, he qipino NV hand Mt nortinU "a
feverish pressure, and uniting With Ms rfiotfher
in request that should call again.
After delicate inquiry into the temporal
wants of the family, retired. 1 repeated my
call in the afternoon, and twice every day dur
call was favored by encouraging results. Ny
self and spiritual patient became friends and
fdvorites. 1 had battered away the strong pill
lars Of his opposition to Christ. l had read to
him beautiful passages from the gospel, COM
menting thereon. Aided by the Divine Spirit,
| mdulged the hope that mental and moral
revolution was effected He would not permit
me to leave him, however, until had pledged
myself that in the week from the Saturday fol
lowing, the time that we parted, at which time
was to be there, according to arrangements,
l would give him my earliest attention after my
arrival but, alas again made my circuit
round, arrived on Saturday morning at my IA
vOrite appointment at Brother Woods, already
mentioned, fully intending by two or three
O'Clock to be by the bedside Of my dying con-
sumptive.
Tho religious services of the day passed, as
usual, delightfully."- away, when repairing TO the
stable for my horse, with a sense Of trcmulOus
obligation upon my heart, was met by large
circle Of youths, about my age. They were
going to organize singing-school in the neigh
borhoOd on that evening. 1t was very desir-
able that the preacher should be present. All
of the Missouri Harmonists - of the neighbor-
hood, far and near, were detailed for the occa-
sion, and an honest-hearted, good time was ex-
pected. resisted their opportunities, firmly
pleading previous obligation, and naming the
At this moment, brighter eyes than had beamed
upon me before, in the argument, set up their
plea. g Converse sparingly with woman"
fatal suggestion occurred that l could spend
Sabbath afternoon with my penitent inquirer,
and restore myself to his confidence by an ap-
ology that must be accepted. l returned home,
spent the afternoon and evening in appropriate
hilarity, without whisper of u rcproving con-
science, but my meditations in the night sea.
cnn lnta Wit ali rnf oh ami.
nous forebodings.
The next morning, long, long before the
usual time, l was on my way to my village ap
pointment; but, either because my heart was
heavy, or some other cause, l did not arrive
there untilth congregatiOnwa assembled. As
| assembled the pulpit, saw it was somewhat
thin. A gloom, too, seemed to rest upon it,
After the preliminary exercises, brother ap-
preached the pulpit, informing me that a
young man had died with the consumption the
Saturday evening previous, and that tho funer-
al was desired the Monday morning following.
Fhe announcement was to me as voice from
eternity; and l trembled and stumbled more
than usual through the subsequent services.
Repairing ut once to the house of bercaye-
ment and bed OF death, l was still received by
his mother, whose eyes were red with weeping
with the greatest confidence and cordially.
felt that did she but know the facts in the case,
she ought to reproach me formy unfaithfulness;
but, o mercilul God, conscience had needed
no help. She told me that her son sank rapid
ly after left; that he had occasionally read
the Bible, a thing lie had never done before, on
his dying bed. He was yet painfully uncom,
municative in reference to his true state. II,
spoke often of me, and longed for the day tc
come when l would revisit him. On the Sa
turday on which was expected, he had watch
| ed every hour anSiously as it was measured OF
] l,,.af oil uli ha inc tod n,
having placed before him. At two, his mothe
| was to 20 to the door to see if She could no